The document proposes a virtual mechanic platform called The VirtualMechanic that would empower women drivers. It discusses research conducted with female luxury car owners who felt they were charged unfairly by mechanics due to their gender. The proposed platform would use AI and APIs to provide on-demand virtual mechanic services like live chat, diagnostic assistance, and instructional videos. It would partner with Mercedes-Benz and generate revenue through customer subscriptions and business partnerships. The goal is to launch initially in major cities and on-board 25,000 users in the first 12 months.
2. After a home, a car is a second
largest purchase someone makes
Unkown
3. The
Research
I carried out primary research with a number of
female drivers their ages ranged from 25-50
and all owned luxury cars.
All the participants were single or had no
significant other to help when their car needed
fixing,
Females are quoted higher sums for the same
service as compared to men when they visit
the mechanic. They believe women know less
about cars and repairs.
Demographics
Based on a study carried out in 2013
from Kellogg School of Management
4. The findings
The often went to youtube to watch videos on
how to resolve the problem
They felt after they had been to the mechanic
there was no choice but to pay the fee for the
work carried out
They were not aware of what was a fair or correct
price
Also estimated time of completion
Facts and tips i.e what's the difference between
diesel and premium diesel fuel
A digital version of the car manual
Live chat and or authorised videos with
instructions of an explanation of the problem
6. Acts as an on-demand virtual mechanic for
Mercedes-Benz customers.
The platform will use Natural language
processing to deal with initial customer
enquiries
Diagnostic testing acting as a process of
elimination to solve issues
Host Mercedes-Benz authorised
mechanics, adhere to quality control,
pricing and KPI's
The virtual
mechanic
7. The
business
concept
Business to consumer
Customers will be charged a monthly
subscription for accessing all areas of the
platform such as created content and private
members area. Business to business
Business will be charged between 25-15% for
any orders placed via the application.
The
8. The solution
showcase
IIn the first 12 months we aim to have 25,000
downloads of the app
With a monthly subscription ranging from £40
to £250 per month depending if they want
access to offline events and workshops
What to do?
The
9. scalability
With the use of a globalised cloud-based
customer relationship management system. Will
be accessible for the back end for business and
Mercedes where there will the front end will be
applicable for customers.
The first stage is rolled out to
authorised Mercedes mechanics. They would
have a tablet which will alert the mechanic
The
10. scalability
Salesforce will allow Mercedes to establish key
insights from data from both the customer and
the mechanics.
Potentially being able to prevent and or predict
failures based on customers journey history.
Establish if maintenance can be carried out
sooner based on a customers use of their
vehicle. This will act as a benefit it as it saves
the customer money and disruption.
The
11. Tire Pressure - The standard base level
of tire pressure and alerts customers to
Battery Level - Inform the customer how
much drive time that have until they need
to charge the
Lights -
Maintenace - Days until next service
T E C H N I C A L
MBC API 1/2
12. Notifications - Will inform you of when
you service is next due and allow you to
book it in.
Messages - Communicate with the
customer in regards to localised info
such as area-specific parking permits and
renewals
Video Handover - Mercedes Pre created
how-to videos by women for women in
collaboration with the Girls auto clinic
Vehicle location - This is will interact
with the app to establish proximity
between the vehicle and the local
mechanic
T E C H N I C A L
MBC API 1/2
14. The reason I chose these specific MBC
API's as these were the topic areas which
came up when I carried out the research
with female drivers.
They discussed the type of services which
would better help them manage their
cars.
The general consensus was they were
clueless in regards what the buttons and
the basic information in regards to their
car maintenance.
ARCHITECTURE
T E C H N I C A L
OUTPUT
15. Another issue which was discussed was
safety. Due to the car and the phones
communicating they were concerned with
the security of the phone and devices.
Such as someone hacking their devices
and locking them in the car.
Through further investigation, I
established Bluetooth mesh uses
different security keys called AppKeys for
securing messages at the network layer
from those used to secure data relating
to specific applications. Most of the
security features of Bluetooth mesh
networking rely upon industry-standard
cryptographic algorithms and procedures.
With the integration of Salesforce and
their API's, they will ensure we are
compliant with GDPR user rights
ARCHITECTURE
S E C U R I T Y
16. Competitive
Advantage
Saudi Arabia has just announced it is legal for women to drive.
Mercedes-bens has a great business opportunity for to be the
knowledge bank for women drivers. Mercedes- Benz is a
trusted brand and providing resources offline and online
targeted specifically at affluent female customers will, in turn,
foster customer loyalty for new, existing and
aspirational customers.
The brand can provide use gamification as a fun, interactive
learning tool. At present your direct competitors all have apps
which do similar things as to what you are providing. However,
none of them acts as a knowledge bank or safeguards their
customer when they run into issues with their vehicles. The
aftercare service was the biggest factor respondents
mentioned, based on if they would repeat purchase a vehicle
from the same brand.
17. MY NAME IS CHRISTINE I AM THE FOUNDHER OF
AH INNOVATIONS
I LOOK AT AUTOMOBILES FROM A FEMALE PERSPECTIVE FOR FEMALES
I'm
creatively inquisitive