Putting fleet managers first

I recently met Linde's UK supremo Andrew Daly at the company's much changed Basingstoke facility and was impressed by how focused he was on the needs of the fleet manager.

Linde itself had challenges in the wake of the recession, as it closed its UK manufacturing operation, with significant redundancies. But Andrew says, keeping a clear customer focus and investing heavily in R&D and network coverage in the UK has meant Linde is better placed than ever to serve the needs of fleet managers.

So, for a company that listens very closely to its customers, what are the key concerns of fleet managers? "One thing is for sure," says Andrew.

"They've got to have a strong product.

There is a lot they want beyond that but they always want to know about the product as well. Let's not forget the basics, a fleet manager needs strong products that work, that won't break down a lot, that will get goods out of the door. When managers make a big investment in trucks, and it is always a big investment for the customer, they want to know they are getting a very good and reliable product." Another aspect that fleet managers have been emphasising as key, and no reader will be surprised at this, is that truck operations must help in achieving cost reductions.

"All companies are facing challenging times and are under pressure to become more efficient. We know we can help them reduce costs," says Andrew.

"Our trucks tend to be highly efficient and productive. We believe they are market leading. For example, we have independent data to show our engine trucks are significantly more fuel efficient than other brands. In fact, customers' own testing tends to exceed our claims. This is a powerful factor for us in keeping customers and winning new ones." Andrew is also keen to promote the company's Stratos warehouse management system. Linde uses this as a consultancy tool to help customers design a warehouse or re-configure an existing warehouse to its optimum.

"Companies have used it to design warehouses from scratch, it's not just about software, it the person and their expertise.

We believe it can exceed what can be achieved with an independent consultant because we can seamlessly link to the MHE," explains Andrew.

"Once we understand a customer's operations, we can say if you have 50 forklifts today, we think you can operate with 40, for example. We can therefore save quantifiable amounts of money without loss of productivity. It demonstrates to the customer that we are interested in their business and want to understand how they work." With fleet managers keen to sweat their assets, they are tending to specify to meet core needs. But in times of greater demand, they need quick delivery of the right kind of forklifts in good condition. This means short term rentals are arguably more important than ever.

"We have been getting excellent feedback on how fast we are able to respond. Our short term rental fleet is 10,000 units, much more than our nearest competitor. We also have the widest product range. If we get a call we are more likely than other manufacturers to have the right trucks available," says Andrew.

"With a national network, we can get the trucks out quickly. We have had instances where our competitors have not been able to fulfil a rental requirement and we have stepped in." Linde has also invested in a national rental desk, so small to medium sized customers can call one number and get trucks wherever they are in the UK.

The theme of money saving also extends to Linde's damage management programme. Linde estimates that damage can account for up to 10% of the total cost of a fleet. The company has developed a dedicated resource to help customers, and has trained account and service managers to help with this. Linde works with customers on a monthly basis in a bid to make costs transparent.

"We don't see damage as a revenue source," says Andrew. "We have a long term relationship with customers and strongly believe if we do what is in their interests, we will be rewarded with retained business." In addition, Linde has launched a national tyre programme, and claims to be the only forklift company in the UK to do so.

Continuing to invest

As we said at the start of the article, product is still at the forefront of the minds of fleet managers. Linde has continued to invest in product development throughout the recession and this can be seen in the newly launched Linde EVO Counterbalance (2-5 tonne) range.

The truck has been designed to exceed the new EC stage IIIB emissions legislation, which came into force last month (January 2013).

"We haven't just met the requirements, we've gone way beyond. We've beaten the particulate requirement by 83% and beaten NOX by 26%. It is a very positive environmental story," says Andrew.

"Customers tell us the environment is a big factor, despite the recession, particularly with medium and large companies, that are under scrutiny in this area." In terms of fuel efficiency, the redesign of the engine has led to a 10-28% leap forward.

Among the developments on the range is the inclusion of Curve Assist as standard. This links steering to axle speed, and adjusts automatically to ensure the stability of the forklift when cornering.

Andrew adds that Linde has the largest number of multi-skilled engineers in the UK, with around 1,000 engineers, working on competitor products as well as Linde. This is something the company continues to invest in. It launched an apprentice scheme in partnership with the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA), with 16 apprentices placed in 2011, 20 appointed in 2012 and plans to place between 16-20 every year.

Andrew adds: "As part of our wide ranging effort to invest in the UK business, we have also built up our parts warehouse. We think we are the only forklift manufacturer in the UK with a proper parts warehouse. We have 42,000 lines in a state-of-the-art facility.

"For the customer, parts availability is very important. We have a very efficient operation in terms of being able to get the right part to the engineer's van to service products correctly. Vans are replenished overnight for engineers to take to jobs in the morning." Linde has also taken the step of buying its dealer network in the UK, which is now 100% Linde owned.

"This represents a great investment and shows our commitment to the business.

The network means we can serve someone with one truck and someone with a 5000 truck fleet, and everything in between." Andrew concludes: "Our technical backup pre and post sale is second to none in terms of resource. This capability and skill set means we are in a better position than anyone else to meet customer needs. I've been at Linde for five years and I have never been more confident in our capability."