Today at the 14th SAP Automotive Forum, July 1-2 in Leipzig, Germany, SAP announced two co-innovation projects aimed at broadening the potential of connected-car technology.
The first is a pilot with Volkswagen AG and further partners that will use SAP’s mobility and cloud services to help drivers locate parking and nearby food offers in Hannover, Germany. The pilot is the result of a multi-year partnership and co-innovation investment by both companies aimed at driving standardization and common formats to consume such cloud-based services.
Initially focused on eliminating the frustrations and inefficiencies drivers encounter daily while searching for parking in cities, the pilot aims to extend beyond parking services to include location-based services (LBS) for quick service restaurants (QSR), offering drivers location-based food offers once they have parked with the help of the SAP HANA® Cloud Platform — similar to the technology infrastructure co-developed earlier this year by SAP and BMW. The pilot also aims to integrate data from the Hannover airport to resolve the challenges of airport parking. The plan is to integrate these processes and information via the SAP® Cloud portfolio and available via an app on users’ mobile phones.
This pilot shall represent the first time SAP and Volkswagen are delivering an end-to-end, scalable and replicable city-wide parking solution.
“SAP’s multiyear co-innovation with Volkswagen is planned to address the everyday inefficiencies city drivers face around the world,” said Gil Perez, SVP of Connected Vehicles at SAP. “Our collaboration with Volkswagen intends to deliver a delightful user experience and accelerate the standardization of such services across the industry. It is a great showcase for the power of SAP HANA Cloud Platform to simplify daily complexity.”
The second project is a partnership with Toyota InfoTechnology Center USA (Toyota ITC) and VeriFone designed to help dramatically simplify drivers’ fueling experience. Currently, drivers need to deal with multiple systems to find “the right” gas stations, and then must authorize payment by swiping a card and punching in various identification codes, or paying with cash. With the prototype solution, consumers can use a one-touch, one-screen solution to navigate to the closest gas station, authorize automatic payment electronically and receive personalized coupons.
Also built on the SAP HANA® Cloud Platform, the solution aggregates information on a vehicle’s location, route and fuel level as well as points of interest. VeriFone provides point-of-sale (POS) solutions and Toyota ITC provides telematics data. These processes and information are integrated via the SAP® Cloud portfolio and presented in a screen on the Toyota ITC dashboard, allowing drivers to manage the entire transaction in one click.
“In light of the paradigm shift in the automotive space toward a connected vehicle, we have been focused on enabling solutions and developing a better user experience by looking at a wide variety of emerging technologies and services,” said Hironori Miyakoshi, EVP and COO, Toyota ITC. “The collaboration with SAP and VeriFone was another major milestone in our efforts to create a better driving experience.”
The use case works as follows: The driver is notified when the vehicle is low in fuel. Then, through the Toyota ITC telematics system, the vehicle recommends a gas station location based on real-time context such as location and the vehicle’s fuel level. It also takes into account a driver’s pre-entered personal preferences such as preferred gas stations and which stations have opted in to the program. When the car arrives at the gas station and stops at the pump, the driver can authorize the transaction with a single click from their car or app on a mobile device. Gas stations may also provide discounts, loyalty points and other coupons based on the driver’s profile. Once fueling is completed, the driver receives an electronic receipt. Drivers can view all previous fueling transactions and easily export them to other systems, such as an expense report.
“Our collaboration with SAP and Toyota creates an exciting commerce experience that transcends payment by delivering convenience, value and unique interactions between merchants and their customers,” said Vin D’Agostino, SVP of Commerce Enablement, VeriFone.
The system uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), an emerging wireless standard that enables micro-location services. By combining BLE, SAP HANA, Toyota ITC’s telematics system and VeriFone POS systems, the three companies have developed a consumer-centered connected car service.
“SAP innovation continues to make connected cars closer to becoming a reality for consumers,” Perez said. “Our collaboration with Toyota ITC and VeriFone is transforming business models and offering people a simple and intuitive user experience. Our cloud and SAP HANA technology can help industries — like the automotive or oil and gas businesses — do things simply that weren’t previously possible or even imaginable.”
Speaking of vehicle innovation, last week SAP announced plans to increase the electric vehicle (EV) contingent in its company car fleet to 20 percent by 2020; the company says 50 more electric cars are set to join the fleet by the end of the year.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Published Jul 1, 2014 5pm EDT / 2pm PDT / 10pm BST / 11pm CEST