1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160 
Developing a hire profile
Page 24
Page 25
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
While other truck leasing companies are feeling the pinch, Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Services is increasing the number on its books and looking to focus on specialist areas.
Words: Roanna Avisoni images: Locations Photography IN TIMES OF tough financial conditions, a vehicle leasing company might expect to find the number of vehicles on its books falling, but this is not a trend experienced by Mike MacDougall, UK head of commercial vehicle sales for Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Services.
He tells CM that he has worked through three recessions, and each time the number of vehicles on contract hire has increased.
"In the 1990s I worked in contract hire and the fleet grew 500% over that period of economic downturn because people were looking for a way they could effectively use the cash available to their business," MacDougall says.
"A lot of people decide in these times decide not to use their own cash, but to use someone else's, so we're very busy at the moment."
But not all customers are looking to get a new fleet of commercial vehicles through contract hire. "A lot of companies want to sell their fleet to us and then lease it hack," he says.
So far Hitachi has mainly been contacted by medium to large-sized businesses, and MacDougall believes this is because most small firms' assets consist of their buildings and vehicles, so they look at their balance sheets in a different way. While on the commercial side, Hitachi mainly leases vans and trucks, it will consider any equipment a customer wants to lease.
Market leaders
It has some suction excavators on its books that utility firms use to suck up the road surface to create a clean hole to reach pipes or cables. They can also pick up rocks and bricks.
"We are one of the market leaders when it comes to leasing to utility companies," MacDougall says. "It's a very large business sector for us. We have a proven track record and we have experts at delivering equipment into the space."
Hitachi is now trying to mirror its success in the utilities sector in other markets, such as the service sector, manufacturing, local authorities and government.
"We are working to see if this year we can focus our efforts more in those areas. When a customer is looking for a specialist to advise them on their Mike MacDougall began his career in . commercial vehicle market with Flaws( in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. He stayed vi the firm for 12 years, being appointed the board at the tender age of 29.
When the Rawsons family decided get out of the truck business, MacDouc moved to the Dartford, Kent-based Ft and lveco dealer KT Group.
From there he went to work for Frer transport company ViaGTI, which I60,000 vehicles across Europe and ab 4,500 in the UK.
He then started his own businesE DTV Group — which began as a sin, dealership, but grew to cover five sites Within that group there was a Rena Truck dealership, a MAN dealers1 and a VW van centre. Despite maki a profit. MacDougall was forced to the business into administration wlcashflow became a problem.
He then went to work for a retail subsIdi of Ford, which ran 65 sites across Euro — three of which were dedicated to truc and held lveco franchises.
From there he moved to his current n at Hitachi in September 2008.
requirements, we want to be the ones with the knowledge of how to support the specialist equipment and help design a contract around a customer's needs," MacDougall says.
Communication is key to making relationships work during the leasing agreement, and so Hitachi holds threemonthly reviews with customers.
"We also have the customer services department that is always there to answer immediate questions. It's all about working together to make sure the vehicles are on the road and doing what they are supposed to be doing," MacDougall insists.
Hitachi has three teams to manage customer relationships. Network managers are field-based and are responsible for the network of repairers. They audit the garages and look after the depot manager as well. "We found that if the depot managers did not have a local contact they would escalate any problems to the fleet manager, who would then escalate it to the account manager."
Teaming up The second team deals with compliance. It makes sure equipment is tested when it needs to be and that customers are compliant with their 0-licences, The third team deals with customers who have a problem, be they drivers, depot managers or fleet managers.
We then have the customer services team, which deals with the delivery of new vehicles, customer quotations and dealing with suppliers.
Although many businesses are far more cautious nowadays when it comes to ensuring customers have the credit to pay their bills, Hitachi has always carried out strict credit checks on potential customers, according to MacDougall. This is because the company is looking for payment over a longer period, which can be anything between three and seven years, "We are looking to create a payment scheme that covers a lot more than the purchase price of the vehicle it includes maintenance and compliance.
"The credit crunch has obviously made the whole process more difficult. but we have a very proactive credit department that will visit a customer to talk through their situation before making a final decision."
MacDougall explains that this can also include existing customers when things get tight. "Everybody is having a difficult time and we are managing the risk, so we might ask for a shorter payment period or a bigger deposit. There are other areas of businesses where we can get guarantees that we may not have needed to consider before, such as a parent company."
MacDougall adds the company "really does not want to say no, but we are in the market to make a profit, so it's about managing the risk': So while the market may not be as rosy as it could be, if MacDougall is to be believed, the contract hire sector is still doing well. And as long as businesses are leasing vehicles, there is hope for the road transport industry yet. •