Case Studies
Content Development
Service: Content Development & Service Validation
Client: Electric Vehicle Start-Up
How do you provide content development for a new electric vehicle when the physical product doesn’t actually exist yet? And how do you meet the relevant documentation requirements in time for product launch? The answer lies in flexibility and matching your client’s grit, combined with decades of product info expertise.
Overview
An American EV automotive start-up partnered with Tweddle Group to manage the complex legalities around vehicle sales and technical information development.
We helped them prioritize their information deliverables, developed their essential content, and built a roadmap for the evolution of their Owner Information kit. Along the way, we adopted unique strategies for quality assurance in the absence of a physical product.
The Problem
Our client entered the EV marketplace with a groundbreaking modular electric platform designed to make customizable electric vehicles available for fleets and average consumers.
But any innovative new product launch comes with challenges. The manufacturer faces regulatory certification, and those certifications depend on satisfying an overwhelming checklist of information requirements.
Compounding these challenges, many EV start-ups fail to recognize the necessity of quality after-sale support.
To our client’s credit, their team of auto industry veterans came to the table with a keen understanding of legal requirements and a commitment to building a top-notch product experience for their end-users. They understood both goals depended on strong product information.
With the scheduled launch fast approaching, the client sought an expert partner to help them navigate the maze of product information development and management, and selected Tweddle Group for its reputation as a world leader in technical information.
The task was clear: help our client fulfill their legal obligations with strong, high-quality technical information and, crucially, help them meet the proper compliance standards by the deadline.
The Challenge
EV start-ups are scrappy operations. Because their products are brand new, they have no technical information reserves on which to build. Established manufacturers typically come with at least some content for rework and repurposing. For a start-up, all product documentation must be built from the ground up.
Many technicians already struggle with the newness of battery electric technology. Though admittedly simpler than ICE technology, a lack of familiarity with EV means technicians often can’t rely on experience in performing repairs. Because of this, and because our client’s approach brought additional innovations to the EV space, their documentation demanded a high level of quality.
Content development would involve direct validation, but their product technology was being developed and built on-the-fly. There were no DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Code) lists, no module topologies, and a limited after-sales department available for collaboration. To meet project timelines, all validations would have to occur before any physical product could be provided for analysis.
The Process
Tweddle Group teams adopted a flexible approach and adjusted workflows to match these unique project requirements. An EV start-up might lack the budgets and information reserves of a legacy OEM, but they likewise don’t face the same scope of requirement.
We stepped away from the rigid processes ingrained by our work with more established global manufacturers and matched our client’s pugnacious level of speed and pragmatism.
The Solution
We stepped away from the rigid processes ingrained by our work with more established global manufacturers and matched our client’s pugnacious level of speed and pragmatism.
Cost-reduction measures included selective offshoring and a reliance on the digital augmentation of printed components when appropriate.
The Result
Our client received all the required certifications in time for launch, and released their product as scheduled—fully compliant, with the Owner Information needed to provide end-users a seamless product experience. Tweddle Group was proud to serve as a trusted partner in the on-time release of a product unlike any other in the EV industry.
Launch arrived with an essential Owner Information MVP. We developed an ongoing plan to evolve the O.I. kit over time, as the product’s market relationship developed. We complemented the O.I. component with parts support and a supplementary e-commerce site.
Over the course of the project, Tweddle Group managed two vehicle kits with approximately 1,400 parts each. And, through it all, we helped our client manage costs while maximizing every aspect of the initial technical information offering.
