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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
OCTOBER
2016
EQUIPMENT
According to Andre van Eeden,
national sales manager at Scania
Finance Southern Africa, the
company’s focus is increasingly on
providing a ‘total solution’ to reduce risk and
promote sustainability.
“Buying a Scania construction truck
opens the door to a range of integrated
services that help our customers run
healthier businesses,” says Van Eeden. “In the
financing and insurance space we go beyond
the traditional offerings to ensure that our
services work together and strengthen our
customers’ ability to thrive – despite the ups
and downs of the construction sector.
“Scania’s ability as an original equip-
ment manufacturer (OEM) to support the
customer through our quality trucks and high
standards of service, for instance, affects
directly the customer's ability to meet their
financial obligations with Scania Finance,”
says Van Eeden.
He said Scania Finance’s position as a
‘sister company’ also allowed it to offer prod-
ucts like operating leases, as the company
could secure the residual value backing from
Scania as an OEM.
To keep the relationship simple and
streamlined, customers are allocated a
Scania financial representative (FR) to liaise
with on all aspects of finance.
“These FRs are specialists in the trans-
port industry, so are well-versed with both
strategic and day-to-day transport issues,”
he said. “This makes them better able to
understand the customer’s business – even
sharing some aspects of best practice as they
go along.”
Clearly, the system is working well, as
68% of Scania trucks in South Africa are
purchased with loans from Scania Finance.
“Having a customer who is financed –
and even insured – through Scania also helps
when the customer encounters hard times,
as we have substantial insight into their
business through the years of our partner-
ship on a number of fronts,” says Van Eeden.
“This makes it easier for us to understand
the problems they are facing, and to propose
appropriate solutions – which may not be so
easy for a mainstream bank.”
This has become more important in
recent years as difficult trading conditions in
construction have certainly taken their toll on
contractors’ demand for trucks; Van Eeden
says there is still replacement of vehicles by
established firms, but there are not many
players who are actively adding to their fleets.
This pressure on the local market has
meant more interest in looking for work in
neighbouring countries, especially Namibia
and Botswana.
“Our operations in Botswana, Namibia,
Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya make it possible
for customers who find medium to long term
contracts there to actually do the financing
in that country,” he said. “If that is where the
trucks will be working, it’s generally better
for everybody if finance is sourced there – as
our service as Scania Finance can link in with
other Scania support services in-country.”
Insuring to keep wheels
turning
Recognising that financing for a customer’s
Scania trucks is only one early step in a long
and difficult business journey, Scania Finance
has also has designed fit-for-purpose insur-
ance cover with the contractor in mind.
“Running a business in the construction
sector is fraught with risks, many of them
relating to the equipment that contractors
rely on daily,” says Belinda Felix, insurance
manager at Scania Finance. “Our focus
with insurance is to keep our customers’
businesses working – even when accidents or
breakdowns cause unexpected disruption.”
Felix emphasises the importance of the
service level agreements that Scania has
negotiated with the large insurers, so that
customers can be assured of quick and full
responses in times of emergency.
“We know that disruptions such as
accidents and breakdowns can potentially
threaten a customer’s viability – and certainly
can affect the profitability of a contract,”
she says. “So we offer our insurance service
as a solution, because it is in our interests
that our customers’ trucks are well-insured,
properly repaired and on the road again as
quickly as possible.”
Turn-around times on customer claims
are monitored, for instance, to make sure
that the insured truck is in and out of the
repair facility as quickly as possible.
“We also recognise that quality of work-
manship in these repairs is as vital as the
speed with which the work is tackled,” says
Felix. “Facilities must therefore be accredited
FINANCE
and
INSURANCE
‘part of the deal’
Managing fleets of construction trucks is a vital function within
any sizeable contracting firm, as failure to keep the wheels
turning could spell disaster – especially in times of low margins
and on high-risk jobs. Global trucking leader Scania has found
ways to help customers avoid such downsides.
>
by Scania in a process of collaboration with
our insurers; customers can rest assured
that only the highest quality of repair is
acceptable, and that genuine Scania parts
are used.”
However, the assessment of risk with
every customer goes further than just the
vehicle, to a comprehensive needs analysis
as required by financial sector regulations.
“In the construction sector, there are
over 100 different risks that our customers
have to take into account when running
their businesses,” she says. “These include
changing markets, safety, occupational health,
the political situation, quality management,
procurement, storage, environmental, finan-
cial, physical and operational.”
She highlighted the convenience to
customers of Scania’s packaged services,
where information on all aspects of vehicle
operation and ownership were kept inte-
grated and secure.
Belinda Felix, insurance manager at Scania
Finance Southern Africa.
Andre van Eeden, national sales manager at
Scania Finance Southern Africa.
By Paul Crankshaw