India: Apollo Tyres debuts Avolve service model

At a meeting of business partners in Hungary, Apollo Tyres launched its new Avolve service business model. The company describes Avolve as a “servitisation model” that offers tailored solutions to targeted customers, especially commercial fleet operators. Apollo Tyres is initially rolling out Avolve across India.

“In today’s environment, commercial fleet operators are confronted with many challenges of increasing complexity,” states Apollo Tyres. “Avolve, with its innovative mobility services and solutions, will partner with fleets to overcome their challenges and evolve their business towards sustainable growth.”

Developed by KT Telematics Solutions, the Avolve application digitises data related to trucks, fleets and tyre lifecycle management. Fleets driving on all brands of tyres can utilise the services, as Apollo Tyres says Avolve is “brand agnostic.” It is available in several guises:

Digital Edge – Apollo Tyres describes this most “basic” offer as a digitised tyre management application that provides end-to-end tyre data and analytics, enabling customers to “make informed decisions for higher yields and potential costs savings.”

Expert Advisory – Avolve tyre experts provide fleet customers “valuable information for right solutions and maintenance practices.”

Anywhere Connected – Apollo Tyres delivers preventative maintenance services via its certified service network, helping customers with “enhanced uptime and safety.”

Productisation of services

Speaking at the launch of Avolve, Neeraj Kanwar, vice-chairman and managing director of Apollo Tyres, said: “There is a huge shift towards (the) ‘productisation of services’ business model, and being the leaders in the Indian tyre industry we are pioneering this in India to increase the operational efficiencies of our customers – the large fleet operators.

“We will now be selling the products (tyres) and services separately, or bundled together, to our customers. The key enablers for us in this servitisation journey, would be new-age digital technologies like Cloud, IoT, AI and ML, Sensors and 5G-enabled wireless communications.”

Improved operational efficiencies

“The success of the pilot initiative on service business model has given us the confidence to enrol more fleets and, similarly, we have been receiving requests from the fleets to get them on board,” comments Satish Sharma, president of Apollo Tyres’ Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa (APMEA) business.

“The initial data, from the 1,500-1,600 odd trucks (around 11,000 tyres) whom we have onboarded, suggests that we have been able to improve the operational efficiencies of the fleet operators by ten to 15 per cent,” Sharma continues. “Considering that tyres are the third or fourth highest contributor to fleet owners’ operational cost, after fuel, road taxes and labour, the cost savings can be significant in the long run.”

Apollo Tyres says it will continue to innovate Avolve’s technology and with service partners to “develop right value propositions,” thereby “enhancing business productivity and profits, solving complex challenges, real-time analytics and enhanced user experiences.”