Paccar boss urges dealers to be more “tech-savvy”

SEATTLE, (April 23, 2004) — Paccar Inc. Chairman and CEO Mark Pigott told truck dealers they must embrace technology that makes it easier for customers to do business with them.

In remarks made before dealers attending last week’s 41st American Truck Dealers convention in Seattle, Pigott said, “Less than 10 per cent of North American truck dealers use bar codes for shipping & receiving.” In addition, he said, online truck spec’ing, parts ordering and service scheduling are lacking in many facilities. Dealerships should be “wired for wireless,” he said, and hiring technology-savvy people is all-important.

Paccar is the parent company of Kenworth and Peterbilt commercial trucks.

Pigott urged dealers to “challenge your OEMs to act in a responsible manner.” He said when a manufacturer tries to “gobble up market share,” it results in selling trucks at a loss and unrealistic residual value. “From a customer standpoint, this appears to be good, but in actuality it has the opposite effect. More than 6,000 fleets have failed in the past four years.”

On the driver shortage, he said, “Fleets will need trucks with more content to attract and retain drivers.

“Today, more than 65 per cent of the 1.8 million (Class 8) trucks on the road are more than three years old,” he said. That compares with just 45 per cent in 2001. This aging fleet has to be replaced, he added, and order backlogs are increasing accordingly.

— via Truckinginfo.com