'Mercedes Benz’s E-Biz Solution\r'

'Free aspect Study | Mercedes Benzs E-Biz Solution: The Factory economy Reservation System | Free | exemplar Studies | Case Study in Business, circumspection Case Details Themes: e-Supply Chain caution Case Length: 06 Pages Period: 1990-2001 composition : SciQuest. com Pub Date : 2002 T severall(a)ying bankers bill : Available Countries : USA Industry : selective tuition Technology (electronic Commerce) Mercedes Benzs E-Biz Solution: The Factory p engagement Reservation System â€Å" hotshot of our almost fundamental goals in developing the corpse was to strengthen and commercialise the Mercedes-Benz brand in the join States.The fact that we would be hotshot of the startle motorcar manufacturers in the United States to have a grind lecture weapons platform would be seen as a very positive thing in this regard. ” †William Engelke, Assistant Manager, IT Systems, Mercedes Benz US International, commenting on the FDRS. Linking guests By 2000, Mercedes Be nz United States International (MBUSI), prep beer of the high- attribute MClass sports public-service corporation vehicle (SUV), pee-peeed itself as a company that similarly delivered superior node operate. One such service was the spoken language plectron where by the client could rag word rake of the vehicle at the grind in atomic number 13, US.The political computer program c altogethered the Factory voice confabulation Reservation System (FDRS), enabled MBUSI to create and authorise 1800 sanctifys per hour. FDRS in addition automatic entirelyy generated material requirements and Bills of square1 for 35,000 vehicles per hour. The client Relationship Management (CRM) solving that do FDRS possible was establish on lotus half mask2 and IBM Netfinity3 legion4. Analysts felt that with its innovative use of the modern program, MBUSI not only managed to improve its customer relations by providing the best service, hardly withal demonstrated its commitment to customers by making them an integral part of the process.Customers were, in a way linked today to the manufacturing plant floor †which was a unchewable sales tool. Background: Mbusi and its Business Challenges MBUSI was a wholly- possess subsidiary of DaimlerChrylser AG. 5 In 1993, Daimler Benz completed that the ‘Benz brand could be ext extirpateed to wider mart segments. Traditionally, Mercedes Benz6 appealed to older and sophisticated customers only. Daimler Benz precious to pull back customers be low-t peerlessd 40 years of age, who cherished a rugged vehicle with all the safety and luxury features of a Mercedes. Daimler Benz unconquerable to develop a SUV known as the M-Class.It judge strong demand for the in the buff vehicle and therefore mean to build its setoff car-manufacturing initiation †MBUSI †in the (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) US. The MBUSI facility had legion(predicate) advantages. First, labor costs in the US were almost half that of in Ger many. Second, the US was the leading geographic market for SUVs. Third, as the vehicles were assembled in the US, they could be distributed to Canada and Mexico more(prenominal) efficiently. In January 1997, the milling machinery started protrudeput at partial capacity and by the demolition of the year, it was producing at full capacity.By 2000, the grind was curl out around 380 vehicles per day. The new M-Class „allactivityvehicle equal a new concept for the company. Also, mount customization required that each vehicle be treated as a come apart project, with its own Bill of Material. To deal with these challenges, Daimler Benz immovable to implement an enterprise wide learning Technology (IT) organisation, with the help of IBM Global Services7. To supercharge strengthen the see of Mercedes Benz in the US, MBUSI think to deliver vehicles at the factory, becoming the first international automobile manufacturer in the US to do so.MBUSI also wanted to enrich the customersexperience. Commented William Engelke, â€Å"The factory words option fractures Mercedes-Benz customers something that they do not get from new(prenominal) automobile manufacturers which is why we think the program will resonate with our customers. We think that having the factory delivery program available to Mercedes customers agrees to the boilers suit experience of the customer. ” The Design of FDRS The FDRS program was proposed in the first quarter of 1998. In the ordinal quarter of 1998, MBUSI entered into a contract with IBM.A information team was constituted with IBM Global Solutions specialists and IBM e-commerce developers, who worked nearly with MBUSI. The program became operational by the first quarter of 1999. The IT team at MBUSI had a clear set of perishal specifications for FDRS. However, they relied on IBM to transform the concept into an e-business solution. The FDRS was designed in such a way that customers buying the M-Class SUV could sp ecify that will take delivery of their new vehicle at the factory. They could beam the recount at any of the 355 Mercedes Benz dealers in the US.An authorized employee at the dealership entered the factory delivery drive the web interface. clock was the most important aspect of the FDRSfunctionality, as it was closely linked with MBUSIs vehicle intersectionion schedule. Mercedes Benz United States of America (MBUSA)8, based in Montvale, NJ, was the first link in the FDRS program. It was the call for where the dealer actually set the order. MBUSAs fibre was to coordinate the distribution of vehicles to dealers across the country. Later, it had to add the order to the companys Baan enterprise Resource preparedness (ERP)9 brass, which scheduled the order for production.About iii months in the first place the production date, the dealer could schedule in a windowpane, the date and time of arrival of the customer at the factory for delivery. The window was then automatically computed by the FDRS to give the dealer, the possible delivery dates. Apart from the delivery date, the customer could also specify the accessories for the car and also request a factory tour. FDRS was based on white lily half mask (Refer Exhibit I), white lily Enterprise Integrator10 and IBM Netfinity legions. It also interfaced with IBM S/390 Parallel Enterprise master of ceremonies, nonplus 9672-R45 located in Montvale, NJ (Refer encrypt I).There were dickens eye mask innkeepers †an IBM Netfinity 5500 and an IBM Netfinity 3000. FIGURE I SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE OF FDRS Source: MBUSI The power that acted as the „internal Domino serverwas placed behind a firewall 11. It replicated databases through the firewall to the outside server. The counter, which was encrypted, represented the firsthand means by which the FDRS system achieved security. Netfinity 3000 acted as an „ immaterial Domino server. ‘It had public information and was also the primary in tercourse linkage for dealers. The ack-end of the FDRS was equipped with an vaticinator database that updated the internal Domino server database with order information. The updation was done using Lotus Enterprise Integrator. The data which was replicated to the internal Domino server allowd lists of valid dealers and lists of order numbers. When an order was placed by the dealer on the FDRS system, the data was first stored on the external Domino server, after which it was replicated to the internal Domino server. Then it was replicated to the back-end database via the Lotus Enterprise Integrator.Data replication between the Lotus rases servers happened every 15 minutes and data exchange with the back-end database three times per day. There was also a link between the back end database and an IBM S/39012 mainframe based system located at MBUSA via a T113 line. MBUSA managed the fall down of vehicles to Mercedes dealers across the United States. This mainframe based system, rec eived new vehicle orders (as uncommitted to factory delivery reservation requests) from single(a) dealers. The orders were then sent to MBUSIs Baan system and also to the back-end database.The vehicle ordering and factory reservation data were co-ordinated with each different when the back-end database uploaded the data to the internal Domino server. This coordinated the production and delivery information. FDRS Implementation One of the most challenging aspects of the performance seemed to be the complexity of the Lotus and Domino scripts. The knowledge team had to group all the information from diverse systems. Commented William Engelke, â€Å"There was a actual amount of very complex cryptanalysis involved in the FDRS solution. This lotion involves a lot more than having our dealers fill out a form and submitting it.There are many things the servers have to do for the system to function properly, such as looking at calendars and production schedules. We construct a sol ution with some very advanced communication linkages. ” IBM faced many technical challenges during the implementation of the program. One of them was the different timing schemes of the Lotus Notes databases and backend databases (ERP). This led to discrepancies in the data. Domino server was a Near Real magazine (NRT) Server14, and MBUSIs backend activities were both real time15and batch processing16. Also, to get the best leaves, the Domino server was an optimised subset of the ERP sidestep set17.However, the development team achieved a quietus between the two „sidesof the solution by focusing on issues of timing, error detecting schemes, and alerts. Customer Satisfaction: FDRS Primary upbeat MBUSI seemed to measure FDRSsuccess in confiness of increase satisfaction of its customers. The company also believed that the merchandise and customer satisfaction aspects outweighed the signifi bay windowce of more traditional cost-based benefits. Apart from the factory d elivery experience, the program also offeringed the customer a factory tour and ride on the off-road course at a low cost.The company also seemed to gain strategical marketing benefits from the FDRS program, as it was able to establish Mercedes-Benz as a premium brand. (Refer evade I for advantages of FDRS in different areas). Customers could also visit the various tourist drifter in Alabama after weft up their M-class vehicles. TABLE I ADVANTAGES OF THE FDRS programme AREA Strategic Marketing Benefits speak to Savings ADVANTAGES FDRS was expected to improve customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, as it enriched Mercedes customers experience. The program also strengthened the brand image of Mercedes in the US.Development of a web-based solution enabled MBUSI to offer the factory delivery program at substantially lower costs, due to less(prenominal) reliance on administrative personnel. â€Å" software program Marketing” the FDRS program with a ride to tourist sites, enhanced the image of Alabama as a tourist destination. The humanity of a similar †albeit smaller †factory delivery system to the European Customer Delivery Center in Sindelfingen, Germany, reflected favorably on the MBUSI business unit. Source: MBUSI regional Economic Development DaimlerChrysler AG proximo of FDRS In 2000, MBUSI planned to leverage FDRSplatform by adding a range of other services.MBUSI built an advanced platform to create communication links to its suppliers. Through the link, MBUSI provided them feedback on the quality of supplies it received. The dealers and suppliers had a user-ID and password, which the system recognized. It then routed them into the enchant stage of the FDRS. The company also planned to extend the innovative system to include transactional actions such as ordering materials and checking order status on the Web. The company expected that the new system based on FDRS, would be more cost-effective than the Electronic Data Interchang e (EDI)18 system. ] Bill of Material keeps track of all raw materials, parts, and subassemblies apply to create a finished product. 2] A product of IBM Corp. , Lotus Notes and Domino R5 are the industrys leading client/server faction for collaborative messaging and e-business solutions. 3] The IBM Netfinity server offers solutions for file-and-print and application computing needs. 4] A calculating machine or thingamabob on a earnings that manages network resources. For example, a file server is a computing device and storage device dedicated to storing files. Any user on the network can store files on the server.A print server is a data processor that manages one or more printers, and a network server is a computer that manages network traffic. A database server is a computer system that processes database queries. 5] DaimlerChrysler AG was the result of a merger between two leading car manufacturers †Daimler Benz of Germany and Chrysler Corp. of the US in 1998. 6] A lu xury brand of rider cars, Sports Utility Vehicles from DaimlerChrysler. 7] IBM Global Services is the services and consultancy division of IBM Corp. that offers extensive ebusiness solutions. 8] MBUSA is the wholly owned US subsidiary of DaimlerChrylser. ] ERP attempts to integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer system that can serve all those different departments particular needs. 10] A server-based data distribution product that enables data exchange between Lotus Domino and a number of emcee and relational applications. 11] A system designed to nix unauthorized access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be implemented in both computer hardware and software. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets.All hearts entering or passing the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do no t meet the contract security criteria. 12] The IBM S/390 servers offer direct high speed access to the e-business application and are used for Enterprise Computing. 13] A dedicated phone connection backing data rates of 1. 544 Mbits per assist. A T1 disputation actually consists of 24 individual channels, each of which supports 64 Kbits per second. Each 64 Kbit per second channel can be set up to voice or data traffic. 14] The NRT Server System supports real time distribution of near-real time data. 5] Real time refers to events assumed by a computer at the same speed that they would occur in real life. 16] Executing a serial of noninteractive origins all at one time. The term dates back to the days when users entered programs on sack cards. They gave a batch of these programmed cards to the system operator, who fed them into the computer. Usually, batch jobs are stored up during working hours and then executed whenever the computer is idle. Batch processing is particularly utilitarian for operations that require the computer or a peripheral device for an all-inclusive period of time.Once a batch job begins, it continues until it is done or until an error occurs. Note that batch processing implies that there is no interaction with the user while the program is being executed. 17] The ERP tables are the database tables, (thousands of them), on which the box is built. The programmers and end users must set these tables to come to their business processes. Each table has a decision „switchthat leads the software down one decision path or another. 18] EDI connects all the suppliers in and out of the US. www. icmrindia. org/free resources/casestudies/Mercedes Benz-IT&Systems-Case Studies. htm\r\n'