15.07.2025 | Tech & Innovation
Daimler Truck has mastered a significant and extensive transformation task with its IT carve-out: In just three and a half years, around 1,500 IT systems and applications were completely separated, redesigned or replaced, and the company was set up on an independent IT foundation. With this, Daimler Truck is now also completely independent in terms of its digital infrastructure and successfully positioned for the future of the commercial vehicle industry.
With the split of Daimler AG into Daimler Truck Holding AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG, one group became two independent companies. This meant that the previously shared IT infrastructure and all IT applications had to be separated. The agreement reached by the companies at the time: All running systems and applications in use were transferred to Mercedes-Benz Group AG together with their ongoing license agreements and contracts. Daimler Truck was faced with the Herculean task of reviewing around 1,500 applications and systems: Will the application be taken over one-to-one? Is there a new, better alternative? Or can some of the applications even be switched off? Preparation for this enormous project was extremely important: it was carefully analyzed, checked and evaluated in advance what exactly needs to be done when and with what resources.
The carve-out was a herculean task: We separated our entire IT infrastructure and provided the global Daimler Truck organization with a major IT update. Now we are entering a new phase with a clear focus on optimization, innovation and transformation with a consolidated IT landscape. We keep IT up!
Andreas Gorbach – Member of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck Holding AG, responsible for Truck Technology
Now, in July 2025, it's done! We did IT! This strong performance is the result of impressive teamwork: employees from many business units and departments, from sales and aftersales to engineering and finance to human resources, worked together with the IT team to accomplish this complex task in a challenging environment. The path was not always easy – flexibility and perseverance were often required. But the objective was clear: a future-proof company that is optimally aligned with the specific requirements of its customers and markets. Wherever possible, standardized and global solutions were used to build a lean IT landscape.
In the finance and controlling department, for example, ten different applications, some of which were over 30 years old, were replaced by a standardized industry solution for accounting. As part of this change, more than 550 million data records were migrated and over 7,000 employees were connected. The new application increases transparency, improves controllability, and offers new features such as optimized inventory management, which enables even closer integration with logistics.
Logistics? That’s the right cue! In the area of after-sales logistics, the company has introduced a new, globally standardized, state-of-the-art IT solution for spare parts logistics, replacing more than ten legacy systems. The new solution enables integrated planning of the spare parts network for all 19 of the company's own warehouse locations for the first time – including the new Global Parts Center in Halberstadt. Modern cloud technology, optimized demand and inventory planning, and internationally standardized processes make after-sales logistics more efficient and scalable. With around 10 million deliveries per year, Daimler Truck is thus laying the foundation for excellent spare parts availability worldwide.
However, the changes did not only affect financial transactions or spare parts – employees were also directly affected by the change. In fact, the IT structures in the HR department were completely redesigned, a new global HR cloud landscape was introduced in 33 countries, and a completely independent solution for time and payroll management was created, which manages over 35,000 salaries throughout Germany. This transformation replaced existing systems and consistently standardized processes – from master data management to payroll accounting.
The list could go on and on – because it was indeed a comprehensive and herculean task!
The successful, comprehensive separation of systems and applications was more than just an IT project for Daimler Truck – the new setup is a milestone on the road to digital independence. The focus was not on copying existing structures, but on radical and bold change: complexity was drastically reduced, processes streamlined, and the IT portfolio realigned to be modern and efficient. The result is an IT landscape that has not only made the company independent, but also significantly drives innovation and speed both in digital product development and in all enterprise-wide processes.
Daimler Truck is thus no longer just a traditional commercial vehicle manufacturer but has positioned itself as a digitally driven industrial and service company. With the newly structured IT landscape, data-based business models can be implemented, modern services developed, and production processes optimized in a smart way. At the same time, the spotlight belongs to the employees who made this change possible: team spirit was and remains the key to success.
The IT team at Daimler Truck is looking to the future with high motivation: the course has been set to actively shape the transformation of the industry with innovative technologies and a new, agile mindset.
