Construction World December 2017

Alexander Taftman, Scania South Africa GM Product & Marketing says the reason for Scania’s success in tough times is that they have been contributing something new to the market with their Solutions Based Offerings.

Consequences of tailoring Even though Scania vehicles are renowned for their optimal fuel consumption, this, says Taftman, is a consequence of tailoring. “When a vehicle is tailored to a specific type of transport the fuel consumption will be optimised. In the transport sector, there is no such thing as one size fits all. The most successful providers of solutions to the transport industry will be the ones that truly can tailor to the customer’s needs. Taftman’s strategic approach to product development further enables this tailoring. “Scania aims to continuously introduce new features and benefits. As soon as something is available in the global world of Scania, we make sure that it is introduced to the local market. We always spearhead the latest developments when it comes to products and services,” he says. The range of construction vehicles now includes 15 construction models. These vehicles include tippers, mixers, hook lifts, skip-loaders, heavy hauliers, and logistic vehicles for moving goods to and from building sites. “We have a range that is as wide as possible to meet as many needs as possible. A range of services can be connected to that vehicle. The support needs are also different depending on who the customer is, what commodity they are moving, where they are located, their operation cycle etc. You need to be truly flexible in how you provide these solutions,” says Naude. As Scania is basing its products on the modular system, it can easily change existing models. “As soon as new features that will add value to the local market are available, they will be introduced,” assures Taftman when asked about new offerings in 2018. All Scania vehicles are tailored to be bodied on and is a well proven ingredient of Scania’s success. “We have been active this year with the rolling out of a complete tipper solution with a number of selected body builders in order to shorten the lead time

for customers,” says Taftman. “We are the experts on the vehicles and the body builder are the experts on the bodies. By merging these to we tailor the perfect body with the right vehicle and optimise the body for a specific job. Our customers want to experience a one stop shop. They want to buy the complete vehicle from Scania,” he adds. Challenges in 2017 and beyond As infrastructure is the main driver of construction, the amount that government spends on such infrastructure directly influences the industry. Add to this the increased political uncertainty in the run-up to the elections in 2019, and you have a very uncertain situation that influences the rollout of new infrastructure. Naude says this uncertainty the construction sector was a major challenge for Scania in 2017 and in some cases, directly affected the number of vehicles sold. “The challenges for us as a supplier to the industry is that our challenges become the challenges that our customer has,” says Taftman. “The construction market is very volatile – growth up until the elections in 2018 will be fairly moderate. The amount of government spending is a prerequisite for either growth or decline,” he says. Despite an urgent need for infrastructure and an increasing urbanisation rate, the challenges for the construction industry will remain in 2018, but Naude says that Scania can only aim to provide better and better solutions to overcome these. “We can only continue to work close with our customers, listen to their needs and challenges and see what we can offer when it comes to our portfolio of services and products and adapt it to their needs,” he says. “The salesman sells the first vehicle, but the workshop and aftersales services sells the second and third,” adds Naude. Sustained growth Both Naude and Taftman are emphatic

Theuns Naude, Segment manager, Construction at Scania South Africa explains that the only way to ensure the customer’s success is to offer Solution Based Offerings.

that the building of sustainable business is crucial. “It is everything,” says Taftman. “Transport is a trust business, no matter what you are transporting. You have to have a relationship that is strong. Things do go wrong, and when they do, you need to know that you can rely on your partner. Everything is long term. The short term is not of interest to us – it is not in Scania’s DNA.” He adds that Scania’s core values (customer first, respect for the individual elimination of waste, determination, team spirit and integrity) which are applied as much externally as internally, make short term relationships impossible. “If you focus on these core values, you will get long term relationships that are mutually beneficial,” he says. customers and continuous business. He mentions that Hillary Construction, one of Scania’s customers have bought additional solutions (truck tractors and crane trucks) based on their experience of the company’s tailored solutions. Another, Conradie Construction, is satisfied with the increased savings on fuel since switching over to Scania vehicles, while a new customer, Ditshemega Projects is excited about the solution that Scania offers as they grow their business.  Naude adds that these long term relationships will lead to satisfied

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD DECEMBER 2017