MAN is on course for success with automotive software

Customer Story

A world built on commitment, innovative engineering and top quality – for over 100 years now that has been the basis of MAN’s success.

Company background

MAN truck & bus b.v. - is owned by the Dutch Pon Holdings Automotive Group and MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Group.

MAN truck & bus b.v. has been distributing MAN trucks in the Netherlands since 1980. The company’s distribution network in the Netherlands consists of 19 full service dealers plus another 17 service points. Three dealers are owned by MAN truck and bus b.v., the other 16 dealers are independently owned and operated.

Intense market

For a country its size, the Netherlands has a large heavy truck market. Last year around 16,200 heavy trucks were sold in the Netherlands representing around one quarter of all heavy trucks sold in Western Europe. The size of the market is related to the important freight receiving and forwarding functions of Rotterdam, the world’s largest seaport and the starting point for a road freight distribution system extending throughout Europe. In a highly competitive market, sales of MAN trucks comprise around 10% of total new sales of trucks in the Netherlands.

Customized solution

MAN truck & bus b.v. uses the IBS Automotive system (IDSe42) as the base for a customized solution built around their business. It consists of the IBS Automotive warranty, vehicle tracking and distribution, inventory spare parts modules as well as customizing the standard modules to MAN’s requirements. An important part of the project was integrating the Dutch finance package FIS 2000 and the outsourced DCZ warehouse systems provided by DCL (also a member of Pon Holdings Group). The total project was rolled out over a three year period with the spare parts and warranty modules being first to go ‘live’ in December 1998. Other functions were added according to a project plan. The early focus on after sales management reflected the importance of this function to MAN’s business. "When something goes wrong in a heavy truck, you are not only dealing with the direct cost of getting the truck back on the road, but the cost to the owner for downtime on an income earning asset," said David Sucec Manager ICT.

Loyal buyers

Truck buyers are very loyal to marques as they have provided exemplary service. "For this reason we have continued to invest in our service functions and this is embodied in the advanced warranty software systems pioneered by IBS and now functioning at MAN truck & bus b.v.," Sucec said.

Super support

Spare parts support is also another important part of the customer service equation and MAN truck & bus b.v. has taken an innovative approach by outsourcing the warehouse and logistic functions to another company. A spare parts order is made by the dealer online, which is transmitted to the outsourced warehouse company who take charge of the order through to final delivery. Since the dealer is on-line, availability of the part and tracking the order is established in real time. The warehouse dispatches the order by courier truck that evening to any MAN dealer or service point in the Netherlands. The system guarantees next morning delivery on orders made any time the day before. All invoicing related to the transaction is raised automatically along the chain with data inputted once at the source of the order. All e42 modules are tightly integrated. Another important online function facilitated by IBS is vehicle ordering. "Over the past three years IBS and MAN truck & bus b.v. have built one of the most sophisticated information management systems in the European truck business," explained Sucec.

Customer value

The relationship with IBS has brought many direct benefits; speedier and more efficient invoicing, the elimination of costly ordering errors, better inventory management leading to cost savings, and having timely access to financial information across the business. "But the real benefit is best measured at the customer level," he said. "Our systems have been designed with the customer in mind - making owning a MAN truck a great experience and one that adds real commercial value," Sucec concludes.

Ota yhteyttä, kerromme lisää »