When the Mercedes Pro Adapter is inserted into the service port in the vehicle, it establishes a connection between the vehicle, driver’s smartphone and fleet manager. The web-based service links the fleet manager with all vehicles and drivers in the fleet via the proprietary Vehicle Management Tool.
The Mercedes Pro Adapter makes it possible to manage vehicles online as well as to check vehicle information such as location, fuel level or maintenance intervals almost in real time. Users communicate with the fleet manager via the Mercedes Pro Adapter app on their smartphone.
As well as optimising vehicle dispatching, interaction between fleet managers and drivers gives fleet customers ranging from small to medium-sized fleets considerable scope for improvement when it comes to effective fleet management. Mileage for the whole fleet can be analysed, for example.
Additional services from Mercedes Pro connect are already being planned, along with support for other model series by way of an integrated ex-factory solution in new vehicles.
At the market launch of the Mercedes Pro Adapter, the Mercedes Pro connect offering includes five core services. Vehicle logistics is about transferring vehicle locations and creating geofences; generating and sending POIs. Vehicle status covers an overview of vehicle condition and usage across the fleet. Fleet communication includes sending messages between fleet managers and drivers (when vehicle is not driving). A digital driver’s log provides a digital list of all journeys that are made which can be categorised by type (business; private; commute) and can be exported as a .csv spreadsheet file. Finally, the maintenance management element includes information on upcoming vehicle services and allows dealers to send service quotes to the customer, making their work day easier.
Before setting out, the trip type can be set; ‘business’ transmits all relevant vehicle and driver data to the system and thus to the fleet manager, while ‘private’ and ‘commute’ anonymises information in the vehicle log to meet data protection policies. In these cases, position information and the start and end times of the trip are not transmitted and the vehicle will not be included in the Vehicle Supervision view.
Mercedes Pro (www.mercedes.pro) is the new brand for all current and future service offerings, solutions and digital services for van customers' day‑to-day business requirements. It takes support for commercial customers to a new level. The service brand is an important part of the strategic adVANce initiative, which aims to transform the carmaker into ‘a supplier of comprehensive system solutions’, it says.