Success Stories

Renault On Demand: FOCUS ON USER EXPERIENCE

The integrated Microsoft solutions enabled the development of an innovative project by RCI Services, Renault On Demand, a startup of the Renault Group for car subscriptions through a fully online platform – Brazil is the first market to receive this innovation outside of Europe.

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In an increasingly digital world, it is certain that the search for a product or service begins online. The customer’s first contact and their impressions of the website or app are also decisive when making a decision. It’s not just the price that matters to this audience, but the experience itself. The natural and instant interactivity that was once common only on social media has become even more intentional as brands started offering their products online. In this scenario where consumers always have the storefront of a product at their fingertips, it is necessary to captivate and retain them. That’s why in recent times we have seen so many innovative business models that combine the ease of using a platform with the benefits that the product offers, from the moment of acquisition to its utilization.

And it is necessary to introduce something new. As part of the global expansion of its mobility concept, the Renault Group founded a startup in 2020: Renault on Demand, in partnership with RCI Services, to introduce the on-demand car subscription service to the Brazilian market. Brazil is the first market outside of Europe to receive this offering.

A BUSINESS MODEL BASED ON DYNAMICS 365

The startup aimed to deliver an efficient operation for the new business, providing an end-to-end solution that covered the user’s needs while also encompassing the commercial, financial, legal, and after-sales processes. Furthermore, it was necessary to establish a connection between the operation and Renault’s dealership network and factory.

With this challenge in mind, one of the steps was to define a high-performance solution that would allow unlimited scalability, regardless of volume and number of accesses. The chosen solution was Microsoft.

Through Dynamics 365, it was possible to achieve a fully digital and integrated business model. The base software combines four Microsoft clouds (Business Applications, Azure, Modern Work & Data Analytics) along with Annata (an automotive partner), providing full integration between departments and systems (ERP and CRM). Through a single technology partner, in conjunction with Nexer EA, all solutions were implemented and fully functional in a simple and efficient manner.

According to Grasiano Gandini, IT Coordinator of Renault on Demand, the decisive factors in choosing Microsoft were two crucial points: native integration and rental modules. He also highlights the platform’s functionalities. “The solution has a very user-friendly and intuitive interface, which facilitates rapid knowledge absorption by the operational team,” he points out.

ON DEMAND: THE EVOLUTION OF CONSUMPTION

Thinking on demand means embracing a personalized consumption model. This style of business adopts the user’s perception as fuel to improve their online journey. It’s not just the possibility of hiring a service anytime and anywhere, but also the ease of that hiring process, the quality of customer service, quick response times, time savings, convenience, high availability of services, and, above all, giving users the assurance of their high power of choice.

By subscribing to an on-demand service, customers can benefit from a modern technology system in a secure environment with excellent support. Not to mention the logistics, which are major differentiators for some products. When signing up for a Renault car subscription plan, for example, the subscriber can choose to pick up the vehicle or have it delivered to their location.

INNOVATION AND MOBILITY, TOGETHER, IN THE SAME DIRECTION

Everything in the subscription service can be customized. With Renault on Demand, users have access to a brand-new car whenever they want, for the price of a single monthly fee. They can choose the vehicle, color, mileage, plan (currently four available), available accessories and extra services, as well as various included conveniences that provide peace of mind in daily life, such as 24-hour assistance, documentation and taxes, preventive and corrective maintenance, and car insurance.

When entering the platform, the consumer follows a basic step-by-step process: in the first stage, they choose the vehicle that best suits their profile, then they register and await the credit analysis. After confirmation, they simply sign the plan and enjoy their acquisition. It’s simple, fast, hassle-free, and, best of all, it can be done from the comfort of home.

Joining a subscription club has practical advantages in many ways, especially when it comes to eliminating extra expenses associated with owning a vehicle. As mentioned earlier, a subscription combines everything a driver may need into a single monthly plan, such as documentation, tire changes, and mandatory inspections. In addition to choosing the car and all its configurations, the customer also selects the contract duration. And since it’s an alternative to conventional buying, it’s not possible to purchase the used car. At the end of the plan, the subscriber can return the vehicle or renew the contract, receiving a new car.

EXPERIENCE AS A DETERMINING FACTOR

According to a survey conducted by Accenture, customers would be willing to pay more for a good shopping experience. Therefore, the first contact and the customer’s journey must be satisfactory from the first click, opening up opportunities for new connection proposals that provide a functional and integrated environment. To achieve this satisfaction, it is necessary to focus on customer service, after-sales support, and synergy between the online and offline environments. That’s why Renault on Demand has designed this path and enabled this integration, which is a successful use case in terms of usability.

Today, Microsoft’s solution represents the technological core of the new service. Looking to the future, the company’s main goal is to further develop the solutions they have already acquired. “We know that the set of solutions we already have has much greater potential for functionality, and we can make significant progress in terms of innovation with what we already have at hand,” concludes Gandini.

As mentioned earlier, the future lies in this digital experience. What makes the user “close the deal” is exactly how the brand is capable of impacting them, wherever they may be. Online, this is even more significant, as it involves engagement and loyalty. According to the Mobile Payment Journey survey, the number of smartphones will surpass the number of humans by the end of 2021. Within this context, solutions must be sought to understand and meet the consumption habits of an increasingly connected generation. And to ensure that the user’s experience is fully satisfactory from start to finish, Microsoft’s digital innovations can be relied upon.

“We focused a lot on a robust, modular, and highly integrable architecture based on microservices, which gives us a lot of freedom to transform our solution into a state-of-the-art technology warehouse with constant innovations.”

Grasiano Gandini, IT Coordinator of Renault on Demand