EPC (European Project Consultancy) e-Content transformation consultancy @Borusan

About

Borusan Holding A.Ş. is a prominent Turkish industrial group headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. The company engages in diverse sectors, including steel manufacturing, car distribution, energy generation, and logistics. Within the Borusan Otomotiv Group, operating in the premium car segment, there are six subsidiaries: Borusan Otomotiv İthalat, Borusan Otomotiv Pazarlama, Borusan Oto, Borusan Oto Kıbrıs, Borusan Otomotiv Premium, and BOM Motor Sports. Notably, Borusan Otomotiv Group launched a distinctive online initiative, Otomax, emphasizing online sales, B2B online auctions, and spare parts sales. In 2003, executives from Otomax contacted European Projects Consultants, a firm co-founded by Ali Balaban and Dr. Asli Deniz Helvecioglu, to develop an e-content project funded by the European Union.

eContent — a program for e-Europe, Running over a period of four years (2000–04), aimed at facilitating access for all to the Internet by stimulating the development, use, and distribution of European digital content on the global networks and promoting linguistic diversity in the information society. eContent contributed to the eEurope 2005 action plan, a major EU initiative building on the successes of eEurope 2002. Following the Barcelona European Council, eEurope 2005 concentrated on translating connectivity needs into economic activities by stimulating secure services, applications, and content based on a widely available broadband infrastructure. A market-oriented program like eContent, which contributed to improved economic and social conditions for a dynamic, multilingual eBusiness environment, thus played an essential role in the overall context of the eEurope 2005 objectives.

As seasoned consultants with expertise in European Union Funds, our initial step was to assess the alignment of Borusan's project with the criteria of the e-Content program objectives. Consequently, we conducted several workshops with Otomax executives, leading to the identification of the following phases:

- Creating a platform where public information is transferred using a common database for the automotive sector across the EU.
- Providing end-users with accurate, timely, optimal, and updated information and preparing tools to enable users to share their experiences.
- Creating shareable templates among dealerships to enhance synergy among dealerships located in EU countries.
- Establishing various information channels to increase market awareness among dealers, end-users, and distributors.
- Transmitting public information to the target audience, obtaining feedback from the target audience, and reflecting requests to public institutions to enhance industry dynamism.
- Utilizing public information to create high-value products and services, contributing to the competitiveness of the EU.
- Increasing trade and stock optimization across the EU and candidate countries.
- Organizing the database and optimizing content management.

Following identifying goals, we crafted the project's content, assembled the executive team, selected the most suitable partners, defined the business model, and developed knowledge packs.

The project achieved remarkable success, enabling Borusan Group to align with EU standards, establish robust partnerships, and contribute to the EU's e-content ecosystem. Consequently, online monthly sales at Otomax, involving the B2B online auction system, witnessed a 100% increase in 2007. This growth was facilitated by swift actions in response to customer feedback and optimizing content efficiency.