MAN Truck & Bus
The demand for customer experience is changing
Commercial vehicle manufacturers today are also becoming increasingly software-driven and need to further develop their digital services, says Anja Hendel. But how can companies find out what their customers really need? Five quick questions for the digital expert.
Anja Hendel
is Managing Director at Diconium, a digital agency that’s also a VW subsidiary. She advises Volkswagen AG on its digitalisation process. Prior to that, the graduate in business IT worked for Porsche.
What opportunities is artificial intelligence opening up for the mobility sector?
Hendel A huge amount of data is available to us today. We now also have the infrastructure at our disposal to process this data. It’s important that industry and research work together to find the best solutions. The top priority for me is safety: We need to work on technologies that save and protect lives on the roads.
Blockchain technology looks particularly promising. What potential applications do you see there?
Hendel Commercial vehicles will probably be the first to drive autonomously. It’s an exciting idea that blockchain technology may help vehicles behave autonomously in other situations, for instance, in the field of payment transactions. But everything needs to remain transparent and comprehensible.
Why is it important to continuously develop digital solutions?
Hendel Digital services are easier to build than in the hardware sector, so the competition never sleeps. They’re also becoming increasingly important, for example, in the field of electric mobility. The demands on customer experiences have also changed since we started getting digital feedback from them.
How does that affect the work of vehicle manufacturers?
Hendel Companies like MAN can now see exactly how and when their services are utilised. That enables them to much better understand what customers really use and need – and use this information to develop new solutions.
How must companies change in order to make the leap into the digital future?
Hendel For future success, it is essential to try out new things again and again and to question the given. Those who want to remain relevant must want change.
