Daniel Fitzjhon, General Manager, Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Oman, talks about the reasons for the brand’s success in the Sultanate. An OER report.
How was the performance of Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles in Oman in the last one year?
Mercedes-Benz of Oman has been very successful in 2014. We’ve had a year-on-year growth of circa 15 per cent in our commercial vehicles business overall. This success is due to the strength of the brand and product itself in addition to our customer-centric approach: our customers are at the heart of everything, from product innovation and customer service to finance options and communication.
We’ve also become smarter in how we go to market, following a much targeted approach and making sure that we’re offering the right products to the right people. We look at how Oman’s growth is being driven by its geography and infrastructure and act accordingly in order to best to serve it. We’ve also been working closely with finance houses to make sure we get the right rates for our customers.
What are the products that you offer and have there been any new additions to the portfolio?
Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles offer an award-winning range of trucks – Actros, Axor, Atego and Zetros – which are the most cost-effective in the mid to heavy segment when it comes to TCO (total cost of ownership). Each truck is built, developed and tested to offer unbeatable performance in a variety of challenging environments. The versatility of the chassis allows a multitude of options to be built onto the Mercedes-Benz powered trucks.
Have you been working on upgrading your service and parts availability?
Our service sets an absolute automotive industry benchmark and has raised the bar for automotive customer care in Oman. It’s a customer-focused concept based on the following key components: an expert service team with a single point of contact, faster service, and flexibility. In addition to this, we have added two additional outlets over the past two years to now complete our network of four locations across Salalah, Haimah, Muscat and Sohar.
Fully in line with the Mercedes-Benz 2020 vision of Best Customer Experience, all aspects of our service are underpinned by Mercedes-Benz engineering excellence. In the commercial vehicle market in particular, spare-parts availability is of great importance and we are fortunate to have good availability in Oman as well as from Mercedes-Benz regional logistics centre in UAE.
Our qualified and skilled technicians only use Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles genuine parts for added customer peace of mind.
Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles has a strong fleet management policy. How has this been received in Oman?
We certainly understand the demand of our fleet customers and pride ourselves on delivering expertise, and a first class and focused service. We have recently restructured our commercial vehicle business and now have a Key Account approach when it comes to commercial vehicles; from sales to after sales, we now have a single contact point approach.
An integral part of Mercedes-Benz on-going commitment to delivering the best customer experience is, for example, our bi-annual Fleet-Check programme. Through this programme, we ensure that our customer trucks are maintained and running at their optimum level. In addition, we give the opportunity for drivers to upgrade their skills under the guidance of qualified Mercedes-Benz advanced driving instructors.
What kind of competition and challenges do you face in the market?
Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles is one of the dominant players in the commercial vehicle market. While we respect our competitors, we’re confident in our strategy, brand, product, sales and service.
I have to say we relish the current challenges in the commercial vehicle market and actually are ahead of the curve on many – including the demand for improved service levels, increased scrutiny of safety features and tailored approaches. Indeed, challenges spur progress.
Which are the sectors/verticals that Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles cater to?
Thanks to the unrivalled breadth of our product portfolio we are able to cover the demands of all sectors, from urban delivery, long-haul freight and construction to emergency services and military – and everything in-between.
What are your plans for 2015?
We have a clear plan to grow and have made significant investments in our infrastructure over the past years with new facilities in Haimah and Sohar, as well as investment into our Muscat site. Our strategy is built on three pillars – showcasing the strong and competitive edge of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles, building a sustainable and efficient network that allows us to cater to our customer demands, and consistently providing a premium customer service and experience. We’re confident that through this plan we will achieve our goals.