Mercedes-Benz wants to increase efficiency in car production by 20 percent by 2025. This should be possible through the use of a cloud from the Internet giant Microsoft, as both companies announced on Wednesday in Stuttgart. This is intended to network around 30 of the carmaker’s plants worldwide and exchange data. Potential bottlenecks in the supply chain could be better foreseen and resources could be channeled more into the production of high-priced vehicles and electric cars.
The targeted 20 percent is not only about the direct production costs, but also about costs for energy, logistics and quality assurance, said the Mercedes board member responsible for production, Jörg Burzer. Ultimately, it is about the entire value chain.
Before the Microsoft cooperation, the data tended to stay in the individual teams, explained Mercedes IT boss Jan Brecht. Now they are visible beyond the organizational boundaries, which also increases the speed of reaction.
Mercedes did not provide any information about the costs for using the Microsoft services. The running costs would be “massively overcompensated” by the increase in efficiency, it said. The data would be stored in Europe.