World final of the UD Trucks Gemba Challenge 2018, the company’s Service Market competition, will take place on November 6, 2018 in Japan. Out of the record of 347 teams who began the competition, twelve winners will compete for top honors during the final round.

First held in 2014, this year marks the third UD Gemba Challenge for frontline colleagues worldwide, including Asia, Middle East and Africa. The aim of UD Gemba Challenge is to develop skills, team spirit and pride among UD after service frontline colleagues, the gemba heroes. It is an important activity for nurturing the unique UD Gemba Spirit to live up to UD Trucks’ brand promise “Going the Extra Mile”.

The 2018 competition began in June with two online theoretical rounds. The World final – which will be held live at the UD Experience Center at the company’s headquarters in Ageo – will cover several subjects at physical stations. Five teams from Japan will compete, making Japan the market with the most teams entering the final stage.

With the lack of mechanics in the trucking industry and the lack of drivers in logistics, the labor shortage is now a common industry-wide challenge. The Gemba Challenge not only tests the individual capability of mechanics, parts and customer service representatives, but also promotes team spirit by encouraging teams to solve problems together. Improving mechanics skills and strengthening frontline collaboration is the key to uptime, which also leads to customer service improvement, then to smarter logistics.

“UD Trucks’ largest biennial competition welcomes entries from all over the world. This gives all colleagues a great opportunity to show their ‘Gemba Spirit’—the professional, passionate and dependable spirit at the heart of UD Trucks from the very beginning. This spirit has driven us to deliver a high quality of after services to our customers since our foundation. In this sense, the UD frontline colleagues who participate in this competition well represent the UD Gemba Spirit,” said Therese Palmquist, Project Manager of the Gemba Challenge 2018.

To further promote the UD Gemba Spirit and the importance of our frontline colleagues around the world, several hundred colleagues will also be invited to watch the Gemba Challenge.

With UD Gemba Challenge, UD Trucks goes the extra mile to train and motivate the UD frontline people and live up to the commitment to provide products and services with ultimate dependability.

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UD Trucks is a leading Japanese commercial vehicle solutions provider, active in more than 60 countries on all continents. Since its inception in 1935, the company has been an innovation leader with a clear vision to provide the trucks and services the world needs today. The company is committed to go the extra mile for smart logistics with the most dependable solutions for demanding customers. To best support across applications and geographies, UD Trucks offers a full range of heavy duty trucks – Quon and Quester, medium duty trucks – Condor and Croner, and light duty trucks – Kazet and Kuzer, as well as associated operational and financial services.
UD Trucks is a proud member of the Volvo Group, which in 2017 had net sales of 335 BSEK and 100,000 employees globally.