OVID S.p.A. (Italy): Multi-brand service with European backing

Anyone in Italy who wants a free Multi-brand workshop OVID S.p.A. is a partner in the Alltrucks network that not only serves the local fleet, but also has an eye on international fleets between northern Italy and mainland Europe. The Ubiali family founded the family business in 1974 and today it employs around 45 people.

What makes OVID special is not just its location along a busy motorway. It is also the multi-brand set-up, including specialised vehicles for government clients and major customers such as the steel producer Tenaris. It is precisely for these customer groups that the European Alltrucks network becomes an everyday tool.

Why did OVID decide to join the Alltrucks network? Dino Ubiali cites several structural advantages of an independent workshop under an established brand. Firstly, the central organisation makes decisions - for example on training and further education or workshop organisation. It then implements these in a bundled manner. As a result, the individual workshop benefits quickly. „An independent workshop has to manage everything itself,“ he emphasises in the interview, „which is much more time-consuming.“

There is also a second strategic point that Dino repeatedly emphasises: the European positioning. There are other networks on the market. However, the Alltrucks network has a Europe-wide presence, with around 650+ partner workshops throughout Europe. For OVID, this is not a marketing detail, but the basis of the business. After all, Italian fleet customers with international routes need service beyond national borders - and this is exactly what a European network system delivers.

The greatest added value is not a single service, but the Structured exchange of experience. Within a company, people tend to believe that their own processes work well. However, only a comparison with other workshops reveals where there is potential for optimisation - in other sizes, other market conditions, other customer groups. „Nobody tells us how we should work,“ he emphasises. „We simply have the opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from others and implement what suits our business best.“

From Ubiali's point of view, it is precisely this voluntary nature that distinguishes the Alltrucks model from other alliances. There is a common quality standard and common technical standards. However, there are no price targets, no forced investments, no rigid focus specifications. A workshop that has grown in a region for 50 years has its own routines and customer loyalty. The network therefore complements, not replaces.

The workshop comparison is a concrete routine for OVID. If you work in a European network, you can compare yourself with workshops that operate under completely different conditions - different truck manufacturers in the fleet, different fleet sizes, different wage and social structures. It is precisely this external perspective that forces you to scrutinise your own processes. However, no one is imposing rules from the outside.

In the interview, Dino Ubiali talks about „real added value“ through the exchange. A workshop in another country may have found a certain diagnostic routine, a certain acceptance workflow or a certain way of dealing with special bodies. This knowledge is then available in the network. Nobody has to adopt it, but everyone can. For established family businesses like OVID, this is an important balance: independence remains, collective learning is also possible.

OVID emphasises two components in particular when it comes to the most useful Alltrucks services: the Technical hotline and the Continuous training. The hotline is „invaluable“, says the team. This is because it provides immediate support in complex diagnostic cases. As a result, problems are solved more quickly and Service life at the customer are shortened. Anyone who has ever worked on an ECU fault that is difficult to reproduce knows what this statement means in practice.

Specifically, Dino Ubiali describes a use case from the Vehicle diagnostics. For particularly complex problems, the workshop regularly uses the Alltrucks hotline back. Thanks to fast, competent help, problems could be solved much faster than without network support. „Knowing that we can count on a team of experts gives us security and allows us to take on even the most challenging repairs without causing long waiting times for the customer.“

The second pillar is the Training and learning programmes. They keep the team technically up to date. They also ensure that new vehicle technologies do not become a bottleneck in the workshop. For a multi-brand workshop with 45 employees, this is logistically not something that any company could manage alone. The network therefore lowers the entry threshold here.

OVID's multi-brand set-up is the answer to a customer structure that has changed in Italy over decades. Today, logistics companies and contractors rarely operate fleets of a single brand. Instead, the mix of European volume manufacturers, specialised bodies and vehicles for government clients is a reality. Independent workshops that do not cover this mix are therefore losing volume.

This is where the Alltrucks network comes in. The 650+ European partner workshops work according to common technical standards. They also utilise the same central support structures. For OVID, this means: one scheduling system, one acceptance process, one workshop system and still the bandwidth that is in demand in independent commercial vehicle service today. Specialised vehicles for major state customers, major customers such as Tenaris in the steel segment, fleet vehicles for international routes: The workshop covers all of this from a single source.

The strategic location along a busy motorway is a double advantage for OVID. Locally, it provides high visibility for lorry traffic that is already travelling along this route. Strategically, it is also the reason why OVID specialises in international fleets. After all, anyone travelling routes between northern Italy and the central or northern European market needs workshop partners who can deal with cross-border service cases.

This is where the European network shows its practical value. For OVID, this means that a lorry belonging to an OVID fleet customer remains in Germany, France or Poland they can refer to one of the 650+ Alltrucks partner workshops. The other workshop works to the same standards. It also has the same access to Alltrucks technical support and the same training base. For the customer's disposition, this means: one contact person, uniform service quality, familiar processes - even if the vehicle is 1,000 kilometres away from the home workshop.

OVID has also announced Next Value Project a programme set up by Alltrucks in Italy to help workshops increase their efficiency in various business areas. Alongside its own optimisation measures, Next Value brought a fresh, industry-specific perspective to commercial vehicle service. This revealed new ways to optimise processes and make workshop operations more efficient.

The attitude behind this is remarkable. OVID did not just run to Next Value when it was stuck in operation. Instead, the company integrated the programme into its own optimisation routine. It is precisely this dual strategy - internal continuity plus an external perspective - that Dino Ubiali describes at several points in the interview as the actual pattern of success.

Looking to the future, Ubiali sees the industry undergoing rapid change - drive types, telematics, customer requirements, availability of skilled labour. However, the team believes that it is unrealistic for a single workshop to manage this change alone. „Alltrucks is like a compass for us,“ he says, summarising the expectations for the coming years - a guide that leads through changes and helps the company to strategically align itself.

From the perspective of a German truck workshop reading the Italian example, three things are transferable. Firstly, the consistency with which OVID takes the multi-brand claim seriously - including specialised vehicles instead of just volume brands. Secondly, the utilisation of the network with a focus on hotline and training, which are interlinked. Thirdly, the ability to serve international fleets with cross-border service without having to set up its own locations abroad.

Transferable to your own workshop