CASE STUDY
Innovating automative software
Client
A global powerhouse in automotive manufacturing, advanced mobility solutions, and sustainability
Services
Innovation strategy, corporate development, product, customer insights
Sector
Automative
Military solutions
Software
Market Context
The rise of 5G networks in the 2020s unlocked a wave of new possibilities for automakers. Unlike the hardware that OEMs had mastered, vehicle connectivity and software offered near-limitless opportunities for higher margins and greater scale. Automakers were exploring new business models—such as subscriptions and platforms—but the abundance of options left them directionless. They had difficulty identifying use cases where they could gain a competitive edge over other automakers and tech giants entering the automotive market.
Client Challenge
Our client sought connectivity and software-based use cases from every corner of the organization. Awash with hundreds of ideas and few guardrails, they struggled to find direction. As a mass market brand, the company served most walks of life. And, for too many ideas, a business case could be made that some subset of customers would be interested. Moreover, many of the ideas and even active initiatives put the OEM in direct competition with tech giants, especially for the use cases that veered away from the vehicle itself and toward applications. The client needed some guardrails that narrow down ideas to those they actually had a right to win.
Key Insight
From qualitative interviews and concept testing, we learned that customers were less enthusiastic about use cases that were misaligned with automakers' core capabilities. As we analyzed customer behavior, it became clear that smartphones dominated, even in the car. Competing directly with smartphones would put our client on unfavorable ground. Instead, customers wanted a vehicle that didn’t replicate a phone’s functions but leveraged what’s unique to cars—hardware that moves through space—to deliver value that tech giants couldn't match.
The Solution
We established clear guardrails and a scoring system to evaluate which ideas should move forward. A key principle was that use cases shouldn’t compete with smartphones, but rather complement them or provide unique value based on vehicle capabilities. As a result, concepts shifted from ideas like audio tours of West Hollywood via an app to more innovative solutions, such as using steering wheel vibration data to map dirt roads across the U.S. This approach helped the client focus on innovative, vehicle-specific solutions, streamlining their product development and positioning them to deliver unique value in a competitive market.
Our approach led to a 30% reduction in product development time
24+ use cases went into production in the initiative's first year
The strategy was adopted by innovation teams in two other global regions