[Venkatesh]

Mercedes-Benz India had first revealed the new strategy in June this year, and after testing it under a beta phase, it is now finally implementing the new sales model.



Mercedes-Benz has introduced their new Retail of the Future business model in India.



Mercedes-Benz has already launched as many as 13 models in India this year.



Mercedes-Benz is adapting their business model as per emerging customer trends with digitization and connectivity lying at the heart of it.



Here are some drawbacks of the traditional retail business model as highlighted by Mercedes-Benz.



Here are some highlights of the Mercedes-Benz India's Retail of the Future business model.



Retail of the Future model has some significant advantages for the end customer.



India is the first CKD market where Retail of the Future model is being introduced.



These are the 5 stages of Retail of the Future business model.



Under ROTF, the quotation is split in two parts, with complete transparency to the customer.



There will be one price for all customers for each model, where retailers will be competing for customer experience.



Mercedes-Benz India is doing away with all incidental charges, also ensuring transparency in the process.



Here's how customers can place order under new Retail of the Future model.



ROFT ensures a completely paperless documentation process and also gives out expected time of delivery digitally.



Mercedes-Benz India has a wide range of payment options to make the process customer friendly and has no hidden charges.



Mercedes-Benz India will undertake an exhaustive check list for each vehicle, digitally, for a seamless delivery experience.



Here are some highlights of the vehicle handover process under the Retail of the Future model.

- Flat bed delivery
- Full tank fuel



Customers will also have the opportunity to submit feedback on customer experience, which will be key area of competition among retailers.



The Retail of the Future model not only benefits the customer, but there's significant benefits for the franchise partners as well.



Mercedes-Benz India has also received over 1,700 orders while beta testing the new sales plan in India.



Source

[a4_attitude]

Can anyone confirm the price offer he has received before and after?

[TusharK]

Mercedes-Benz has implemented its 'direct to customer' sales model called 'Retail of the Future' (ROTF) in India.



ROTF was first announced in June 2021. It has been launched after the successful completion of the beta testing phase, during which, the carmaker received over 1,700 customer bookings through the ROTF. India is the first CKD and fourth worldwide market to implement the new business model.

Highlights of ROTF:

• One Customer, One Price
• Offered by Mercedes-Benz India directly via established franchise network and online
• Centralized stock now owned by Mercedes-Benz India
• Centralized ordering and fulfilment now by Mercedes-Benz India
• Better financial health of franchise partners due to lower cost structure and zero inventory

Here are the 5-steps of the offline Sales Transaction System:

Quotation: Utilizing the visibility of the ‘National Stock’, customers can connect with the franchise partner after checking the 'National Stock'.
Order Booking: Customers can book a car by paying an amount of Rs. 50,000. The order completion should occur over the next 14 days. The VIN will be confirmed with order booking.
Order Finalization: An instant e-mail confirmation will be sent once the documents are verified and confirmed with Mercedes-Benz. This process will be followed through end-to-end data security.
Invoicing: The invoice will reach the customer within 7 days after payment realization.
Handover: The franchise partner will deliver the car at the customer’s doorstep or at the showroom.

Key customer-oriented initiatives:

National stock visibility along with the production pipeline
No incidental charges for the customer
VIN confirmed during order booking
Mercedes to offer 14 days for order confirmation

Franchise partners will continue to remain brand representatives in the market. They will be responsible for developing customer relationships and local market requirements as well as deliveries. The current showroom structure will remain the same.

Mercedes-Benz has invested more than Rs. 600 million in ROTF. Over 200 individuals across India, Singapore and Germany spent 24 months setting up this project.

Link to Team-BHP News

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Mercedes-Benz has introduced their new Retail of the Future business model in India

Sounds great on paper, let's see how well it is executed. If successful, this is a great initiative by MB, providing complete transparency to the end customer. Imagine something like this in place for the new Thar

[Vibhav-Van]

I believe this 'Retail of the Future' model will be adopted by other car-makers too. Lower overheads and most importantly, tighter control of the customer buying cycle is the biggest incentive for car companies.

Today a lot of the customer experience depends on the dealer. I bet most car makers will want to control that aspect. On the flip-side, discounts might disappear.

[saikarthik]

If you limit the dealer's profit during sale process, they might fleece the customer during service. It's even worse when they do a part replacement when it's not needed and screw up more.

[Luke1972]

I tried the above process online. It seems there are still bugs in the system since I was not able to find any petrol cars/SUVs in their online store. Only the diesel variants are displayed. I wanted to check out the A Class/GLA petrol variants but no luck maybe they have not rolled out for all the variants.

[V.Narayan]

A sensible move in the right direction by Mercedes Benz. As a businessman you want to have as close control over the customer experience, of your product+service, as you can. Unfortunately for car makers the dealer, his different priorities, his high-attrition employees determine that customer experience not only while buying but also through the life cycle of the car. This has also led to the executives of the OEM not being in touch with their real customer - you & me. So much so that several OEMs, Mercedes included, don't even bother to reply back to letters written by the real customer.

This hopefully could resolve to a large extent the shenanigans of the dealer over the cycle of researching-booking-paying for- taking delivery of the car. After Sales Service still needs to be addressed.

Good for you Mercedes.

[androdev]

People down south will stop sulking about the discounts people in Delhi/Mumbai get :-)

I think this will make small-time dealers happy as they no longer have to compete with big boys based on inventory and discounts.

I am not a fan of this model though. I don't think purchasing experience is that bad to warrant any dramatic change. It's the service costs and warranties that need the big change. If anything, customer vs dealer gives me better leverage than customer vs Mercedes when it comes to exploring a good deal. I happen to buy an S class only because the dealer said they had one in stock at a great price. I have read many similar purchase experiences on this forum, where a combination of ready stock and a good price influences people to buy a car that is more expensive than what they had in mind. Such decisions are taken in a very touch-and-feel world and this new model seems very impersonal and remote.

I am not the type who will go to Mercedes-Amazon and use one click buy option to buy my next car.

[akg7091]

BMW will follow suit soon. If this is not cartelization I don't know what is !

[Turbanator]

When I click the link for ROTF, it says coming soon

https://request.mercedes-benz.co.in/...the-Future.pdf

Similarly, when we search cars via buy now option, I see a total of 17 cars with many expected in future, wonder how have they already sold 1700 cars via this portal already?

https://shop.mercedes-benz.com/en-in/shop/vehicle/srp

The last time we bought our MB, everything was done at a physical showroom but the dealership sent a link to pay initial deposit via some portal. Must be to show MB sales via Internet

Originally Posted by akg7091

BMW will follow suit soon. If this is not cartelization I don't know what is !

I don't think so. These things start usually from HQ, picking a region or starting from home and then spread across. They will simply watch for a while how it unfolds. No matter how good this looks to some Accountants in the MB, not sure if this will practically work out especially in India. These prices are not honest cost plus fair margins like what Tesla offers, so just following that model is not going to work. They need to be more innovative in implementation.


Some more info from the Boss

https://auto.economictimes.indiatime...india/87234535

[kiku007]

Meanwhile in Australia,

https://www.afr.com/companies/transp...0211019-p59192

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/m...re-172105.html

"The clash comes after more than 80 per cent of independent Mercedes dealers launched a $650 million legal action against the company."

[Venkatesh]

Mercedes-Benz delivers 1,000 cars under its direct-to-customer retail model, with an order bank of over 2,000 units.

1,000th vehicle being an A-class Limousine recently delivered to a customer in Delhi.





Link

[Equus]

How are the discounts now for their cars? They have declared its a success already - interesting. I think Audi will benefit most from this and take pole position soon!

[achyutaghosh]

Originally Posted by Equus

How are the discounts now for their cars? They have declared its a success already - interesting. I think Audi will benefit most from this and take pole position soon!

Looks tough. Mercedes continues to sell over 1000 units a month, while Audi is doing 150 odd.

Audi needs a few volume sellers to get the crowds back to their showrooms, otherwise only T-BHPians will be buying their cars. Where is the new Q3 and the A3?

The new model seems to be a success for Mercedes. Is there no discount being offered by them at all?