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Driving Post-pandemic Growth through Building Supply Chain Resilience
Author : Date : 21.11/2022 Print Font size:T|T

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions to the global tire supply chain. European Tire and Rubber Manufacturers' Association states in its report, that the Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) segments recorded a 23% decrease for consumer tires and 18% for Trucks by the fourth quarter of 2020, amongst the most severely impacted sector during Covid.  However this situation is set to change.  Based on a survey of Smithers, the global tire trade volume is expected to rebound from the disruptions caused by COVID-19 at an average annual growth rate of 3.6 percent up till 2026.


Linglong Tire has managed to weather the market downturn as a result of the implementation of its global sales strategy, underscoring its commitment to continuous digital innovation, upstream and downstream investment as well as continuously expanding the production capacity.  The partnership with Tencent Cloud in a bid to improve the service quality and efficiency of the factory saw its licensed dealers integrating online and offline sales systems and connecting to the Tencent Cloud platform, further improving the manufacturing efficiency and productivity.


Catapulting growth and strengthening aftermarket support with digitalization

The tire industry has been operating in a traditional way for the past few decades, delivering products to dealers and customers through a standardised process. The data used for financial forecasting are often inconsistent and incomplete. Manufacturing, marketing, customers, supply chain often operate in silos and lacking transparency, making the order taking easily susceptible to supply chain disruptions. These problems have prompted Linglong to go through an upgrading, by integrating Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and analytics, as well as AI and machine learning into the manufacturing facilities and process.


As part of its retail strategy to enable the digitization of distribution channel and enhanced customer loyalty, Linglong has launched its proprietary smart retail platform that ensures greater supply chain transparency, from inventory and sales to maintenance. This helps manufacturers to streamline inventory management throughout the entire manufacturing process by automating the task of tracking individual tires.


The manufacturing efficiency and after-market support are further improved through incorporating predictive algorithm and data analytics into the supply management system, making it easier to predict when the retreading services will be needed. In line with the digital implementation, Linglong has opened six customer-centric service stations in Yantai to serve both sedan, truck and bus customers, enabling real-time analysis of customer data. The Wechat Mini Program incorporated in the marketing system provides free services such as tire insurance, promotional offers, and roadside assistance to registered users.


With nearly 38,000 stores registered on its digital system to date, Linglong’s smart retail system has successfully achieved stronger dealer and customer-engagement, customer-acquisition efficiency, and improved digital experience for all stakeholders on the entire value chain.  


With the upgraded digital retail system, as well as the enhanced customer purchase and after-market experience, Linglong Tire’s resilient operating system and  supply chain are poised to stand the test and pave strong foundation for further growth ahead in its quest for global expansion.