Blog

How ZF Wabco is Supporting the Aftermarket

In the last few months, ZF Wabco has mas made some big changes. What are these changes, and how have these changes impacted the way they service fleets and support the aftermarket?

Recently we interviewed Abe Aon, General Manager and Business Leader for After Sales, Service & Support, and Collin Shaw, North American Marketing & Business Development Leader for ZF Wabco.

ZF and Wabco Merger

A lot has changed with Wabco since Abe and Collin were last on The Heavy-Duty Parts Report in episode 53. Since their last interview, Wabco has become a part of ZF. With this change, they are now ZF Wabco.

ZF Friedrichshafen AG completed its $7 billion acquisition of commercial vehicle technology supplier Wabco Holdings, which will become an independent division of the German company.

Originating from the Westinghouse Air Brake Co. founded nearly 150 years ago, the Wabco name will live on in the aftermarket. Wabco, which specializes in developing autonomous driving technologies including automatic braking for commercial vehicles, ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WBC.

Folding into part of the ZF family is not only an exciting opportunity for Wabco but really it has given them the chance to take complete ownership over the way they support the aftermarket. The Wabco acquisition ensures that ZF will continue to be a commercial vehicle technology powerhouse. Its combined product portfolio includes conventional and electric drive and chassis components, a suite of sensors, and fully integrated, advanced braking, steering, and driver assistance systems.

Servicing Fleets

These changes have impacted the way the company is able to approach the aftermarket. As they work to support the aftermarket as a whole, they specifically changed their focus with fleets, now helping fleets increase their uptime in a more effective way.

They have made it their goal, to be a partner in uptime for fleets. This starts with being there at the beginning with OEM solutions & throughout the entire lifecycle of a commercial vehicle.

They’re also there for fleets on the road, with the deployment of a Truck Down Map which allows anyone in the company to see what is happening with one of their customers. This allows ZF Wabco to respond quickly and provide that customer with what they need to get that vehicle back up and operating again.

“When something happens, and we know things are going to happen, how we react and mitigate that problem for the customer is very important,” said Collin Shaw, North American Marketing & Business Development Leader at ZF Wabco.

Just Getting Started

When ZF acquired Wabco they linked Wabco’s performance promise “Mobilizing Commercial Vehicle Intelligence” with ZF’s unique range of products and services. The extensive combined product portfolio now encompasses conventional and electric drive and chassis components, a comprehensive suite of sensors as well as fully integrated, advanced braking, steering, and driver assistance systems for OEMs seeking technological differentiation for their new vehicle platforms.

Additionally, ZF can offer digital fleet management solutions and an extensive global network of aftermarket services for commercial vehicles. ZF is fully prepared to meet the diverse requirements of a commercial vehicle sector that is increasingly driven by digitalization: advancing road traffic safety, improving vehicle efficiency, and lowering emissions, while delivering reduced total operating costs (TCO).

The increasing use of digital solutions in fleet management offers the opportunity to optimize the entire system and to control the flow of goods efficiently.

“Thanks to our perfectly complementary portfolios and competencies, we are able to offer unprecedented solutions and services for manufacturers and fleets globally, in this way, we are actively shaping the future of the changing transportation industry,” ZF CEO Wolf-Henning Scheider said in a press statement released earlier this year.

ZF Wabco has taken steps to ensure that unscheduled downtime is reduced, and that uptime will be continuously improved. ZF Wabco has an event every year called Quality Days. During Quality Days, they bring in fleets and partners who describe to them what is happening on the roads in real-world conditions. With this information, they look at how they can improve products and services to increase uptime for fleets.

Support from Sales and Marketing

The merger of ZF and Wabco has changed many things for both organizations but some things will remain the same including the way sales and marketing work with all of their partners throughout the supply chain.

“Wabco is still Wabco. We still are your single place to find information for Wabco, and still have our total life cycle support solution, which is a partner in uptime. That hasn’t changed… Your contact points have stayed the same, we still have the same people, and still have that drive to improve going forward,” said Abe Aon, General Manager and Business Leader for After Sales, Service & Support.

ZF Wabco knows that two-way communication is very important to their mission of supporting the aftermarket. By having this open communication with their customers, they will be able to continuously improve their products, service, and support.