Digital Transformation – A Business Requisite Long Before Covid-19
Emerging technology, digital disruption and digitization have been buzzwords for a while now, but with the changes that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about, they have become essential for organizations around the world to leverage. Over the past two years, I have spoken at a number of events about the advantages of digitizing businesses, but I felt that some organizations were resistant to this change. Remote working, omni-channels and creating evolved customer journeys that are integrated with brick and mortar showrooms were just some areas that businesses found challenging. Enter the Covid-19 pandemic and companies are transforming these processes and more almost overnight, with amazing results.
At Al Masaood Automobiles, we set off on our digital transformation journey three years ago with ‘Project Falcon’. Industry 4.0 is here with emerging technologies, so we adopted the mindset of “disrupt or be disrupted”. People are spending more time online and on their mobile phones than ever before. These days, buying is about convenience. People want a seamless and quick buying experience.
Project Falcon is exactly that. Using an omni-channel approach, we launched the region’s first car buying e-commerce website. On our e-commerce site for Nissan, customers can choose the specifications of their choice of car, and have it delivered to their doorstep. M Auto mobile app which allows for service booking from home, tracking repairs and even pick up and drop off.
As society quarantines in their homes in an effort to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, we wanted to engage and enhance all our digital platforms for the safety of our employees and our customers.
Buying a car is the second biggest purchase that people make in their lifetimes after a house, so it’s not surprising that people want to see, touch and interact with cars. Especially as cars begin to take on more complex autonomous capabilities.
Our aim at Al Masaood Automobiles has always been to cater to our customers’ changing demands, so last week we launched our interactive live sales experience. This dynamic platform allows people to see and interact with their car purchase, all from the comfort of their homes.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has spurred on our virtual car-buying platform, even as the pandemic dies down and life returns to normal, our digital platforms will be fine-tuned and are here to stay alongside our car showrooms.
While it’s popular to read in the media that Covid-19 created a digital revolution, at Al Masaood Automobiles we believe that it only slightly hastened the arrival of an imminent digital revolution. Retail services are becoming innovative virtual ones, and in these unprecedented times, the need for this is even greater than before.
About the author
Irfan Tansel: Global Citizen and CEO of Al Masaood Automobiles
After starting his career as an apprentice to become a car mechanic at the age of 15, Irfan Tansel has over 40 years’ experience working for family offices spanning across 3 continents. An entrepreneurial and visionary leader, Irfan is credited for his unique approach to company strategy, culture building within organizations and more recently, succeeding in a challenging market; this year Al Masaood Automobiles gained global recognition for achieving 68% growth after re-strategizing, repositioning on the automotive market and hiring a diverse workforce.
Driven to build a legacy, Irfan has a competitive nature. And, after achieving his goals and reaching the peak of his career, Irfan is determined to inspire tomorrow’s leaders by sharing his career of 4 decades Automotive knowledge.
When Irfan isn’t preparing for a future of disruption as electric cars, connectivity, autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing comes into play, you can find him spending time with his family and playing golf.
For media and keynote inquiries, please email his brand manager Jen at Jen@prestidgegroup.com or call +971 55 719 3601. DOWNLOAD IRFAN’S MEDIA KIT.
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