As it records its fifth major international client win, specialist automotive consultancy firm Elevenci says its new type of client engagement model is proving to be better aligned to the needs of many automotive businesses than the ‘generic,’ resource heavy model typical of traditional incumbent consultancies. The company has recorded a number of wins across UK and international markets in both traditional and new industry sector, just 18 months after launching and despite the backdrop of a global pandemic.
Offering a fully bespoke boutique service, the firm’s team of board-level associates covering the full spectrum of the automotive ecosystem, including OEMs, finance, leasing, fleet, and emerging mobility, has clearly resonated with clients.
Long term strategic relationships alongside specialist technical projects and complex business change assignments have dominated the new client pipeline, starting with a strategic consultancy assignment for an international automotive roadside assistance group just weeks after launch.
Less than three months later, the team landed a second and significant contract working with one of the world’s largest leasing and emerging mobility/CaaS groups to provide advisory inputs and guidance regarding their next generation IT application architecture.
Elevenci managing director John Waring explained: “From Day one, Elevenci set out to be different. Providing proven industry experts with a deep understanding of key sector trends and themes is at the heart of Elevenci’s model ensuring that associates gain traction on critical projects immediately rather than the weeks it can take for more generalist competitors! In an era of disruption triggered by new emerging technologies, evolving consumer expectations and ever-changing regulatory policy, automotive leaders need the knowledge and expertise to make sound decisions and adapt operational models quickly through accelerated change programmes and rapid innovation delivery.”
Tailored approach
With many organisations delaying or struggling to fully resource critical assignments and the pace of innovation and change in the automotive sector driving stretching project delivery targets, the need for agile strategies and tailored approaches to enterprise change delivery has become ever more critical, Waring noted. Traditional, prescriptive approaches often fail to provide the inherent flexibility, clear roadmaps and senior stakeholder involvement and buy in that are central to successful project delivery.
“At Elevenci we devise an entirely bespoke strategy and approach for every client and assignment and given the current industry backdrop that’s key. We hit the ground running on assignments from day 1 and quickly gain a clear understanding of the client environment and the overall enterprise capability/readiness for change including the individual concerns affecting key stakeholders and involved parties, we focus on building trust through open and transparent collaboration. We are often the ‘glue’ across a range of providers helping to shape optimised governance frameworks and provide key decision-makers with the tools and confidence to accelerate complex technology and business change,” he said.
In recent months Elevenci has continued to secure high-level partnerships, including legacy replacement and mobility service assignments with an international full-service leasing and mobility company, decision support / due diligence advisory for a major international automotive group acquiring a complex COTS software solution, and also working across a major international market with one the world’s most iconic sports car brands.
As well as supporting clients, Elevenci has published a series of papers tackling complex industry issues to share thoughts and expertise. Bryan Marcus, recently appointed to the leadership team to drive UK and international expansion, has published a paper on the criticality of an optimised captive finance model and the opportunities for smaller OEMs and new entrants to break out of restrictive arrangements. This was followed by the publication of a major thought leadership paper re the evolving auto finance COTS software landscape (The Changing Face of Auto Finance Technology Solutions. A Vendor & Systems Review.
Waring stated: “2021 has been a remarkable year, and we could not be prouder of the partnerships we have forged. With several international clients in its portfolio, Elevenci has gone from strength to strength, cementing its positioning as a market leader in the execution of significant innovation and transformation programmes across auto finance, fleet and evolving mobility.”
