Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) aftermarket executives shared their strategic vision for their business, emphasizing innovation, integration and consistency to provide excellent customer experience. DTNA is continuing to build a service network together with their dealers and distributors that strive for market leadership in customer satisfaction by investing in and providing service solutions.
“We are driving industry-leading innovation through our products and services,” said Friedrich Baumann, senior vice president, Aftermarket for Daimler Trucks North America. “DTNA will continue to focus on lowering real cost of ownership and increasing vehicle uptime. Our objective is to offer a suite of solutions, which anticipates, personalizes and transforms customer experience.”
Baumann pointed to the evolution of the customer experience, “through the integration of best-in-class back-counter parts availability, service quality, customer communication, business relationships and enhanced telematics. It is the integration of all of these service aspects which will make the difference for our customers.”
“Many industries have done a good job considering how customer needs progress as new products are introduced,” noted Baumann. “Our goal is to elevate what we have already done, incorporate additional best practices we have seen in other industries, and reshape the definition of customer experience within the trucking industry.”
The foundation of DTNA’s focus on customer experience is built by its outstanding relationship with the DTNA dealer and distributor network and the joint investments and collaborative execution of a whole suite of industry leading aftermarket initiatives.
“Our dealers and distributors are on the frontline, and we need to arm them with the best tools, systems and resources to deliver a great customer experience,” said Baumann. “This is how we are jointly creating a long-term business partnership with our customers.”
Ray Hufnagel, president, Plastic Express: “What’s imperative to us is to work with a team who is a business partner – our dealer collaborates with our business to ensure our drivers, our trucks and our loads are all pieces of the customer experience equation. Having a dealer partner that understands and fully supports our business on this level helps us to be successful.”
“It’s about taking what we have developed and going one step further. For example, programs such as Elite Support are already focusing on not just servicing trucks, but on the entire customer experience,” said Catherine Auckland, director of aftermarket marketing for Daimler Trucks North America. “Uptime is expected by our customers and is the basic requirement of any service business. Our customer’s at DTNA expect more. Partnered with the best network in the industry we’re elevating the entire customer experience.”
Elite Support has a stringent certification process which requires dealers to meet specific criteria across twenty customer experience areas. The entire experience – from service to training to facility design – is geared towards creating a productive, efficient and comfortable customer-focused experience.
DTNA’s entire suite of aftermarket business solutions touches upon every aspect of the customer experience such as centralized billing, an online parts ordering tool, retail inventory management systems, and sophisticated service tools and communications.
“We are considering every interaction, every service event, as an opportunity to consistently deliver on our promises,” said Auckland.
“It’s important that we proactively demonstrate our commitment and continuous improvement efforts to customers,” said Brad Fauvre, president, Velocity Vehicle Group. “And for us, that first starts with our relationship with DTNA. Our joint investment in our customer’s experience is critical.”
Detroit Connect realigns product offerings
Detroit Connect today announced that it is deepening its telematics strategy by re-aligning its offerings in collaboration with Zonar Systems, Inc.
Detroit Connect will transition the branding of its Visibility Fleet Software and On-Board Tablet to Zonar. With this change, Visibility will take on Zonar’s Ground Traffic Control fleet tracking application product name, and the Tablet will assume the 2020 tablet branding. Current Visibility and Tablet customers will experience no changes in product capabilities or pricing.
The award-winning Detroit Virtual Technician on-board diagnostic system will maintain the same branding and will remain under the Detroit Connect umbrella.
In addition to the shift in product branding for Visibility and On Board Tablet, the new business arrangement calls for Zonar to assume management of all Virtual Technician subscriptions, including the renewal process, on Detroit Connect’s behalf later this year.
“There’s a significant opportunity to gain important insights through connectivity to ultimately provide a more dynamic customer experience,” said Matthew Pfaffenbach, director of telematics for DTNA. “Our arrangement with Zonar ultimately strengthens our telematics capabilities.”
Virtual Technician is standard with a two-year subscription on all DTNA vehicles with Detroit heavy duty engines, and Ground Traffic Control is available for order through DTNA dealers on those same models. A factory-installed prep kit for the 2020 tablet is available on Freightliner Cascadia trucks with Detroit heavy duty engines, and will beavailable on Freightliner vocational models, Western Star trucks, and Cummins-powered Freightliner and Western Star trucks later this year.
Last month, DTNA and Zonar announced that DTNA became a minority investor in Zonar. DTNA and Zonar will continue to operate as separate business entities, but will leverage their new relationship to co-develop new products for DTNA’s customers.
