More than a year has now passed since I started working at Daimler Trucks Asia as a controller.

So what am I actually doing? I’m working in the Finance and Controlling Department as an operations controller. This means I’m responsible for overseeing the costs of production that occurs when producing trucks in the manufacturing plant in Kawasaki.

The main tasks are controlling production cost, monthly reporting/analysis (actuals vs plan), and standard cost setting. This as well as many ad hoc assignments.

The job is exciting since I have close communications with both business managers and other controllers. This is interesting since I get an operational viewpoint on the business, compared to the more traditional finance role. For example, thinking of ways to identify cost-saving opportunities and efficiency gains.

The automotive industry is challenging but very exciting. There are so many things happening right now. CASE (Connectivity, Autonomous, Shared, Electrification) is said to be the four elements of the megatrends that will transform the automotive industry.