VECV ANNOUNCES EUTECH6
With Eutech6, VE Commercial Vehicles has added an edge to its BSVI strategy.
As part of its BSVI strategy, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) has announced the launch of Eutech6. Encompassing the CV maker’s experience in producing Euro6 engines since 2013 at its engine plant in partnership with Volvo Group, Eutech6 highlights an ability to leverage the knowledge of one of the partners – Volvo – to produce as well as support BSVI equivalent trucks in various parts of the world. Highlighting Exhaust After-Treatment (EATS) technology as well, and involving electronic governing software, the relevant hardware that includes the ECU and various sensors, the DPF and other components, Eutech6 underlines uptime solutions that add to the overall value proposition.
Empowering the operator to earn more, Eutech6, according to Vinod Aggarwal, Managing Director and CEO, VECV, is engineered to offer superior technology, better performance and the necessary aftermarket support. Coming against a backdrop of higher acquisition cost of a BSVI
CV and efforts put in to ensure retention of fuel efficiency edge when compared to BSIV CV of the same stature, Eutech6 points at an ability to offer superior fluid efficiency and validation (as well as testing) spanning 5.6 million-km. Supporting Eutech6, which is capable of reducing fuel costs by improving performance, productivity and uptime, is a competence development centre and mobile training facilities. An Uptime Centre is also a part.
UPTIME CENTRE
Setup at the company’s Pithampur facility in April 2019, the Uptime Centre is spread over an area of 2400 sq. ft.
It has a 24x7 support team that comprises of diagnostics experts. These offer remote diagnostics and predictive diagnostics. Upgraded to cater to BSVI CVs, the Centre can take control of any vehicle at a dealer workshop or on the road (post a breakdown or if it is in need of an assistance) and provide necessary guidance. Using telematics as the basis (standard fitment on every Eicher CV), the Uptime Centre is offering support in languages like Hindi, Marathi Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. It is supporting 35 fleet customers with 6000 vehicles.
Manned by 87 people, the Uptime Centre also involves the dealership network of VECV. Currently supporting six to eight districts (24x7) across the country, it is adding value to the after-sales support offered by the company. Marking an
important part of Eutech6 no doubt, the Uptime Centre is designed and developed to create a unique support culture that encompasses the entire lifecycle of the vehicle. It is also designed and developed to tap earning avenues that will assume greater importance with BSVI; to tap avenues that extend well beyond the initial acquisition cost of a CV. Revealed Aggarwal, that VECV is collecting the learnings from diagnosis of vehicles through the Uptime Centre and utilising them to upskill the dealers and technicians. Stating that the ‘Uptime’ journey started with a reactive approach, he expressed that the pro-active nature of the exercise is now structured across two phases – Uptime 1.0 and Uptime 2.0 respectively.
Involving dealer support, Uptime 1.0 involves the creation of a diagnostics
learning document within four hours of the call. The document is forwarded to the dealership as the average cases handled by the Uptime Centre continue to rise. While a breakdown assistance van is often dispatched quickly as per the need by the dealership closest to the breakdown, the amount of cases handled per quarter by the Uptime Centre has risen to 77 in a short span of time. If this points at an improvement in VECV’s ability to respond, the data obtained is also being put to good use for the development of preventive maintenance techniques. Predicting faults before they crop up under the realm of Uptime 2.0. VECV informs vehicle owners to visit the nearest dealership in anticipation of a fault development and a subsequent breakdown. A message is also sent to the dealership to ensure timely repair.
ACTIVE VENDOR SUPPORT
Helping the operator to conduct the repairs himself in case it is minor and does not require him to suffer a downtime, the Uptime solution, under Eutech6, also provides spares support. Devised with the active support of its vendors, VECV is putting to good use its central warehouse at Pithampur as well as the regional warehouses. Playing a part in faster availability of spares at dealerships to ensure maximum uptime, the CV maker has aligned the supply of spares with Uptime 1.0 and Uptime 2.0. As part of Eutech6, a clear shift towards preventive maintenance is visible. The hit rate of such a measure is currently claimed to be 84 per cent. Arranged such that the red colour coding means ‘Predictive Critical’ (immediate intervention is necessary), yellow colour coding means intervention is required but not immediate, and blue colour coding means intervention is required and the fault can be rectified by the customer, Eutech6 is being honned further to make it more effective.
Investing in a new plant at Bhopal to augment its capacity, the CV maker is also upgrading its dealership network. It is turning it into an infrastructure that would support future endeavours in connection with the regulatory framework as well as the market needs. Monitoring as well as supporting an improvement in driving habits with the use of telematics, VECV is ensuring higher productivity and profitability achievement for its BSVI CV customers. Investing in a driver training facility, the company is packaging a good deal of value through Eutech6. Leaving no stone unturned to lead the charge in BSVI era, VECV is leveraging the strong arm of technology and know-how to stay ahead of the curve.