Prevost pursues partnerships, technology to win customers

GREENSBORO, N.C. Motorcoach operators that buy Prevosts next year wont just be customers of the coach manufacturer, theyll become its partners as well.

Thats the goal the bus builder has set for itself as it reves up efforts to sell more coaches by helping its customers achieve two key business goals -- reduce operational costs and increase revenues.

"It may not be a new approach but were really going to try to emphasize this issue about partnerships," says Andrew Kankula, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Prevost.

He plans to push the game plan at the 2010 UMA Motorcoach Expo in Las Vegas in late February, where Prevost Car will emphasize tools that can help operators improve their bottom line -- a high-tech electronic management system, new engines equipped with advanced emission control systems, and a variety of entertainment systems.

Kankula says that, among other things, the electronic management system will help control bus maintenance costs, while the new engines will help reduce fuel usage, and the sound and vision systems will help attract new customers.

"Everything we do -- its part of our mission -- is designed to improve the profitability and lower the operating costs of our customers," he adds.

Kankula sees Motorcoach Expo as the ideal place to begin turning customers into partners because the large and diverse audience it draws gives the company the opportunity to measure how operators respond.

"The show is the largest really direct-contact experience we have with the first-level buyer of motorcoaches," he notes.

Best foot forward

Prevost plans to lead its showcase at the Expo with the Prevost Liaison, a satellite-based tracking system that allows operators to use their office computers to keep a real-time handle on their coaches and how they are performing.

The Liaison, heralded as more efficient and reliable than cellular-based systems, not only tells operators where their coaches are at all times but how well all of the onboard systems are functioning. It monitors fuel efficiency and electronic equipment systems; it reports on how safely coaches are being driven and any out-of-route mileage; it sends location and time reports when a coach is stopped, and it finds preferred routes that minimize unnecessary driving.

Already in use in the industry, the Liaison recently helped police in Canada locate a coach that had been stolen and arrest a man suspected of stealing it.

Prevost also will have mockups of its 2010 Volvo-produced engines, which have been designed using SCR, or selective catalytic reduction, technology to meet the new and more stringent federal emission standards. Volvo Bus Corp. owns Prevost and supplies its engines.

The companys premier entertainment systems that include a wide range of products from satellite radio receivers, to 17-inch flip-down monitors, to live television, to scenic-view cameras, also will be on display at Motorcoach Expo.

Diverse line-up

Prevost will be bringing a full line of coaches to the show, including the X3-45, its popular touring bus that Greyhound Lines and BoltBus have added to their fleets, and the Volvo 9700, a lower-cost coach that was introduced a year ago.

Meantime, it would appear that the companys accelerated effort to market its coaches and other products during a tough economic period Kankula calls it the worst ever - is the right strategy for the times.

Kankula, who joined the company earlier this year after a successful 10-year stint at Umicore and before that three years at Excel Industries, says inquires from operators have been on the rise lately and that might be an indication something good is brewing.

"We have been seeing some delays in terms of purchasing decisions, but were also experiencing more inquires on the availability of coaches in the future," he says. "But it still will be a challenge convincing people that this is a good time to buy."

Prevost hopes to meet the challenge by improving the value of its coaches by reinvesting in its products, a move many companies slow or stop doing when economic conditions sour.

"Every company goes through their research and development budget looking for ways to trim costs, but on the other side youve got to take the approach that while I want to reduce my cost, I can do that by investing as well," Kankula suggests. "Youve got to continue to invest in your ability to improve your product."

Big vs. small customers

Kankula says thats just what Prevost has been doing and, ultimately, the value being added to the products leads to the customer.

Thats the philosophy the company has used in its relationship with two of its newest and largest customers, the line-run giant Greyhound Lines and BoltBus, the fledging East Coast curbside service that Greyhound and Peter Pan Lines own.

"They are part of the customer base that I think we have done an excellent job of demonstrating what the value of our product brings, not only in the operation of the coach, but also in the experience of the passenger," Kankula says. "We expect to maintain a very strong relationship with them."

He says serving a company as large as Greyhound has proven to be little different than working with smaller operators.

"They concentrate on the very same things that regional or smaller operators do," he says. "They want efficiency in their systems, greater uptime and less idle time, and at the end of the day youve got to be able to demonstrate the value you bring to them."

While building value into coaches is critical for a manufacturer to be successful, Prevost views two other issues - safety and green - as becoming equally important down the road.

Kankula thinks new riders, especially young ones, are going to be demanding both when they make a decision to use a motorcoach for their daily commute to work or for leisure travel.

Taking the lead

He stresses that Prevost has been out front on both issues by being an early supporter in installing three-point seatbelts on its coaches and being the first motorcoach manufacturer in North America to earn an International Organization Standardization or ISO 14001 environmental management standard.

"We have been very much committed to green, not only on our coaches but in how we produce them," he adds.

Kankula also says Prevost remains high on bus-building in Canada and at this time is not looking to manufacture at other locations. "Canada is very much part of our culture and thats what makes a Prevost a Prevost," he says. "I think as new markets open up that have a desire for the value of the Prevost, it would very much open up an opportunity to be able to produce it elsewhere, but there is nothing on the drawing board right now."

While seated motorcoach sales have declined during the current economic slump, the bus shell market, a key element of Prevosts business, has been harder hit.

"The entertainment and corporate side of the (shell) market still is experiencing pretty similar volumes as what they did a year ago," says Kankula. "There has been some impact on the pricing, but the level of activity really hasnt dropped off as much."

That has not been the case with the motorhome sector, which has fallen dramatically. "We are getting inquires, but getting somebody to spend the money it takes to buy a new motorhome still is a huge decision," he adds. "They are taking their time, thats for sure, but were cautiously optimistic about it."