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Renaissance MAN
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With the great ERF distraction a fading memory, MAN believes it has emerged a stronger player in the UK market.
Words: Andy Satter / Images: MAN MUD STICKS! And once the dirt's been flung, it's incredibly difficult to clean up your image, no matter what you do. MAN's sticking point has been its aftersales backup. Regardless of umpteen customer clinics and vows by management to do better, service support and MAN just haven't been comfortable bedfellows.
I use the past tense because it would appear the company is shrugging off its poor reputation. Operators we've spoken to recently support the facts MAN spews forth to measure its success. MAN can now be relied upon to support its burgeoning vehicle pare out in the field, which is just as well.
The manufacturer has always had a strong product line-up — notwithstanding the hiccups with the original TGA — and now that registrations gains are seemingly going stratospheric it is essential for the firm to get its service offering just right.
Dave Cussans is operations director at MAN, widely and well regarded as the action man around the firm's Swindon headquarters. He says: "Over five years, we've internalised our business and moved to sort out the network. I can't pretend we've had the best reputation for aftersales."
This was an action largely, perhaps even solely, brought about by the ERF acquisition. The parlous state of the former Middlewich truck builder forced the company to look under the bonnet of all areas of its operation. Clearly, it wasn't a happy picture — insiders tell us the losses from ERF are still being carried on the MAN balance sheets and the expectation is that 2009 will see black type back on the UK trading statement. But from maximum disorder. order prevails and MAN has emerged a stronger, more efficient player.
"While there has been pain, I don't think we would have gone through this process if it hadn't been for the ERF acquisition," confirms Cussans. "The organisation is much stronger as a result. We've got improved, more motivated dealers and better people. With the ERF acquisition we had 149 workshops and 79 dealer owners in the group. Now there are 28 owners and 79 workshops. The network is the optimum size for the pare, with plenty of room for growth. Stability and visibility of our vision and activity are key for the network."
Cultural shift
At the heart of the cultural shift in attitude to the aftersales offer has been MAN's Uptime Principle (UTP), an initiative launched by the management team to embed customer support into the organisation. "We launched UTP as a behaviour for the organisation two years ago," Cussans explains.
"We're here only to deliver uptime, and thereby greater utilisation of our vehicles. We've got dedicated resources focused on ensuring that we, as an organisation, perform around this. And at the end of the day, the customer is the final arbiter."
A number of measures have been put in place to monitor this performance, and the dealers are measured and rewarded for compliance around these. They cover MoT pass rates, 24-hour breakdown cover, parts availability. PM! slippage and vehicle off-road (VOR) alerts. "We've got £4.2m in incentives available to the network as part of the bonus programme for the best performers," Cussans reveals.
The key performance indicators (KPIs) are looking good this is an extremely positive story, and the company is rightly proud of its achievements. "We monitor the Vosa statistics for MoT pass rates and in 2006 we were in line with the national average of 67%," Cussans reveals. -This was inexcusable, especially when you remember we're seeing these vehicles every six weeks. We've now seen that rise to 87% within our network, which is a tremendous effort on the part of our people. We're striving for 90%."
The second 'CPI concerns 24-hour roadside response. The average time for the technician to arrive at the truck following notification was 59min 20sec for 2007, with a completion time of 2hr 35min. There is a zero-tolerance attitude to this issue, says Cussans, who points out: "If a dealer refuses a breakdown for whatever reason, the bonus is forfeited,"
With the Traffic Commissioners showing greater interest in thirdparty maintenance providers, periodic inspections (PMIs) arc crucial. "Apart from protecting the 0-licence of our customer, we've got a duty to ensure the vehicles are in prime condition," he adds. "We're now at 90% compliance previously we've been in the late 60s. Preventative maintenance is essential for us to protect our assets and for the customer to ensure uptime. The dealers tell us that focusing on this area has transformed their business."
Parts availability
On parts availability, the company claims a 97% first pick from the Swindon parts HQ; as you would expect it's a little lower at the dealer.
VOR reporting is the final KPI for MAN. The company claims it now knows within 12 hours if an ERF or MAN is off the road, and is able to act on it: "Previously our VOR turnaround would be 2.8 days," Cussans adds. "Now, we're consistently at 1.1 days.
"The beauty of the uplift= principle is its simplicity. Everyone gets it. No matter what area of your expertise or operation within the organisation, you know you have a role to play and how you can contribute to ensuring maximum customer satisfaction," From our experience, it's a policy which has worked. MAN has undergone a renaissance and the customer would seem to be at the very heart of its revival. If it is to maintain the momentum the firm must retain this consistency, particularly as its registrations and market share continue to contribute to a growing vehicle part in the UK. We wish the company well, and will be watching developments with interest, lo