Business strategy of telematics product launch by Bosch India

Abstract

Telematics for Commercial Vehicle is defined as a two-way and interactive communication between the vehicles, cargo consignors, freight transporters, as well as the telematics providers using wireless technologies such as GPS (Global Positioning System) and GSM(Global System for Mobile communications) for location and transmission of the vehicles and associated information. The product is mainly used for fleet management and vehicle tracking. As part of the comprehensive project, a study was done on Telematics market in India along with Bosch India to help Bosch devise its product launch strategy and there by introduce its Telematics products in the Indian market. This report is prepared on direct interactions with Bosch India marketing team, primary data provided by Bosch India, various research reports and secondary Web based research. The report is structured to capture the existing competition landscape. Then we introduce the Bosch product concept including various use case scenarios. The report then deals with how the business Ecosystem can be developed and the various scenarios of value capture and value sharing mechanisms. The report also discusses various bases of market segmentation and identified target segments of interest. Pricing strategies are briefly presented along with the best distribution channel strategies suitable to sell the Telematics products. As requested by the company, the report is prepared to provide Bosch India with various options available for the strategy to be deployed and hence does not conclude with any one strategy recommendation. However we have provided our take on the strategy to be deployed. We recommend Bosch to develop a highly differentiated product due to the fact that many of the end users value the services provided and are not bothered on the device as such. With close to 100 odd companies into Telematics services in India the market is highly fragmented with very few companies with good brand value. Currently many end users are not satisfied with the service provided by majority of Telematics service providers either due to lack of reliability or poor quality of service. Bosch has the potential to leverage its brand and its competency in automotive domain to develop a product with highly differentiated services and features. Again this means that Bosch could charge a premium on its products/services due to the high brand value and quality of its existing auto parts products available in the Indian market. As an entry strategy Bosch needs to position itself to large logistics and transport companies as a premium player capable of delivering fast and high quality service. As a first step Bosch needs to enter the market as device provider to various Telematics service providers building its brand in this space. Later Bosch could expand to become a full service provider as it has in-house software development capabilities and contact centre infrastructure. Bosch need to be involved in Telematics product campaign awareness programmes both to Logistics companies and to Government organizations. As the demand for Bosch Telematics products pick up among big logistics companies, this would translate into sales directly to OEMs as factory fitted products.