VW tie-up boost for Scania
Purchasing power boosted after Scania joins VW
Truck manufacturer Scania is reaping the rewards of fully joining Volkswagen Group (VW), with improved purchasing power for the brand, and therefore lower manufacturing costs.
In recent years there has been consolidation within the truck industry, as the remaining titans, in the market, notably Daimler, Volvo and VW, leverage their size to reduce purchasing costs, spread out their R&D spend over more units, and standardise some components.
In March, VW Group gained control of more than 90% of Scania, allowing it to delist the Swedish truck and take full control of the brand. It was seen as controversial by some in the market since VW is the manufacturer of MAN SE, whose heavy vehicles are competitive with Scania.
According to Scania, with a stable long-term ownership situation, it can now expand cooperation projects with Volkswagen and MAN in order to support its growth strategy up to 2020. Purchasing is one of the areas where the collaboration has progressed the furthest.
Scania’s head of purchasing, Andrea Fuder has worked to introduce a more global approach in Scania’s purchasing organisation, especially as the brand has increased its sales in emerging markets in recent years.
Close partnerships between Scania and suppliers in more and more countries enable them to develop new solutions jointly, she says.
“We are a global company and must therefore also find solutions to various legal requirements. For example these may involve local content requirements in our products.”
As for material costs, Fuder is now also beginning to see positive effects from Scania’s purchasing cooperation with MAN, which is helping to improve Scania’s earnings. “We have worked hard on this and see great continued potential,” she says.
