Volvo Trucks North America today announced updates to its Volvo Blue service contract – its dealer managed service plan introduced earlier this year to help fleet customers continue to boost uptime and efficiency. Since first launching the Volvo Blue service contract, Volvo Trucks has onboarded and certified 37 dealer locations across the U.S., with an additional seven locations coming online in the near future. The expanded adoption of the new comprehensive Volvo Blue service contract was announced during a press event on Tuesday, May 2, at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo.
Across the U.S., 37 dealer locations from eight dealer management groups have been trained to sell and support the Volvo Blue service contract components. An additional seven locations are near onboarding completion this year.
- Bergey’s Truck Center – 14 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland
- Nextran Truck Centers – 9 locations in Missouri, Kansas, Alabama, and Florida
- Bruckner’s Truck & Equipment – 5 locations in Texas and Oklahoma
- Tri-State Truck Center – 5 locations Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee
- Affinity Truck Center – 1 location in California
- GATR Truck Center – 1 location in Iowa
- McMahon Truck Centers – 1 location in Ohio
- Vanguard Truck Centers – 1 location in Texas
“As trucks become more technologically advanced and the value of uptime continues to increase exponentially, fleets are recognizing the value of having a dedicated, Volvo Trucks fleet manager at their local dealership to provide intelligent, data driven maintenance, on a schedule which maximizes uptime through minimizing visits to the shop.” said Peter Voorhoeve, president, Volvo Trucks North America. “With a dedicated fleet manager overseeing the vehicle health, available software updates and scheduled maintenance, owner operators and fleets can focus on growing their business without having to dedicate time and resources to keeping up with maintenance records and running the risk of over or under maintaining their trucks, adding uptime and value to their bottom line.”
Benefits of the Volvo Blue service contract include:
- Concierge “Fleet Manager” Support – Customers are assigned a designated dealer fleet manager to serve as their primary contact for all scheduled maintenance, software updates, and repair needs. Whether a vehicle needs a quick engine light check or a more complicated vehicle repair, the premium level of managed service provided via the Volvo Blue service contract allows customers to remain focused on their daily operations.
- Adaptive Maintenance Approach to Increase Uptime — The Volvo Blue service contract provides an individualized maintenance plan for each vehicle based on its actual real-world usage. This intelligent maintenance approach has enabled fleets to reduce downtime by 20% with a standard 500k mile plan.
- Remote Diagnostics – By utilizing connected technology, Volvo Trucks can remotely diagnose whether a truck needs to be scheduled for maintenance or a repair. If any issues arise, the driver is alerted to contact the dealership and the dealer has instant information on the case.
- Advanced Dealer Preparation – Fleets can schedule routine visits up to 30 days in advance, which provides dealers ample lead time to secure all required parts and resources for the visit, enabling them to get customers’ trucks back on the road more quickly.
- Combined Updates – Multiple vehicle upgrades can be combined into a single service visit to reduce the number of service appointments needed. For example, a 150k mile valve adjustment will be completed during a 120k mile preventative maintenance service.
- Reduced Environmental Impact – Rather than relying on fixed mileage intervals, Volvo Trucks technicians will perform an oil analysis at every oil drain to determine if oil drains are occurring at the appropriate time or if the intervals need to be modified. This approach helps reduce the amount of oil drains performed, which reduces the associated environmental impact.
- Proactive 74-Point Inspections – Following preventative maintenance, Volvo Trucks trained technicians perform a 74-point inspection to determine if any additional repairs need to be made before the truck leaves the dealership. These thorough inspections have proven to provide a significant decrease in Department of Transportation (DOT) violations for customers.
- Trusted / Quality Parts – Certified Volvo Trucks technicians use Genuine Volvo or Authorized Parts with access to all specialized equipment, diagnostic tools, and the database systems required. Skilled and trained mechanics perform and follow the Genuine Volvo Service process operations needed to ensure uptime and functionality.
- Flexible Contract Terms – Customers can purchase the Volvo Blue service contract for coverage between 100,000 and 600,000 miles (in either 50,000- or 100,000-mile increments), allowing for flexibility based on the expected lifecycle of the truck within the fleet.
- Convenient Financing Options –The Volvo Blue service contract offers convenient billing by bundling services and maintenance costs into the purchase of the truck or rolled into monthly payments, allowing customers to plan for vehicle maintenance in regular, anticipated expenses.
“Customers who opt-in to the Volvo Blue service contract experience greater truck uptime than they’ve had before by reducing the number of oil changes and breakdowns with Volvo Trucks’ optimized service plan,” said Mike Furst, director, contract services & leasing technology solutions, Volvo Trucks North America. “We also have the capability to diagnose and repair some powertrain related issues through remote software updates and proactively identify existing or upcoming issues through an extended 74-point inspection plan at any of our nearly 40 Volvo certified dealer partners nationwide.”
SOURCE: Volvo Trucks
