TVS engages Google to develop digital platform for spares, after-sales

The new initiative will bring vehicle owners, retailers, garages and insurers from a fragmented marketplace to one platform

TVS Automobile Solutions Pvt Ltd, (TVS ASL), a part of the $8.5 billion TVS Group and a leading independent automotive aftermarket player, has roped in Google Cloud as its technology partner to build its digital transformation strategy. 

The partners claim this is the first-of-its-kind partnership in this space and will support TVS ASL's goal to capture 10 per cent of India’s aftermarket share by 2023 as against four per cent now.

The association will help TVS ASL advance its goal of creating a ‘Digital Ecosystem’ that will empower thousands of small entrepreneurs across automotive retailers and garages.

TVS ASL has migrated its on-premise data centre infrastructure and existing public cloud deployment on to Google Cloud to develop the ‘platform of platforms’, tailored to the needs of the automotive industry. This new initiative will bring vehicle owners, retailers, garages and insurance companies from a fragmented market place into one seamless digital technology architecture to provide service, parts, roadside assistance and insurance.

During the past five years, TVS ASL has empowered over two million customers, 20,000 retailers, 10,000 garages along with fleet management for over 70,000 vehicles. By bringing these stakeholders into a seamless supply chain and technology platform, TVS ASL helps them by delivering service or parts within 24 hours across the country.

G Srinivasa Raghavan, Managing Director, TVS Automobile Solutions said that the range of solutions include connected vehicles (passenger cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles), diagnostics & predictive service management on Cloud, mobility solutions for all stakeholders to address their requirements and real-time integration with all stakeholders for fulfilment.

“The innovative initiative will be seen as an accelerator in Digitizing the Global aftermarket landscape,” he said.

He said Google Cloud for its superior tech stack across Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Big Data, Marketing and Marketplace solutions that will enable the company to scale globally with shorter time to market.

Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, Google Cloud India said, “TVS Automobile Solutions is partnering with Google Cloud to accelerate their digital transformation journey. They are unlocking the potential of their business data at scale using machine learning to automate and optimise their supply chain, and leveraging managed services so they can focus their engineering effort on IT-led business initiatives that will pave the path for a strong digital future.”

The Indian Independent Automotive Aftermarket is estimated around $10 billion and growing at a CAGR of 7-10% over the past five years. The market is highly fragmented with over 40,000 retailers, 100,000 garages and thousands of small distributors across the country.