Page 11 - TBN-2023-5

This he stressed benefited Malaysian fleet operators Going extra mile for smart logistics
Despite the changes in in in purchasing hab- it it it after Covid-19 he he continued that UD Trucks enjoyed positive growth inter- nationally “The construction segment remains strong in in in Southeast Asia with government implemented infrastructure projects such as as as in in in Singapore where the the construction of of Phase 1 of of the the Cross Is- land Line (CRL) – – eight MRT lines and and new new tunnels – – has started The Philip- pines is is building a a a a a a a a new new airport and and metro subway Thailand is is is constructing more in- frastructure and and Indonesia is is developing its road network especially on on the Java island Logistics has become more pro- fessional with uptime reliability and and and cold- chain and and last mile delivery has grown a a a a a a a a a a a a lot with many Japanese companies in- vesting in in in in the the Southeast Asia cold-chain segment ”
When asked about the the product line-up Hedouin said the the Quester range of prod- ucts for emerging markets came with an an an emission standard up to Euro V while the Quan was tailor-made for markets requiring Euro VI such as as Singapore Hong Kong Taiwan and Australia “UD Trucks’ aim is to be the Japanese sus- tainability leader delivering innovative transportation solution especially in in in in the heavy-duty segment The company also has the Crone range that is targeted at at developing markets up to Euro V For the the the light-duty market market market the the the company has Kazet for for the the the Japan market market market and Kuzer for for selected emerging markets including Malaysia ”
UD Trucks prides itself for for the the willing- ness ness to to go the the extra mile for for custom- ers with its business partner TCIE He said this included making a a a a a a lot of effort to to ensure that customers were happy and built successful businesses with the company’s trucks The company provides smarter modern models compared to to its competitors “UD Trucks might not have that full light-duty range but its trucks are good at at at what they do The company upholds the the the UD UD Gemba Spirit that shapes the the way it it works at at UD UD its staff go to to the the premises to to understand how things work including the the the manage- ment The staff combine their knowledge and experience to to solve an an issue effec- tively as as well as as go the the extra mile to to to sup- port the the customers ”
Globally he shared customers were more sensitive to to sustainability UD Trucks he he he said launched and offered Euro V vehicles wherever it was pos- sible as as the the the company saw the the the impor- tance of taking part in in in in improving the the the the transportation emission footprint Other key trends included the the need for uptime commitment and increasing interest in in in in in in safety features in in in in in in some mature markets markets for which emerging markets markets would even- tually follow The company’s strategies according to to him were to to to continue supporting cus- tomers through service appointments and network development that included an an an uptime centre to to anticipate customers’ needs when they they serviced their trucks and the the the the issues that they they encountered “The company has to join forces with its its local business partner TCIE and its its dealers that it it it put in in in place in in in Malaysia ”
From the customer perspective Say said trucks uptime included spare-part availa- bility and and cost To cater to these needs and and ensure minimal downtime he he said TCIE offered two service agreement plans - UD UD Trust Trust Standard and and UD UD Trust Trust Ultimate The former covered the the annual and basic services while the the latter pro- vided comprehensive coverage for UD vehicles except tyres and batteries It was usually signed for five years with a a a a a a a a monthly fixed amount which allowed the the fleet operators to to budget in in in their mainte- nance service cost and save on adminis- trative fees Additionally the UD Trucks regional warehouse located in in Singapore en- sured a a a a a a a a seamless access to the spare- part required “How to to reduce truck downtime is closely related to to how TCIE takes care of its af- ter-sales service service This includes a a a a a a a well-de- veloped and positioned service service network across Malaysia to get a a a a a a downed truck back on on the the the road quickly and the the the right team to make sure that the the the repair is done correctly Beyond Johor UD Trucks in in Singapore supports customers if their trucks break down there Besides that with the the UD Telematics Connected Ser- vices delivery turnaround times are im- proved with an an an eagle-eye view on driving performance and and driver behaviour sav- ing ing cost on fuel and and maximising uptime ”
he added Three years have passed since UD Trucks was acquired by Isuzu Motors from the the the Volvo Group as as part of of the the the com- pletion of of a a a a a a a a strategic alliance between the the the Volvo Group and and Isuzu Motors and and we we finally could find out more Hedouin said the the focus of the the alliance was to to create a a a a a a a a a a a global technological part- nership
to to make the heavy-duty truck business stronger for Isuzu and UD Trucks Many synergies such as as logistics
manufacturing purchasing research and development (R&D) as as as as well as as as as the tech- nological and human resource aspect had taken place since then “All these were were mostly in in the the the upstream sector and there were were no changes in in dis- tribution tribution across the the world The distribution of Isuzu and UD Trucks would continue to to be separated so that customers have a a a a a a a a a different brand brand experience and and and the val- ue of each brand brand is is is fully distinctive This would would remain the the case in in in Malaysia UD Trucks would would celebrate the the 45th anniver- sary of its long-standing partnership with TCIE in in Malaysia this year ”
he added TCIE shows commitment through continued investments
Say also shared that that the the Covid-19 delayed many things that that TCIE planned “With the the pandemic now behind us us various plans are currently in in in progress to continue the development and expansion TCIE’s 24/7 roadside assistance had been in oper- ation for 33 years and it was upgraded to a a a a a a a a a computerised in-house Uptime Call Centre in in 2022 Initially the call centre was outsourced to to a a a a a a a a a third party Now the company has taken it it back to to to to better provide services to to to its customers It is also in in in in the the midst of upgrading facilities in in in in Batu Caves and workshops in in in in the the Klang
11 truck & bus news 2023/5