After seven years as chairman of the Iveco Dealer Association (IDA), North East Truck & Vans' Sandy McDonald was succeeded last October by Rob Spittle, divisional managing director at Guest Trucks, West Bromwich.
"The main aims of the IDA are to provide a clear communication channel between the dealers as a whole and Iveco as a company, and provide uniformity of services from the dealers," Spittle says. "Guest Trucks' historical background is in the Daily van and 7.5-tonners, whereas Northern Commercial and NETV have a heavy truck background," he continues.
"What we are doing as IDA is pooling together the skills of the heavy and lighter truck dealers to make a network that can work together and has a consistent level of ability."
Spittle's arrival moves the association's emphasis on to lighter vehicles. "[We bring] the knowledge of the van customer base, the ability to stock and process vans to meet customer requirements. Vans have a much faster turnover, transaction on a van is much quicker - you need a different mentality and focus," he says.
The main business tool that links all the dealers is service, and Spittle wants the network to provide a standard that is the same for van and trucks.
"Customers don't want their vehicles off the road it's the requirement of a quick level of service. We are creating a network that makes sure breakdowns are attended in 60 minutes. We work together as a network to ensure the customer is back on the road, and we rely on each other in the Assistance Non-Stop programme to manage the guarantee-of-payment system.
"If one of my customers breaks down in Northern Commercials' network, it contacts me to give an order number the longer that process takes, the longer the vehicle is on the side of the road," Spittle says.
A consistent level of performance isn't easy for any group to maintain but the association is keen to guarantee delivery.
"The network is only as good as its weakest link and our aim is to not have any weak links. The association has to keep it orderly -so it doesn't matter whether you are in Cornwall or Scotland, the service is the same," he says.
Iveco has set itself a target of doubling its share of the heavy truck market to 15%, and the IDA has to be ready. For Guest Trucks that means investment.
"Workshop equipment, workshop efficiencies and in-workshop technicians," Spittle lists. "For example, this year I have committed to spend £90,000 on roller brake testers, which provide better safety on the road - and you can present vehicles at MoT that you know aren't going to fail."
To make sure it can handle the extra business, Iveco Trucks is restructuring its dealer network. By 2011 there will be 18 heavy-truck full-range dealers managing 32 satellite sales, service and parts sites. That will be coupled with 75 Daily van sales, service and parts centres, giving a 125-strong network.
"Certainly every dealer will have met with the manufacturer to discuss the opportunities, it's done in conjunction with the association. It is up to the manufacturer to provide the level playing field, to support the dealers to raise the bar on service all the time, and if there is a weakest link, to sort that out," he explains.
The arrival of Henk van Leuven, managing director at Iveco Trucks UK, has meant change.
"It's Henk's strategy to talk to every partner, and with the restructure the association is the oil in the cogs. Change is always difficult. However you implement it, there are people who accept it, people who ask why and people who don't want to know.
"From Guest Trucks' prospective, to get that 15% market share we have to change. The network and its sales teams fundamentally believe that in Iveco today we have the best range of trucks we've ever had. We can compete with the Dafs and Scanias. As a group of dealers and as a manufacturer, the job is to convince the marketplace that we also have a service support system as good as anyone's," he says.
For any long-standing manufacturer, product perception is key - and the Italians have worked hard to overcome an unforgiving marketplace. Spittle says: "I spent time in Turin looking at brand perceptions and I know what's coming to the UK. [What's important] is how dealers and manufacturer are going to present themselves, focusing on brand perceptions and what customers require in terms of service."
Central to that is the Five Star programme, which focuses on a homogenous service programme across every outlet and the new repair and maintenance deal.
"The IDA looks at a programme like Five Star and asks whether it is viable for the marketplace. Without a doubt in the association's view it is it's raising the bar to meet the market-share expectations," he says.
It's difficult for Spittle to tell CM too much about the issues the association discusses (above mentioning areas such as service and sales and parts), or reveal anything about forthcoming programmes - manufacturers are highly competitive about marketing and dealer issues.
But it's clear that the IDA has a lot on its plate with the restructure and the goal of doubling market share. "Henk van Leuven has brought a clearly defined strategy to the UK [in terms of] what Iveco expects from the marketplace, what Iveco expects from itself and what it expects from its dealer network," he concludes.
For more in-depth interviews with industry figures, visit Roadtransport.com's interviews page.
Related used vehicles for sale
