{"id":4804,"date":"2020-03-27T13:14:29","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T12:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=4804"},"modified":"2020-03-27T13:14:29","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T12:14:29","slug":"daimler-using-technology-for-faster-repairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/03\/27\/daimler-using-technology-for-faster-repairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Daimler Using Technology for Faster Repairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daimler Trucks North America launched a new e-commerce platform and\u00a0is using technology to help dealers make repairs faster \u2013 including simplifying the warranty process \u2013 and is on the cusp of adding predictive diagnostics to its uptime tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the North American Commercial Vehicle Show in Atlanta Oct. 28, DTNA launched a new e-commerce platform called Excelerator.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 20% of last year\u2019s truck parts purchases were made on electronic devices,\u201d said Senior Vice President of Aftermarket Stefan Kirschner. \u201cThat trend will only grow, and we aim to be at the forefront of the industry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Excelerator, launching early in 2020, is \u201cturbocharging uptime,\u201d Kirschner said. It streamlines access to the company\u2019s parts catalog, provides ETA track and trace, and allows for delivery in as fast as two hours if part is available at the dealership.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt links our entire network \u2014 our Dealer Management Systems, parts distribution centers, and Alliance Parts stores, adding an unparalleled level of transparency and setting the foundation for future customer enhancements. It makes it easier for customers to get the right part at the right time at the right price.\u201d Rapid delivery through a dedicated delivery service further contributes to increased uptime; DTNA\u2019s dealer network has been investing heavily in delivery vans along with other improvements.<\/span><\/p>\n

Excelerator is just one part of what DTNA is doing to reduce the time spent on repairs, both in the service bay and in the office.<\/span><\/p>\n

Guided Diagnostics for the DTNA Techlane app, a streamlined pre-authorization process, and a forthcoming Voice App for technicians are all dedicated efforts to speed up turnaround times at the dealer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The launch of a new One Stop program in November 2019 will eliminate the variations in claim processing requirements and procedures for customers and dealers when filing for supplier extended coverage programs for parts supplied by DTNA\u2019s top suppliers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul Romanaggi, recently named chief customer experience officer, explained to HDT that technicians are able to quickly download all the history of the vehicle, its warranty history, mileage, powertrain components, the year\u00a0and other critical information. From there, technicians conduct an Express Assessment within two hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen we utilize the customer pre authorization system if it\u2019s a customer pay job to get auto approval of the fleet to begin the repair. From there we then move into Guided Diagnostics. That takes all that information and through algorithms and so forth, it tells technicians, here\u2019s what the problem is with the truck with 97% accuracy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there they go into Tech Lane, which guides them through the repair process. Service Tracker allows the customer to see the status of the vehicle from point of arrival to point of departure, so they get to see the truck through the whole process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the really exciting part, he said, is that in 2020, \u201cWe\u2019re going to move in predictive analytics. Predictive diagnostics will actually identify a failure before it occurs. We\u2019re working hard with outside IOT firms to develop these algorithms. That will be another tool, on board in the vehicle, which says we\u2019re predicting this failure, finish what you\u2019re doing, then bring your truck in so we can replace that component that\u2019s starting to fail so you don\u2019t have unplanned downtime.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Also in 2020, DTNA will launch voice recognition technology for its technicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know as well as I do there\u2019s a big shortage of techs out there,” said Romanaggi. “We have to make our techs more productive through technology. They\u2019ll be able to ask their smartphone questions from all our technical and warranty literature and information, and the smartphone will then read them back the answer to their question \u2013 so that way they don\u2019t have to go back and forth to their laptop to get the information they need.\u201d Or even set down their tool.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also making things faster and easier will be the new One Stop warranty system.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday a lot of industry suppliers provide warranty coverage over and above the OEM\u2019s coverage, but every one of those suppliers has got their own method, their own process, their own terms, their own system to file for it,\u201d Romanaggi explained. \u201cIt\u2019s a pain, it\u2019s terrible and it\u2019s frustrating for everybody. We\u2019re taking all of that and we\u2019re running it into our warranty system, so when the truck comes in, we know what the supplier\u2019s coverage is. We then allow the dealer to do the repair, file for their reimbursement through us, we pay them up front, and then we deal with the filing and the recovery on the back end. We\u2019re in pilot with about eight of our dealers right now and hope to launch in November\/December.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

by Deborah Lockridge<\/a><\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.automotive-fleet.com<\/a><\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.<\/p>\n

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:<\/p>\n

\"fleet<\/p>\n

Graph 1: fleet management activities<\/p>\n

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:<\/p>\n