MG reverses on web operations

MG Rover is bringing its internet operations back in-house after cutting costs on its extranet by 75 per cent.

The car manufacturer's web systems were outsourced to specialist design suppliers when the company was owned by BMW, prior to its sale in March 2000.

But MG Rover is to take over responsibility for its intranet, extranet and internet sites, so they can be run and managed using the same processes and systems, based on software from content management specialist Stellent.

One of the first areas to receive attention was a dealership extranet, which communicates with 400 MG Rover showrooms across the UK.

Jonathan Downes, MG Rover's head of ebusiness strategy, says the extranet delivered a return on investment within six months, and is costing 75 per cent less than the previous outsourced version.

'The old model was time consuming and there were opportunities for misinformation. It was extremely expensive and stifling new development,' he said.

As well as saving cost, the new extranet has significantly increased the speed of delivering information to the dealers. Downes says this makes an important contribution to the number of cars the showrooms can sell.

'We are a relatively small player in the automotive world, and we are trying to keep the market interested in new products. It's important that we can communicate new information to dealers quickly about things like release dates,' he said.

The success of the extranet in the UK has prompted the company to extend it to 600 European dealerships, as well as to other areas of the business.

'We have already produced the first part of an extranet for employees. We are also doing one for our suppliers so they can use engineering standards,' said Downes.

MG Rover eventually wants to have all its internet-based systems operating in-house using the Stellent technology.

The services will also apply to other MG companies including Phoenix Venture Holdings, Powertrain, MG Sport and Racing and Xpart.