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Power to the people

1st April 2010, Page 48
1st April 2010
Page 48
Page 49
Page 48, 1st April 2010 — Power to the people
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Through good times and bad, Haydock Commercials MD Simon Dykes credits the stability and success of the independent Scania dealership to the efforts of his staff.

Words! Images: Kevin Swallow It's been seven years since MD Simon Dykes and finance director Graham Whittaker took over independent North-West Scania dealership Haydock Commercials, which covers north Wales, Merseyside and Lancashire.

During that time, the industry has lurched from good times to had, and the expected recovery is still some way off. Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show new truck registration figures fell as the recession took hold, and dealers and operators have had to cut their cloth accordingly. As a service provider, Haydock Commercials has also been forced to adapt. Dykes arrived at Haydock from the MD role at Union Trucks. the Scania dealership in the North-East, and says taking over a successful dealership can be tricky.

"When we [Dykes and Whittaker] took the company over, we were 100% owners from day one. We had all the experience of Scania and the product, we had to get to grips with the customer and staff.

"The steep learning curve was finding out about the area," he adds.

"The business was mature in terms of aftersales, so the main focus was to increase market share steadily, and we immediately expanded used.

Perfect reward In 2006, Haydock Commercials won Motor Transport's Dealer of the Year Award, which was the perfect reward for -three years' hard work".

While Haydock's sales figures have fallen, which reflects the overall state of the industry, there are still some positives to he taken. Dykes says: "The work we have done over the past seven years building relationships with clients with longer-term contracts was least affected.

"We have 15.000 trucks and trailers on long-term contract it's a big percentage dour aftersales revenue, and that strength helped us through 2009." Dykes explains.

Dykes adds that it would have been easy to slash overheads in the sales department after a poor year.

He continues: "We chose to keep them in place and drive them down the customer relationship management route. keeping as much contact with existing customers. but looking harder for new ones."

"We saw the recession coming early [April 2008] and any changes to processes we needed to make in the business to prepare for a recession we did early. We had little, if any, staff changes that were a result of the recession." he recalls.

"Losing people in this industry will affect your customer service. Customers need us more than ever because they are under more pressures. If you downsize, customers struggle to do their work as a result:

The strain and tension in transport last year made it the toughest year Dykes has experienced in two decades.

"We made it clear to our team that they have to continue the service excellence that we have won awards for. If we did that, and kept a tight rein on cash, we knew we'd be tine." he explains.

The market is starting to pick up this year, he says, but the true effect of that won't emerge until next year.

"There is more activity through the sales teams, quotation levels, speed of decisions. And the used market is one of the first indicators to show an improvement... but it is happening slowly.

"A lot of small-to-medium-size companies are unsure

of what is happening, and they will have to wait a little bit longer. Some of the bigger operators, where fleets have got to be changed. can afford to do it,Dykes argues.

One of the strengths of the Scania product is its ability to hold its price, he says.

"We do a lot of outright capital purchase because of the strength of our residual values and clients are happy to put the truck on the books because they know no one can match the residuals,Dykes adds.

Rotting average

On the used side. 118 vehicles were sold in 2008 and 99 last year. The dealership registers, on average, 330 trucks a year, based on a 10-year rolling average, reveals Dykes.

"When we sell trucks, we sell on total life costs and show how much that will cost over five years.

"It is not the upfront price, because there are many other factors involved." he explains.

Dykes continues: "Every truck has a two-year repair and maintenance deal and it is common for Haydock Commercials to sell a truck with contracts up to five and seven years."

"Operators are moving away from doing their own maintenance after struggling to recruit people to do the work," Dykes says. •


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