Client Success Story - DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler is one of the world’s leading automotive companies. Its passenger car brands include Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge. Commercial vehicle brands include Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star, and Setra. It offers financial and other automotive services through DaimlerChrysler Services. With 365,600 employees, DaimlerChrysler achieved revenues of EUR 149.6 billion ($158.8 billion) in 2002.
Just as DaimlerChrysler owners enjoy high performance on the road, DaimlerChrysler employees now enjoy high performance on the job. At DaimlerChrysler headquarters, CBORD’s OmniACCESS™ makes purchasing foods and services quick and easy for eligible employees on-site.
In partnership with food service contractor ARAMARK, DaimlerChrysler is using the system in several locations, including two cafeterias and two stores selling branded merchandise and convenience items. 15,000 employees have the employee ID card, promoting a cashless campus and using payroll deduction to finance dining and retail activities.
DaimlerChrysler Project Manager Lisa Giese was appointed to oversee the install and manage the program system once in place. Guest Express, as the program is called, uses payroll deduction with the cashless system. Giese worked with ARAMARK to launch the Guest Express program at DaimlerChrysler by population, rolling out the cashless dining program first to executives and salaried employees. Recently, DaimlerChrysler made Guest Express available to over 400 hourly employees as well. DaimlerChrysler spent two months planning and testing the new system before going live.
As DaimlerChrysler was already using proximity (prox) technology for its employee badges, CBORD® added the cashless functions to their badges using prox technology as well. This saved the company the extra effort of rebadging an entire workforce, and the same badges could be used for door access, parking, retail shopping, and dining throughout the facility.
Marketing the Cashless Card System
Advertising the new cashless dining and retail aspects to the employees early in the game helped to make the program a success. According to Giese, “We used signage for the cafeteria, ARAMARK offered a gift certificate for $5.00 towards any food or merchandise purchase on campus, and we designed signs for main entrances, and promoted the payroll deduction program with an article in the employee newsletter.”
According to an article in InformationWeek magazine, DaimlerChrysler executives were quoted as saying they like cashless for the speed. “Doing away with cash makes life—or rather, lunch—simpler for employees and speeds up the lines.” With press like that, it’s easy to see how a CBORD system is a benefit to companies and employees alike!
