Scania - Annual Report 2006

Scania annual report 2006 20 RE SEARC H AN D DEVELOP MENT Research and development with a customer perspective Scania’s ambition is to be a leader in vehicle development and to foresee even today - based on customer needs - how technological opportunities can yield future improvements for customers. Scania invests about four percent of its annual sales in research and development. R&D resources are concentrated at the Scania Technical Centre in Södertälje. Scania develops and manufactures all strategically and competitively important components inhouse. Its research and development work thus encompasses the entire product development chain - starting with analyses of customer needs, macroeconomic factors and the competition, and continuing through basic research programmes, pre-production engineering, customer clinics and long-term testing, quality monitoring and consideration of environmental aspects. Quality and environmental work permeates all stages of this R&D work, from long-term tests and field trials to production, both at Scania and its suppliers, as well as when the company’s products are being used by customers. Product development takes place close to production, so that products and production engineering can be developed concurrently. R&D work also occurs in close contact with the sales and service organisation, in order to incorporate existing customer needs and foresee future ones in different transport segments. Future customer needs The point of departure for Scania’s R&D work is to predict what transport tasks customers in different segments will face in the future and to develop products and services that meet these requirements. Successful product development begins with a thorough analysis of future customer needs, continues with cross-functional development work and ends with a new or improved product that can be offered to the market when the predicted need becomes a reality. Continuous improvement in performance The purpose of development work is to preserve and improve Scania product properties that customers perceive as especially valuable and associate with Scania. Among these properties, Scania is expected to be among the leaders in technical performance. To ensure that Scania lives up to these expectations, the company methodically pursues development work to improve the technical properties and performance of vehicles. Key properties A number of properties affect a vehicle’s productivity and lay the groundwork for the profitability of transport companies. In terms of fuel economy and cargo capacity, Scania has been in a leading position for many years. The engine greatly influences a vehicle’s character and performance. It also provides the basis for fuel economy, environmental characteristics and the long service life of Scania’s products. Maintenance cost and uptime also weigh heavily in the customer’s transport accounting. A vehicle well matched to its assignment lasts. It does not need to make unscheduled workshop visits. The driver is at the centre of Scania’s development work. The driver must be able to do a good, safe job -