The global auto industry is growing more digital and connected by the day. In Southeast Asia, online car sales platforms, digital showrooms, and virtual reality experiences are gaining traction. However, as change sweeps through the sector, consumer expectations also shift.
Today’s vehicle buyers want to engage with brands across various channels. They want increased personalization, digital tools for self-servicing, and vehicles made with sustainability in mind.
Ahead of these changes, Inchcape – a leading global automotive distributor – has positioned itself as an ideal partner for auto brands navigating this new industry environment. As competition rises and consumer expectations grow, having a distribution partner with the willingness to invest in transformation can help auto brands deliver the digital-first, data-driven experiences today’s vehicle buyers want.
Leading Performance, Delivering Exceptional Customer Experiences
Data has emerged as a valuable resource in this digital era of doing business. Recognizing its growing significance for the automotive industry, Inchcape’s ongoing investments in innovative digital and data solutions, coupled with a robust technology stack, reflect the brand’s commitment to anticipating and meeting evolving customer needs.
Three years ago, Inchcape established its Digital Delivery Centres (DDCs) in Colombia and the Philippines with the goal of building industry-leading tech teams equipped to support scalable operations. Today, over 1,400 digital specialists deliver world-class digital solutions, ensuring operational consistency and a seamless customer experience. Through the DDCs, Inchcape offers end-to-end capabilities that empower OEM partners and customers to achieve a seamless and secure omni-channel eCommerce experience.
Alex Hammett, Inchcape’s Managing Director for South Asia & Pacific, said “Our continued investments in digital solutions symbolize our focus on being the best distribution partner for OEM brands. The range of proprietary digital solutions deployed at pace by our Digital Delivery Centres in partnership with our businesses showcase our vision, scale, and ability to drive operational excellence that translates into better experiences for consumers in this rapidly changing mobility landscape.”
An Operational Efficiency Focus
In South Asia & Pacific, Inchcape’s business operation spans across new and used vehicles distribution and retail, aftersales services, Parts sales, and rental. To enable the business to operate efficiently, Inchcape’s digital solutions include a vehicle demand tracker that helps the business to forecast vehicle and Parts demand through statistical analyses. It forms Inchcape’s Sales & Operations Planning toolkit that brings together planning tools, business intelligence insights and predictive analytics to enable both the organization and its OEM brand partners to operate more efficiently by having the right stock at the right time to meet consumer demand. This was most recently implemented across all brands distributed by Inchcape in the Philippines as well as Guam and Saipan.
Alongside innovations in Data Analytics Platforms, Inchcape also focuses on developing and deploying Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform solutions to provide intelligent automation, greater efficiency, and instant insight across the business.
An example is the Warehouse Management System which improves overall warehouse monitoring by optimizing layouts, providing real-time inventory data, and keeping track of product movement in and out of warehouses. This was most recently implemented for Inchcape’s Philippines business at its new Central Parts Warehouse, which manages parts and stock across the brands it distributes.
Another initiative is the fully integrated dealer management system built off Incadea, with the aim to boost performance across vehicle sales, service, and parts to free up more capabilities for brand partners to deliver better consumer experiences.
Network, Infrastructure and Cybersecurity
With an eye on continued business growth, Inchcape ensures that all its business operations are well-secured, and its OEM brand partners have the peace of mind. As an Inchcape standard technology stack, the DDCs deployed centralized and secured network infrastructure for the recently built Changan Auto flagship dealership in the Philippines located in C5 Pasig.
Cybersecurity is another area of focus for Inchcape given the rich data that the organization manage in this digital era. Inchcape fortified its defenses, offering robust protection against cyber threats.
Jorge Osman, Global Digital Delivery Director at Inchcape, said: “Providing leading digital solutions which brings a positive impact to our OEM brand partners and customers is a foundational pillar in Inchcape’s Accelerate strategy. Combined with a focus on building culture and efficiently scaling operations, our digital solutions support our goal in driving distribution excellence across all markets we operate in.”
The commitment to innovation across digital customer experiences, data analytics, and globally connected platforms sets Inchcape apart from other distributors. Together with a future-focused mindset that prioritizes operational excellence, Inchcape and its DDCs enable adaptation to a digital first, data-rich new environment and enhance the consumer journey as the world transitions to a new energy future.
