With her ideas and directions already being felt, Scania is challenging market conditions while preparing for one of the biggest shifts in the transport industry to happen.

Having arrived in January 2024, Joyce had the  opportunity to thoroughly familiarise herself with the Malaysian market. When taking over the duties as Managing Director - Scania Southeast Asia, her strategy for the market had been formed and readied to be rolled out. Meeting her for this Asian Trucker exclusive, she details how she is planning to grow the brand beyond the current position. “Whenever I enter a new market, I arrive with no preconceived perceptions, I am here as a blank slate, ready to learn,” she said opening the discussion. “My first task was to learn everything that there is about the people, employees as well as customers, the conditions in which we operate, how we operate and how we, as a brand, are performing.”

Joyce summed this up by describing this as finding out how Scania gets things done. Forming the strategy are the two questions as to what the goal is for the  company to be and the personal goals for the tenure. Looking then to the external stakeholders, Joyce is keen to meet customers in order to gain insights into what their experience is with Scania. This allows her to learn from the company’s history and to form a direction where to go. “The history of the brand cannot be changed and it will not be telling you where to go, however, you can derive a direction from it.” From
there, the steps towards the goal she sets out can be plotted.

Joyce found that not only did she get highly positive feedback on the products; the customers were also highlighting the great support given by the entire team at Scania Southeast Asia and Scania Finance. This includes the support provided, service network, financial services and most importantly, the people and their relationships with the market. Heading Scania Southeast Asia, Joyce finds herself in a role that is a natural development from her previous experiences. Having worked for a decade in purchasing, it is her understanding that trust is at the heart of any relationship between customer and vendor. These are where the opportunities lie to form lasting bonds where the communication allows for candid discussions about
the shortcomings, as perceived by the customer, and the brand. It is the collaboration between R&D, production and purchasing that creates the products that the market demand. “Having been on the  customer-side of the operation, I can apply my insights to the commercial operation here now. And what I don’t want to hear is that everything is perfect, as that eliminates the opportunity to improve, to grow.”

Having experienced Malaysia for almost a year, a surprising aspect emerges that has left a mark: there seems to be an apparent lack of awareness and adherence for road safety practices. “There is a push towards safer roads, but somehow, these good intentions seem not to take hold.” Seeing the improvement of safety, not just on the roads, but in general, as a duty, Joyce vowed to have this topic on her agenda. 

Each of us, as individuals, have stories to tell: the market has taken note of the fact that her appointment has been a hattrick, the appointment of the third female managing director for Scania Southeast Asia. However, with a career in Scania starting in 2007, she has noted that she has always been somewhat different and always been able to make her uniqueness her  advantage. “Imagine, when I started in the head office, I was not an engineer, and was not born in Sweden. And yes, I was a woman, working in an industry dominated by men.” As a child, growing up in a foreign country, initially, she wanted to fit in. However, growing up, she departed from this idea, where Scania allowed  individuals to strive because of their  individuality. It was there, where Joyce realised that listening to different perspectives can nurture creativity and lead to better results. “The industry has changed. We now have females heading some of the biggest brands in the world, which is an inspiration for all women in the world as they are being shown a role-model that demonstrate that anything is possible.” Scania has long since practiced an approach based on inclusivity, whereby the career path is set up at the point of hiring. “I have arrived here today, as a result of Scania’s continued focus on embracing and harnessing diversity and inclusion. This includes forming teams with diverse cultural backgrounds, ages, experiences and educational backgrounds.”

Although Scania is an established brand with an extensive service network, support functions and a comprehensive product line-up, running the business is not without challenges. Challenges, as Joyce put it, depend on the timing. In the case of the Malaysian market, Joyce took over at the helm of the company in a very challenging time. “We have introduced a new generation of trucks and buses, which required the market to adapt to the new product and pricing structure amidst the upgrade of the emission regulations.” It can be noted that the business framework is oftentimes challenged by rapidly and drastically changing conditions.

Scania Southeast Asia is also operating in Singapore, where the BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) journey is off to a successful start. Having sold one of the biggest electric truck fleets outside Europe in Singapore, Scania is well prepared to roll this out in Malaysia as well; government support is one of the issues that Joyce highlights as a factor for the successful implementation of the new vehicle type. “We now see an increased interest in electric vehicles, especially from the bus market.” Assuring the market that Scania will be ready to handle the new technology, workshops are being prepared for the arrival of electric vehicles.

Making it a point to understand the market, Joyce has visited all of the Scania workshops to connect with her colleagues. She has also met with numerous clients, many of whom started with a Scania as their first truck. Challenging common perceptions, Joyce posits that Scania is not a typical B2B company, but a people business. Now putting people at the centre of the brand, Joyce’s strategy going forward will be much more people oriented. “Knowing that we have the best products in the market, we now put people and our services forward.” Growing the brand will be a challenge, however, Joyce is confident that she can succeed and is extremely happy to have made the move. Making Scania Malaysia her home was easy as the business encapsulates the core values she herself aims to live by.

Encapsulating the idea for growth, Joyce told Asian Trucker that Scania is about evolution, not revolution. In her words that means that Scania has a long history of success and that the brand will continue to build success through continuous improvements. With this in mind, customers can expect to be offered enhanced services and empowered retail operations. Talking about customer obsession, Scania Malaysia views the retail teams as the most important teams facing customers and hence, they should be bolstered in their dealings with customers. “Scania employees are extremely passionate about supporting our customers’ profitability and sustainability journey. We continue to harness this, by putting our customers in focus to be closer to them and to be able to better serve them; staff will have more interactions with customers. I myself want to be out in the field as well, as much as 70 percent of my time.”