Roland Berger: Transforming the mobility space in Dubai

THE CHALLENGE

VentureDive helps Roland Berger create an effective and integrated transport system for Dubai

As service delivery models continue to change and evolve drastically, businesses, institutions, and governments are struggling to thrive in the competitive market landscape. Any entity choosing to remain relevant is actively seeking to undergo digital transformation and use cutting-edge technology to their advantage. Roland Berger, a leading management consulting firm, works with public and private sector organizations to help them stay relevant with tailor-made strategies and transformation plans. Roland Berger was hired by the Dubai Roads and Transportation Authority (RTA),  a multi-million dollar government body, to address the growing disparity between public transportation and e-hail service providers. 

For Roland Berger, the challenge was to support their client in executing what was a first-of-its-kind attempt at regulating the on-demand ride-hailing services in Dubai. The taxi service was over-regulated and absorbed into the system, whereas, on-demand ride-hailing services, like Careem and Uber, were disruptors that blind-sided the government by tapping into the same market. The latter was not only a convenient service for travelers, but also was not subject to an equivalent regulatory/taxation framework resulting in an uneven playing field, creating an undue advantage for the newcomers. Roland Berger’s aim was to help RTA create a level playing field with e-hail platforms.

To help solve this challenge for RTA, Roland Berger sought a technology solutions partner that not only had proven expertise in the mobility space, but could also help formulate a solution that is assured, compliant, and is delivered on time. They reached out to VentureDive Consulting to join the technology stream and help navigate the complexity of the domain and address challenges faced by RTA. 

There were two aspects of the problem that RTA needed our help with :

1. Assessing Vendor Solutions:
   The first aspect of the problem was to choose the best vendor solution for RTA through a rigorous assessment and selection process. As Roland Berger’s technology consulting partners, we were deeply involved in it.   
2. Integration with Existing RTA Products
   The second aspect was to thoroughly evaluate the effects of the new solution on the existing ecosystem of products & services deployed at RTA. The solution was to augment the existing system architecture of RTA, without causing any downtime or disruption of their services.

THE SOLUTION

VentureDive as a System Integrator for Roland Berger

VentureDive played the role of a System Integrator (SI) and formulated an assurance framework that helped Roland Berger mitigate the technology risks that RTA anticipated from their technology vendors. 

The solution for RTA’s business problem was one that required deep domain knowledge and extensive industry experience. Creating a solution to their particular problem required skills that come with years in the field, and profound insight into the intricacies of how these systems engage with one another. 

Here’s how we solved both aspects of RTA’s business problem: 

1. Assurance framework for vendor assessment

We designed an assurance framework that enabled Roland Berger to assess and choose the best out of many technology vendors that sent in solution proposals for RTA.

Having worked with unicorns in the mobility space, for example, Careem, VentureDive was quite confident in its breadth of knowledge. It proved to be invaluable when helping Roland Berger formulate a solution for regulating the on-demand taxi services.

We were the main technology partners with Roland Berger’s management consulting team, and our efforts were aimed at a completely tech-assured and compliant solution for RTA’s problem.  What helped us stay on track was our close adherence to the project execution and delivery timeline. We proposed to implement tailored Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM), an architectural method developed by NASA to evaluate and expose architectural risks that could follow if we regulated the on-demand ride hailing services.

Through ATAM, VentureDive Consulting empowered Roland Berger to: 

• Obtain a clear & concise picture of RTA’s Technical Architecture
• Articulate RTA’s business goals
• Gauge RTA’s quality requirement in different scenarios
• Map architectural decisions to quality requirements
• Identify sensitivity and trade off points

2. Seamless integration with the RTA system

The insights we gained from the ATAM method proved to be invaluable when identifying how we could enable the disruptive on-demand taxi services to better integrate with the far more conventional systems of RTA. This approach worked really well for RTA because it meant acceptance for the new and evolved technology, catering to a wider range of customers, and contributing to the on-demand or shared economy that’s on the rise. 

Uplifting the taxi and regulating e-hail providers

Roland Berger and VentureDive worked together to enable RTA to regulate the on-demand taxi services. We helped form the following two solutions for this: 

1. Regulation of on-demand ride-hailing services
   A Regulatory Management System (RMS), where the government applied all taxi regulations on private-hire vehicles via technology. These technological augmentations included but were not limited to location tracking, seat/passenger sensors, etc. 
2. Improving the accessibility of taxi services
   We understood that customer experience was central to the choice users made when opting for a ride-hailing service. If a certain service is easily accessible to the consumers, e.g. through an app on their mobile devices, then they would not prefer to wait at taxi stops or hail a cab manually. Keeping this in mind, we integrated a mobility platform with the RTA ecosystem, delivering convenience to consumers. 

Weeks of hard work, countless meetings, and numerous conversations later, we managed to completely execute and deliver the project at the proposed time, and within budget. The government was able to meet its revenue targets and we successfully de-risked and regulated the on-demand ride-hailing services in Dubai. 

Our unmatched experience and skills stem from our deep engagement with major management consulting firms such as EY and McKinsey, who were on a hunt for technology consulting partners for their projects. In the past, we’ve worked with such organizations to offer technology advisory on large-impact and multi-million dollar solutions that positively impacted the lives of people worldwide.

THE RESULTS

Improving traveler experience, boosting revenue, & future-proofing the mobility industry with digital transformation 

The technology landscape is changing rapidly. Companies need to ensure they regularly update their systems and technology to match pace with the next. RTA’s digital transformation was a big move towards future-proofing the mobility industry within the UAE, especially the public modes of transport. It has not only improved customer experience, but also played a part in boosting Dubai government’s revenue from the transport sector.  Roland Berger and VentureDive Consulting, together, enabled RTA to compete with the on-demand e-hail services popping up quickly in the region.