Performance plus Daimler

perFormance plus

Daimler AG is known worldwide for its unrivalled standards of excellence and cutting-edge technology. Today the company’s undisputed global lead in design and manufacturing capabilities are complemented by the dedication and commitment of its key suppliers. Philip Yorke takes a closer look at Daimler’s continuing progress as a brand leader and the suppliers behind the scenes who have gone that extra mile for the company.

While other major automotive manufacturers struggle to maintain their market share, Daimler has been posting doubledigit growth for the last 12 months with sales increasing in all regions of the world. Today the company is seeing particularly strong growth in Europe, the US and China. The global demand for its passenger cars and commercial vehicles continues to set the pace and the standards for others in the automotive industry.

Partnerships driving innovation

In Stuttgart, Germany on 23 February 2017, Daimler AG recognised the remarkable performance and dedication of its key suppliers, who were honoured for their commitment, collaboration, partnership and innovative contributions to the company. Dr Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management at Daimler AG and head of Mercedes cars: “We recognise the changes confronting our industry for what they are: great opportunities. Together with our suppliers we

will use them!” At the special award ceremony event, more than 450 high-ranking representatives from Daimler’s most important suppliers were guests at the Mercedes-Benz Centre in Stuttgart.

The 2016 Daimler Supplier Awards went to ten outstanding suppliers who excelled with their extraordinary performances in the past year. This covered the categories of Quality, Partnership and Innovation. The top members of the Daimler board of management and heads of procurement presented the awards in front of a large audience of guests from the supply industry, where the event’s motto was: ‘Focus on excellence’.

Once a year, Daimler presents the Daimler supplier awards for exceptional performance and partnership collaboration with its suppliers. Working closely with its direct suppliers, Daimler employs its unique supplier cooperation model, the ‘Daimler Supplier Network’. Daimler measures performance in terms of quality, cost, delivery reliability and innovative strength. In his opening speech, Dieter Zetsche stressed the importance of the Daimler Supplier Awards. “We celebrate a winning team – the world’s best supplier network – and we thank our suppliers for their loyalty and dedication.”

The winners and additional nominees for the Daimler Supplier Award 2016 included the following companies:

Hella KGaA Hueck & Co was nominated for Quality. Also nominated were JTEKT Europe S.A.S and Wagon Automotive Nagold GmbH. Awarded for being flexible and reliable contract manufacturers were Schmidt Automotive GmbH and Brembo SpA, while Dr Schneider Uternehmensgruppe was also nominated. LG Chem Ltd and Marquardt GmbH were rewarded for their high innovation standards in the area of air vents.

In the category Global Procurement for Trucks and Buses was Bharat Forge Limited. Also nominated were: Bridgestone Europe NV in the Global System Partnership category; WABCO Holdings Inc.; Neue Halberg-Guss GmbH; Hema Endustria A.S. and Zonar Systems Inc.

Awarded for making savings in time and money were FKM Sintertechnik GmbH and Vinracoustic GmbH. In addition, in the category of International Procurement winners included Seruves, Rhenus SE & Co. KG as well as Keiner Maschinenbau GmbH and MapalFabrik. Also nominated was Trumph Laser-und Systemtechnik GmbH. Further nominees included was Plug & Play Germany GmbH and JSL S/A Geico SpA for Innovation. A special award for Outstanding Innovation went to Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd.

major investment programme

Following yet another record year for sales, Mercedes Benz Vans are set to invest more than €2 billion in new products and services. 2016 has proved to be the most successful year on record with sales and EBIT far exceeding Daimler’s targets. Most of the major investments in 2017 and 2018 are to be directed towards new product development and cutting-edge, innovative solutions, as well as purpose-built state-of-the-art production facilities.

Last year the Mercedes Vans division handed over a total of around 360,000 vans and multi-purpose vehicles to its customers, which represents growth of about 12 per cent, with revenues increasing to €12.8 billion. Mercedes Benz Vans is making full use of its strong market position and plans to invest over €2 billion in the expansion and renewal of its product portfolio and into new customer services. New investments include the new Mercedes Benz Pick-Up and the next generation of the Sprinter large van, as well as innovative overall concepts surrounding all Mercedes Benz products.

As one of the first concrete results of the strategic initiative for the future, ‘adVANce’, Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH will launch the first products in mid-2017 with its range of new rental, sharing, leasing and fleet management services from one source. It is also planning to double the number of ‘advance’ employees to 400 by the end of the year. n