CIOL Interview

Below is the coverage of my interview with Pratima Harigunani of CIOL (Cybermedia).

April 9 2009: How Bridgestone changed tyres with mobility - CIOL

It was not an easy terrain. Picture this. About 25 million tyres per year, large fleets of trucks moving on difficult load and travel conditions, non tech-literate users and thousands of dealers scattered all over the geography, and with tyre coming to the pitstop - a mammoth task of data collection for each operation recorded per tyre.

Before the idea and execution of a PDA application came on the dashboard, the pre-solution scenario was all about primeval methods of repairing tyres by dealers and users who couldn't boast much about being tech savvy.

Add to that, a toolkit that was all about pen, paper, working and measuring tyres with thick gloves, a memory burden of remembering long digits of tyre depth from the point the end-dealer measured it to the point they go back and enter the data on a system sitting lengths away.

While they climb up and down, remove gloves and then again down the cabin, the simple task of repairing and reading data from a tyre turns more than gargantuan.

For the tyre major Bridgestone selling tire-as-a-service wherein it charges their customers as per the usage and per KM billing along with wear and tear of a tyre, the problem was not just about technology but about tweaking and shaping it right for the end user in thick gloves.

It was a challenge now for Persistent that has been Bridgestone Europe's software engineering partner for the last five years. What followed was a keen insightful peek into the end-user scenario and then developing and driving their mobile strategy.

This strategy entailed the use of Internet-based hand-held devices and server-side integration. What Persistent and Bridgestone did with this helped develop and implement innovative pay-per-use pricing strategies rather than up-front fees. The application gathers real-time information concerning tyre health and distance traveled in a centralized manner, effectively and efficiently.

Now the dealers had a bluetooth/RF enabled device with a large numeric pad and sound indications that was capable of working in online/offline modes and with connectivity to ERP/CRM also measuring on-the-air compression

The post-solution scenario looks a lot different. Lot of time savings (8X time saving in service resources), less data entry errors, better service relationship, customer stickiness, VAS and mapping services around the model apart from more than 800 per cent improvement in productivity for Bridgestone's service engineers and dealers.

For Bridgestone Europe, it meant an identity much more than a manufacturer of tyres that spelled now a provider of services.

"Persistent has been instrumental in driving our mobile strategy for Europe," says Marcel Gottlieb, manager CBS and IT, Bridgestone Europe.

"While the results of their work has produced tangible benefits around increased revenues and higher customer service, more importantly, Persistent has directly contributed to innovation in our business model."

The challenge was the leap from a view-from-office to a view-from-dealer as Siddhesh Bhobe, associate vice president and project lead at Persistent Systems shares. For him, the project was personally a great experience.

"I wrote codes before but never knew the effect they have eventually on the user. Owning an end-to-end solution is so impactful," he adds.

"This case really shows the difference when the focus is completely on user and technology works as an enabler. The project helped in gaining the satisfaction in making practical difference to dealers who were living unwieldy work scenarios before."

Bhobe says this technology is a great concept and can be applied in enterprises with field force who are scattered and need quick, critical data update systems.

Next on the board could soon be RFID and Tyre Identification technology with more automated and more real-time deliveries for Bridgestone.

Persistent Systems, a outsourced product development (OPD) services company, won the NASSCOM Innovation award for 2008, in the 'Market Facing - Business Process and Business Model' category for this innovative mobile strategy, developed for Bridgestone, Europe - world's largest tyre manufacturer.

The innovation has helped Bridgestone in transforming from selling products to selling services, from transnational equations with customers to relationships, and from B2B to B2C.