By Jon Segersten, VP, Dealer Service Development 

The Service Solutions team here at Navistar, Inc. (“Navistar”) has a new way of working for dealers to keep them and our customers “ahead of the curve.”  

On a mission to redefine what it means for an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to support dealer-led fleet customers throughout their commercial vehicle ownership journey, our Service Solutions team is implementing changes to transform reactive business operations into a more proactive and predictive business model.   

To do that, Navistar is introducing new comprehensive ownership solutions, a customer service operations model, and Digital Dealer, a new digital ecosystem, across the International® and IC Bus® dealer networks throughout 2024. 

This is a critical step in transforming today’s dealer service network. By introducing a more systematic way of working and taking additional steps within the process of our dealer network, we’re able to plan more known work.

This is where our new comprehensive, proactive, and data-driven ownership solution can make all the difference. In the past, Extended Service Contracts (ESCs) have been a good way for customers to mitigate repair cost exposure, but those contracts have not addressed the broader downtime challenge. 

The first step in accordance with Service Solutions’ new way of working journey is an enhanced service solution portfolio leveraging existing ESCs, combined with a new preventive maintenance coverage that comes with proactive service planning. ​These new contracted product offerings are riding the wave of the launch of the International® S13 Integrated Powertrain, as preventive maintenance and the digitalization of commercial offerings are critical to the powertrain's performance and reliability. ​ 

Let's dive into each of the ingredients that comprise our new way of working for dealers. 

Comprehensive Ownership Solutions 

The purpose of comprehensive ownership solutions is to support customers throughout their ownership journey with a set of service contracts that are tailored to enhance the overall ownership experience. This will deliver greater uptime​, improved productivity and efficiency​, lower total cost of ownership, and​ allow customers greater ease of doing business with dealers. 

Navistar’s dealers are building on a strong foundation when it comes to comprehensive ownership solutions; Navistar has been selling ESCs for a long time. Under the new way of working, however, dealers will be able to leverage current ESCs combined with expanded preventive maintenance coverage that comes with proactive service planning. The goal is to deliver guaranteed uptime and greater customer peace of mind. This combined with the International S13 Integrated Powertrain will enable Navistar to deliver a best-in-class solution for customers. 

Customer Service Operations Model 

Today, Navistar and its dealer network operate 620 service locations with more than 8,000 technicians, service advisors, and other key players involved in getting a vehicle serviced to back on the road. When it comes to service, time is money for International Truck and IC Bus customers, and every minute a vehicle is down affects profit. 

Under Service Solutions’ new way of working, dealers are working to prioritize preventive maintenance, schedule routine services, and become a well-oiled machine to reduce downtime for customers. The goal with Service Solutions’ new customer service operations model is to shift toward more predictive and proactively planned maintenance. At the end of the day, this is an initiative to support the customer.  

Digital Dealer 

Navistar’s Digital Dealer ecosystem combines different IT service systems within Service Solutions into one comprehensive software platform to better leverage vehicle data to predict maintenance and repair requirements. In part, this means utilizing vehicle data, sensors, and connected technologies to understand how each vehicle operates and to identify future faults. Digital Dealer also provides our dealer network with the software needed for their teams to contact customers and pre-schedule service in a more automated manner.    

Ultimately, it’s about making sure uptime is guaranteed. That means if a vehicle comes into the workshop at the scheduled time, everything is prepared both in terms of parts and understanding how much time it will take to do the maintenance. It also involves understanding the technician skills needed, availability of pay, availability of special tools, and any other diagnostics that need to happen so that everything is in line for a seamless experience that is as predictive as possible.