Story & photo by Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes
SCANIA Philippines launched the brand’s Fleet Management System (FMS), their newest innovative global technology that helps connect fleet operators to their respective trucks and buses. During the unveiling in their showroom along Edsa in Balintawak, BJ Mercantile Inc., exclusive distributor of Scania trucks in the country, further explained about FMS and its core goal of enhancing reliability and adding more efficiency to their client companies by providing a faster network of connectivity between their fleet vehicle operators.
“It’s all about connectivity. Our goal is to have all the trucks and buses that we are selling connected in hopes of having the operations of our clients to be more efficient,” BJ Mercantile Inc. Vice President Leilani Lim Tan said during an interview.
“It’s essentially a GPS/driver training system,” she added.
During the dialogue, she said Scania is a Swedish premium brand for heavy trucks, marine engines and buses that has a rich 125-year-old history. In 2014 Scania, through their company, wanted to test the market out.
“So far, it’s been a two full years of operation and it’s been very successful,” she shared.
Scania, according to Tan, is found all over the world and the Philippines is one of the last market they are getting into.
“We are just very lucky Scania chose us.” The truck market in the country, according to her, has matured in the past years. It has become more active, especially this year. Unlike before, when one could only see used Japanese trucks. Today, a lot of brand-new ones on the road can be seen. It’s a sign that the economy is growing, the market has matured and the customers are valuing quality.
When asked what particular model is more prevalent among Filipino customers, she said the tractor head, the rig used in hauling petroleum, cars, cement and containers take home the biggest share.
With the new technology, Scania FMS connects the trucks and buses to the office network with the vehicles’ vital information, such as data, fuel consumption, fleet position and driver performance. Here, clients can choose from either the Monitoring Package or the Control Package.
The Monitoring Package gives operators weekly e-mail summaries covering all of their vehicles, such as fuel consumption, carbon-dioxide emissions and driving behavior. It also grants access to the FMS portal to manage their service planning. Meanwhile, the Control Package is almost the same as the former, with just the addition of vehicle and driver follow-ups and operational information.
Scania also offers a driver training program to show drivers how to drive more economically and safely.
All new Scania trucks in the Philippines are preinstalled with the Scania Communicator telematics unit, where operators only need to activate the service once they’ve purchased a package.
Tan is also confident that with this system, they will be able to boost their sales this year, as market has matured since Scania’s entry in the country three years ago.
For Tan, the company is dedicated in growing in the market. They have just introduced their bus line last year but she imparts that they will remain focused on their trucks segment and improving customer after-sales service.
“We are continuously dedicated to our clients in giving them the best service we could possibly give. With this technology, we are lessening our clients’ worries of maintaining the units,” she averred.
“Other than the technology, we are also standing by our commitment of providing quality after-sales service.”
The Scania Fleet Management System is available for their clients starting at P1,800 a month per vehicle.
Image credits: Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes