Mercedes 1999 Annual Report Download - page 25

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 25 of the 1999 Mercedes annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 126

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126

FRONTRUNNER
19
What he most admires in his Stuttgart colleagues is the
strength of their technology, innovation, and product quality
and finish. “For DaimlerChrysler it is a matter of how quickly
Stuttgart can transfer its technologies to Auburn Hills, and
how quickly Auburn Hills can transfer its processes to
Stuttgart.” The rate of exchange is moving like a high-speed
train. The willingness to share, says Schöpf, has been fantas-
tic.
KEEP ON TRUCKING. Between Freightliner in North America,
and Mercedes-Benz in Europe, the Commercial Vehicles
division headed by Dieter Zetsche is No. 1 in the world.
And it’s here that one sees with particular clarity how
DaimlerChrysler knits together the diverse strengths and
competencies of its different parts, builds them into a
company-wide design, technological and commercial know-
how, then leverages it all out across the divisions to build
brand leadership and market share.
Describing the value chain strategy, corporate strategist
Alexander Koesling says much of the thinking in this area is
being driven by the commercial vehicle sector. That point is
well illustrated by DaimlerChrysler truck subsidiary Freight-
liner’s astonishing level of backup to North America’s long-
distance truckers. This is a company founded by a frustrated
customer who so badly wanted a better truck, he decided to
make them himself. How’s that for customer orientation!
“It’s customer driven like no other company I ever met,”
says Zetsche.
A COMPANY COMMUNICATING. DCTV, the
company’s in-house, business-wide television service
has studios co-located in Troy, Michigan, USA and
Stuttgart, Germany. Pioneered in Auburn Hills and
now broadcasting in seven languages, DCTV is
available to 420,000 employees, spread through
plants, research facilities and offices around the
world. The network produces news and company
information, continuously repeated throughout the
day via more than 5,000 television sets. DCTV has
become an important tool in connecting the global
family of DaimlerChrysler, generating corporate
esprit d’ corps, and showcasing the company’s
achievements and technologies.