Mercedes 2008 Annual Report Download - page 69

Management Report|Profitability |65
Information technology (IT)
Secure and efficient IT systems for 187,000 users. Secure,
powerful and efficient IT systems are a prerequisite for Daimler’s
financial success. Nearly all business processes are supported
by information technology – from product development to vehicle
production and processes in sales and accounting. The IT
organization has the task of maintaining the functionality of the
systems in use at all times, and of continuously optimizing them.
In addition, the system landscape is constantly further developed
in line with operational and strategic requirements. In 2008,
the IT organization was increasingly involved in the optimization of
processes, thus contributing to the overall improvement of effi-
ciency within the Group. We also further improved the cost basis
for software and hardware, allowing additional resources to be
released for renewal and innovation.
Daimler’s IT organization supports more than 187,000 users
worldwide. With reliable and secure IT systems, we maintain data
availability and protect information from unauthorized access.
Due to the increasing risks for data security and growing legal
requirements, we carry out regular training courses through-
out the Group on the correct approach to corporate information.
New IT systems support production processes at Mercedes-
Benz Cars. We created a uniform, standardized and integrated
system landscape for the production of the new OM651 four-cylin-
der diesel engine in Untertürkheim and Kölleda in 2008, thus
guaranteeing uniform data stocks throughout the production chain
and at both sites. This was the first time that we applied this
innovative solution for production planning and control at two
locations simultaneously.
For Mercedes-Benz Cars, we set up a database that allows the
needs of the production process to be taken into consideration
as early as the phase of vehicle development. This reduces costs
while boosting quality.
Innovative IT services for the truck business. In the year
2008, the foundation stone was laid for the “TruckSupply” project.
With this project, we intend to replace the IT systems of the
Daimler Truck assembly plants in Wörth (Germany) and Aksaray
(Turkey) with a uniform platform based on SAP software.
Our IT organization secured the connection to the Daimler network
for the new joint venture with our Indian partner, Hero. In addi-
tion, a functioning development environment was created to adapt
the products for the Indian market. This will make it possible to
integrate international engineering offices into the development
process.
IT systems for the sales organization. In order to provide
optimal support for the rapid growth of markets in Eastern Europe,
we designed a new IT strategy for that region together with the
relevant headquarters departments and local market players in
2008. The goal of this strategic approach is the migration of
existing IT systems to a flexible and expandable standard platform.
With the “Electronic Mercedes-Benz Website Next Generation,”
the IT organization provides content on the Internet for more than
1,000 dealerships in approximately 70 countries. One aspect
of this service is the “Car Configurator” with computer-generated
images.