Jaguar Land Rover taps Tata Communications to drive production

As it fights to gain share in the highly competitive automotive market, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is partnering with Tata Communications to future-proof its digital transformation and pave the way for new standards such as Industry 4.0 and advanced analytics.

To address the new demands of its industry, JLR’s Reimagine strategy is designed to create a new benchmark in environmental, societal and community impact for a luxury business. JLR is committed to transforming its business to become carbon net zero across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039.

JLR and Tata Communications have been in a long-standing partnership where the latter’s MOVE platform sees use in connected cars, powering the infotainment and telematics connectivity platforms in over 600,000 JLR vehicles across more than 100 markets.

The latest partnership is designed to allow JLR to connect its 128 sites worldwide to build a more efficient and secure supply chain and upgrade manufacturing processes faster to meet production demands. It is intended to power the production of JLR’s next-generation vehicles, a key part of Reimagine, and provide the connectivity foundation for the next phase of digital transformation for the organisation.

Tata Communications will deploy its cloud-first, software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) technology, connecting JLR’s 128 sites worldwide. The new advanced global connected capability – between JLR’s global headquarters, plants, warehouses, sales centres, datacentres and cloud services – is also seen as being able to significantly boost supply chain efficiency and security.

Tata Communications has already commenced implementation of the network transformation programme and will complete the deployment by 2025. The transformation will look to enable JLR to bring in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered and real-time data capturing, monitoring and analysis to improve production line performance. Through predictive risk management controls, Tata assures that the carmaker will be able to identify potential anomalies more effectively – driving greater efficiencies while also helping assure vehicle build quality.

Moreover, the partnership will look to significantly shorten the time to upgrade manufacturing processes, strengthen operational resilience and increase agility to meet production demands. JLR estimates significant cost savings along with business benefits through scale and security.

“This is an exciting phase in the digital transformation of our business, leveraging the technologies and capabilities of Tata Communications that will leapfrog our networks into the future, said JLR’s group chief digital and information officer, Tony Battle.

“Moving to SD-WAN means we can use AI-powered automation to predict vulnerabilities, proactively intervene, prevent issues and perform more effectively on a global scale across our network. The cutting-edge connectivity platform will help us build the world-class ecosystem we need to deliver modern luxury vehicles and remarkable driving experiences.”

Tata Communications’ executive vice-president and chief sales and marketing officer, said: “JLR is a global hallmark for automotive luxury and innovation. As the industry rapidly evolves, it’s an exciting time to further strengthen our relationship and support its digital transformation strategy.

“Tata Communications is deploying a ‘digital fabric’, comprising our agile infrastructure, platforms and managed services, that will help integrate JLR’s systems, workforce, suppliers, stakeholders and customers across the globe, delivering a seamless flow of data to enrich key aspects of the business ecosystem.”