Both at the level of digital transformation and the focus on environmental issues, companies, whether manufacturers or distributors, that delay in adapting are at great risk of suffering negative impacts at the level of competitive position.

More than a third of existing companies in various sectors will be dragged into the vortex of digitization by 2025 resulting in the loss of their competitive position and exit from the market.

Technological innovation is therefore not an enabler of competitiveness but is, quite simply, a prerequisite for maintaining it, and to stay out of it is to foreclose one’s presence in the market.

The same can be said in relation to the focus on environmental impacts, which, especially for automotive, is a necessity that manufacturers and distributors must address.

The automotive sector, in particular, is heavily influenced by disruptive, i.e., disruptive and unforeseen events, both endogenous and exogenous in nature.

Such events render established business practices or industry best practices wholly insufficient as strategies, tactics and techniques must be completely rethought to cope with increasing uncertainty factors.

It is therefore essential to check the vulnerability of the business model and the ways of generating, distributing and capturing value in market relations. 

Prompt and timely identification of suitable “special” measures to cope with disruptive events allow both to better withstand their consequences and to evolve proactively so as to seize the opportunities produced by the new context.

This is the concept of resilience that induces one not to passively endure unforeseen, uncertain and, in all likelihood damaging events, but to react proactively in order to identify the opportunities behind the problems.

In motortrade in particular, some specific events should be considered:

• Digitization of the car: Organizational challenges, such as the need to: adapt company technologies; develop new skills; introduce previously non-existent professional figures; strengthen people’s sense of belonging to their organization; spread a positive attitude toward possible radical and sudden changes; and adopt specific organizational procedures, appear crucial in this context.
• Digitization of the customer: The increasing use of the Internet and, especially, mobile Internet through smartphones and efficient telephone connections, as well as the spread of new tools for communication (email, social networks, instant messaging), work (cloud, software as a service, electronic invoicing), purchase (e-commerce, dematerialization) and relationship with institutions (spid, electronic signature, CNS, CIE) have profoundly changed our habits. Innovative technologies used in automotive must therefore be conceived as integrated tools that can enhance the user’s digital intelligence and employ artificial intelligence to ensure the maximum “onlife” experience.
• Eco-sustainability: Emissions regulations, the development of fuel economy systems, and the introduction of environmentally friendly engines are just a few obvious examples of this need. There remains no doubt that in an industry in an obvious state of qualitative and quantitative evolution, this factor represents an additional element of uncertainty.
• Consolidation of manufacturers: In recent years there has been a strong push for consolidation by vehicle manufacturers. Whereas in the past each brand was represented by a flagship company now the entire market is in the hands of a few holding companies and/or groups that control many automotive brands. When costs began to affect the revenues of individual car companies there were alliances and mergers that led to the creation of a few global groups on which the entire market is concentrated. Only 12 groups share about 60 different brands leading not only to a strong market concentration but also to extensive bargaining power vis-à-vis distribution networks.
• Changes in distribution policies: The new European Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER for short), which will replace the one currently in force in June 2022, is only a catalyst for trends, some of which are already taking place, particularly within manufacturers. The exponential development of online commerce, access to customer data, and the ease of communication with the consumer offered by the Internet are elements that have radically altered the balance between market players: supplier, distributor, and end customer.