Reaping the benefits of bespoke, on-site training
The vehicle supplier Scania commissioned a tailored, two-day training course from Esri UK to help gain the knowledge and skills required to develop a new GIS-based application for its sales teams. The training proved highly cost effective, convenient and relevant, meeting the business’s needs precisely.
The Customer
Scania is a major supplier of trucks, buses, coaches and engines for industrial and marine applications. The company also provides a wide range of complementary and ancillary support services through over 90 service centres across the country. In 2011, Scania’s share of the UK heavy truck market was 14% and its combined bus and coach market share amounted to 8.1%.
The bespoke training course covered the precise skills and techniques that the employees needed to develop the company’s new GIS application
Scania calculated that the bespoke training course was significantly less expensive than standard courses, particularly when it factored in time and travel costs
The on-site course meant that there was minimal disruption to the business, as employees did not need to be away from the office
The Challenge
Over recent years, Scania has been developing its use of business intelligence products with the aim of improving decision making right across the company. In the next stage of this initiative, it wanted to use geographic information systems (GIS) technology to develop a web-based solution to support its sales team and senior managers. It aimed to use GIS to display the locations of depots, dealer terrains, sales areas and key customers on interactive, digital maps and then give users the ability to drill down into these maps to view quotes, sales by area, revenues by customer and past and planned sales initiatives.
Scania had been using GIS for several years, but its existing GIS software did not have the capabilities necessary to meet the organisation’s objectives. The company therefore undertook a thorough evaluation of available GIS software and selected Esri’s ArcGIS system as its platform of choice. Many of the other software applications evaluated didn’t offer all of the functionality that the company required, such as the ability to measure and analyse drive times.
Employees within Scania’s market information team had the vision and technical skills to develop the new GIS-based business intelligence solution. However, they had no prior experience of using Esri solutions. Scania therefore decided to invest in training with Esri UK, to help its employees get up to speed as quickly as possible.
Scania’s existing GIS software did not have the capabilities necessary to meet the organisation’s objectives. The company therefore undertook a thorough evaluation of available GIS software and selected Esri’s ArcGIS system as its platform of choice
The Solution
Initially, the market information team considered attending four or five of the standard training courses offered by Esri UK. All of these courses had some elements that were highly relevant to the team’s goals and training requirements, but other elements covered in the courses were less pertinent for the company at this point in time.
Scania therefore decided to take advantage of Esri UK’s bespoke, on-site training service. It worked with Esri UK to design a two-day course that would cover precisely those skills and techniques that the team would need in order to successfully develop its new GIS solution. The company also arranged for its own business data to be used in examples and exercises during the training course.
The qualified trainer from Esri UK arrived at Scania’s offices on the first day with absolutely everything necessary to deliver the course including laptops already loaded with GIS software and Scania’s company data. There were no connection or IT compatibility issues, so the course could start promptly and proceed smoothly. During the two days, the course attendees had the opportunity to complete a number of different exercises, which helped them to embed their newly-acquired ArcGIS skills.
The trainer brought everything that was necessary for the course including laptops pre-loaded with ArcGIS technology and company data, ready to go. The high quality training we received will enable us to deliver a new application for the business that will drive our future sales
Simon Brown – Development Manager, Scania
Benefits
Scania is confident that Esri UK’s on-site instruction delivered good value for money. The bespoke training for two employees was around £2,000 less than the cost of sending two people on five separate courses. What is more, because the course was being delivered in-house for a fixed fee, Scania was able to involve a third employee, at no additional cost. Scania also saved money by avoiding the travel and accommodation expenses that would otherwise have been incurred by sending employees on standard training courses.
The employees saved a considerable amount of time as they did not need to be away from their desks for more than two days. They did not fall behind on other activities, and the impact of their absence on the business was lessened.
Most importantly, Scania’s employees received highly relevant, tailored training in precisely the skills they needed to create the new business application. Because the course employed data that they were already familiar with, the course attendees were able to easily understand the new GIS concepts and capabilities that the trainer demonstrated and get to grips with new techniques more quickly.
Scania’s employees now have the skills they need across ArcGIS Desktop, product extensions and ArcGIS Server. They are therefore all set to develop a fully customised GIS web service that will help improve the effectiveness of the company’s sales team. The organisation anticipates that its new GIS solution will enable sales managers to interpret and analyse existing data within the business more effectively. They will then be able to align sales activities with current and potential customers, to drive greater sales success and business growth.
