Mercedes 2010 Annual Report Download - page 92

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Information technology
IT as key factor for efficiency and innovation. In view of
technological advances and the increasing penetration of
information technology (IT) in business processes, the importance
of a secure, high-performance IT system is increasing all the
time. Nearly all business processes – from product development
to vehicle production to sales and finance processes – are
becoming ever more digitalized. Efficient and innovative IT systems
therefore make a significant contribution to our business success.
Approximately 4,800 employees at more than 500 locations pro-
vide effective support for Daimler’s business processes with
various IT applications. This includes ensuring that the system
landscape is constantly functional and permanently optimized.
In order to simultaneously improve efficiency, we continuously
consolidate the IT system landscape and intend to reduce the
number of existing systems by up to 40% by the year 2015. In 2010,
we already reduced the number of applications by approxi-
mately 8%.
Worldwide, Daimler’s IT organization supports more than 260,000
employees as well as external business partners with an integrated
network infrastructure. One of the key IT tasks is therefore to
protect the flow of information against unauthorized access. Due
to increasing risks and dangers for information security, we have
set up a dedicated department at corporate level to work on this
issue. This department defines and monitors the technical
protective facilities and also takes organizational precautions such
as worldwide employee training courses or the management
of local IT-security executives.
IT solutions support the further development of individual
mobility. Both for our operating business units and for the
sales organization, we have developed tailored IT solutions to
support Daimler’s mobility strategy. After supporting car2go
with its IT systems, Daimler’s IT specialists provided advice to the
web-based car-sharing service, car2gether, and assisted with
the design and implementation of its web portal. We also accom-
panied the launch of the car2gether pilot project in Ulm.
IT mobility services were further developed also in the sales
function. Following the launch of the Apple iPhone app for the
personalized contract management of financial services at
Mercedes-Benz Financial, the entire Mercedes-Benz dealer network
in the United States was equipped for mobile work with Apple’s
3G iPadTM. All 355 dealerships can now access Advantage®, the
Mercedes-Benz dealer system, at each point of sale and at any
place or time. We have also developed a function that allows cus-
tomers to electronically sign documents directly on the iPad
display. Since the beginning of 2010, Mercedes-Benz Financial’s
IT services also include a website created solely for smartphone
users.
Integrated system solution for commercial-vehicle sales.
Following a successful start in the Daimler TruckStores, we further
developed the internet-based software solution for the used
commercial-vehicle business and introduced it at Daimler Buses.
All accounting-relevant transactions are processed automatically
worldwide. Details of vehicles in stock, including pictures, are trans-
ferred daily and automatically from the system to the TruckStore
Internet portal for the sales function.
Green IT makes visible contribution to sustainability. One
focus of our IT work at Daimler is on sustainability issues such
as green IT. We have achieved substantial savings of resources
in the context of this initiative: In the IT organization, 55 million
kilowatt-hours of electricity and 33,000 tons of CO2 emissions
were saved within one year. This benefited not only our ecological
performance, but also our profitability.
The consistent focus of IT on aspects of sustainability has been
emphasized by the inclusion of key figures for green IT in the
IT organization’s balanced scorecard. This makes it possible to
continually measure the environmental and resource-saving
application of information technology. It also allows us to recognize
innovative environmental potential faster and to integrate it into
the processes of our business operations. Outside Daimler, the
IT organization is active in the EU’s Code of Conduct for Data
Centers – an environmental initiative by the European Union encour-
aging companies to commit voluntarily to the use of efficient
data centers.
In November 2010, Daimler AG received the Gartner Data Center
Excellence Award for the concept and measurable success of
the Group-wide green IT initiative entitled “Think economically, act
ecologically.” This prize is awarded for pioneering and strategic
concepts related to the design and ecological operation of data
centers. It is the most prestigious award in the international IT
industry.