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Sales and service staff at Volvo dealerships get up to speed faster using WBT’s Learning Management System

Dublin, Ireland - January 13th, 2009 - WBT Systems, a leading provider of enterprise e-Learning solutions, has announced that Volvo Construction Equipment’s worldwide dealer sales and service staff have reported a significant increase in sales and technical competencies after incorporating online learning into its training initiatives.

Using QuickTrack Plus which is powered by WBT’s TopClass LMS, new sales team members review training materials online before attending instructor-led classes. This gets them up to speed very quickly and maximises the effectiveness of classroom sessions - with over 220 dealers in 180 countries, it results in significant efficiency gains for Volvo. As regards technical training, aftermarket staff at Volvo dealerships globally have access to Compass, a similar online portal available 24/7, which provides structured technical training.

Matt Deloglos, Volvo CE’s Vice President of Global Channel Competence Development, says that dealer sales team members who complete the online materials are better prepared to move quickly through Volvo CE’s intensive instructor-led classes. “QuickTrack Plus provides a great base of product knowledge and product range,” Deloglos said. “We view this as a springboard to faster learning and a rapid entrée into the market, which is a huge efficiency gain for us.”

Volvo’s delivery approach is blended with both online and local classroom training for sales and technical staff. Online training is delivered through Volvo’s proven QuickTrack Plus training system which is available via the internet. Classroom training is carried out regionally and coordinated through the local competency managers and delivered via instructor-led classes. This can include training conducted at the dealership, in the classroom or at the job site.

“We’ve found that a blended approach works well for us,” explains Deloglos. “Quick Track Plus online courses are accessible 24 / 7 and should be taken to prepare the student for any upcoming instructor-led training. Each course can be completed in as little as 30 minutes. When students arrive they are more prepared for the instructor-led class and progress rapidly through the classroom training and into the "on the job site" application training. This combination of online courses taken with the regionally delivered instructor-led course is the optimal blend.”

Before incorporating the blended learning approach, training efforts at Volvo CE posed a logistical challenge because of the company’s global presence. Today QuickTrack Plus and Compass are designed for dealer sales and service training, supporting both online and instructor-led courses. The course content and system implementation was carried out by WBT’s partner, Outsmart the leading company for eTraining in Scandinavia.

To date, over 4,000 sales students at Volvo’s global network of dealers have completed over 117,000 online courses and more than 6,000 aftermarket staff are enrolled globally.

Pål Torgensen, Volvo CE’s Global Training Manager for aftermarket support commented, “The blended approach is working well for us. It’s enabled us to keep up with the increasing demand for training which has been driven by strong growth and a larger number of more advanced Volvo products. Using Compass we can ensure that specific prerequisites are met before students are signed up for instructor-led courses. This new competence driven training approach makes the completion of courses more efficient and Compass, which is powered by WBT’s TopClass, is the system that is making it possible to administrate this new approach.”

About Volvo Construction Equipment

Volvo Construction Equipment is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of construction machines, with a full product range, manufactured, serviced and supported all over the globe. For information, visit www.volvo.com.

About Outsmart

Outsmart designs and executes customized eTraining programs that increases sales. Their highly effective programs combine new and traditional training methods in an optimal way to ensure clear and measurable effect. Outsmart has delivered improved sales to global companies such as ABB, Husqvarna, Nobel Biocare, SKF and Volvo. They are one of Europe’s leading sales training companies with more than 1 100 000 courses taken in 2008. Outsmart was founded in 2000 and is owned by Volvo and Sigma Group. For more information, visit www.outsmart.se.

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