DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IN ASSOCIATION WITH
INTER CARS
DIGITAL REPORT 2020
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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
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INTER CARS
MOMCHIL KOVACHEV, CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER (CDO) AT INTER CARS, ON THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY AND THE IMPACT OF COVID-19
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oining the company in 2011, Momchil Kovachev is the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at Inter Cars. “I graduated from
the German Faculty at the Technical University at Sofia, Bulgaria, which means that I have studied in both the Bulgarian and the German education system. For the engineering track, I have a diploma 04
from the Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie [KIT] and an MBA from the TU Braunschweig. Currently I am completing my executive MBA at Sheffield International College,” comments Kovachev. Since joining Inter Cars – an import and distribution organisation of parts, tires, accessories, professional tools and service equipment for vehicles – Kovachev has held several positions in Bulgaria as well as international positions before taking on the role he has now. When asked about the current trends in the industry, Kovachev explains that “as with so many industries, one of the hot topics at the moment in our sector is data. For the automotive aftermarket industry, the data produced by the vehicle itself, and by the person driving it, is providing
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INTER CARS
“ USE OF AND ACCESS TO VEHICLE AND DRIVING DATA FOR PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE AND EARLY PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS IS A LEADING TOPIC AT THE MOMENT”
greater insight into how that vehicle is performing. This use of data for preventative maintenance and early diagnosis is a leading topic currently. It allows companies to have the right stock when the vehicle enters the workshop so that it can be repaired as fast as possible, eliminating technical issues for the driver.” However, with the possession of more
Momchil Kovachev, Chief Digital Officer at Inter Cars
data comes the challenge of developing a legal framework for sharing and processing it. Kovachev reiterates his
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belief that “this focus will shape the next
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07 business models. This is a building block
recipient of the product that we are
for future, digitally enabled Mobility-as-a-
distributing. As a result, we work with
Service concepts.”
our partners and clients to develop
When it comes to driving innovation
business models that provide added
at Inter Cars, Kovachev explains that
value to all actors in the vertical – the
the company differentiates itself from
driver of the vehicle, the wokshop
its competition in the import and distri-
and the distribution partners. We are
bution industry of spare parts through
also experimenting in some markets
its wide portfolio of vehicle products,
with B2C solutions, where our main
fast logistics services, end mile deliv-
goal is to offer a complete service to
ery and good customer service.
the retail client, rather than just pur-
When looking to innovate within the modern era of digitalisation, Kovachev
chase of the parts, therefore we call this approach B2B2C.”
explains that “technology gives us the
“For Inter Cars, the company places
capability to drive more value for the
its focus on helping society maintain w w w.i nte rca rs . eu
INTER CARS
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the operation of its mobility solutions,
aspects of the company to digitise
providing continued stability of those
and automate its operations. “My role
services. With that in mind, we are con-
of joining the head office team was to
tinuously trying to optimise our hosting
design and deliver the third generation
solutions for our B2B ecommerce
of our fundamental B2B ecommerce
solution, leveraging the advantages
solution. When we were starting the
of a cloud hosting platform. However,
program, we identified several areas
to ensure business continuity, we are
where we needed to improve our
also combining this with hosting this
current operations, so that we could
platform ourselves forming a hybrid
deliver a leading solution. One was
hosting solution aimed at business
how we manage our product data. As
continuity for optimal operations cost.�
part of our operations we manage a
Inter Cars’ digital transformation
large portfolio of products and vehi-
strategy has been applied to several
cles, as well as their linkages, which
can prove challenging. We decided
focused and precise access to data
that if we are to bring to the market a
that clients require.
new generation of ecommerce solu-
“Our B2B ecommerce catalog is
tions that act as a catalog for spare
a fundamental building block in our
parts for a given vehicle, we need to
operations, generating 99% of our
improve the way we manage our prod-
revenue,” comments Kovachev. “It is
uct data,” says Kovachev.
being used by our clients daily who
Inter Cars has also been working
are in need of spare parts so that they
on developing a single solution for its
can repair vehicles that are entering
B2B services and products, as well as
the workshops. On the flip side, that
launching a new program that affects
same platform is being used by our
the way it gives permission to access
sales operators when a mechanic
the B2B solution. This ensures that it
needs support to identify a spare part
meets GDPR regulations by providing
needed for a repair, then agreeing with
E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :
Momchil Kovachev Title: Chief Digital Officer Industry: Automotive
Location: Bulgaria
Over the last four years I have been leading the team delivering the largest B2B e-commerce platform in the Independent Automotive Aftermarket in CEE. This project was the flagship in the Digital Transformation program of the company aiming at unifying the business among the 18+ markets and all 10+ product segments. Together with the new integration architecture, new SSO & IAM platform and Product Information Management system upgrade, we laid the foundation for the future enterprise. w w w.i nte rca rs . eu
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“ STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH PLAYERS IN THE INDUSTRY ARE A SIGNIFICANT ENABLER FOR OUR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION” Momchil Kovachev, Chief Digital Officer at Inter Cars
owner – by improving the spare parts identification process workshops can provide a more transparent quote.” To successfully achieve its B2B program launches, Kovachev explains that, for the first time in its history, the company decided to build a solution on top of a ready made platform in house from scratch. “To develop the solution, we ran a tender where we invited all the industry leading e-commerce service providers in the world to participate. In the end we selected tools, platforms and soft-
the client the delivery method and the
ware houses to modify the platform
payment method before processing
according to our needs. After the proof
the order.
of concept phase, we selected SAP
“When designing our new e-cata-
Hybrid together with the Polish soft-
logue we conducted research in order
ware houses, e-point. Our colleagues
to optimise the user experience by
from Microsoft came on at a later
designing the processes in the appli-
stage where the platform was already
cation to be more streamlined and
in nine markets in central and Eastern
intuitive. With this new platform we
Europe. We selected their cloud host-
have been able to increase our service
ing solution, which we already used
quality by releasing time for our sales
for our previous version of our B2B
operators to serve those who really
commerce catalogue. Using these
need assistance, as well as providing
solutions we are focusing our cus-
a streamlined method and self service
tomisation efforts into the areas
capabilities. We have also been able to
where we have a competitive advan-
increase transparency for the vehicle
tage, therefore strategic alliances w w w.i nte rca rs . eu
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“ OUR B2B ECOMMERCE CATALOG IS A FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCK IN OUR OPERATIONS, GENERATING 99% OF OUR REVENUE - EITHER BY THE CLIENTS DIRECTLY OR BY OUR SALES OPERATORS SERVING THE CLIENTS” Momchil Kovachev, Chief Digital Officer at Inter Cars
and partnerships with players in the industry are a significant enabler for our digital transformation.� Considering the future use of technology in the automotive industry, Kovachev is keen to see an increase in the use of augmented reality. “From one perspective, the complexity of repairs is increasing continuously, and I believe guided repairs with the support of augmented reality would be a very interesting use case of the technology. For example, if a mechanic in a given workshop is receiving a repair for a car that he doesn’t have experience with, in our B2B e-commerce catalog this person could read how to perform the repair. However, I believe the use of augmented reality could bring this information directly to the mechanic while looking at the vehicle, pinpointing exactly what needs to be done. This would be a very interesting use case of this technology in our industry. Additionally, a topic that is really inspiring me personally is the shared economy. I believe this is something that we as society have to address in w w w.i nte rca rs . eu
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INTER CARS
“ DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE OPERATE IN 18 MARKETS IT IS HELPING US TO BALANCE BETWEEN THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN DIFFERENT MARKETS AND EXCHANGE GOOD PRACTICES” 14
Momchil Kovachev, Chief Digital Officer at Inter Cars
order to move forward because of all
businesses have remained open and
the environmental and sustainability
while some of our clients have closed
challenges that we’re facing.”
due to government regulations, many
As an engineer, Kovachev strongly
have also remained open in order to
believes in technology, “for me, it is the
sustain this mobility. In recent months
driver of progress in our society over
we have seen an increase in personal
the last decades. However, technology
transportation compared to using
has to be wisely used.”
public transport which has had a posi-
Reflecting on the current impact of
tive effect on the spare parts industry.
COVID-19, Kovachev says “the situa-
However, in the long term, we can see
tion has touched all industries. Luckily
that investments in new vehicles are
for us, the mobility industry is consid-
going to stagnate and therefore from
ered fundamental so that our society
my perspective vehicle manufacturers
can operate. As a result, many of our
are going to face challenges when it
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comes to aging car parts that are not
needed and therefore, personal mobil-
going to be renewed with the same
ity needs to be preserved.”
rhythm that it was a few months ago.”
Towards the end of 2019, Kovachev
When it comes to technology, “I can
explains that Inter Cars’ warehouses
speak of my private experience. Prior to
were quite full, “which helped us to
COVID-19, I flew from Sofia to Warsaw
make it through the disrupted period
at least once a month. However, due to
for supply chains with minimal inter-
the situation over the last three months,
ruptions.” In addition, “due the fact that
this was not the case. We still continue
we operate in 18 markets it is helping
to do business and we still continue to
us to balance between the impact of
collaborate, thanks to video confer-
COVID-19 in different markets.”
ences and collaboration platforms offered by the software companies. Still for me, human interaction will be w w w.i nte rca rs . eu
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