Merc-Benz becomes the first auto company in India to role out 'direct to customer' retail strategy

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• Oct 29, 2021 | moderator

Guwahati: Ushering in a highly customer-centric ‘direct to customer’ sales model, Mercedez-Benz has become the first auto company in India to carry out direct sales with the dealers and retailers – now known as franchise partners – getting engaged only for enquiry, customer experience, delivery and service support, earning a commission and incentive on the volumes they do.

Under its ‘Retail of the Future’ (ROTF) programme, the new model will include direct sale to customers, higher stock visibility and endless choice for customers with ‘centralized’ national stock. Also the customers will get the same price and offers through a centrally controlled setup.

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Focused entirely on customer convenience, ROTF brings to the Indian customers a bouquet of industry-first practices, creating a new benchmark in transparency and customer convenience, aimed towards offering the best customer experience. With ROTF, customers will not have to pay any incidental charges for their purchase anymore. In addition, the customers will now have a direct access to national stock giving them a higher visibility to select their desired products from across markets. Mercedes-Benz also for the first time will now offer the VIN number to the customer even during the order booking stage.

At the announcement of Retail of the Future in India, Martin Schwenk, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India commented, “In June 2021, we announced a disruptive retail business model which is highly customer centric and promised a seamless, Omni channel and transparent experience to our customers. Today, we are proud to implement the ‘Retail of the Future’ in India after successfully establishing a robust digital backbone, which will support this significant transition in our retail business. ROTF is a unique customer centric business model, which caters to the evolving trends of our customers, while empowering our Franchise Partners by significantly reducing their financial and operational risks in the market. ROTF further supports our quest toward creating customer excellence as the Franchise Partners will now solely compete on providing a superlative customer experience.”

“With ROTF, we have created a completely unified customer journey experience with many industry-first initiatives to its credit. For the first time in India, there is no incidental or extra charges for the customers. Customers now have a direct access to Mercedes-Benz India’s national stock with a wide variety of inventory choices. ROTF is a step in the right direction in getting closer to our customers, and a result of listening to their wishes and evolving requirements. As the most trusted luxury brand in the country, we have set a new standard in customer centricity, a new benchmark in Franchise Partners’ profitability and introduced a new culture of competing only for the best customer experience.” Mr. Schwenk elaborated.

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Speaking on the same, Mercedez-Benz Axom Motors Branch Head, Punyobroto Dutta said, “Retail of the Future (ROTF) is the new seamless sales process to future in Automotive Industry. The ROTF process symbolizes customer centric, transparent buying and centralized stock availability. Customers will now purchase Mercedez-Benz vehicles at nationally set best price and offers.”

"With ROTF effect, dealerships will offer car showcase, test drives and post-sale services. We believe ROTF will create a win-win situation for all stakeholders and customers will get the best of the buying experiences"says Muhammad Anowar, Lead Marketing, Axom Motors.