German luxury automotive brand Mercedes-Benz has announced its Canadian division will deploy Microsoft Hololens 2 headsets and ‘Dynamics 365 Remote Assist’ solution across its entire network of national dealerships and repair centres.
The news indicates Mercedes-Benz Canada is the first automotive company in the country to do so.
According to reports, Mercedes-Benz started its digital transformation journey in July this year, shattering records in Canada.
Adding Microsoft’s MR remote guidance network will allow the German firm to provide more accurate repairs and boost communication to improve maintenance efficicacy for customers and dealerships.
Joseph Lagrasta, Shop Foreman for Mercedes-Benz Brampton, said using Microsoft’s remote guidance solution was like having an “expert over your shoulder the minute you need them.”
Additionally, the German automotive firm is using Microsoft’s solution to improve training and on-boarding experiences for service technicians.
“What’s most exciting is that this is just the beginning,” Nikhil Ondhia, Vice President, Customer Services, Mercedes-Benz Canada said in a statement to The Weekly Voice, which suggested in-house developers were exploring further MR opportunities.
He explained further,
“We are continuously testing new applications to further improve the training opportunities and further master the complexity of our amazing new models”
Digital Transformations with Microsoft
A recently commissioned Microsoft study Microsoft found “$93,000 [could be saved] in annual labor and travel costs per expert,” which paid off the Dynamics 365 system after 12 months.
Various firms such as the NHS, Ecolab, Saint-Goblin, and L’Oréal have partnered with Microsoft to deploy MR solutions and create company-wide paperless and hands-free collaborative opportunities.
Additionally, chemical industry giant LyondellBasell and Serbian Hemofarm pharmaceuticals responded quickly to the Covid-19 pandemic by deploying MR solutions from Microsoft.
The digital transformations enabled both firms to avoid a halt in production thanks to improved safety measures with MR technology, and by becoming early enterprise adopters of MR solutions, the companies have made strides in global remote guidance.
The news comes as Microsoft targets competitors after it unveiled its consumer-grade Hololens 3, which is set for launch in March 2024 at a reduce price point.
