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CASE STUDY GROCONTINENTAL
Page 48
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Extended warranties are all very well for older vehicles, but if your fleet is entirely composed of new trucks, then warranty extensions are irrelevant.
That has become the position at Grocontinental, the specialist food haulier based in Whitchurch, Shropshire.
In 2005/2006, the company decided to convert its fleet entirely to new trucks, and it has just started the process all over again, except it is doing it more quickly. By Christmas, almost all its vehicles should be less than a year old. Most of them are MANs. Who needs extended warranties when your truck replacement programme works on a three-year cycle?
Grocontinental's distribution manager, Simon Thompson, says the company used to run a mixed fleet of new and old vehicles, but decided to change policy for a number of reasons. One is that the company image is better maintained by smart new trucks; another is driver retention (drivers appreciate driving newer vehicles), atthough Thompson admits this is less of an issue now that the driver shortage has been thrown into reverse; and a third reason is reliability. Warranty or not, a newer truck is less likely to go wrong.
Even before the new policy was put in place, Thompson says the firm's own mechanics made warranty extensions less relevant than they might have been.
He says: "We have always run a fleet of mostly MANs, and, to be honest,
I think we know as much about them as the company does, which helps with maintenance."
The fact that Grocontinental has been able to maintain its renewal programme despite the cold wind of recession is partly down to its specialism in the food sector, even if some of its work is carrying luxuries as well as staples. In any event, it is one of those firms weathering the downturn better than most: a bright spot amid the gloom.