Vodafone helps TomTom build competitive advantage across Europe Case study
The need
3 TomTom selected Vodafone to provide Machine to Machine (M2M) connectivity and traffic data for its in-car portable navigation devices. Vodafone s flexibility, centralised customer service and broad international coverage have enabled TomTom to transform its business. TomTom, a digital mapping and routing company that focuses on the automotive industry, aims to help people complete their journeys in the most efficient way possible. Its products include Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs), in-dash navigation solutions, and software for smartphones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). The company, founded in 1991, has now grown to annual revenues of 1.5 billion. It has over 3,000 employees, working in offices in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Revenues have grown dramatically in recent years, starting from 2004 when it launched TomTom GO, which was the first simple-to-use, stand-alone navigation device at an affordable price. Today, the market has become intensely competitive, with around 100 brands offering navigation devices to consumers. To maintain its market leading position in the face of such intense competition, TomTom has remained innovative and developed a services portfolio, including real-time traffic updates to its customers in their vehicles. In order to be able to offer the best consumer experience and a seamless integration of the services with the device, TomTom launched connected devices, requiring it to find a suitable mobile connectivity partner.
The solution In order to adapt to the changing market and move towards connected navigation, TomTom created the next generation of connected Personal Navigation Devices, says Roy van Keulen, Vice President ebusiness at TomTom. It s not only finding your way from A to B, but adding different services to make travelling more efficient. TomTom started working with Vodafone in 2006. Today, Vodafone takes advantage of its 20 years experience in the M2M market to provide connectivity to all of TomTom s devices that receive live traffic information. Connected TomTom devices will be sold in 15 European countries and South Africa, with traffic coverage available in 16 countries and coverage of some services extending to a larger area of 34 countries. The TomTom Traffic service, operating via Vodafone s network, provides real-time traffic reports and information on the best alternative routes to avoid congestion and delays. We chose Vodafone because we were looking for a sustainable long-term partnership and a reliable telecommunications provider with networks in the majority of our operating countries, says van Keulen. This would have made the projects significantly more complex, would have needed a lot more time in contract negotiations and implementation, and last but not least would have had a detrimental effect on cost. TomTom also uses Vodafone s network to provide a service called TomTom HD Traffic, which is part of its TomTom LIVE bundle of services. Currently available in seven European countries, HD Traffic provides detailed updates on the latest traffic information every three minutes. HD Traffic generates its traffic information from realtime, anonymous data gathered from millions of TomTom HD Traffic users across the Vodafone network as they move around the road network of each country. This anonymous data collection technique, patented by TomTom, is enhanced with Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled probe data and a conventional data feed gathered from vehicle sensors in the road. It means that HD Traffic provides a much more accurate and superior source of information than competitors services. TomTom also provides information such as weather, speed camera locations and fuel pricing through its TomTom LIVE services. Only with that single partner could we implement this kind of service properly if we had not worked with Vodafone, we would probably have done business with local telecommunication providers, says van Keulen.
5 No other telecommunications operator has the same footprint to match our operating countries, or is as innovative as Vodafone. We are the leader in our market but we would not be where we are now without Vodafone. Roy van Keulen, Vice President ebusiness, TomTom
Centralised management Vodafone provides coverage across all of Europe, either directly through its own network or via its partners. Vodafone s global SIMß enables TomTom to deliver connectivity to all of its Personal Navigation Devices in 34 countries. To simplify management for TomTom, Vodafone has assigned a central Global Account Manager. Initially, we worked with the individual countries with Vodafone providing global co-ordination, but recently this has become even easier for us with a single point of contact that co-ordinates across all of the countries, says van Keulen. Service levels are being met by Vodafone, and we have an excellent working relationship. Vodafone provides central invoicing for all the countries where its wholly-owned operating companies deliver coverage to TomTom. This currently covers around half of the regions involved in the TomTom contract, including many of the larger countries such as the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Greece. Vodafone also provides a central reporting tool for TomTom that gives management visibility across all countries. Building competitive advantage Vodafone s mobile connectivity is vital in enabling TomTom to respond to competitive pressures, keeping ahead of other navigation vendors by providing the most accurate real-time traffic information and adding new services such as hotel bookings or parking information. The only way we are able to do this is through the connectivity provided by Vodafone, comments van Keulen. Vodafone is a very co-operative partner and is open to new propositions and helping us bring additional value to the consumer, says van Keulen. TomTom is entrepreneurial and innovative, but this is difficult to achieve we need partners like Vodafone to help us. Recently, TomTom reduced the price of its TomTom LIVE services to increase their appeal to consumers, a move that required Vodafone s co-operation, as van Keulen explains: When we talked to Vodafone, they didn t just look at the price, they saw the bigger picture and how they could help us bring our services to market. For more information please visit m2m.vodafone.com
7 Services are the future for navigation, and we expect to build a whole business model around connected navigation says van Keulen. We will bring richer services to our Personal Navigation Devices, and we are going to do that with Vodafone s global Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). Key benefits Vodafone provides a single global SIM that TomTom uses in its devices, enabling it to offer affordable connected services to its customers in 34 countries. Vodafone has helped TomTom to transform its business and to build and maintain its competitive advantage, with M2M connectivity at the heart of its customer proposition. Vodafone simplifies management for TomTom with a single Global Account Manager, and central invoicing and reporting.
With a standardised platform across the largest global 3G network, Vodafone Machine to Machine enables company systems to communicate cross borders and empowers organisations to transform their operations and business potential - giving freedom to explore new market opportunities, the information and insight to make business process and practice simpler and more cost efficient, and with access to real time data, more control to better manage costs. m2m.vodafone.com m2m_0007/09/10_8 Vodafone Group 2010. This document is issued by Vodafone in confidence and is not to be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of Vodafone. Vodafone and the Vodafone logos are trademarks of the Vodafone Group. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. The information contained in this publication is correct at time of going to print. Such information may be subject to change, and services may be modified supplemented or withdrawn by Vodafone without prior notice. All services are subject to terms and conditions, copies of which may be obtained on request.