Volker Mornhinweg. Why innovation needs an update: Customer co-creation and the benefits of joint development

Transcription

1 Volker Mornhinweg Why innovation needs an update: Customer co-creation and the benefits of joint development - Speech / VDA Press Workshop / Frankfurt a. M.

2 1 0. Intro Ladies and gentlemen, anyone thinking about innovation and about what innovation actually means, inevitably comes across one of the great names in the history of economics: Joseph Schumpeter. The renowned economist defined economic innovation as the new combination of production factors. And when I speak today about a new approach being taken by Mercedes-Benz Vans to develop innovations, that, too, is about new types of combinations: It s about the combination of our know-how in developing commercial vehicles with our customers expertise in the specific applications where they use our vehicles. This is where you might say: developing a product to meet the needs of the customer has always been the key to success. But, with customer co-creation, we re going one step further: We re actively involving our customers in the development process. We re working together to create a perfectly rounded package of vehicles, tailor-made configurations and extended services.

3 2 And to do that, we re not just turning to the broad selection of our vehicles and variants we already have in our line-up. We re also creating whole new solutions: From design details in the cargo space to the adaptation of digital services to our customers specific value chains. In short: Our approach is cooperative, sector specific, application oriented and it delivers results that are often also of interest to other customers and sectors. I want to show you today why I believe this approach is the next important step for the further development of our sector. I. Customer Co-Creation Let s start with the question: How did we come up with the idea of customer cocreation? As you know individualisation, urbanisation and digitalisation are megatrends that are fundamentally changing our customers businesses. They are creating new conditions: Supply chains are becoming more complex, delivery times shorter and efficiency even more important.

4 3 In this demanding environment, we want to provide our customers with comprehensive support with much more than just a van. A tailormade overall concept provides them with a true competitive advantage. The key to this is customer co-creation a very special form of agile project management in cooperation with external partners. In principle, the process is a cycle of four stages that keep repeating until the project is complete: o First, the analysis of the specific daily challenges with methods like the so-called daily scrum. o The next thing is to start coming up with creative solutions to problems, with the keyword here being design thinking. o Then comes rapid prototyping, which we use to turn the solution into a model extremely quickly. o And the fourth is the test phase. At the end of that, we come back to the analysis of the previous solution so that we can be even better next time round. Our customers can participate in each one of these steps, which is how we combine their application knowhow with our know-how in engineering. The result is true innovation: a tailormade mobility solution with made-to-measure details that are not available off the rack.

5 4 II. advance Customer co-creation is closely linked with our advance future initiative. With advance we are developing into a provider of integrated transport and mobility solutions. That means: we shift our focus from orientation towards the vehicles, towards comprehensive support for our customers. We offer vehicles with hardware solutions plus services plus strategic consulting. advance currently consists of five areas we re using to address the central fields of innovation within the transport sector and are networking throughout our company. o digital@vans is about connectivity and the digital networking of our vehicles. o With solutions@vans, we re developing hardware solutions that make our customers day-to-day business more efficient. o rental@vans addresses innovative rental models with a pay-per-use approach, i.e. mobility on demand. o With sharing@vans, we re dealing with new peoplemoving concepts. o And edrive@vans is our framework for a holistic approach to electric mobility.

6 5 However, these areas don t function like classic departments within a company, but as a competency network. Most solutions for our customers are made up of aspects that we re developing in several different areas. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me show you the process and results of Customer Co-Creation with three examples. III. Example: Hermes One of our first major customers with whom we re using customer co-creation is logistics provider, Hermes. Hermes wants to electrify its fleet and has to guarantee three factors: o First, the range has to be right, o Second, the vehicles have to be absolutely reliable o And third, the company obviously has to make money. Now, instead of simply offering one standard electric model, we first of all sat down together and analysed the needs profile. We looked at Hermes' processes on site and then tackled the individual challenges in joint workshops.

7 6 This close cooperation with our customer was very exciting for the team and has led to completely new approaches to solutions. It quickly became clear: Hermes needs not only electric vans but also a package of services and infrastructure. A technological ecosystem, as you might call it. The outcome is a holistic electric solution: o By 2020, we will deliver to Hermes a total of 1,500 of our evito and esprinter electric vans. o They come with connectivity solutions specifically for electric commercial vehicles provided by our digital@vans function. o For instance, electro-specific fleet management that incorporates range, temperature conditions and battery charging into route planning. o We re also taking care of Hermes internal charging infrastructure: With the know-how of edrive@vans, we re jointly developing a concept for building and operating such a system. o We re also equipping the vehicles with automatic cargo space solutions provided by our solutions@vans function. They make loading and unloading the packages faster and more ergonomic, i.e. more efficient.

8 7 The end result is an innovative, holistic electric solution that benefits considerably from the close collaboration between the two partners at the planning stage. IV. Example: BVG Another major field of operation for our vans is in local public transport. And within the scope of customer co-creation, we re working here with Berlin s public transport operators. This case actually involves three partners: BVG, Mercedes-Benz Vans and the start-up ViaVan. ViaVan is an on-demand service for ridesharing: The dedicated flexible algorithm calculates the fastest route for bringing several passengers to their respective destinations in the same vehicle. Different trip requests and shared routes are collated and calculated with no appreciable delay. The trips start and end at virtual stops and are run with other passengers on board. Last year, we founded ViaVan - a joint venture with the US-based company Via - to establish dynamic mobility services in major European cities. ViaVan will soon enter service with BVG as a pilot project in central Berlin.

9 8 As with Hermes, we sat down with our colleagues and tackled the challenges together. We are very satisfied with the results. Now, we re providing a mix of electric vehicles and models with internal combustion engines and base the size of the fleet on demand. Here, too, we re using the innovative advance approaches: With connectivity solutions from digital@vans and flexible rental models from our newly founded Mercedes-Benz Mobility GmbH, this mobility solution is likewise tailormade to suit the specific needs. The bottom line is that we re raising the efficiency of inner-city mobility and offering a broader palette of transportation options with less traffic and on attractive terms. This benefits the environment, passengers and the public transport network. This mobility offering is another innovation that has only come about through the combination of different types of expertise: The route competence of BVG, the ViaVan algorithm and the vans of Mercedes-Benz. V. Example: Amazon

10 9 My third example of customer co-creation combines even more competences. It addresses the operator concept for a fleet of package delivery service providers. The work done by the Bochum logistics hub includes next-day and same-day deliveries. And it s the subject of an integrated concept that we call base camp, because it s the base camp for the van drivers. We brought a total of five parties to the table: o Amazon, o network operator innogy, o our sales partner LUEG o our colleagues of Lab1886, Daimler s idea incubator o and ourselves, Mercedes-Benz Vans. Here, too, it s about fleet electrification. But that s just one aspect within a much bigger concept. We re making 100 Vitos available to Amazon s delivery partners and here, too, we re integrating them into a whole ecosystem of services: o innogy is building the charging infrastructure on-site and feeding it entirely with renewable energy, o LUEG AG is taking care of the location and handling maintenance and repair services

11 10 o and the hub s highlight is coming from Lab 1886: a vehicle scanner that documents the vehicle status on a quick drive through and digitally processes the images. o It takes just seconds to identify whether the van has been damaged in any way. In addition, we re also offering the option of mobility-ondemand within the scope of rental@vans: short, medium and long-term rentals, e.g. to cover peak usage periods. The outcome is an ideal interaction of commercial factors, resource conservation and fleet availability. A logistics location and a Co-Creation of different partners that is unique in this form. In short a true innovation. VI. Outro Ladies and gentlemen, three customer co-creation projects, three true innovations for tailormade mobility.

12 11 That s what we re aiming for: The individualisation of the offering is a fundamental paradigm shift experienced in the automotive industry from the 20 th to the 21 st century. We can t take a one-size-fits-all approach. We want to develop individual solutions for individual demands. With customer co-creation, we have the ability to offer unique, tailormade concepts even with the industrial production models of an OEM: Through a close network of hardware solutions, services and advice. We will press forward with this approach and continue to refine it. But above all, we will address mobility in urban areas. Perhaps some of you have already heard: We re currently working on a new, holistic mobility system for the city that we ll be presenting shortly before the IAA in Hanover. That, too, is about an innovative combination of different strengths. But innovations only deliver their true power when they serve a need and provide answers to urgent questions. That s why our main focus is the contribution that we at Mercedes-Benz Vans can make to the city of the future.

13 12 How can we successfully raise quality of life through inner-city transport without overloading the infrastructure? I don t want to give too much away, but a glimpse is surely allowed. Our van for the city of the future. Something to look forward to! Thank you.