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20 February 2019 | AutoData MANUFACTURERS » SCANIA This whole bunch of things, which today is called con- nectivity, is fundamental to put into practice another link that involves the NTGs: the trading system. With the new trucks Scania wants to change the sales method, offering practically customized vehicles to the customers, confi- gured according to the type of business, transportation, route and profitability. A joint dealership-buyer analysis via software will evaluate items such as average speed, fuel expense and load capacity and give the verdict. “We took the study of each application to deeper levels. Whenwe talk about long-distance transport, for example, we identify eleven subsegments: the cost and profitability of a customerwho transports refrigerated products is quite different fromanother customer thatworkswith liquid cargo. Our proposal is to offer the vehicle specification that most favors the buyer’s revenue.” The trouble is that there are about 1 thousand possible combinations of NTG trucks, which increases at the same level the complexity of vehicle manufacturing in all pro- duction stages at the plant in Sao Bernardo do Campo. “That’swhywewent through a long and expensive process, which involved a lot of preparation and training. But, now, enough training: it’s time to play.” SOME GO, OTHERS GO BACK As if all that complex issue involving production and commercializationwas not enough, the change of PGRs to NTGswill also interfere deeplywith one of the pillars at the factory in the ABC region, the one with regard to exports. The sending of trucks abroad was absolutely crucial to keep the unit idle at very low levels in recent years, even with a domestic market facing brutal reductions in Brazil. For Podgorski, however, the account will be balanced with the return of more traditional customers of the Bra- zilian operation, such as Russia, South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia and India, which were supplied by Europe to the customers that have already opted for the new truck while the Brazilians supplied less common markets that still bought fromBrazil the discontinuedmodels in Europe. A confirmation that exports will continue to represent a strategic role was the inauguration of another new area in the factory, in June last year, dedicated to the assembly of vehicle kits totally or partially dismantled. Some NTG units in that way actually have already been dispatched to other countries even before starting the production of the complete trucks in the assembly line. For all that, that January 28 represented a kind of restart to the Brazilian Scania, bringingwith it the expectation and typical freshness. It may even be said that the factory in Sao Bernardo do Campo starts the year with its soul cleansed – and absolutely modern. MANUFACTURERS » SCANIA