沃尔沃汽车正在经历其商业模式和产品的重大转型。为了应对这种情况，核心系统正在被替换和标准化，而数字组织内的工作方法正在收紧。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
汽车行业不断加速向电动发动机的技术转变，沃尔沃汽车的所有努力都表明了成为明显领跑者的明确目标。
这种翻天覆地的变化也为市场创造了一种不同的动态，与内燃机相比，其技术平台从根本上更简单。因此，许多新的汽车公司应运而生，竞争加剧，Tobias Altehed说，他领导沃尔沃汽车的数字组织，并担任公司扩展管理团队的成员。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
汽车软件和硬件之间的平衡也发生了巨大变化，因为软件越来越多地在内部开发并内置于汽车中。除了这些重大变化之外，沃尔沃还在重新调整其商业模式，在全球经销商网络的这一部分转向直销，以扩大他们的角色，他们不仅仅是销售沃尔沃汽车，而是成为分销商。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“以前，我们无法访问有关客户的所有数据，因为我们没有直接的客户联系，”Altehed 说。“但现在我们接管了它，这使我们能够在客户使用他们购买或订阅的汽车的整个过程中与他们建立关系。”
这些彻底的转型如何影响数字化组织，源于所有运营领域系统格局的重大变化。
Altehed还表示，沃尔沃的系统跨越了五十年，从1970年代的大型机环境开始，到最近推出的现代技术和工具。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
他说：“我们的遗产可能已经有六七十年的历史了，然后我们才有时间对一切进行现代化改造，但我们通过在与公司整体转型相关的优先领域进行现代化来平衡它。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
大部分系统遗产来自沃尔沃汽车从沃尔沃集团独立之前。当该公司在 1999 年被福特收购时，完成了几个大型的下一代 IT 项目，从那里的一些核心系统可以追溯到 2000 年代初。当吉利在2010年收购该公司时，它导致了地域扩张，但到目前为止，从未有过如此彻底和全面的努力来实现数字环境的现代化。
他说：“我们一直擅长逐步将特定功能添加到我们的环境中，但我们在消除它们方面做得更糟，所以现在我们有大量的技术需要处理。“当我们现在开始更换核心系统和进行现代化改造时，并不是因为我们现在拥有的系统不好、不稳定或昂贵，而主要是因为我们行业的发展太快了，我们无法随心所欲地改变我们所拥有的系统环境。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
一、艰难的系统变更
更换构成公司骨干的核心系统绝非易事。业务系统、PLM 系统、制造系统以及采购、物流和人力资源系统都需要得到解决。具体来说，改变 PLM 系统（管理产品生命周期的系统）是最困难的系统之一。
“我们现在拥有的系统是在 1970 年代创建的，它包含所有产品信息，但不是我们未来推出的产品和服务所需的所有功能，”他说。“所以现在我们正在为未来实施一个标准系统。
此外，它们还与许多点对点连接的许多其他系统集成。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“更难的是，我们今天拥有的 PLM 系统直接与大约 500 个其他系统集成，”他补充道。
现在系统正在被替换，这也是关于创建一个没有这些类型连接的新架构。但是，突然启动一个成功的IT系统是极其困难的。更多的是逐步实施。“例如，即使在斯洛伐克建造了一家新工厂，你也不会从头开始，只使用新系统，”他说。“你可能认为我们应该抓住机会全面开辟绿地，但我们不想冒险实施太多未经证实的技术。因此，将有一些遗产与首先在其他工厂测试过的新解决方案相结合。
二、云之旅完成
甚至在系统格局发生变化之前，沃尔沃汽车就已经踏上了云之旅——这是 Altehed 于 2019 年开始担任职务时正在进行的大型项目之一。“我们打算离开我们的数据中心，我们做到了，”他说。“在不到一年的时间里，我们完成了云迁移，发生系统更改的大部分环境都托管在云中。只有像大型机环境这样的东西不存在。我们已经体验到了提高稳定性和安全性的好处，但我们也看到它简化了我们面前的系统更换工作。
现在主要是标准系统，与以前不同，策略是尽可能少地调整它们。
“我们过去也使用过标准系统，但后来我们根据用户提出的许多要求对其进行了调整，”他补充道。“在某些情况下，标准系统已经调整到如此程度，以至于我们无法利用它们所能提供的功能。因此，即使你很早就把用户包括在内，也不是让他们写下他们的需求，而是更多地了解他们应该如何使用标准系统，而不是你过去是如何工作的。他们开始测试它应该如何工作，这对企业和数字组织中的人来说是一个相当大的转变。我们需要对数字产品的开发承担更大的责任，而不是充当我们业务的内部供应商。
三、精简敏捷
数字化组织最近经历的另一个变化是开始放弃纯粹的敏捷方法。
2018年，沃尔沃汽车的数字部门开始根据SAFe框架，以产品为导向的模式灵活地工作。但即使有很大的优势，也有缺点。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
透明度的提高以及公司如何处理积压工作加快了开发速度，但作为回报，敏捷团队缺乏明确的框架，导致他们中的一些人不知道确切的预期是什么，然后速度放慢了，而另一些人则朝着错误的方向前进。
Altehed 说：“我们不是通过减少治理和控制来取胜，而是通过看到建立具有明确原则和指导方针的框架很重要，这样团队就知道该怎么做。“我们看到我们的团队变得自主和快速，当他们知道他们自己可以决定什么，不能自己决定什么时。”CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
例如，结果是不再有 Scrum Master 和发布培训工程师等角色，而项目经理和项目经理又回来了。
“因此，现在我们又以传统方式工作，其中很多学习来自新技术公司的新技能，这些公司随着敏捷开发而发展壮大，但现在帮助我们开发了一个更好、更务实的模型，”他说。
Altehed 认为，当涉及到几个领域的敏捷工作方法时，钟摆即将摆回去。
他说：“我们很早就进入了敏捷领域，我认为我们很早就采用了更平衡的方法，我个人认为这很重要——我们从经验中学习并做出相应的调整。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
四、让开发人员满意
在过去的 10 年里，沃尔沃汽车已经朝着越来越像一家软件公司的方向发展，如今它不仅在数字领域工作，而且与业务中的产品更紧密地联系在一起。此外，它选择外包更多，这意味着雇用更多的开发人员，并且预计内部文化如何衡量标准，让员工有宾至如归的感觉。
顺利开始也是一直在努力的事情之一——确保从被聘为开发人员到获得第一个代码的时间尽可能短。然后是提供对工作工具的快速有序访问。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“我们的工具箱已经扩展，可以满足他们的沟通和编码方式，”他说。“例如，除了纯粹的开发工具外，Slack 在促进协作和沟通的社区中也很强大，他们还将 Teams 与业务的其他部分一起使用。”
它还涉及创建不同类型的职业道路，无论是成为经理还是专攻软件工程师。Altehed 认为，在一家正在经历重大转型的公司和行业中工作具有明显的优势。CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“业务正在发生变化，对数字解决方案的需求也在发生变化，”他说。“这意味着没有必要证明系统格局的转变是合理的——这是不言自明的。对于我们来说，这是关于内部的改变，敢于改变我们的敏捷框架，投资于能力发展，并创造一个让开发人员在像我们这样的传统公司中茁壮成长的环境。
英文翻译：
Digital pragmatism at Volvo means more control and less agile
Volvo Cars is undergoing a major transformation of both its business model and products. To cope, core systems are being replaced and standardized, while methods of working within the digital organization are tightened.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
The automotive industry keeps accelerating into the technological switch to electric engines, and all efforts at Volvo Cars point to a clear ambition to be a clear frontrunner.
Such a seismic shift also creates a different dynamic in the market, with a fundamentally simpler technical platform compared to internal combustion engines. As a result, many new car companies are created and competition increases, says Tobias Altehed, who leads Volvo Cars’ digital organization and sits on the company’s extended management team.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
The balance between software and hardware in cars is also changing dramatically since software is increasingly developed internally and built into the cars. And alongside these major changes, Volvo is also resetting its business model and switching to direct sales in that part of the network of global dealers broadens their roles where instead of just selling Volvo cars, they become distributors.
“Previously, we didn’t have access to all the data about our customers because we didn’t have the direct customer contact,” says Altehed. “But now we take it over, which enables us to have a relationship with our customers throughout their use of the car that they buy or subscribe to.”
How these sweeping transformations affect the digital organization stem from major changes to the system landscape in all areas of operation.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
Altehed also says that Volvo’s systems span five decades, starting with mainframe environments from the 1970s and into modern technologies and tools recently launched.
“Our legacy will probably be six or seven decades old before we have time to modernize everything, but we balance it by modernizing in prioritized areas linked to the overall transformation of the company,” he says.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
Much of the system heritage comes from the time before Volvo Cars became independent from the Volvo Group. When the company was bought out by Ford in 1999, a couple of big next-gen IT projects were done, and some core systems from there date to the beginning of the 2000s. And when Geely bought the company in 2010, it led to a geographical expansion, but until now there’s never been such a thorough and comprehensive effort to modernize the digital landscape, according to Altehed.
“We’ve been good at adding specific capabilities gradually to our landscape, but we’ve been worse at removing them, so now we have a huge range of technologies to deal with,” he says. “And when we now start the work of replacing core systems and modernizing, it’s not because what we have now is bad, unstable or expensive, but primarily because the development in our industry is so fast, and we can’t change as quickly as we want with the system landscape we have.”
Tough system change
Replacing core systems that comprise the backbone of the company is never easy. Business systems, PLM systems, manufacturing systems, and systems in purchasing, logistics, and HR all need to be addressed. Specifically, changing the PLM system, the system that manages the product life cycle, is one of the toughest.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“The system we have now was created in the 1970s and it contains all the product information, but not all the capabilities required for the products and services we’re working on launching in the future,” he says. “So now we’re implementing a standard system for the future.”
In addition, they integrate with multitudes of so many other systems that are connected point-to-point.
“What makes this tough is that the PLM system we have today integrates directly with approximately 500 other systems,” he adds.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
Now that systems are being replaced, it’s also about creating a new architecture without those types of connections. But it’s extremely difficult to suddenly launch a successfully IT system. It’s more about gradual implementation. “Even when a new factory is built in Slovakia, for instance, you don’t start over from scratch with only new systems,” he says. “You might think we should take the chance for full greenfield, but we don’t want to risk implementing too much unproven technology. So there will be some legacy in combination with new solutions that have been tested in other factories first.”
The cloud journey completed
Even before the system landscape is changed. Volvo Cars has made its cloud journey — one of the big, ongoing programs when Altehed started his role in 2019. “We were going to leave our data centers, and we did,” he says. “In less than a year, we completed our cloud migration, and a large part of the environment where system changes take place are hosted in the cloud. It’s only things like the mainframe environment that aren’t there. We’ve experienced the benefits of increased stability and better security, but we also see that it simplifies the work we have ahead of us with system replacements.”
Now it’s largely standard systems going in and, unlike before, the strategy is to adapt them as little as possible.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“We’ve used standard systems in the past as well, but then we’ve adapted them to many of the requirements users have come up with,” he adds. “In some cases, the standard systems have been adapted to such an extent that we haven’t been able to take advantage of what they can provide. So even if you include users early on. It’s not so they write down their requirements. But more to understand how they should work with standard systems and not how you worked historically. They get to test how it’s supposed to work and it’s quite a big shift for the business and those in the digital organization. We need to take greater responsibility for the development of our digital products and not act as an internal supplier to our business.”CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
Paring down agile
Another change the digital organization has gone through recently is to start backing away from a pure agile approach.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
Volvo Cars’ digital department started to work agilely according to the SAFe Framework in a product-oriented model in 2018. But even with great advantages came disadvantages.
The increased transparency and how the company worked with the backlog increased the pace of development, but in return. The lack of clear frameworks for the agile teams resulted in some of them not knowing exactly what is expected, and then the pace slowed while others pulled away in the wrong direction.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“We haven’t won by reducing governance and control, but by seeing that it’s important to set up frameworks, with clear principles and guidelines, so teams know what to do,” says Altehed. “We see our teams become autonomous and fast when they know what they can and can’t decide for themselves.”
The result, for example, is no more roles such as scrum master and release train engineer, while project managers and program managers have returned.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“So now we work a little more traditionally again, and a lot of that learning comes from new skills from new technology companies that have grown and scaled with agile development. But which have now helped us develop a better and more pragmatic model,” he says.
And Altehed believes the pendulum is about to swing back when it comes to agile working methods in several areas.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“We were early into agile and I think we’re early out with a more balanced approach. And I personally think that’s important — that we learn from our experience and adapt accordingly,” he says.
Make developers happy
In the last 10 years, Volvo Cars has moved toward becoming more of a software company, and today it works not only in the digital space but is also more closely linked to the products in the business. Plus, it’s chosen to outsource more. Which means more developers are employed, and new demands are expected about how the internal culture measures against standards of being a good workplace that makes employees feel at home.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
A smooth start is also one of the things that has been worked on – making sure that the time from being hired as a developer to getting a first code out is as short as possible. Then it’s about providing quick and orderly access to work tools.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“Our toolbox has expanded to meet the way they communicate and code,” he says. “In addition to the pure development tools, for example. Slack is strong in that community that fosters collaboration and communication. And they also use Teams with other parts of the business.”
It’s also about creating different types of career paths, whether becoming a manager or specializing as a software engineer. Altehed sees clear advantages to working in a company and industry undergoing major transformation.CXO UNION CXO联盟 cxounion.cn
“The business is changing, as is the need for digital solutions,” he says. “This means there’s no need to justify the transformation of the system landscape — it’s self-explanatory. And with us, it’s about changing internally by daring to change our agile framework, invest in competence development. And create an environment where developers thrive in a traditional company like ours.”
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