Data Demonstrates Unrivalled Total Cost of Ownership

When you know your machines inside and out, you can offer customers unique perks, such as Kalmar’s money back guarantee on the fuel consumption of Eco Reachstackers, and the energy use of electric forklifts. The idea is simple: if the equipment uses more fuel or energy than promised, Kalmar pays for the difference. The key to making these promises is high-volume data from actual customer operations.

“Many of our machines have been equipped with remote monitoring capabilities for years – contingent upon customer approval. This allows us to capture the essential parameters of machine performance in real operations and environments, which provides a comprehensive understanding of machine characteristics,” says Lasse Eriksson, VP Technology at Kalmar.

“We now have roughly 12,000 connected machines, and that number is growing fast. We can naturally provide connectivity to any equipment we supply,” he adds.

With sophisticated models derived from analytics, Kalmar can predict the fuel consumption of its machines accurately. Customers can rest assured that the running costs of their machine are well-known in advance – throughout its lifetime.

“As connectivity has become increasingly popular, the value of our data has proven to be immensely strong. Consequently, we have been able to build new value propositions, such as the fuel saving guarantee for our Eco Reachstacker,” Eriksson affirms.

Unique technology results in significant fuel savings

Fuel costs have a huge impact on a machine’s Total Cost of Ownership. Kalmar’s machines have unique technology, which provides customers considerable fuel savings and cuts emissions. The Eco Reachstacker is a good example: as Kalmar has monitored the fuel performance of its machines via connectivity, it has been able to prove that in real circumstances and operations its Eco Reachstackers consume considerably less than traditional reachstackers.

Kalmar has also created data-enabled optimised driveline solutions resulting in exceptional fuel performance and lower noise levels, leading to better work ergonomics.

"We can naturally provide connectivity to any equipment we supply."

Peter Olsson, Director of Sales Support & Business Development, Reachstacker and Empty Container handlers at Kalmar, explains what Kalmar needs to know in order to grant fuel saving guarantees for Eco Reachstackers:

“We are confident about our machines’ performance and unrivalled Total Cost of Ownership. We only need a few key parameters to guarantee fuel consumption in our Eco Reachstacker: tonnes per move, driving distance, and productivity, which is measured by moves per hour,” Olsson says.

“The fuel saving guarantee package also includes driver training to ensure that the machines are operated correctly,” he adds.

"Understandably, some customers challenge our fuel saving claims. Putting our money where our mouth is gives customers peace of mind."

Eco Reachstackers reduce fuel consumption by up to 40% in comparison to older machines, and by up to 25% compared to more recent machines. Yet they match the productivity levels of machines with significantly larger engines and produce much less noise.

Olsson notes that some customers have been sceptic of the fuel savings that Kalmar promises.

“Fuel consumption plays a sizeable role in both operational costs and carbon footprint. Understandably, some customers challenge our fuel saving claims. Putting our money where our mouth is gives customers peace of mind. So far, we have not had to pay back once,” Olsson points out.

An easier leap to electrically powered equipment

2021 is an important milestone for Kalmar, as this year its full offering will be available as electrically powered.

“Electrically powered equipment is becoming very popular, but it is still a new technology for many customers. When we guarantee the cost of operation for our electric forklifts, customers feel safer to make that leap to new technology,” remarks David Malmström, Business Development Manager at Kalmar Forklift Trucks.

Kalmar estimates that a typical customer will see a positive return on the Total Cost of Ownership of an electric forklift truck compared to its diesel equivalent within approximately two years.

The principles behind the energy saving guarantee for Kalmar’s electric forklifts are near identical to the Eco Reachstacker fuel saving guarantee. Kalmar makes the guarantee after mapping main parameters affecting a customer’s energy consumption. 

“If for example a sawmill customer in Sweden buys our electric forklift truck, we are quite confident that we can predict its energy consumption accurately. Our fleet is so large, and we make such good use of the data we collect,” says Malmström.

“Of course, our guarantees only bring competitive edge due to our unique technology: our machines save fuel and energy without compromising on performance,” Malmström continues.

Data helps alleviate risk

There are many steps between gathering data and making data-enabled value propositions to customers. Kalmar continuously gathers information from diverse environments and customer profiles to gain more insight on how its machines operate.

“We use machine learning to predict fuel and energy consumption. As we accumulate data, the model relearns. All this naturally requires deep knowledge about how our machines are designed and how they work over their lifetime,” Eriksson emphasises.

“We also offer our customers their own data in a meaningful manner through Kalmar Insight, our performance management tool, so they can use it to further improve their operations,” he adds.

"Our data-enabled fuel and energy saving guarantees and financing solutions make this easy for our customers."

Digitally monitoring machine performance has also enabled Kalmar to start offering new financing solutions for customers who prefer to rent or lease machinery. For example, fuel and service can be included in the agreement.

“Financing solutions are always customised. Sometimes the agreements even include tyres. If a customer wishes to limit financial risk and be certain of the Total Cost of Ownership, we can take responsibility and boldly offer them exact figures,” Olsson confirms.

“Deciding on the right cargo-handling solution often requires substantial deliberation: Total Cost of Ownership is a key parameter that many buyers focus on – as is the expected carbon footprint of the equipment,” Malmström adds.

“With increasing environmental regulations around the world, more and more customers wish to assess the cradle-to-grave impacts of their machinery. Our data-enabled fuel and energy saving guarantees and financing solutions make this easy for our customers,” Eriksson concludes. 

Kalmar introduced its fuel saving guarantee for Eco Reachstackers in 2018 and its energy saving guarantee for electric forklifts in 2020. The guarantees are available for new equipment.