2. 2 | SOCIETY OF MOTOR MANUFACTURERS AND TRADERS CASE STUDY
SMMT COLLABORATES WITH XCHANGING
UK VEHICLE REGISTRATION
DATABASE GETS AN UPGRADE
How, through a collaborative working
model, Xchanging and the SMMT tackled
the upgrade of MVRIS - the automotive
industry’s database of UK vehicle
registrations
THE PROJECT
To come up with a collaborative working
programme to successfully deliver an
industry database for all new UK vehicle
registrations; one fit to meet the demands
placed upon it
THE BACKGROUND
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and
Traders (SMMT) is one of the largest and
most influential trade associations in the
UK. It supports the interests of the UK
automotive industry at home and abroad,
promoting a united position to
government, stakeholders and the media.
The automotive industry is a vital part of the
UK economy accounting for more than £64
billion turnover and £12 billion value
added. With more than 160,000 people
employed directly in manufacturing and in
excess of 770,000 across the wider
automotive industry, it accounts for 10% of
total UK export of goods and invests £1.9
billion each year in automotive RD. More
than 30 manufacturers build in excess of 70
models of vehicle in the UK supported by
around 2,500 component providers and
some of the world’s most skilled engineers.
One essential aspect of the SMMT’s work
is the production of regular reports to
provide reliable data used by members
and industry stakeholders to understand
the state of the industry.
The Motor Vehicle Registration
Information System (MVRIS), as a
comprehensive record of first registration
of new vehicles is the SMMT’s flagship
service. It is updated daily; adding over 2.5
million new registrations every year. Data
from MVRIS feeds a number of SMMT
reports that provide market and trend
insights used to inform decision making.
THE CHALLENGE
The eight-year old MVRIS was due an
upgrade to make it easier to use, quicker to
access the data it held and less manual
when it came to producing reports. The
SMMT were also keen for the system to
have additional functionality allowing it to
run, for example ‘what if?’ scenarios and to
support access from mobile smart devices.
Central to the SMMT’s requirement when
considering solutions providers to work
with was the way the provider worked; the
approach it planned to take to the
programme management and project
delivery. The SMMT wanted a partner that
was prepared to work flexibly, adapting
delivery during development as
requirements evolved and to take on
board learning throughout the process.
THE APPROACH
After a highly competitive tender process
in 2013, the SMMT selected Xchanging to
design, develop, deploy and host the
replacement solution to the legacy MVRIS
system.
An intensive period of requirements
gathering and development would lead into
a controlled migration phase for a seamless
transition from the old to the new.
Throughout, collaboration with the SMMT
and identified members would be critical
to the project’s success, as would
communication within and across the
Xchanging working groups and the SMMT
and its customers.
Drawing on the skills and experience
across its Application Engineering
Services and Infrastructure Managed
Services departments, Xchanging
demonstrated a strong understanding of
the requirement.
Robert Kennedy, Head of Automotive
Information Services at SMMT, says: “We
operate in a highly dynamic and
competitive industry so we need a platform
that reflects that. Xchanging stood out as a
provider because they listened to our
complex needs and responded well with a
solution that will deliver what the Society
and its members demand.”
As specialists in delivering end-to-end
integrated solutions, and deploying them
in such a way that they can be maintained
through future demands, Xchanging was
confident in its capabilities to deliver. What
they felt was needed to meet the SMMT’s
requirement for a flexible, agile approach
was a relationship management plan.
Xchanging decided the model from the
Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW)
that underpins the British Standards
Institution’s BS11000 standard met the
need perfectly. The fresh new approach
made Xchanging stand out and assured
the SMMT of world class service and
relationship management.
Seftton Samuels, Operations Director, at
SMMT said: “We were impressed that
Xchanging offered a new approach to
relationship management and
collaborative working; it has set
Xchanging apart from the competition
and enabled both sides’ enthusiasm
around the bid to continue to grow into a
high quality relationship management
process to execute the project.”
“ We operate in a highly dynamic and competitive industry so
we need a platform that reflects that. Xchanging stood out as
a provider because they listened to our complex needs and
responded well with a solution that will deliver what the Society
and its members demand.
Robert Kennedy, SMMT
3. SOCIETY OF MOTOR MANUFACTURERS AND TRADERS CASE STUDY | 3xchanging.com
A workshop for Xchanging and the SMMT,
run by the ICW, successfully established
how the collaborative working approach
would benefit the project.
The first step was to put in place the
Relationship Management Group which
identified ten joint business objectives
over a two-year period. Through monthly
meetings the group tracked progress
against the objectives, explored how ideas
for improvement could be shared, how
further innovation could be brought to
bear on the project and how the two
companies could work together to achieve
the business’ aims beyond the scope of
the current MVRIS project.
The fundamental difference to the
collaborative working model, that sets it
aside from the traditional programme
management approaches, is that it does
not use the contract as the foundation for
delivery. Flexible tweaks and changes to
the delivery plan are accepted as
inevitable. They are discussed, explored
and managed through change requests
without the need to defer always to the
contractual agreement. With this
approach, additional prototypes could, for
example, be agreed upon as beneficial to
the project as they could result in an
overall shorter development time. The
emphasis is not on the original number of
prototypes that were agreed, it is on
reaching the end goal. Together. It is this
mindset – this viewing of everything
within the wider context of the overall
objective rather than just within the scope
of each individual request – that is the
essence of the collaboration Xchanging
and SMMT enjoyed.
In line with the BS11000 standard for
collaborative relationship management –
which Xchanging subsequently successfully
achieved – an eight-stage approach was
taken to managing the programme. The
stages included defining how the
collaboration was to function, managing
the relationship and delivering the desired
outcomes. The application of these stages
to the programme’s objectives and
“We were impressed that Xchanging offered a new
approach to relationship management and collaborative
working; it has set Xchanging apart from the competition
and enabled both sides’ enthusiasm around the bid
to continue to grow into a high quality relationship
management process to execute the project.”
Seftton Samuels, SMMT
THE SOLUTION
A COLLABORATIVE WORKING APPROACH
deliverables was defined and managed
through the Relationship Management Plan.
Throughout, Xchanging consulted with
the SMMT’s customers of the MVRIS
service and collaborated across its own
divisions and working groups for the
sharing of ideas and issues.
THE BENEFITS
A purpose-built solution to meet the
SMMT’s needs was designed. Utilising an
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) approach
the solution re-uses pre-existing
components that can be upgraded if
needed without a re-design of the whole.
The solution, accessed through SharePoint
provides the functionality, flexibility and
usability the SMMT were looking for.
• Within four walls – combining as it did
the capabilities from a number of
Xchanging teams, the collaborative
working model helped the seamless
combination of multiple services from
multiple lines of business
• Opinions welcomed – the pooling and
sharing of ideas encouraged inputs at
all levels of the management structure
• All about the customer – customer
input was a critical part of the process
early on and throughout the
programme
• Trust and openness – consistent,
minimal points of contact into the
Xchanging team built a trusting, open
relationship for a successful working
partnership
• Bend not break – a flexible, agile
approach to development and delivery
meant the emphasis was on the right
thing - partnership success, not the
rigid adherence to a list of deliverables
in a fast-changing environment.
