Honda case study
THE COMPANY
Honda Europe is the EMEA arm of the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer, and one of the world's leading automakers. Since its establishment in 1948, Honda has remained on the leading edge by creating new value and providing products of the highest quality at a reasonable price, for worldwide customer satisfaction. In addition, the company has conducted its activities with a commitment to protecting the environment and enhancing safety in a mobile society.
Aiming for further business expansion in the EMEA region, Honda is promoting product development that meets regional needs by establishing a broad-based local network of company facilities and R&D offices. Honda aims to consolidate growth across its different product lines, thereby demonstrating a successful and growing brand which continues to gain strength in the intensely competitive European market.
THE CUSTOMER'S CHALLENGE
Honda Europe engaged The Network Collective to evaluate its European Wide Area Network (WAN), incorporating around 60 locations throughout the EMEA region. Honda Europe was keen to identify and evaluate opportunities to reduce the cost and improve the service and technical solution of its existing WAN. A key step in this process was to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the potential alternative suppliers and solutions that Honda Europe could consider.
THE NETWORK COLLECTIVE APPROACH
The Network Collective began by producing a Virtual RFP report which provided the following vital information to Honda Europe:
- Benchmarking Honda's current network against the leading market pricing
- Evaluating a selection of alternative service providers, including a detailed assessment of their service capabilities
- Considering the commercial, technical and service benefits Honda Europe could realise through migration
- Recommending a procurement strategy to realise all of Honda Europe's goals based on the findings of the Virtual RFP review and analysis
Following the Virtual RFP process it was clear to Honda that there were a number of areas where benefits could be realised in its WAN services, including significant bandwidth increases whilst simultaneously reducing the ongoing cost of their network.
Consequently, The Network Collective ran a managed procurement process through which six global WAN service providers were invited to tender. This process included both a Request for Proposal (RFP) and Best and Final Offer (BAFO) round, ensuring that The Network Collective achieved the best possible commercial, technical and operational solution for Honda Europe. The Network Collective was also integral to the contract negotiation phase of the tender, and was able to ensure that all the service and cost improvements identified in the process were fully realised.
By the end of its engagement, The Network Collective had enabled Honda Europe to reduce OPEX costs on their WAN by over 25%, whilst at the same time increasing bandwidth by 60%. This included a 23% price reduction between the RFP round and the BAFO round.
THE CUSTOMER'S VIEW
"Our engagement with The Network Collective was extremely successful. We found their consulting team to have a very high level of knowledge and insight into the market, and they delivered the project in a very professional manner. We also found that engaging The Network Collective represented excellent value for money. I would have no hesitation in recommending their services to other organisations."
Benny Goossens, IS Planning Manager, Honda Europe
