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It's all about service...
Page 24
Page 25
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Scania aftersales director James Armstrong
tells Louise Cole why he believes it is so
important to provide an end-to-end offering.
The one-stop shop is not a new concept, hut James Armstrong,Scania's aftersales director, is starting to realise just what an enormous concept it is, Scania Total Transport Solutions was launched in the UK at the CV Show in April and he has been behind its development ever since. It is designed to make the aftersales experience more streamlined, more comprehensive and more effective so Armstrong has been looking at every aspect of the company's customer care and vehicle support to make sure the right help is there, wherever and whenever the customer needs it.
"We're looking to expand the product and services portfolio — it's an exciting challenge," he says.
It's taken as read in truck manufacturing that the war for the hearts and minds of vehicle buyersis fought on the battleground of aftersales, and as such Armstrong has a huge task ahead of him. Scania has made significant changes to its servicing and parts policy with a trend towards inclusive prices for parts and fitting."It gives the customer more reassurance about the situation, and they know they are going to be charged what they were quoted," he says.
The company is also seeing higher numbers of trailers on maintenance contracts than ever before. "To support that, we're investing in a trailer parts programme in which we have sourced a range of more than 2,000 parts to fit most makes of trailers; we would supply these with the same level of support as a normal Scania offering — 12-month guarantee, breakdown cover, high availability etc," says Armstrong.
However, Scania isn't the only manufacturer to take these steps so Armstrong's team has also looked at developing "more interesting" options. One of these is Parts Direct. "We're marketing a programme which essentially allows the customer to make direct contact with a team of parts experts with one phone call," he explains. "They will co-ordinate sourcing and delivery of that customer's part. It doesn't replace the existing parts service if that's what the customer wants, hut Parts Direct is designed to make life easier. It doesn't cost the customer any more than if they came in."' Scania is also installing Oracle's vehicletracking program, Sidewinder, in a fleet of parts delivery vans; this allows the driver to receive instructions en route and enables Scania to make best use of the driver network—the Parts Direct team are salesmen as well as technicians and offer customers products that might be required as well as the parts that were ordered.
There are currently 15 parts depots in the UK and there will be 30 by the end of the year, mainly covering the North-East and SouthEast. Nationwide coverage will be completed during 2008.
This is an important area for manufacturers to get right. 'Tarts pricing is competitive in the UK, more so than in [mainland] Europe," says Armstrong. "It's potentially a lower-margin business, as with all mature markets." So the investment has to be finely tuned not to affect pricing across the company.
"This is not a huge investment in the scheme of things but it is an important development in the way we manage our business," Armstrong adds. "It's not just about payback but about a service advantage which translates to a competitive advantage and allows us to keep selling our products."
Mobile engineers
Scania is also fielding a team of mobile engineers—not to be confused with the existing breakdown assistance scheme. They will specialise in carrying out work on tail-lifts and fridge units; a few of them have been trained to do both. They can also handle annual weight testing and servicing on customers' premises.
"Lots of our customers, particularly in the distribution market, have tail-lifts and fridges so this servicing is a natural extension for us." says Armstrong. "It means if an operator has a mixed fleet he doesn't have to send the rigid to a Mercedes garage and then the tail-lift to Scania — we'll go to him and do it all.We'll have a nationwide network of 50-60 technicians by the end of the year."
There will be a limit to the equipment these technicians can service hut Armstrong insists they will be able to look after the majority of tail-lifts and fridges on the market.
This tits in well with a Scania project that falls outside Armstrong's remit: the Scania complete vehicle programme which offers chassiscabs complete with box bodies and tail-lifts. Previously the firm didn't handle bodybuilding and used third parties; it believes bringing this process in-house will cut lead times.
Long lead times in the new vehicle market are causing more work for Armstrong's team. "Inevitably as a vehicle gets older it needs more work," he says. "So there is a degree of having to work harder with customers to make sure vehicles are being looked after. But that's not a problem.We're happy to look after a five-yearold vehicle because the owner can't get his new one for another six months. And operators are having to look a very long way ahead."
Central importance All these schemes come under Armstrong's remit, as do the new driver training scheme and Scania's range of clothing (it has just launched a women's clothing line). He's fully aware of their importance to Scania's market position: "Aftersales is crucial. That's not to underplay the role of the product or the people who specify it but we have to give maximum uptirne, sensible maintenance costs and high service."
Local dealers are vital to this philosophy: "The service levels of the local dealer can dictate buying decisions. And the dealer has to understand people — his customers and his staff." Armstrong should know; he ran Derek Jones Commercial, now Truck East, for four years. Derek Jones himself picked Armstrong out of the water sports park he used to run, where he spent all his free time water and jetskiing, to run the dealership. Armstrong took part in a management buyout before leaving to join Scania.
The lack of jet-skiing opportunities aside, he says he loves his job: "The best thing is the variety and the fact I've kept close to the customers. Usually the higher up the supply chain you go, the more you risk losing touch with your customers. I'm still in close contact with ours, and also with the dealers and the factories. It's never dull." •