EXCLUSIVE: Scania could offer ready-made trucks to slash order times to Australia, new boss reveals
By Gary Worrall | October 30, 2009
Scania could offer ready-made trucks as part of a plan to improve Australian sales, the Swedish manufacturer’s new boss has revealed to ATN.
In his first official Australian interview, Managing Director Roger McCarthy has forecast a future of trucks pre-ordered to meet forecast demand, short-cutting the delay in production and delivery by more than four months.
Drawing a comparison to the existing deal with Dutch hooklift manufacturer Hyva, where finished trucks are ordered to a standard specification ready to be delivered when they are needed by customers, McCarthy says it is all about anticipating demand.
Under his bold plan, Scania would partner with an Australian body builder to have a curtain-side body developed to fit its trucks so that a customer could order the complete truck from the dealership, eliminating months of lead time.
“I see us as part of the supply chain, this is what customers, I think, are looking for,” he told ATN from a bus industry conference in Hobart.
“They want to work with a manufacturer who is listening to what they require, placing some orders, getting a cab-chassis into their yards and getting them working as soon as possible.”
READ MORE: The full interview with Roger McCarthy will feature in the December edition of ATN magazine.