Map data: Tampere, Finland
Google Earth, Google Maxar Technologies
A recent new BYG Advantage’ client is Unikie, a disruptive software engineering and innovation company headquartered in Tampere, Finland. Unikie specializes in integrating intelligence into machines, vehicles, and industrial solutions and focus on providing automated marshalling solutions and software engineering services across various industries, including automotive, heavy equipment, transportation, IoT devices, and telecommunications.
Awarded the prestigious Finnish Internationalized Award, the company is rapidly expanding beyond the European market into opportunities in Asia. The Unikie Marshalling Solution (UMS) automates vehicle driving and services within gated areas, providing a centralized and efficient way to move and park large numbers of vehicles. Having worked with prominent OEMs in Europe, Unikie was interested to establish a relationship with auto OEMs in China, as China continues to rank number one in vehicle exports globally. With a well-established network of significant Chinese OEMs, and years of experience bringing disruptive Nordic tech into China, BYG was excited to work with Unikie to introduce their cutting-edge software to the Chinese market.
UMS is a distinct solution for vehicle manufacturing plants, offering unparalleled factory automation in today’s marketplace. This solution offers an efficient and cost-effective answer to the issue of vehicle transportation. Through installing the UMS software within the vehicles, all vehicles are controlled remotely, from the production line to the warehouse. This reduces the costs and collision rates that come with human driving. Additionally, UMS is specifically designed to be compatible with standard based vehicle controls, eliminating the need for further expensive instillations for each vehicle. With a centralized control system, the operations of each plant can be run entirely remote from one system. With these unique features, Unikie offers an answer to many of the challenges faced within big OEM manufacturing plants, globally.
Unikie’s initial plan was to target the international factories of Chinese OEMs. They wanted BYG Advantage’ help to spearhead this initiative. It quickly became apparent however, that there was a distinct opportunity for UMS locally in the PRC. With a shift in focus from the Chinese government towards automation, domestic players in China are aggressively pursuing automated solutions to move cars so as to increase efficiency and decrease cost. This proved a good fit for Unikie’s UMS, and BYG quickly built an aggressive pipeline of near-term opportunities, leveraging their connections within the Chinese automotive industry.
While introducing UMS, a foreign software to Chinese OEMs, the team discovered that this came with its own unique set of challenges. This being Unikie’s first time working within the Chinese market, Chinese OEMs had a necessary hesitancy towards working with vanguard companies in the domestic market. Large projects necessarily take time nurture and fit within budget cycles, and Chinese OEMs prefer to scale up to bigger projects slowly. To remedy this, BYG has been working tirelessly to drive domestic marketing and participate in industry events, establishing broader legitimacy for Unikie. Additionally, to break into the market, BYG plans to partner with local OEMs on near-term projects to establish trust and feature the effectiveness of UMS.
Chinese auto OEMs have tried to develop similar automated solutions like UMS, yet currently the Unikie solution is one of a kind. Leveraging this competitiveness BYG has met with and set up relationships with several prominent OEMs across China. The BYG team has worked hard in Q1 and Q2 to make new connections. Most recently in April the BYG team in China and Unikie had a successful visit, connecting with several top OEMs in China, with plans to work on local use cases or develop their own new combined solution. Given the competitive nature of the Chinese automotive industry, there is a race for the most effective new technology to be the number one Chinese exporter. BYG is confident a successful small-scale project or two at the outset, will inspire the collaboration with many critical automobile OEMs in China.
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