Volvo Trucks is launching a new service contract that promises customers 100 per cent uptime in conjunction with its new truck models.
Transport solution manager John Russell said: “Volvo Trucks is the first truck manufacturer to take care of its customers in this way and actually say ‘we will take the responsibility’. This is totally new.”
The Gold Contract is available for the new Volvo FH and FM tractor ranges. Customers pay a fixed monthly fee and then hand over all the service, all the maintenance and any repairs to Volvo..
Volvo Trucks in turn, promise that the truck will be available whenever the customer needs it and if this promise is not kept, the customer will receive pre-determined compensation.
Volvo reckons it is the first manufacturer to promise 100 per cent uptime.
This kind of offer has been made possible by new technology. Volvo has previously used telematics for services like Dynafleet and Fuel Advice, but it is now taking another step and basing a service contract on measurement data of this kind.
Trucks with the new Gold Contract are linked to the Telematics Gateway communication unit, which registers how far the truck is driven, its gross vehicle weight, the terrain it is being driven in, the status of various components and whether any will soon need replacing. Then a customer service representative at the dealership is responsible for keeping a check on, and reacting to, any deviating information.
“If the customer service representative sees that a component appears to need replacing within the next few weeks, they will call the customer and ask when it would be suitable for the truck to be brought in,” said Russell.
