Richard Zhang

As a Business Analyst on the Indigo project, I was instrumental in transitioning the vehicle sales model from the UD legacy system to the SalesForce (CPQ) solution, ensuring a seamless integration and alignment with business objectives:

• Led a comprehensive feasibility study to assess the capability of the SalesForce CPQ model in supporting the entire sales process, from sales lead generation and prospect creation to vehicle configuration, quotation generation, pricing negotiation, approval workflows, and integration with the order management system. Ensured that the proposed model could streamline operations and align with business requirements for end-to-end sales management.
• Facilitated workshops with business owners to demonstrate how the entire vehicle sales process could be supported by the Salesforce and CPQ model. Prepared a sandbox environment with sample data to showcase key functionalities, providing a real-world demonstration that secured stakeholder buy-in and validated the solution’s ability to support existing sales processes.
• Gathered and documented requirements into Change Requests (CRs), ensuring thorough review and approval by stakeholders for prioritization in each sprint. Facilitated smooth handover to the development team for implementation.
• Supported daily development team meetings by addressing questions and resolving issues, ensuring smooth progress. Additionally, prepared and conducted demos in the QA environment for key users to validate functionality and gather feedback.

Led the business analysis and data visualization aspects of a major digitalization initiative aimed at optimizing aftermarket processes and enhancing operational efficiency across multiple departments.

Key Responsibilities and Achievements:

• Facilitated cross-functional workshops with diverse business teams, including Vehicle Sales, Aftermarket Sales, Dealer Manager, Help Desk team to gather comprehensive data requirements.
• Utilized data visualization tools (Power BI and Qlik Sense) to create interactive dashboards and reports, enabling business teams to gain actionable insights, improve daily workflows, and identify new business opportunities.
• Collaborated with aftermarket team to develop a customer loyalty program based on dimensions such as fleet penetration rate, annual vehicle inspections, aftermarket sales volume, gross profit (GP), and service agreements. This program aimed to establish appropriate discount structures for genuine parts, labor, outlet and lubricant/oil, applicable to all customers
• Analyze dealer performance and develop a comprehensive Dealership Performance Dashboard based on DMS data. This dashboard presented major KPIs, including total sales, gross profit (GP), parts sales/GP, labor sales/GP, mechanic productive hours, and lost hours/sold hours. Additionally, it displayed workshop KPIs such as stock value, goodwill, mechanic utilization rate, efficiency rate, and aftermarket absorption rate. The dashboard also highlighted trends, including cumulative operating income percentage, total sales, GP, and operating expenses. The insights provided an overview of all 167 dealers in the Japanese market, empowering the dealership management team and HQ with data-driven decision-making capabilities
• Supported the aftermarket team in analyzing customer dwell time for UD-owned dealers and competitor workshops by examining repair orders. This analysis included average sold hours and dwell time across various service types, such as general service, accident repairs, and periodic inspections. The insights gained helped identify areas for improvement in service efficiency and customer satisfaction.
• Consistently met project milestones and deliverables, contributing to the overall success of the UD Trucks Digitalization initiative.

• Collaborated with the business program team to establish the strategic direction and service development roadmap for the UD Uptime Centre.
• Facilitated regular workshops with various stakeholders and application team to gather requirements and the raw data.
• Collaborated with experts to analyze telematics data, including fuel efficiency, sweet spot hours, acceleration, and idle hours, in order to develop a model for evaluating driver behaviour.
• Analyzed vehicle breakdown history, fault code history, repair records, and driver behaviour to identify correlations between typical fault codes and associated components. Specifically, investigated how yellow fault codes can trigger red fault codes within 8 hours, with the latter being caused by specific malfunctioning parts.
• Organized regular meetings with the truck technology team, aftermarket service managers, call centre representatives, and dealer field engineers to review actionable fault codes. Collaboratively assessed each code to ensure they could be effectively utilized in real operations.
• Developed the Uptime Centre application for all 167 UD Trucks dealers in Japan, enabling actionable yellow fault codes to generate aftermarket sales leads for the vehicle’s home dealer. This allows service advisors to proactively follow up with customers based on fault messages, ensuring timely service and preventing potential breakdowns.

Led the end-to-end implementation of a comprehensive Dealer Management System (DMS) tailored for the Asian market, spanning from pre-study to operational support and Business Intelligence (BI) integration.

Key Responsibilities and Achievements:

1. Project Initiation and Scope Definition

• Spearheaded the pre-study phase in collaboration with the Program Manager and steering committee.
• Defined project scope, objectives, and requirements, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Conducted in-depth market research across Thailand, China, and Japan to tailor the DMS to specific market needs and regulations.

2. Requirements Gathering and Analysis

• Led extensive requirements gathering sessions with Volvo Group's global team to identify and document business needs and processes.
• Focused on key areas including VOLVO genuine aftermarket processes, service sales, parts inventory management, workshop management, and after-sales service requirements.
• Translated complex business requirements into actionable development tasks, bridging the gap between stakeholders and the development team.

3. Stakeholder Management and Communication

• Served as the primary liaison between business stakeholders and the development team.
• Facilitated regular communication with the steering committee to ensure DMS development aligned with evolving business needs.

4. System Implementation and Training

• Supported the rollout of the DMS across multiple Asian regions, including Thailand, China, and Japan.
• Oversaw the implementation process, including pilot programs.
• Coordinated and conducted comprehensive training sessions for end users:
• Developed training materials tailored to different user roles.
• Conducted hands-on workshops to ensure effective system adoption.
• Provided post-implementation support to facilitate a smooth transition.

5. Business Intelligence Integration

• Leveraged DMS and vehicle telematics data to support the implementation of BI solutions (Uptime Center).
• Developed real-time insights and reporting capabilities for decision-makers:
• Defined key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to dealership operations and vehicle performance.
• Designed intuitive dashboards for data visualization and analysis.
• Implemented predictive maintenance features to forecast potential part failures before occurrence.

6. Lead Generation and Operational Improvements

• Utilized BI insights to create lead generation strategies for dealer operations.
• Continuously analyzed system data to identify areas for process improvement and efficiency gains.

Led the management and execution of a critical CRM project for Novartis AG, overseeing all aspects of the project lifecycle from initiation to closure. Focused on driving efficiency, ensuring stakeholder satisfaction, and delivering measurable business value.

Key Responsibilities and Achievements:

1. Project Planning and Execution

• Developed comprehensive project plans, including budgeting and resource allocation.
• Implemented robust tracking mechanisms to monitor project progress and ensure timely delivery.
• Established and maintained effective change control processes to manage scope and minimize disruptions.

2. Change Request Management

• Conducted thorough feasibility studies for new change requests, assessing technical viability and business impact.
• Collaborated with stakeholders to prioritize and implement approved changes, ensuring alignment with project goals.

3. Risk Management

• Identified potential risks throughout the project lifecycle and developed mitigation strategies.
• Regularly updated risk assessments and presented status reports to senior management.

4. Stakeholder Communication

• Established and maintained clear communication channels with the project team, clients, and vendors.
• Facilitated regular meetings and status updates to ensure all parties were informed of project progress and any issues.

5. Performance Analysis and Reporting

• Analyzed project data to assess business performance and identify areas for improvement.
• Prepared and presented comprehensive reports to stakeholders, highlighting key metrics and actionable insights.
• On-site Business Performance Representation
• Served as the primary point of contact for on-site business performance queries and issues.
• Translated complex project data into clear, actionable insights for business stakeholders.

Led the IT aspects of a strategic initiative aimed at enhancing customer satisfaction and increasing dealer profitability through continuous performance improvement across the vehicle retail and aftermarket network.

Key Responsibilities and Achievements: