5 Questions to Dr. Jan Widenmann, Chief Digitalisation Officer Europe at Alphabet International

Digitalisation involves integrating new technologies to improve processes and boost value creation, which is increasingly important in staying competitive and fostering innovation. To learn more about this, we spoke to Dr. Jan Widenmann about his new role as Chief Digitalisation Officer at Alphabet International. He will spearhead the company’s digital transformation, focusing on developing a future-ready digital system to enhance customer experiences and operational efficiency:

How do you plan to leverage state-of-the-art technologies like AI, IoT, and big data analytics to enhance operational efficiency in fleet management?
“Well, high-quality data with integrity is essential for the topics mentioned. And this is not just about Alphabet's contract data, but also about data that we are authorised to use relating to the leased objects and the services we offer. Accompanying the entire cycle of our customers and vehicles with data enables the targeted use of modern technologies to increase efficiency at Alphabet itself, but also at our customers.

An excellent example of this is our renewed ‘Alphabet Fleet Reporting’ [BCS21] including an AI-Assistant. The customer and our account managers are both provided with various dashboards and analyses based on extensive data. And in addition, the user is accompanied by the AI application which makes it possible to obtain targeted and complex analyses of the information contained in the data in a matter of seconds.”

What challenges do you anticipate in integrating new digital technologies into existing fleet management systems, and how do you intend to address them?
“From my point of view, the new technologies bring many more opportunities than challenges. However, it is of course important to support the right processes with the new technologies. What do I mean by that? We still often experience that certain manual workarounds are used to heal deficits in our systems and processes. If I now support these workarounds with AI, for example, I have usually gained nothing. Instead, the weakness of the system or process should be corrected. It is therefore extremely important to always keep the strategic objectives for processes and systems in mind to complement the strengths of the new technologies precisely.” 

How will you ensure that the digital tools and technologies you implement in fleet management align with the organisation’s overall strategic goals?
“The short answer: by digitising smartly and effectively, of course 😉. 
But why? Digitalisation itself is an important aspect of most business strategies, including Alphabet's. The main reason for this is that digitalisation is an enabler for most strategic impacts. If you ask AI about the purpose of digitalisation, you get the following answers.

1. Increased efficiency
2. Innovation and competitiveness
3. Improvement of the customer experience
4. Optimisation of decision-making processes
5. Promotion of sustainability
6. Development of new business models

I fully agree with this AI perspective, as it highlights how digitalisation is integral to Alphabet's strategic goals, impacting everything from efficiency and innovation to customer experience and sustainability.”

Can you share any plans for digital transformation projects that you believe will significantly improve fleet performance or reduce costs? 
“The opportunities arising from cloudification, artificial intelligence, etc. are already very diverse today. Alphabet is consistently focussing on integrating these technologies into our processes. This is both directly visible to the customer, for example through our AI-supported fleet reporting, as well as in our internal processes to reduce operating costs”. 

How will you balance the need for cutting-edge technology with concerns about cybersecurity and data privacy within your fleet management operations? 
“As part of the BMW Group, Alphabet has very high-security standards for topics such as data and information protection. This is why the integration of new technologies into our processes and systems is subject to a rigorous testing process. Of course, there is no such thing as 100% protection against cybercrime, for example, but the traditionally high standards of our technical solutions will also provide a strong protective shield in relation to AI, etc.”