In a technology partnership T-Systems and Daimler have developed a retrofit solution to turn unconnected automobiles into connected cars and boost customer loyalty in aftersales.
The carmaker wanted a solution to improve aftersales processes and to increase revenues of their dealership with digital services. The solution provided by T-Systems includes an OBD adapter, a smartphone app for customers, an Internet of Things (IoT) platform as well as the integration into the OEM-specific IT and process landscape. The backend systems are operated by T-Systems on behalf of the OEM, entirely within a highly secure private cloud, subject to strict German data protection laws.
Car owners profit from online services
By using the OEM-specific retrofit solution of T-Systems, even owners of car models have been produced before the linefitted equipment of connectivity, can easily turn their vehicles into connected cars. So, the Mercedes me Adapter enables them to profit from online services based on vehicle data. With a free App for iOS or Android the driver can view his vehicle status, use services for car maintenance or additional services such as driver’s logbook and fuel management.
Technology partnership
T-Systems has developed the solution working closely with the carmaker. Since 2016, the product is available for 27 passenger car models and four van models in 22 countries, being exclusively provided through the OEM’s dealer network. The adapter allows the retrofitting of many models built after 2002. The T-Systems solution comes with its own Mercedes-Benz serial number and has been released and certified according to the automotive industry’s technical standards. Based on the data provided by adapter and backend systems, dealers can increase their customers‘ loyalty, for example by contacting them proactively to schedule regular maintenance and service intervals or to address individualized offerings.
The App-Features
- My Vehicle: Overview of vehicle status such as mileage, tank fill level and battery level
- My Journeys: Digital trip overview with automatic recording of driven routes and export and editing functions
- Parking and Locating: Vehicle tracking of the parked car, navigation to the car, notification when the parking time is exceeded
- Refueling: Automatic documentation of refueling stops with export and editing functionality
- Accident and Breakdown: Transmission of the location and vehicle data, first-aid-orders, accident report with export function, important telephone numbers
- My Dealer/Dealer Search: Location and contact data of nearest Mercedes-Benz Service partner with service appointment inquiry feature
- Maintenance Management: Automatic transmission of maintenance data
- Reminders: for general inspections, oil change, tire change, for instance
- Cockpit: View on all vehicle’s current and important live data during a journey like range, average speed and oil temperature
