Daimler Truck offers tailor-made integrated solutions and services to optimize vehicle use and the TCO

Story Highlights

• Daimler Truck
• Mercedes-Benz
• FUSO
• camioane, e-mobility

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The purchase of a commercial vehicle – whether still conventionally powered by diesel or by electric battery – means an investment for every transport company that is bound to ultimately pay off. It is, therefore, all the more important to have Daimler Truck at your side as a partner that not only offers highly efficient vehicles for all kinds of usage, but also ensures the greatest possible customer benefit for daily use on the road thanks to services and solutions. Daimler Truck will be giving an insight into the wide range of these services and solutions for trucks from Mercedes-Benz and FUSO at this year’s IAA Transportation trade fair in Hanover.

Mercedes-Benz Complete and Mercedes-Benz Select: service costs under control
High vehicle availability, few breakdowns, and predictable costs are crucial success factors for any transport company. After all, they only earn money when their vehicles are on the road. And in this business, every cent counts – regardless of the segment or drive type. To avoid unplanned visits to the workshop and unnecessary costs as far as possible, more and more customers are relying on service contracts when it comes to maintenance and repair.

As of July 2022, four out of six Mercedes-Benz Trucks vehicles in the most important EU markets are covered by service contracts – individually tailored to the respective requirements. A third of these trucks is covered by Mercedes-Benz Complete. The comprehensive service package covers all-around carefree workshop jobs, including parts subject to wear on the chassis, as well as the replacement of units due to wear, from coordination of appointments to invoice verification at stable monthly payments. For the eActros and eEconic, Mercedes-Benz Complete covers the ePowertrain for up to six years as an extension of the standard warranty. Mercedes-Benz Select is geared towards particularly price-sensitive customers and supplements the repair contract for the drivetrain (Mercedes-Benz Extend) with the maintenance service.

Mercedes-Benz Uptime
An integral part of Mercedes-Benz Complete and Select is Mercedes-Benz Uptime, the service for sustainably increasing vehicle availability. The intelligent system records the relevant vehicle data – from tire pressure to the engine and now also includes the battery status of the eActros and eEconic. Related to this, Mercedes-Benz Uptime has already added more than 200 e-specific regulators that continuously monitor charging processes or voltage curves related to the high-voltage battery, for example.

Mercedes-Benz Uptime supports almost all diagnostic procedures for predictable faults fully automatically and remotely. After data collection in the truck, the system sends specific recommendations for action to the customer and to the Mercedes-Benz workshop within an average of 240 seconds. By networking vehicle, Mercedes-Benz Service, and transport companies, workshop visits for expected and unexpected incidents such as breakdowns and stranded vehicles can be reduced.

My TruckPoint: the new digital customer portal for 360-degree fleet administration
With the new customer portal, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is responding to the desire of many customers to make fleet management even easier, so they have more time for their day-to-day business. After registering at mytruckpoint.mercedes-benz-trucks.com, customer data on vehicles and contracts, for example, is automatically uploaded to the portal. Customers also have the option of independently maintaining their data online. The fully digitalized workplace provides customers with a 360-degree overview of relevant information, documents, and processes – and all with a single access.

In addition to an overview of the fleet, including detailed vehicle data, the tool, which is free of charge for Mercedes-Benz Trucks customers, also offers comprehensive information on service contracts, including Mercedes-Benz Uptime and Fleetboard contracts, including information on start and end dates, contract terms, conditions, and current mileage. Customers also have the option of manually adding vehicles from other manufacturers.

The platform also supports fleet management with regard to upcoming maintenance and inspection work or contractual matters. When a contract expires, MyTruckPoint automatically generates a notification. Vehicle-specific Mercedes-Benz genuine parts can also be ordered. Customers can track their order history at any time – making future parts orders much easier. The production and delivery status of new vehicle orders can also be viewed via online tracking.

TruckLive: Connected from the very first second
The new customer portal also provides access to TruckLive, the free access to the digital service world of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. The new digital service will be available in selected European countries from October 2022 and can be activated by concluding a TruckLive contract.

TruckLive starts with two modules: maintenance management and current traffic data (Live Traffic). The maintenance management module provides transparency about the maintenance work on the truck as well as selected information on the current condition of the vehicle. It connects customers with Mercedes-Benz Service to make vehicle data available for maintenance planning and to make maintenance easier. In addition, customers have the option of carrying out certain maintenance work themselves. With Live Traffic, up-to-date traffic data can be used to shorten travel times and plan arrival times more precisely.

Intelligent digital solutions for even greater efficiency
The cloud-based Fleetboard portal that is intuitive to use and features a modern design is a further development of the tried-and-tested telematics solution. The integrative platform makes it easier for customers to view data on their vehicle fleet while opening up access to a wide range of digital solutions.

At first, e-truck fleets in particular will benefit from the new portal. Charge management was developed specifically for battery-operated electric vehicles. It provides full transparency of the charging process for a customer’s infrastructure facilities so costs can be managed using the transaction history. Charging operations can also be better planned to maximize use of charging stations. Charging processes can also generally be started and stopped from anywhere via Charge Management.

A logbook with detailed information on driving, stationary, and charging times, total weight, kilometers driven, routes, topography, temperature as well as energy consumption or increases and decreases in the state of charge of the battery represents another tool. This allows fleet managers to then track each individual Actros in the company so that use can be optimized when talking to the driver or dispatcher.

The mapping tool enables the employees in the back office of the transport companies to react quickly to current vehicle conditions wherever necessary. This is because the tool shows where a vehicle is currently located and whether it is being driven or stationary. Users of e-trucks are also informed about the state of charge of the battery and the range that still can be expected. The new Fleetboard portal will be gradually extended and will also be gradually made available to customers of conventionally powered trucks from 2023.

The HABBL logistics application stands out from the Mercedes-Benz Trucks connectivity portfolio because it guides drivers step by step through their work orders. The driver can operate the app at the same time on the Multimedia Cockpit of his/her truck and any Android mobile device for tasks outside the vehicle. All those involved in a transport process, such as drivers, dispatchers and the end customers who have access to the data via the app, always receive the information they need. This increases process quality and at the same time creates a high degree of transparency.

Expert advice for a tailored e-mobility
Keyword for battery-powered electric trucks: To support transport companies in their transition to e-mobility every step of the way, Daimler Truck has embedded vehicles such as the eActros or the eEconic and the FUSO eCanter into a business ecosystem that also includes consultancy and services as well as digital solutions for efficient vehicle use and optimization of overall costs. For example, our eConsulting teams use existing driving routes to determine usage profiles for electric trucks that are as realistic and useful as possible for a particular customer.

In addition to the electrification of the depot, eConsulting also includes, depending on the customer’s wishes, all questions related to planning, ordering, and implementation concerning the charging infrastructure as well as the grid connection. Mercedes-Benz Trucks cooperates with Siemens Smart Infrastructure and ENGIE for depot charging as well as electrical and installation work. Mercedes-Benz Trucks also provides assistance if requested with the sourcing of possible public funding for infrastructure and vehicles.