Daimler opens Cebu service hub

A German company, which manufactures high-end cars and trucks, has opened its shared services office in Cebu.

Daimler Group Services Philippines (DGSP) shared services office will provide back office operations support to its mother company-Daimler AG, said Heiko Nitsche, DGSP chief executive officer, during the launching of the Cebu office last Friday at the Creativo IT Building in Cebu Business Park.

“We looked at India, Manila and Cebu. We finally decided that Cebu is the best place so we started setting up our office two years ago and has since found the best people to join our company,” said Nitsche.

DGSP is categorized under Knowledge Process Outsource and is the first major German company that has invested in Cebu according to Michael Hasper, German Embassy deputy head of mission.

Klaus Eser, Daimler Group Services chairman, said that setting up the Philippine office holds a lot of promise for Cebuanos with the company looking forward to growing its operations here.

Daimler brands include Mercedes Benz, Smart Electric Cars, Mitsubishi Fuso, Freightliner and Western Star, Thomasbuilt Buses and MB Vans and Buses.

“As of now, we are supporting our Africa, Europe, Germany and Asia Pacific operations,” he said.

Japan will also be added in the countries they are supporting this month and next year South Africa, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand will be added, Nitsche said.

At present, DGSP has 113 employees occupying the 9th and 10th floors of the building and is the third shared services under Daimler AG including Daimler Group Services Madrid and Daimler Group Services Berlin.

“This office has a seating capacity of 210 to 215 people but we think that with our growth plans we will need to expand soon with more floors,” said Nitsche.

Globally, Daimler group employs 275,000 people – 1,600 of that are working with the Daimler Group Services including the 113 in Cebu.

German Language

Eser said they see a lot of good talents in Cebu but has limitations in the German language.

“We think the German language services is the biggest potential for Cebu because as of now that is the only limitation we see here that is why we provide training for them to also learn the German language considering that our biggest operation is in Germany and will need a lot of back office processes support,” said Eser.

Aside from the financial and accounting services, Nitsche said that they still have other processes that Cebu can cater to like HR processes and administration processes.