Following the merger of Volvo Truck and Bus Centre North with Volvo Truck and Bus Centre Scotland, Martin Merrick has been appointed to be Regional Managing Director of the new region. Reporting directly to Volvo Trucks’ UK MD, Göran Nyberg, Martin is based at the Head Office of the newly merged region in the Glasgow West Dealership at Cardonald, although he will also have an office at the new Dealership on Teesside, which is scheduled to open in April this year.
Prior to undertaking his current role, Martin was Regional Managing Director of Volvo Truck and Bus Centre North, but he has been with Volvo Trucks for over 20 years and has had wide experience in roles in Sales, Aftermarket and Dealer Management. Indeed, he was Aftermarket Director for Volvo Truck and Bus Centre Scotland for six years.
The merger of the two Dealer regions is expected to be complete by the end of February. Key benefits to customers, says Martin will be that knowledge will be shared more easily between the regions to ensure customers are better served. In addition, he says “Customers will benefit from consistent Aftermarket and Contract pricing with central workshop planning giving customers a single point of contact for all twelve of the new region’s Dealerpoints. The Customer Portal, where operators have secure access to their maintenance and parts accounts records, will be available from February for customers across the new region.”
“Our key customer service objectives,” adds Martin, “are to provide solutions that will help our customers maximize efficiencies and reduce costs - for example with Volvo’s Fuelwatch programme. We are also looking to help customers with high levels of first time MOT pass rates. We want to help customers achieve maximum vehicle uptime and utilization. Providing finance and maintenance solutions that will improve customers’ cash-flow and minimise risk in their business - particularly with regards to residual values – are also key to the Dealership’s and Volvo’s Total Offer. We will also be working on providing optimized vehicles that will assist our customers attract quality drivers. And we will be working with customers to help them develop driver’s skills by providing driver development programmes.”
The senior team will shortly be in place, reports Martin. In describing the experienced team he now leads, he says, “We’ve got the new product range – the best products supported by innovative tools and systems with the best people. All with clear objectives to add value by providing appropriate solutions that will enable customers to maximize efficiencies and reduce costs. Our aim is to the leading provider of transport business solutions in the North of the UK by providing a wide range of quality products and services through operational excellence that is second to none. Our people will be focused on adding value, rather than selling on price.”