Dr. Klaus Schmitz
Partner
Klaus advises automotive and high-tech companies on strategy, digitization, innovation and technology.
Areas of Focus
Education
University of Bamberg
Doctorate/PhD
University of Bamberg
Diploma in Information Systems
Past Experience
Center for business information systems
Founder and Managing Director
University of Bamberg
Junior Researcher, Lecturer and Project Manager
Universities of Duisburg Essen and Bayreuth
Visiting Lecturer
Klaus is a Partner in our Munich office and leads the Automotive Practice in Central Europe. He predominantly serves clients in the automotive industry. His second background being in the technology and innovation practice, Klaus also supports clients in the high-tech industry on innovation and technology topics.
In automotive, his main fields of work comprise marketing, sales and after-sales, as well as strategic innovation, technology and information management. Relevant project examples are best customer experience, strategic planning, sales and after-sales excellence and product life-cycle management (PLM).
His special interest lies in mastering the disruptive change of digitization and new mobility for clients. His education and background in information systems and software development enable him to understand technology issues.
Before joining Arthur D. Little, Klaus co-founded a research-oriented consultancy and led it as managing director for five years. Prior to this he was a junior researcher, lecturer and project leader in large external projects with big German corporations.
Hydrogen: Trucking’s alternative fuel of the future
Hydrogen-powered trucks offer the promise of an attractive alternative to battery electric (BEV) trucks for tackling the challenge of decarbonizing heavy-duty and long-haul trucking. As the production cost of hydrogen decreases and the investment in relevant infrastructure grows, hydrogen fuel cells will emerge as a commercially viable green alternative that will outcompete fossil fuels. In this Viewpoint, we explore the future of hydrogen trucking.
The role of hydrogen in building a sustainable future for automotive mobility
Transportation and mobility need to decarbonize and dramatically lower the sector’s emissions. This is necessary not just from a regulatory perspective, but also because only a truly sustainable transportation and automotive industry will be able to maintain its importance and prosperity in the long run.
Artificial intelligence in mobility
Beyond the hype, where the true value lies
Future car sales – how to go direct?
The physical retail store for goods and services is losing ground to new sales models and channels. Online retail, often in a direct sales set-up, continues to gain market share in almost every product category. In the automotive industry, players such as Tesla and electric vehicle (EV) start-ups, without existing widespread sales networks, sell directly through new channels, including online, urban boutiques and pop-up stores. Besides more variety in sales formats, this allows for limiting of retail costs and payout of margins to dealer networks.
The future of hydrogen and e-fuels
With intensified discussions to become carbon-free, hydrogen is back at the top of the agenda for some. Others see it as over-hyped with too many limitations, especially with regard to efficiency. Similarly, e-fuels are controversial. Thus, while battery electric vehicles are starting to take off, the future of hydrogen and e-fuels is very much in question. But now players, ranging from nations, corporations, and energy and utility enterprises to start-ups, need to place their bets on the future energy carrier that will replace fossil energy.
The dark side of the moon: Online-offline integration in automotive retail
The behavior of car buyers has dramatically changed. Nowadays, they spend more than 70 percent of their time in the buying process online, and the number of dealer visits is seldom more than one. Thus, without online-offline integration, customers do not experience a seamless journey, and the dealer and OEM can no longer drive sales success sufficiently. However, online-offline integration is currently only in its infancy for most OEMs and dealerships across industries.
Future of automotive mobility – reloaded
Key findings of Arthur D. Little’s new worldwide automotive market report are that desire for car ownership remains strong, especially amongst the young, and that drivers are considering a dramatic switch to electric and hybrid vehicles (EVs). This will impact manufacturer and supplier engine strategies and push for faster development of EV ecosystems, such as charging solutions. Drivers are now much more willing to embrace alternative drivetrains. 58% would accept paying more for hybrids, and 50% for EVs.
Capacity effect of autonomous vehicles
Arthur D. Little conducted a real-world simulation analysis that demonstrates that switching to totally autonomous vehicles dramatically reduces urban congestion, but that a mix of human and robot drivers actually increases traffic jams. The micro-simulation was based on a major intersection in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, that is notorious for its large evening traffic jams. This five lane highway includes two lanes turning left and one to the right, has a 80 km/h speed limit, and is controlled by a traffic light.
Car sharing in China: another storm in city mobility
After Didi acquired Uber China in 2016, the fierce battle between the two chauffeur giants came to an end, resulting in a large customer pool that was well educated on new urban mobility. Now the battle in city mobility continues, with another storm coming in – car sharing. Arthur D. Little analyzes the market dynamics, major challenges, and implications for the future.
The future of automotive mobility
Automotive as it has evolved over the last 100 years is perceived by many as leading to massive problems over the world. Driven by wealth, urbanization and increasing car-park pollution and congestion, effects have increased globally and need to be addressed.
Future-proof & lean DMS integration
Efficient processes and systems in automotive retail are gaining importance for OEMs. They actually are a critical success factor to reach sales targets by enabling efficient customer facing processes and lean processing of large sales quantities. Dealer management systems (DMS) play a major role in this field. Therefore in-depth knowledge and capabilities need to be developed how to overcome costly and complex DMS integration and support new business opportunities like online sales, better customer experience and analytics as well as connected cars.
The march of the robo-taxis
Traffic congestion has a major impact on air quality, health and productivity in cities across the globe. Zero-emission vehicles, autonomous driving and new mobility models are billed as providing solutions to this problem, but will they work in practice? Drawing on a unique combination of real-world modeling, consumer research and trend analysis, this article outlines the impact of these developments on drivers, car manufacturers, regulators and public transportation providers.
Klaus is a Partner in our Munich office and leads the Automotive Practice in Central Europe. He predominantly serves clients in the automotive industry. His second background being in the technology and innovation practice, Klaus also supports clients in the high-tech industry on innovation and technology topics.
In automotive, his main fields of work comprise marketing, sales and after-sales, as well as strategic innovation, technology and information management. Relevant project examples are best customer experience, strategic planning, sales and after-sales excellence and product life-cycle management (PLM).
His special interest lies in mastering the disruptive change of digitization and new mobility for clients. His education and background in information systems and software development enable him to understand technology issues.
Before joining Arthur D. Little, Klaus co-founded a research-oriented consultancy and led it as managing director for five years. Prior to this he was a junior researcher, lecturer and project leader in large external projects with big German corporations.
Hydrogen: Trucking’s alternative fuel of the future
Hydrogen-powered trucks offer the promise of an attractive alternative to battery electric (BEV) trucks for tackling the challenge of decarbonizing heavy-duty and long-haul trucking. As the production cost of hydrogen decreases and the investment in relevant infrastructure grows, hydrogen fuel cells will emerge as a commercially viable green alternative that will outcompete fossil fuels. In this Viewpoint, we explore the future of hydrogen trucking.
The role of hydrogen in building a sustainable future for automotive mobility
Transportation and mobility need to decarbonize and dramatically lower the sector’s emissions. This is necessary not just from a regulatory perspective, but also because only a truly sustainable transportation and automotive industry will be able to maintain its importance and prosperity in the long run.
Artificial intelligence in mobility
Beyond the hype, where the true value lies
Future car sales – how to go direct?
The physical retail store for goods and services is losing ground to new sales models and channels. Online retail, often in a direct sales set-up, continues to gain market share in almost every product category. In the automotive industry, players such as Tesla and electric vehicle (EV) start-ups, without existing widespread sales networks, sell directly through new channels, including online, urban boutiques and pop-up stores. Besides more variety in sales formats, this allows for limiting of retail costs and payout of margins to dealer networks.
The future of hydrogen and e-fuels
With intensified discussions to become carbon-free, hydrogen is back at the top of the agenda for some. Others see it as over-hyped with too many limitations, especially with regard to efficiency. Similarly, e-fuels are controversial. Thus, while battery electric vehicles are starting to take off, the future of hydrogen and e-fuels is very much in question. But now players, ranging from nations, corporations, and energy and utility enterprises to start-ups, need to place their bets on the future energy carrier that will replace fossil energy.
The dark side of the moon: Online-offline integration in automotive retail
The behavior of car buyers has dramatically changed. Nowadays, they spend more than 70 percent of their time in the buying process online, and the number of dealer visits is seldom more than one. Thus, without online-offline integration, customers do not experience a seamless journey, and the dealer and OEM can no longer drive sales success sufficiently. However, online-offline integration is currently only in its infancy for most OEMs and dealerships across industries.
Future of automotive mobility – reloaded
Key findings of Arthur D. Little’s new worldwide automotive market report are that desire for car ownership remains strong, especially amongst the young, and that drivers are considering a dramatic switch to electric and hybrid vehicles (EVs). This will impact manufacturer and supplier engine strategies and push for faster development of EV ecosystems, such as charging solutions. Drivers are now much more willing to embrace alternative drivetrains. 58% would accept paying more for hybrids, and 50% for EVs.
Capacity effect of autonomous vehicles
Arthur D. Little conducted a real-world simulation analysis that demonstrates that switching to totally autonomous vehicles dramatically reduces urban congestion, but that a mix of human and robot drivers actually increases traffic jams. The micro-simulation was based on a major intersection in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, that is notorious for its large evening traffic jams. This five lane highway includes two lanes turning left and one to the right, has a 80 km/h speed limit, and is controlled by a traffic light.
Car sharing in China: another storm in city mobility
After Didi acquired Uber China in 2016, the fierce battle between the two chauffeur giants came to an end, resulting in a large customer pool that was well educated on new urban mobility. Now the battle in city mobility continues, with another storm coming in – car sharing. Arthur D. Little analyzes the market dynamics, major challenges, and implications for the future.
The future of automotive mobility
Automotive as it has evolved over the last 100 years is perceived by many as leading to massive problems over the world. Driven by wealth, urbanization and increasing car-park pollution and congestion, effects have increased globally and need to be addressed.
Future-proof & lean DMS integration
Efficient processes and systems in automotive retail are gaining importance for OEMs. They actually are a critical success factor to reach sales targets by enabling efficient customer facing processes and lean processing of large sales quantities. Dealer management systems (DMS) play a major role in this field. Therefore in-depth knowledge and capabilities need to be developed how to overcome costly and complex DMS integration and support new business opportunities like online sales, better customer experience and analytics as well as connected cars.
The march of the robo-taxis
Traffic congestion has a major impact on air quality, health and productivity in cities across the globe. Zero-emission vehicles, autonomous driving and new mobility models are billed as providing solutions to this problem, but will they work in practice? Drawing on a unique combination of real-world modeling, consumer research and trend analysis, this article outlines the impact of these developments on drivers, car manufacturers, regulators and public transportation providers.
More About Klaus
- University of BambergDoctorate/PhD
- University of BambergDiploma in Information Systems
- Center for business information systemsFounder and Managing Director
- University of BambergJunior Researcher, Lecturer and Project Manager
- Universities of Duisburg Essen and BayreuthVisiting Lecturer