Teamwork is key

Luz Mauch, T-Systems Global Account Executive for Daimler, loves sports that only have one winner. At work, however, he prefers to be part of a team.

The stereotypical tennis player is a loner and an individualist, with a few rough edges. But there are exceptions: players willing to do top spins, loops and stop shots on behalf of a team. Luz Mauch is one of them.

The 39-year-old joined T-Systems and became head of the Daimler account in 2008. One of the first things he did after taking up is position in Leinfelden was to move his office from the sixth floor of the T-Systems’ building to the second floor – to be closer to his team. Now he can bounce ideas back and forth with his sparring partners – all 110 of them – to develop new strategies and concepts for the ICT infrastructure of Germany’s second-largest automaker.

In contrast to the wins he’s accomplished with his tennis club, TEC Waldau in Stuttgart, his victories as Global Account Executive have rarely been down to serve-and-volley tactics. During his many years at IBM, he was responsible for the BMW account. “When it comes to increasing the efficiency and reliability of an ICT infrastructure for a global car manufacturer with a workforce of over 300,000, you have to play a steady game. And for that, you need to be in good shape. Hitting a winning shot with your serve is an exception, not the rule.”

For Mauch, the aims of a partnership with a major global player like Daimler are, “To see eye-to-eye with the customer, to gain in-depth knowledge of their processes, understand how the company works, and recognize their pain points.” He continues, “That means not just achieving fast, spectacular results – big points, if you will – but also being a good training partner by being available to talk about long-term developments and requirements.”

A turbocharged career

Whether it’s the future of mobility, electric cars, the latest developments in engineering, remote diagnostics, new sales opportunities, or the dealerships of the future, there’s certainly a great deal to discuss. What’s more, given the current economic climate, Daimler aims to leverage T-Systems’ expertise and knowledge to cut costs. Standardization and consolidation of processes, systems and applications are high on the agenda.

Helmut Schütt, CIO of IT and Processes at Mercedes Benz Cars & Vans, explains: “We expect both innovation and support with cutting costs and improving efficiency from our service providers. T-Systems is one of our key suppliers.” Mauch meets with Helmut Schütt several times a week in Daimler’s offices in Möhringen and Untertürkheim, both just a short drive from Leinfelden near Stuttgart.

Mauch’s career has been as international as the automakers he has worked for. After spending time in the US and in Eastern Europe, he landed his job at IBM and traveled all over the world. He believes his experience abroad and his many years in the industry have prepared him well for his current task. T-Systems is Daimler’s key ICT service provider, providing support for almost all processes – engineering, production, sales and aftersales, human resources and financial accounting. The Deutsche Telekom subsidiary operates the bulk of Daimler’s data centers and networks and implements a wide range of solutions, from CRM to data management.

When faced with a challenge on or off the court, says Mauch, “the decisions you make determine the success of an entire team – in a tennis match and equally with our customers.” The Global Account Executive believes in the sports training philosophy “strengthen your strengths and weaken your weaknesses,” for example, in order to make T-Systems’ portfolioeven more attractive to Daimler, or to propose innovative ideas that are ready for immediate deployment.

Let’s consider cutting-edge ICT solutions for car dealerships. The Global Business Center Sales & Aftersales team from the Daimler account recently unveiled the “virtual salesman.” This enables car dealers to personally contact and advise their customers via the Internet. Another ground-breaking tool developed by Mauch’s team is a multimedia “sales desk.” This was presented within the scope of the Sales Pitch of the Future project. The sales desk’s touch-screen display will allow ustomers and salespeople to better visualize car configuration options, and enable them to discuss a potential sale “on a whole new level,” says Mauch.

Keeping customers satisfied

What’s more, early this year Mauch and his team from T-Systems have tackled the challenge of upgrading Daimler’s EDS/BCS bill of materials system to support increased complexity. The project, carried out within a very tight timeframe, has helped the automaker meet new development documentation challenges, and ensure reliable processes across the entire value chain.

An upgrade, completed three months ago, provides end-to-end integrated process support – from engineering to production and aftersales for the next generation of Actros trucks. It may seem only natural that a system like this would be developed by T-Systems in Leinfelden. But for Mauch, success doesn’t happen on its own. When his team met in late March to discuss plans for the coming fiscal year and to adjust them to the current economic situation, he emphasized, “We can only remain so successful if existing customers such as Daimler recommend T-Systems toothers. For this to happen, we need to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. And that is something we, together with Daimler, can work towards every day.”