Volvo is still Mutimodal preferred truck brand, with its total fleet of 200 trucks vehicles that consist of the earlier FM12 to the recent FM440 model.
Multimodal Freight Grows with Volvo Trucks
Multimodal Freight Sdn Bhd (MMF), a subsidiary of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB), has been using Volvo Trucks since the 90s. Today, Volvo is still its preferred truck brand, with its total fleet of 200 trucks vehicles that consist of earlier models such as the FM12 to the more recent FM440.
“Volvo was not the first brand that we used when we first started. In fact, we were using other Continental brands. After-sales and spare-parts availability were the two key factors that influenced our purchasing decision and continuing our investment in Volvo,” said Chief Executive Officer Mohd Hasdey Yaakob.
Good Overall Experience
The first purchase of Volvo trucks was made in 1995 when, he said, MMF bought 30 units of the Volvo FL10. “Over the years, Volvo Trucks had proven to be very robust, reliable and durable. A Volvo Truck could easily last up to 15 years. Our drivers are satisfied with the driving comfort, easy manoeuvrability and safety features of Volvo Trucks. In short, the overall performance of Volvo Trucks helped us not only in retaining our good drivers, but also attracting new recruits.”
Established in 1989, he said MMF started as a forwarding company to handle KTMB’s locomotive or rolling stock import shipments as well as to serve railway cargo customers that required forwarding services. Subsequently, he continued, the company entered the haulage industry to tap into the growth of containerisation in the 90s.
“When we obtained our haulage licence in 1991, we were the youngest and smallest among the main players. With the capacity and ability to manage and deliver quality service to our customers, we grew steadily to become one of the top five haulage companies at that time.”
As a subsidiary of KTMB, he said MMF provided the first and last mile delivery for KTMB’s cargo business along the major stations such as Butterworth, Port Klang, Pasir Gudang and Padang Besar. The company was also the container cargo handler for KTMB at container railing yards located in these four stations.
MFF never rested on its laurels. Today, MMF has transformed into a total logistic provider with vast capacity and capabilities to meet the needs and requirements of the local and international transportation and shipping requirements. The company is involved in container haulage, container terminal, warehousing, custom declaration and brokerage, freight forwarding and project cargo under Multimodal Transport Operators (MTO).
Ensuring ‘Growth’ Mindset Among Staff
MMF’s success for the last 30 years was due to the efforts in ensuring its employees had a ‘growth’ mindset and ensure assets were managed efficiently, effectively as a profitable enterprise. “They have to understand that although our parent company – KTMB – is a wholly-owned government corporation, we are run as a private oriented company and operated independently to be self-sustainable and profit making.”
The challenges? Well, he said, these were on how to grow the company to become a leading Logistic Company among the 300 haulage players in the market in competitiveness and providing quality service to its customer.
“At the moment, 67 per cent of our trucks are below 5 years old and 33 per cent are above 5 years. We hope to change our truck every 4-5 years as maintenance cost for a new truck is cheaper than an old truck that needs frequent repairs in the long run. In addition, this would also help us in ensuring a high level of uptime.”
He added that the company would replace its old trucks based on affordability and according to market demand. “We do not want to be highly geared and purchase only when we have fully paid up the previous loan.”
Other challenges in the industry include driver shortage, the mandated implementation of B20 biodiesel nationwide that would incur extra costs as some of the trucks needed modification before they could run on B20, unstable global economy and the weak Malaysian currency.
“We hope the licensing authority would regulate the issuance of new permits in accordance to market needs to prevent wasteful competition and price undercutting in the market.”
MMF, Volvo Trucks Partnering Again for New Segments
In view of the above, he said that MMF decided to purchase some 50 Volvo trucks recently with a Gold Service Agreement, reaffirming that Volvo Trucks was not only its preferred brand but also a trusted business partner to venture into a new business segment.
“Half of these trucks are for our new project and the replacement for old units.”
The company used to run its own workshop but after a while, it found that it was more efficient and cost effective to let the professionals handle the preventive maintenance and repair of its vehicles.
“No one knows Volvo trucks better than Volvo Trucks itself and its authorised dealers. With the subscription of the Volvo Gold Service Agreement, we could concentrate on our core business as we know that our vehicles are in good hands. The best possible uptime is guaranteed and since preventive maintenance and truck repairs are included, we have not only full cost control but our customers also get the best service at all times.”
沃尔沃成为Multimodal Freight的主要卡车品牌
Multimodal Freight私人有限公司（MMF），马来西亚铁道有限公司（Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad） 子公司自90年代以来，就一直采用沃尔沃卡车。今天，沃尔沃仍然是该公司的首选品牌，在他们的200辆沃尔沃卡车中，包含了早期FM12和近期的FM440车款。
“沃尔沃并非我们最初使用的品牌。事实上，我们采用其他的大洋洲品牌。售后服务和备件供应是影响我们购买决定，继续投资沃尔沃的两大主因。”首席执行员莫哈斯德（Mohd Hasdey Yaacob）表示。
整体经验佳
他说，MMF在1995年第一次购买沃尔沃卡车，一口气买了30辆沃尔沃FL10。“这些年来，沃尔沃卡车证实了它有多坚固、可靠及耐用。一辆沃尔沃卡车可以很轻易地维持上15年。我们的司机对沃尔沃卡车的舒适性、操控及安全性都非常满意。简而言之，沃尔沃卡车的表现不仅协助我们保留好司机，也让我们能够吸引新司机。”
MMF成立于1989年，最初是为了协助马来西亚铁道有限公司处理其铁路使用车辆的进口运输，还有为其客户提供货运服务。他说，该公司在集装箱行业蓬勃发展的90年代，认为机不可失，就投入了运输行业。
“当我们在1991年获得运输业执照时，我们的公司是该行业主要业者中最年轻和规模最小的。我们为客户管理和提供优质服务的能力，使我们得以稳固增长，成为当时五大运输公司之一。”
作为大马铁道公司的子公司，他说，MMF为该公司提供最后一哩货运服务到主要港口如北海、巴生港口、巴西古当及巴当勿刹（Padang Besar）。 MMF也负责大马铁路公司位于这四大港口的铁路货场集装箱货物运输。
MFF从不满足于现有的成就。今天，该公司已经成长为一家全方位，拥有大容量和能力的物流公司，能够满足本地和国际运输及船运需求。该公司的业务包括集装箱托运、集装箱码头、仓库、海关申报及代理服务、货运代理服务及Multimodal Transport Operators（MTO）的项目货运（project cargo）。
确保员工拥有“增长”心态
MMF过去30年的成就来自于确保其员工拥有一个“增长”心态和资产的高效管理，成为一个盈利的企业。“他们需要理解虽然我们的母公司—马来西亚铁道有限公司是国营企业，我们却是作为私人公司来独立经营的，必须拥有自我持续和盈利的能力。”
谈到挑战时，他说如何在300家运输公司里脱颖而出，具有竞争能力，为客户提供优质服务，使公司增长成为一家领先的物流公司，便是他们的挑战。
“目前，在我们的现有车队中有67%的卡车车龄在5年以下，33% 超过5年。我们希望能够每4-5年更换车辆，因为新卡车的维修成本比旧卡车来得便宜，而且后者长期下来需要经常修理。更何况，这样一来还能帮助我们确保车队的高出勤率。”
他补充，公司会按照其能力和市场的需求来更换车辆。“我们只会在支付完之前的贷款后，才会再购买新车辆。”
其他的挑战包括全马面临司机短缺、政府强制使用B20生物柴油带来额外成本，因为有些卡车需要进行一些修改，才能使用该柴油。还有，全球经济不稳定和马币疲软。
“我们希望政府能够按照市场需求，发放执照给新的物流公司，防止有损无益的竞争和削价。”
MMF与沃尔沃再次合作，进军新领域
他说，有鉴于上述各种情况，MMF近日决定向沃尔沃卡车购买50辆卡车，并与他们签署了黄金服务合约，再次确认沃尔沃卡车不仅是他们是首选的品牌，也是他们信任的业务伙伴，一同携手进军全新业务领域。
“这些新卡车有半数是为了我们的新计划和替换旧卡车。”他补充。
该公司过去曾经拥有自己的修车厂，但是经营了一阵子后发现，让专家来处理预防性的维护更有效率，也更具成本效益。
“没有人比沃尔沃卡车公司和他们的代理更了解沃尔沃卡车。我们签署了沃尔沃黄金服务合约，让我们能够专注于核心业务，因为我们知道沃尔沃卡车和其代理团队会妥善地照顾我们的卡车。由于该合约包含了预防性维护和卡车修理，我们在获得最好的卡车出勤率保障的同时，还能够完全掌控成本，确保客户在每一个时刻都能获得最佳服务。”
