Scania’s application-focused solutions:Optimised customer profitability is Scania’s goal

• Scania is further developing its approach to and dialogue with customers, with a focus on each customer’s individual needs for specific applications.
• Connected vehicles that are optimally adapted for different assignments and supported by related services are the cornerstone of Scania’s solutions.
• Scania Maintenance with Flexible Plans is a unique service that ensures precisely the right maintenance as well as increased vehicle availability.
• Scania is redefining the truck industry’s definition of ’premium’ with its focus on providing customers with optimal conditions for sustainable profitability, including looking at how customers’ earning capacity can be optimised.
• Scania is placing particular focus on integrated related-services such as Driver Services (driver coaching) and Fleet Care (operation and maintenance of fleets).

Scania’s goal is to become the leading partner in the development of sustainable transport solutions. The recently introduced new generation of trucks is clear evidence that Scania is taking this challenge seriously. In addition to the new product range itself, Scania is introducing tailor-made solutions for 36 different applications as part of its efforts to always be able to offer customers the most sustainable solutions for every type of transport assignment. Valuable information is continuously being obtained from the more than 210,000 connected Scania vehicles that are currently in service.

With the introduction of our new truck generation, we’re placing an even greater focus on the opportunities for connected European customers to earn money through their investment in solutions from Scania,” says Christopher Podgorski, Senior Global Vice President, Scania Trucks. “Our focus on applications, integrated solutions, modularisation, and user-based data make us the industry leader. With help from these tools, our salespeople – in dialogue with customers – can tailor optimised solutions with the potential for optimal profitability for all types of driving assignments.”

Scania views every truck as a production unit – the better suited it is to its unique duties and the more supported it is by tailor-made services, the bigger the haulage company’s potential to get a return on its investment. The haulier’s results are affected by a range of factors. Some of them are relatively simple to identify and influence. Others are controlled by circumstances beyond their own control or seem insignificant at first glance, despite the fact that over time they can have a major influence on both costs and revenue.

“We have the insights and experience needed to create optimised solutions,” says Podgorski. “Because Scania also has access to crucial information such as actual operational data from real vehicles, our way of working gives powerful leverage to our customers in the form of optimised solutions that take in everything from usage-based maintenance, to finance and insurance.

The effects of digitalisation

The ongoing shift to digitalisation and the steady increase in access to decision-making data – including operational and performance data – means that Scania can be proactive and innovative. From an ocean of information, Scania chooses and analyses relevant data for each application and driving activity.

“We are fast entering a world where services and smart management of information form the basis of profitability,” says Podgorski. “Many in the transport industry are still working with a strict focus on costs, with the  vehicle’s purchase price a typical factor. In cases like this, it’s important to remember that things such as earning ability – which is largely controlled by how optimised the vehicle is for its particular duties – have a far greater impact on whether there’s a profit or a loss for the business.”

A good example of the way that Scania uses its accumulated knowledge is the newly developed sales support system. It distills the company’s collective knowledge regarding trucks, optimised transport solutions, and industry conditions as well as actual customer needs for different applications. This work tool is the result of many years’ work involving collating, analysing and spreading Scania’s significant know-how regarding the multifaceted truck and transport industry.

Scania was one of the pioneers of connecting all vehicles for purposes such as optimising usage and availability. Scania has also been at the forefront of improving the process around getting bodywork in place on vehicles. One key step was launching a site in the summer of 2016 with a focus on supporting body builders. Another decisive step was Scania switching to CAN-bus technology, which greatly improves the potential for configuring and controlling body building and related functions.

”We are working constantly to improve the outlook for customers,” says Podgorski. “Access to real-time data is extremely hot right now, as it means you no longer have to guess when it comes to the vehicle’s position, its maintenance needs, or its actual fuel consumption. In short, a partnership with Scania means that haulage operators are better placed than ever before to improve profitability.”

Flexible maintenance plans

One of the best examples of this is Scania Maintenance with Flexible Plans, a service that was initially offered across the whole of Europe a bit more than a year ago. That process is almost complete now that the new generation of trucks has been introduced. With all new trucks connected, the basis for the service is how these vehicles are used – and not the traditional mileage counts or calendar-based approaches – controls how they should be serviced under the maintenance contract that Scania and the customer draw up together.

“Scania Maintenance with Flexible Plans is the latest and the main contribution to the ecosystem of services – both physical and digital – that we offer and which is crucial to being able to operate businesses that are sustainable in the long-term,” says Podgorski. ”Being able to tailor complete and individual solutions, including things like service and financing, is crucial in our industry. It's here that the conditions for either profit or loss are created in the only operation the customer really cares about – their own.”

For more information, please contact:

Örjan Åslund, Head of Product Affairs, Scania Trucks,
+46 70 289 83 78, orjan.aslund@scania.com

Scania is a part of Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH and one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications. Scania is also leading provider of industrial and marine engines. Service-related products account for a growing proportion of the company’s operations, assuring Scania customers of cost-effective transport solutions and maximum uptime. Scania also offers financial services. Employing some 44,000 people, the company operates in about 100 countries. Research and development activities are concentrated in Sweden, while production takes place in Europe and South America, with facilities for global interchange of both components and complete vehicles. In 2015, net sales totalled SEK 95 billion and net income amounted to SEK 6.8 billion. Scania press releases are available on www.scania.com  

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