Mercedes 1998 Annual Report Download - page 10

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The same passion that drove the development of these cars inspires innovation in all areas of
our business – from research to design, through engineering and manufacturing, to the way we
serve our customers. As a result, 80 % of our revenues now come from products introduced in
the last five years.
And that’s just the start. Over the next three years we plan to invest more than € 46 billion
(US $54 billion) to develop new technologies and new products and to bring them to market.
With each product, we aim to push the envelope further. And each will be evidence of the
passion and creativity we bring to our products.
KNOWLEDGE THAT EMPOWERS US. A passion for creativity is one key to unlock innovations.
Knowledge is the other. We want DaimlerChrysler to be a company that uses everything we
know as a force for competitive advantage. Because we believe that our combined experience
and know-how on both sides of the Atlantic and all around the world can lift us above the crowd.
So we will invest heavily – time, energy, and money – to bring people together. This is
particularly important in the beginning when people meeting face-to-face is so crucial to
building understanding and to sharing creative ideas.
We are making our knowledge available on-line, “real-time” everywhere, for example through
our Corporate University, through dedicated training of our employees, through Business TV
channel and through the use of cutting-edge IT-networks. So our people can benefit from each
others’ experience – no matter where they are in the world.
We will encourage our people always to look for new ideas, wherever they may be found.
And in turn to share their own ideas openly with others in the company.
Already this is happening. For example: We are currently looking at bringing an innovative paint
technique developed in our German auto plants to America, where we could achieve significant
cost savings and environmental benefits. And we believe that by sharing the experiences and
lessons learned from many successful product introductions in recent years, we will be able to
get new models into the marketplace faster and start earning a return on them sooner.
SPEED GIVES US THE EDGE. At DaimlerChrysler, we will be relentless about speed.
Our achievements in the past on both sides of the Atlantic have shown that speed is of the
essence for competitive advantage. If we want to expand our customer base and increase
margins we have to keep our brand and product range constantly up to date and bring
innovative, high quality products to the market faster than our competitors. It is not enough to
be passionate and innovative, we must also be swift.
Take the Dodge Durango, which went from concept to production in just 23 months, creating a
whole new niche. Or our Airbus aircraft team in Hamburg, Germany, which, together with its
partners in the Airbus consortium, has in less than three years reduced the manufacturing time
of an aircraft from eighteen months to eight – doubling output. In both cases, the rewards were
extraordinary.
Moving fast, we will introduce no fewer than 34 new cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles
over the next three years, and many new products in services, aerospace, rail systems and
diesel engines.
6
CHAIRMEN’S LETTER