Accenture has just opened a new Customer Experience Centre in Stuttgart, Germany, to help car manufacturers, dealers and mobility providers visualize the future of the industry.

The centre, which focuses on digital technologies and mixed reality, has been developed and operated by Mackevision, part of Accenture Interactive, a market leader in computer-generated images and immersive content solutions that use data-based visualization.

Through personalized sessions and workshops, the centre will allow car manufacturers and their dealers to create prototypes and solutions exploring how the latest innovations, such as augmented and virtual reality, can be applied. The goal is to help mobility providers transform their business activities and consumer experiences by addressing the needs of customers for new digital and connected products and services.

Through its 120 square meters, the centre offers a range of immersive showcases and cutting-edge technologies. Between the characteristics of the centre they emphasize:

• A showcase for virtual and physical customer participation.The centre shows how the latest digital technologies can be used to allow customer experiences to take place without interruptions at the virtual level, starting at the customer’s home; for example, through the configuration and visualization of mixed reality vehicles in a physical environment.

• A digital showroom. In the digital showroom, Accenture experts can help customers create new and innovative retail formats that allow them to interact with the manufacturers’ products digitally and physically; for example, with the help of a virtual promoter or a test drive, which allows a seamless integration into digital shopping experiences from line to line.
• A workplace for the distributor. This capability allows users to take advantage of customer trip analytics; for example, through a 360-degree customer view. By using location-based services, distributors can track customer interest in manufacturers’ products in the showroom. Combining it with the aggregation of post-sale data, they can offer more personalized communications for customers.

“We are at the beginning of a new era, in which the automotive industry moves away from traditional purchasing behaviour and evolves towards mobility services,” according to Axel Schmidt, Accenture Senior Director of Automotive. “Our new Customer Experience Centre allows us to experience digital and mixed reality solutions for the new mobility ecosystem, with a focus on the customer. The goal is to help automakers transform core operations, customer experiences and their business models.”

For his part, Armin Pohl, CEO of Mackevision has pointed out that “interactive and increasingly personalized solutions at the point of sale play a fundamental role in the era of digitalization, especially in the automotive industry. We combine the most advanced content and technology to create unique and innovative end-to-end solutions to the public of our customers. In this way, they experience the perfect interaction between digital content, physical exposures and products.”

The Customer Experience Centre will initially focus on the automotive industry. Over time, Accenture and Mackevision will expand the centre to other sectors related to mobility, such as travel, transportation, commerce and consumer goods.