Changes in Volvo CE dealer network reflect the company’s strategy to lead in customer value
Volvo Construction Equipment’s (Volvo CE) North American dealer network has seen a number of changes over the last year. Dealerships have changed hands, territories have expanded and new players have emerged on the scene to sell the company’s premium equipment and offer its services. The moves all help deliver customer value in three key areas: uptime, unique customer solutions and machine lifecycle value.
The new dealers that have become part of the Volvo CE network are all seasoned, veteran companies with extensive histories in their regions. They know their markets and customers well, and are uniquely capable of helping Volvo CE achieve its strategic goals. Several of the dealers have shown prior success in selling Mack and Volvo Trucks, for example, while others have long been tied to Volvo CE, but are now offering sales of its equipment.
The new dealers include:
- Housby Heavy Equipment, in Iowa
- Wise Heavy Equipment, in Nebraska
- TranSource Truck & Equipment, in South Dakota
- Hawaii Truck Parts, Sales and Services, in Hawaii
- Alta Equipment Company, expanding territory to Illinois
Stephen Roy, president of Volvo CE North America, said the company’s strategy is a result of extensive market research to learn just what customers want and need from the industry, and that these dealers are well-positioned to deliver on the company’s goals.
“When I came on board as president in 2017, I immediately set out to hear from customers across the Americas,” he explained. “Customers need more uptime from their machines. They also need more consulting from our experts to come up with unique solutions to their business problems. And they want higher residual values from their equipment partners. With these updates to our dealer network, we are positioning Volvo CE to compete — and win — the market in these areas.”
The times they are a-changing
The dealer network updates come at a crucial time for the industry, when innovation and new technologies are set to permanently alter the sector. The new dealers have all pledged to align their strategic priorities with the company, embracing the focus on uptime, unique customer solutions and maintaining machine lifecycle values. They have joined the entire Volvo CE dealer network in undergoing intense training with Volvo CE and a variety of third-party experts to become equipped for these strategic goals, as well as the changing marketplace.
To win in uptime, for example, dealers need to become experts in areas such as telematics and predictive analytics. Dealers of the future could have “uptime managers” or other roles that support the industry’s shift toward outcome-based business models (such as generating efficiencies and ensuring all downtime is planned). Dealers will shift toward offering construction companies services that are more consultative, helping them manage costs, fleets, human resources, new technology and more.
Volvo CE dealers are already thinking this way. A significant portion of them are already highly engaged with ActiveCare Direct, and as new dealers come on board, they too will become experts in using the industry-unique telematics and remote monitoring system to increase uptime for their customers on their job sites. A recent, notable example is Flagler Construction Equipment’s use of the program on more than 70 machines for Florida’s I-4 Ultimate megaproject.
“We have ActiveCare Direct on all of the excavators being used on the project. It’s very important to us,” explained Tommy Ball, senior vice president of Flagler. “Volvo monitors ActiveCare and we also actively monitor it through our field service support center in Orlando. It really works out great for us — not only does it save us time, it saves the customer downtime.”
Similarly, Volvo CE is working with its entire dealer network on programs that offer unique solutions and boost machine lifecycle values, both of which the company will soon be announcing to the public. Until then, the focus remains on enhancing the capabilities of the company’s dealer network, with an eye toward helping them become the dealers of the future.
“It’s quite an exciting time to be a part of Volvo CE, and particularly to become one of our dealers,” Roy explained. “We aim to be a company that is easy to do business with, and that means making it easy to partner with us, but also it means that we have to equip our dealers for the future. New innovations, new ways to provide services and new market dynamics are all on the horizon, and Volvo CE is ensuring that our dealers will take the lead.”
