Current Motor Opts for CIO in a Box

Current Motor, a Michigan startup that makes electric scooters, is part of the revival of manufacturing in the U.S. Companies that are either starting new manufacturing operations in America or bringing operations back from overseas rely on innovation to keep the lid on costs and reduce waste. "Advanced lean manufacturing has potential however it needs to live around lean research," says Lauren Flanagan, executive chairman of Current Motor.

Dell's service helped Current Motor leverage its $1.5 million in capital and invest as much as possible in sales, marketing, innovation and development. The financing package from Dell Financial Services totaled about $250,000 over three years. That includes hardware, cloud-based services, business analytics and integration capabilities with the company's e-commerce system.

At Current Motor, Dell installed a mix of its own hardware, Microsoft software and cloud services from Salesforce.com. The hardware included servers, storage, switches, desktops, laptops and tablets. Dell as well implemented call center software and a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone system.

That let Current Motor focus on its data model. It collects customer information to provide personalized service. Clients design their own scooters online and each one is manufactured to order by Dakkota Integrated Systems, based in Holt, Michigan. The company's Super Scooter is in essence Wi-Fi on wheels, says Flanagan. Each scooter comes equipped with a digital dash and integrated smartphone research - a Dell-powered Android device — that collects and transmits data back to Current Motor.

The scooter-maker can at the time analyze data to detect rider preferences and bike performance, including information about things like the temperature of the electric battery. The on-board GPS navigation as well helps riders connect to people and places using social networks just as Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp and Twitter.