Yazaki Europe Middle East Africa (Y- EMEA) and Yazaki North and Central America (YNCA) are key parts of the global Yazaki Group. Yazaki brings next generation automotive products to their customers by supplying electrical distribution systems, components, electronics and instrumentations and high voltage products. The two regional corporations recently embarked on a digital maturity journey with Digitopia. Determined to keep pace with the rapid technological shifts in the automotive sector, Yazaki decided to take a critical look at their own digital readiness in the two regions. The outcome of the analysis has already proven to be an important catalyst, shedding light on areas of opportunity. Mr. Tekin Gulsen, VP of IT Y-EMEA, has expressed great satisfaction with the process and early business outcomes.
The Challenge
As a major player in the global automotive supply chain, Yazaki integrates complex engineering, manufacturing, and logistics operations. Their success depends on seamless coordination across multiple geographies and high-value collaborations with automotive OEMs. With digital innovation taking center stage in the automotive industry—spanning connected vehicles, electrification, and Industry 4.0—Yazaki recognized the urgency to elevate their digital strategy.
Before engaging Digitopia, Yazaki’s leadership was aware of the need to measure digital maturity, and they were looking for a robust framework to assess the nuances of different regional priorities. By splitting the exercise into Y-EMEA and YNCA, Yazaki aimed to capture region-specific data, tailor recommendations, and accelerate decision-making to remain a frontrunner in this highly competitive space.
The Solution:
Mapping Digital Maturity with Digitopia
Digitopia’s Digital Maturity Index (DMI) provided a good foundation for Yazaki’s further digital development. The engagement unfolded across two parallel tracks for Y-EMEA and YNCA, ensuring localized insights while maintaining consistency at the group level.
Key elements of the Digitopia approach included:
- Comprehensive Assessment: By applying the DMI, Digitopia evaluated Yazaki’s technological capabilities, processes, and cultural readiness in the digital area. This in-depth analysis gave Yazaki leadership a precise snapshot of each region’s strengths and improvement areas.
- Tailored Recommendations: The DMI results formed the basis for a clear set of strategic actions. Recognizing that no two regions face identical challenges, Digitopia delivered a customized roadmap for both EMEA and NCA, addressing region-specific business goals.
- Creating Visibility & Alignment: This dual-region measurement created a clear picture of the current situation for each regional team. By comparing maturity scores and pinpointing gaps, Yazaki’s leaders could unify cross-functional stakeholders around a shared vision.
Value & Benefits
Clarity and Alignment Across Regions: Conducting two parallel measurements helped Yazaki achieve clarity on how each region stacks up against digital best practices.
Roadmap for Sustainable Transformation: Even at this early stage, Yazaki’s leadership feels more confident about moving forward on their digital journey.
Conclusion
Yazaki’s first Digital Maturity Index assessment with Digitopia is an important step in their pursuit of excellence. By conducting separate analyses for Y-EMEA and YNCA, Yazaki gained clear insights, ignited essential alignment, and built a shared sense of the current status across regions.
While the journey is still young, the energy sparked by Digitopia’s structured approach is already producing dividends in clarity, agility, and collaboration. Yazaki now has the directional insights it needs to accelerate on the road toward deeper digital transformation—confident that the DMI framework, supported by dedicated stakeholders, will guide them along the way.
Digitopia’s Digital Maturity Index gave us the clarity about the positive progress we have made recently in creating business value with digitalization. We also had a chance to benchmark ourselves with the industry peers. Digitopia’s insightful recommendations helped us fine tune and confirm our strategy. This partnership has been a key milestone in our journey to innovation and digitalization.
Tekin Gülşen, VP of IT Y-EMEA and Global Applications
