SHIFTING UP A GEAR

With new DAF trucks recently unveiled in the Australian market, PACCAR Parts’ growing prowess is providing the ideal support for the growing brand

There’s nothing quite like a fresh range of trucks being unveiled in the local heavy vehicle market. Rumours swirl, expectations rise and pressure builds until the first details of the models are released. With milestone moments such as these comes hours, weeks and months of hard work behind the scenes to provide a parts system that supports the latest technology.

“PACCAR Parts has spent the past two years ramping up our level of support for DAF’s new Euro 6 model trucks and latest XG models,” PACCAR Parts product marketing manager Niels Holm told OwnerDriver.

“Last year alone, PACCAR Parts invested almost $1 million in additional parts inventory into our distribution centres to prepare for the new range throughout our local dealer network.”

The evolution of the DAF brand in Australia took its next step in the past year with the launch of the new generation XG and XG+. These latest heavy-duty trucks have been designed for long haul applications, whether it be interstate distribution, general freight or even tankers.

“Our role is to support the new models coming into the PACCAR network in Australia while ensuring parts are maintained for existing models in the market,” Niels says.

“We’ve been getting closer to customers to understand their needs and any specific usage requirements they have for their DAF vehicles. We’ve maintained this close communication with customers and our dealer groups to identify any gaps in our stock and fill them.”

Niels won’t forget a key example of this approach paying off. The year was 2016 and he was in Wagga Wagga on a regular visit to dealers in the region. While there, a DAF customer ordered a part not available in Australia, thus putting the wheels in motion for a grand display of PACCAR Parts’ capabilities.

“The part was ordered at midday on Monday and arrived by the Thursday morning from Europe,” Niels recalls.

“It was dispatched in Eindhoven in the Netherlands overnight on the Monday and was delivered via air freight straight to Wagga, it all happened so seamlessly.

“It’s become a trademark part of our offering – if the part isn’t available in Australia, customers can order a part before a 2pm cut-off and it’ll be processed by the next day, and often delivered in a matter of days.”

It’s real-life examples like this that have led to an important marker of PACCAR Parts’ prowess. Currently, DAF Parts has a retail availability of 98.4 per cent throughout its Australian dealer network, meaning that when a customer comes into a dealership to buy a DAF part, 98.4 per cent of the time the part will be on the shelf.

“This has been one of the industry leading parameters we’ve strived to achieve, and is a benchmark in the market for parts availabilities,” Niels says.

“Our end goal is to ensure customers have parts available whenever or wherever they may need them. We’ve ensured we have high volume maintenance parts in all of our dealerships, supported through mandatory stocking lists, whether they be fuel, oil, air filters, panels, mirrors or headlights.

“A unique part of DAF’s trucks in Australia is that the drivelines have been engineered to cope with local conditions, meaning we have parts on our shelves that support these specific trucks and their applications.”

PACCAR Parts’ extensive level of DAF parts across the wider Australian network has been expanded to new technology, with the latest innovations allowing the brand to offer dealer stocking lists for all dealerships selling DAF trucks. Whether they be existing or newly released DAF models, PACCAR Parts is ensuring the right parts are available across the nation to maintain uptime for all Australian customers.

“We’re using technology such as PACCAR Connect to understand where DAF vehicles are located across Australia and then devise our DAF dealer stocking lists accordingly,” Niels says.

“These are designed so we have our parts in the right areas to service both day-to-day operational requirements at our dealerships and specialist requirements in certain applications.

“It’s allowed us to provide regular support for the whole gambit of PACCAR Parts products across both the DAF and Kenworth platforms. We’re often meeting as a team to minimise any parts shortages across the country and ensure all parts are competitively priced.”

Niels says this focus has been all about letting the local market know that the DAF brand is growing in Australia’s truck landscape. While the Kenworth name is synonymous across the country, DAF is fast emerging as a popular part of the industry, taking up more and more space in PACCAR Parts’ catalogues.

This growing range of DAF trucks and parts is housed at PACCAR Parts’ general distribution centres, providing a mega headquarters for the brand’s increasing stock inventory. Able to hold up to 250,000 parts at any time, DAF’s range at the centre include a significant portion of DAF genuine parts that have been designed at DAF’s European headquarters specifically for the local range.

“Whilst we stock most parts in the general distribution centre and across our dealerships, any small percentage of parts not available locally can be flown over from DAF’s Eindhoven headquarters within three days,” PACCAR Parts DAF senior product manager Shaji Abraham told OwnerDriver.

Central to this parts support will be DAF’s Repair and Maintenance Information (RMI) database, which compiles all information of DAF trucks sold and operating in Australia. All DAF dealers are able to securely log onto the platform to check out every single piece of parts and servicing information on a certain model, ensuring all preventative maintenance can be easily completed.

“If a dealer wants to look up a particular part or item for a DAF truck, they can use the RMI to do so,” Shaji says.

“The RMI also includes all warranty and maintenance information, as well as registration and parts. It’s a complete one-stop shop for DAF trucks in Australia.”

The database is incredibly extensive – Shaji walked me through an example of an XG cab, with a range of diagrams allowing owners to check out every single aspect of the truck. From sealing rubbers to panel clips, spring clips to cabin brackets, every detail you could imagine of the truck is tracked and updated to keep these trucks running at their very best every single day.

“Dealers can see this information for each particular truck in real time, it’s world class,” he says.

Recent DAF accessories launched include stone guards, bullbars, light bars and reflectors. However, Shaji says the DAF bullbar has quickly become a primary focus for local customers.

Created specifically for Australian conditions, the DAF product is the only bullbar available in the local market designed, tested and certified for compatibility with the vehicle’s airbags and other integrated safety systems.

While these parts in themselves are an evolution of DAF’s product range, Niels says the back-end service that PACCAR Parts is providing the new-look DAF suite of trucks makes for a formidable force that is driving the brand’s future in Australia.

“Our goal is to get to the 100 per cent retail availability for DAF parts in Australia,” he says.

“And in the event that a part is not in stock, our global strength and coordination ensures that we can air freight in the parts needed from Europe within days. This is all part of an overall package that is putting DAF and PACCAR Parts at the cutting edge of international and local truck innovation.”