Reduce Vehicle Emissions with Predictive Maintenance by Pitstop Connect

Dear author,

Thank you for submitting your proposal to this contest. I would like to remind you that you have less than a week to update your proposal before the first review phase starts.

To make your proposal suit best the contest’s aim, I recommend that you develop more on the role that SMEs could play in your project. You could elaborate more on what direct actions the SMEs could take and what the short-term outcome would be for them.

Good luck,

Jorge

Thanks Sandra, Please see the responses below which have been added to the submission. Truly appreciate the feedback and questions. 

Market:  The business model relies on selling Pitstop technology to vehicle owners.  How will you reach vehicle owners? Why would vehicle owners be motivated to purchase and/or use this technology?  Is there a cost-benefit analysis associated with saving on gasoline that might help build a strong business case?  What is the role for SMEs in this?  

ANSWER: Currently Pitstop integrates with a list of 15 different connected car platforms used by millions of drivers. These are adopted by drivers for many reasons such as fleet telematics, in-vehicle wifi hotspots, business tracking and predictive maintenance. Pitstops strongest distribution models have been working with dealerships and service centers who provide their drivers with Pitstop. Ultimately as vehicles need service we make it super easy to schedule appointments and get discounts for drivers. This has proven an increase in revenue for these shops by 15% and uptake in visits by drivers by 47%. Drivers use the platform so that they can trust their mechanic, which is hard to do without the comprehensive data Pitstop provides. When a vehicle is maintained by Pitstop's Artificial Intelligence suggestions it becomes 100% emissions compliant. The second model of distribution is to fleets of the vehicle looking to reduce their maintenance costs. We work with major fleet tracking companies and plug our software on top of their platform to provide this additional value. Currently, this is being tested across 50,000 vehicles in North America. 

Partners:  Have you already established a partnership with Drive Clean in Ontario, or is their partnership with Stratford?  What about partnerships with automotive garages and service centers?   How will you do this?  Will PitStop somehow help this type of SME to go low carbon?   

ANSWER: Yes Drive Clean Ontario is partnered with Pitstop directly. The city of Stratford is also partnered with Pitstop directly. Currently, Pitstop powers over 40 service center & dealership locations with major contracts signed to power over 400 locations by mid-2019! This is by working directly with major dealership groups and service chains (Speedy Auto, Autonation etc.) By increasing these service shops profit we by nature reduce emissions by ensuring vehicles are maintained correctly. For Fleet Telematics companies that we work with including Fleet Complete and Verizon we are deploying our artificial intelligence to provide suggestions to the millions of business owners who manage large numbers of vehicles. The benefit to them is reduced breakdowns and cost of maintenance. After following  Pitstop's Artificial Intelligence suggestions it becomes 100% emissions compliant.

Team:  An impressive team, but who else do you need on your team to manage partnerships and outreach?  What about the skills required to develop a strategy and tools for online sales and marketing?

Currently, Pitstop is actively engaging in a round of financing. This is to focus on bringing on the key business development staff including the head of diagnostics at the largest Tier1 supplier globally. By bringing in veteran automotive executives the credibility of the Pitstop platform grows substantially and major enterprise organizations are willing to leverage it. This has been proven through our sales historically which has been driven by individuals like Rosa Saturno, Greggory Garret and Joseph LaCross. We believe the traditional sales approach coupled with strong digital marketing is how we will continue to scale and penetrate the automotive industry.