GREENSBORO, NC- Imagine you have a broken engine sensor and as you roll into a dealer facility to get it fixed, the technician already knows about it and has pre-ordered, maybe even already received the new part to fix your truck. The repair could be simple enough that you’d turn your truck right around and back on the road, little waiting necessary.

That’s the goal behind Volvo and Mack Trucks’ new 123,000 square-foot facility in Greensboro, North Carolina. It’s what they call an Uptime Center, bringing together the people and systems needed to monitor vehicles issues as they happen and respond just as fast.

Volvo Trucks

At this new facility, Volvo’s folks can interact face-to-face to speed up repairs and help dealers troubleshoot difficult cases and find the right parts for the repair.

“Bringing these professionals together under one roof allows them to collaborate and prioritize more quickly and effectively,” said Göran Nyberg, president, Volvo Trucks North American Sales & Marketing.

The Uptime Center team will manage North American Volvo dealers and the following services:  

• ASIST – Volvo’s web-based tool for monitoring vehicle status and managing estimates, repair approvals, purchase orders and communications with dealers. ASIST documents all the interaction among customers, dealers and Volvo, including Remote Diagnostics activity.
• Remote Diagnostics – Volvo’s telematics-based tool that monitors critical fault codes, diagnoses and plans repairs for your truck. When something goes wrong, Remote Diagnostics finds the parts and the repair instructions technicians  will need before the truck arrives for service. Remote Diagnostics can reduce the diagnostic time by up to 70 percent and lower repair time by more than 20 percent, Volvo claims. About 50,000 Volvo trucks are equipped with the system, which has been standard on all Volvo-powered models since 2013.

Mack Trucks

The experts now brought together under one roof include live 24/7 agents, engineers, dealer support staff and parts specialists.

Stephen Roy, president of Mack Trucks North American Sales and Marketing, commented: “The Uptime Center facilitates the balanced mix of technology, live expert support and proactive communication we need to quickly deliver solutions that directly impact customers’ bottom lines.”

Mack Uptime solutions managed through the Uptime Center include:

• Mack OneCall –  Mack OneCall agents respond to service issued found by the Mack GuardDog Connect telematics system and communicate with the customer, dealer and, if necessary, other Uptime Center colleagues.
• Mack ASIST – Mack’s web-based fleet service management platform that ensures timely information sharing, communication and tracking of a service event among the customer, dealer and Uptime Center staff.
• Mack GuardDog Connect – Mack’s diagnostic and repair planning system monitors critical fault codes, diagnoses issue and schedules repairs after confirming the needed parts are in stock and ready to install, all while the truck is still on the job.

“The continued strengthening of our dealer network, combined with corporate initiatives like our new Uptime Center, clearly demonstrate Mack’s overall commitment to offer support where our customers need it the most – when they’re on the road away from home,” Roy said.