“We are in a people business, which means we are putting people first, including customers, at the heart of our business,” said Peden.
Upclose with Mitch Peden
Mitch Peden, the new President of Volvo Trucks Malaysia, had been in Malaysia for 11 months when this exclusive interview was carried out during the Malaysia Commercial Vehicle Expo (MCVE) 2019.
Hailing from Australia, Peden brings with him more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, 14 years of which were with Volvo. He started his career at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. In 1994, he joined General Motors. Since then Peden has worked in a number of automotive companies before joining Volvo Trucks in 2005. Prior to his posting in Malaysia, he was the Vice President of Sales for Volvo Trucks Australia and Oceania.
“We are a strong brand and have great business partners in Malaysia, who continue to stay with us over the years going through the ups and downs. This year we celebrate our 50 years in Malaysia and I am proud to be part of the celebration. Over the years, we have expanded our footprint through launching models, opening dealerships across Malaysia, gaining new customers as well as introducing many key aftermarket services and activities to meet the needs of our growing customer base.”
Milestones and Achievements
Among some significant milestones that he highlighted were the assembly of the N Series trucks and equipping of 3-point safety belts in all units during the 1970s; the introduction of the Euro 1 in the FL10 model, which made Volvo the first truck brand to introduce airbags, and the 6×2 tag axle in the 1980s.
In the early 2000s, he said Volvo Trucks Malaysia brought the FM9 and FM12 models to Malaysia and launched its Customer Care Centre to provide 24/7 breakdown service support. “We also take pride in delivering Volvo FMX 8×6 trucks to the Malaysian Army in 2018; these trucks took us 2 years to plan and custom make to meet the highly specific requirements of the military heavy recovery vehicles.”
Another achievement, he said, was employee retention. The average employee tenure is about 10 years. He believes that the employees are the company’s greatest assets and they are its competitive advantage.
“I am excited to take the company forward, building on the strong foundation laid by my predecessor and fellow colleagues. Truck business is a people business and we are in a people business, which means we are putting people, including customers, at the heart of our business. Thus, my focus is to continue introducing new technology and innovation as well as better quality, and customer-centric products and services for our customers here.”
Peden has no plans to expand the company’s dealer network as the dealerships are pretty well placed since the last expansion project 4 years ago. The challenge, he pointed out, was to grow with the existing network by equipping the dealers with technical support and parts supply to help get their customers’ trucks back on the road as quickly as possible.
“With the official launch of the Uptime Promise, a newly added service to the Gold Service Agreement, in the MCVE, Volvo Trucks Malaysia promises to deliver maximum uptime to its customers’ businesses. For customers who subscribed to the Volvo Trucks Gold Service Agreement, the company would offer them monetary compensation if they have a truck on a breakdown time that exceeds 12 hours that Volvo Trucks has committed.”
In products, Peden said that one of Volvo’s most significant milestones was the launch of the premium flagship Volvo FH Series – FH13 and FH16 – in 2017 that featured three revolutionary technologies, which were the I-Shift with ultra-low crawler gears, Volvo Dynamic Steering and I-Park Cool.
Peden stressed that with Volvo continuously striving for outstanding product quality, the next truck must be better than the previous one. In providing the customer-centric programme such as the addition of the Uptime Promise to its existing Gold Service Agreement, he said the company ensured the best returns on a customer’s investment.
“Driver shortage is a global issue. Good trucks with advanced technology and safety features would help you to attract good drivers and retain them. Safety has been a core value of Volvo Trucks since its establishment, but without proper knowledge and training, a driver might not fully make use of the safety features such as Lane Change Support, Driver Alert Support, Adaptive Cruise Control and many more in their trucks. Thus, we have driver training programmes to enhance their product knowledge and skills, helping them to familiarise with their trucks and deal with an emergency situation.”
In addition, he continued, Volvo Fuelwatch Challenge was Volvo’s annual competition that aimed to promote safe driving and fuel saving skills among truck and bus drivers around the world. The drivers were tested on fuel efficiency, overall driving skills, performance and driving behaviour. Held globally, and in Malaysia since 2010, the finalist would represent his respective country in the world finals in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Safety Initiatives
“Safety is deeply imprinted in Volvo Trucks’ DNA. We have a clear safety vision that no Volvo truck should be involved in a traffic accident. This is why, in addition to developing many innovative safety features for our products, we also work on other aspects of safety. Instead of waiting for the government’s safety policy, we take a proactive role. We strive for worldwide traffic safety through our global safety campaign such as ‘See And Be Seen’ and ‘Stop Look Wave’. The former initiative features activities that demonstrate how to improve safety in the interaction between cyclists and truck drivers, while the latter is designed to teach children around the world about the danger they face in traffic every day.”
‘Stop, Look Wave’ was introduced by the company in Malaysia in 2015 and ‘See And Be Seen’ in 2017. For the ‘Stop, Look Wave’ programme, Volvo Trucks partnered Kidzania in the initiative called KidzaniaGo. Over the past 2 years, the KidzaniaGo programme saw visits to 315 schools/events and reached 52,861 school kids and the public. The ‘See And Be Seen’ initiative was introduced in December 2017 to 800 scouts nationwide in the Hin Hua High School. This programme reached more than 1,300 people who participated in the events.
Volvo Trucks Malaysia sold 450 heavy duty trucks in Malaysia in 2018, an 18-per cent increase compared to 380 units the previous year. Of the 450 trucks sold, 266 units were the Volvo FM, 138 units the Volvo FMX, and 46 units were the flagship Volvo FH, which comprised two variants, the FH13 and FH16.
Peden expressed that the company was very satisfied with the sales performance and believed that the Volvo FH had pushed the limits on what a premium truck could offer. He revealed that the growth segment was the transportation of chemical products and extremely heavy machinery sector.
“Being equipped with the I-Shift with ultra-low crawler gears makes the Volvo FH ideal for transporting the most demanding loads and in operations that demand real power. They could offer excellent manoeuvrability and extreme stability on difficult terrain,” he stressed.
In today’s ever-changing trucking industry environment, Peden emphasised the importance of listening and understanding the needs and requirements of customers.
“We have to adapt to their business changes and priorities, and stay at the forefront of technology and trends. Knowing that electromobilty won’t happen in the near future in Malaysia, Volvo Trucks hosted the ‘Road to Electromobility for Malaysian Transportation industry’ panel discussion at the MCVE, as we saw the opportunity and wanted to start the conversation right now. This allowed us to have a proper conversation and find our first business partner who would like to work with us.”
大马沃尔沃卡车总裁谈客户导向策略
马来西亚沃尔沃卡车总裁佩登（Mitch Peden）在2019年马来西亚商用车展（MCVE 2019 ）接受本刊专访时，他已经在马来西亚任职11个月。
来自澳大利亚的佩登拥有20多年丰富的汽车行业经验，包括14年在沃尔沃工作的经验。他一开始在澳大利亚联邦银行任职，自1994年加入大众汽车就开启了他的汽车行业职业生涯，先后在几家汽车公司服务。2005年，他加入沃尔沃，被调派到马来西亚前，他是澳大利亚及大洋洲沃尔沃卡车销售副总裁。
“沃尔沃是个强大的品牌，它在马来西亚拥有许多优良的商业伙伴。今年，我们在马来西亚庆祝创立50周年，我为能够参与其中而深感自豪。这些年来，我们透过发布新车型、在大马各地设立代理，赢得新客户及推出许多主要的售后服务及活动来满足不断增长的客户群需求。”
里程碑和成就
他指出几个重要的里程碑，包括N系列卡车的组装和在1970年代在所有的沃尔沃卡车上安装三点安全带、推出符合欧1标准的FL10车款，使沃尔沃卡车成为第一个推介安全气囊的品牌，以及在1980年代推出6X2 标签轴（tag axle）。
2000年代初期，他说马来西亚沃尔沃卡车将FM9和FM12车型引进马来西亚，并设立了客户关怀中心提供24/7故障支援服务。“2018年，我们将沃尔沃FMX 8X6 卡车交付给马来西亚军队。我们用了两年的时间来筹划和打造这些卡车，以符合军用重型救险车的高规格要求。”
他表示，另一个成就是留住员工。该公司员工的平均任期大约10年。他相信员工是该公司最重要的资产，而这正是公司的优势。
“我很高兴能够在前任领导人和同事们所奠定的坚实基础上，带领公司前进。 卡车业务是和人打交道的生意，而我们从事的正是与人打交道的生意，也就是说，人，包括客户就是我们业务的核心。因此，为这里的客户继续引进新技术和创新 ，以及品质更好，以客户为导向的产品和服务，便是我的工作重点。”
佩登目前没有扩展公司代理网络的计划，因为他说公司在4年前完成了代理扩充计划，现有的代理都坐落在适当的地点。他指出，他们的挑战是与现有的代理网络一起成长，为代理提供技术装备和零部件供应，协助他们客户的卡车以最快的速度回到路上。
“随着在展会中发布出车率保障（Uptime Promise），一个刚纳入沃尔沃金牌服务协议的额外服务，马来西亚沃尔沃卡车承诺为客户的业务提供最大的出车率。签订沃尔沃金牌协议的客户，如果他的卡车因故障停驶超过12个小时，便能获得沃尔沃卡车的金钱赔偿。”
佩登说在产品方面， 沃尔沃卡车的最大里程碑是在2017年推出优质旗舰沃尔沃FH系列–FH13 和FH16 。这两款车型采用三项革新技术—配备超低爬行档的I-Shift、沃尔沃动态转向系统及I Park 冷却系统。
他强调沃尔沃为卓越的产品品质努力不懈，下一辆卡车必须比之前的一辆好。透过提供以客户为导向的计划如在其现有的金牌服务协议外，他表示该公司添加了出车率保障，以确保客户的投资获得最佳回酬。
“全世界都在面对司机短缺的问题。采用先进科技和配备安全功能的优良卡车，协助你吸引好司机并保留他们。自创立以来，安全一直是沃尔沃卡车的核心价值。但是如果没有适当的知识和培训，一名司机或许不会充分运用卡车的安全功能如更换车道支援、司机警报支援、自适应巡航控制等。因此，我们拥有司机培训课程，强化司机的产品知识和技能，协助他们熟悉他们的卡车和应对紧急状况。”
此外，他继续说，沃尔沃节油挑战赛（Volvo Fuelwatch Challenge）是沃尔沃一年一度的竞赛，旨在推广全球卡车和巴士司机的安全驾驶和节油技巧。该挑战将考验司机的省油、整体驾驶技巧和表现，以及驾驶行为。马来西亚是在2010年开始参与这个全球大赛，各国的决赛优胜者将代表自己的国家参加瑞典哥德堡全球决赛。
安全倡议
“安全就在沃尔沃卡车的DNA里。我们有一个明确的愿景，没有一辆沃尔沃卡车应该发生交通事故。这正是我们在研发许多创新产品的安全功能外，也着手于其他安全面的原因。与其等待政府的安全政策，我们总是积极主动。我们通过我们的全球安全运动如‘注意观察，保持醒目’ （See And Be Seen）和 ‘停下来，看一看，挥挥手’（Stop，Look， Wave），为世界的交通安全而努力。第一个安全运动是改善自行车骑行者与卡车司机会车时的安全性，后者旨在帮助全世界的孩子了解到他们每天所面对的交通危险。”
该公司在2015年于马来西亚推行 ‘停下来，看一看，挥挥手’运动，接着在2017年推行‘注意观察，保持醒目’。沃尔沃卡车与Kidzania合作，在KidzaniaGo推行‘停下来，看一看，挥挥手’安全运动。过去的两年里，KidzaniaGo 探访了315家学校/活动，接触了52，861学童和民众。2017年12 月，该公司在巴生兴华中学把‘注意观察，保持醒目’倡议介绍给来自马来西亚各地的800名童军。接触这个计划的与会者超过1，300 人。
马来西亚沃尔沃卡车的2018年重型卡车销售量达 450辆，相较于去年的380辆。在这450辆卡车中，沃尔沃FM占266辆，沃尔沃FMX 138辆，以及沃尔沃旗舰FH 系列（包含FH13和FH16）的46辆 。
佩登说公司对上述的销售表现感到满意，并相信沃尔沃FH已经将一辆优质卡车能够提供的一切推到了极限。他也透露说，化工产品运输和极端重型机械领域会是两大增长领域。
“沃尔沃 FH采用备有超低爬行档的I-Shift，使它成为需要最大动力营运和最苛刻载重运输业主的最理想卡车。它们能够在困难的地形供卓越的操纵力和极端的稳定性。”他强调。
佩登强调，在今天瞬息万变的卡车行业环境，聆听客户的需求很重要。
“我们需要顺应客户的业务改变和重点，保持在技术与趋势的前沿。我们虽知道电动汽车不会发生在马来西亚不久的将来，但沃尔沃卡车却在这次的展会中主办了‘马来西亚运输业的电动汽车之路”专题讨论会。这是因为我们看到了商机，并希望现在就开始这个话题。该讨论会提供我们一个适当的谈话平台，让我们找到能够与我们携手合作的第一个生意伙伴。”
