At the In Car Software supplier forum on February 19, 2024, 200 guests met in the Mercedes-Benz Center of Excellence, consisting of existing and potential supplier partners in the software environment and management representatives from our company. The forum asked for a varied day full of information about software and various formats to share knowledge, have time for networking and experience our products.
The morning offered the guests valuable information on the topic of “Lead in Electric Drive & In Car Software”, one of the core pillars of our corporate strategy. Key notes from Magnus Östberg, Chief Software Officer and Gunnar Güthenke, Head of Procurement & Supplier Quality conveyed our company’s activities in this field. The engine of the future, or rather the brains of our future vehicle generations and the future heart of our vehicles is our own operating system MB.OS. It is intended to revolutionize the digital experience in the car and be a fundamental success factor for competitive differentiation and the customer experience. It is introduced with the new Mercedes Modular Architecture platform (MMA). It consists of four domains: driving & charging, infotainment, autonomous driving and vehicle and comfort functions.
In his keynote, Magnus Östberg informed the guests about what “Lead in digital experience” means for our customers. 3 levers make up the customer experience.
- Making our customers’ lives easier with the most seamless and intuitive user experience.
- Delight our customers with new features, services, and third-party apps.
- To save customers time through the highest level of driving comfort and maximum safety in automated driving.
Magnus Östberg also described the roles. Mercedes-Benz is the architect of the MB.OS chip-to-cloud architecture and is responsible for specifications, design, development, integration and procurement. “1 + 1 equals more than 2, says Magnus Östberg, and it is important that we continue to develop core products together in mixed teams consisting of Mercedes-Benz employees and partners from the supplier industry to create something “big.”
Gunnar Güthenke summarizes in his keynote, among other things the essential aspects for the basis of a successful collaboration. “Since the invention of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz has stood for the continuous development of mobility and technological advances. We remain true to our claim of ensuring the highest level of safety and quality. Established development processes are the key to high-quality software. There are already successful examples: Drive Pilot, Dolby Atmos, Chat GPT and Energizing Comfort. An important prerequisite for the successful implementation of the best products is the coordination between software and hardware development within a specified schedule. Everyone involved bears responsibility for this, for the commercial challenges and contract reliability. The aim is to achieve the best commercial and technical solutions through internal and external competition. Finally, the topic of sustainability plays an important role. Examples include the use of sustainable energy, vehicle efficiency and data security. “We are ready for the next chapter: Our ambition is to create a perfect symbiosis of hardware and software. “This requires the best business partners,” says Gunnar Güthenke.
Interaction & Dialogue
In the afternoon, the focus was on interaction. The guests were able to exchange ideas in dialogue zones and expand their network. At speed dating’s, potential suppliers were able to present their service portfolio to a cross-functional Mercedes-Benz team, provide insights into their integrated system development and discuss innovative approaches. Software features such as Dolby Atmos and Energizing Comfort were experienced by participants during experience sessions. And the driving experience couldn’t be missed either. The Drive Pilot and various functions of the driving assistance systems, such as parking, lane changing and distance assistant, etc., were experienced by the guests in driving demonstrations. Technical content such as contractual topics and quality requirements in collaboration rounded off the afternoon program.
Let’s design smart software solutions together!
That was the core message of the In Car Software supplier forum. The day was met with great enthusiasm by all guests. Existing partnerships were strengthened and new partners were met. We are ready for the next chapter: Working with existing or future suppliers in partnership and continuously implementing smart software solutions for our operating system.
"We need the best partners for key areas and content to create a luxurious and personalized living space. With MB.OS, our future vehicle models will be real drivers of innovation. The CLA will be the first vehicle to use the MMA architecture, launching our own operating system. It is the future heart of our vehicles, in fact the brain of the vehicles of the future.“
Magnus Östberg, Chief Software Officer
"The competition for innovation and growth undoubtedly takes place in the vehicle. In-car software and the associated applications are increasingly becoming a distinguishing feature of vehicles. Software is redefining mobility and changing the automotive value chain. Our goal as innovation leader is to build the most desirable cars in the world and win the race to bring groundbreaking innovations to market. To this end, we will continue strong partnerships and develop new partnerships. Together we want to achieve extraordinary things.”
Gunnar Güthenke, Head of Procurement & Supplier Quality
