On our first official day in Gothenburg, we visited the Volvo Group truck manufacturing plant. We found out that their factory has highest female ratio in Sweden at just over 30%, but we believe it might have been a closer to 40% based off what we saw on the production lines. The lines in some places never stopped moving, and line workers had to move with the truck as it progressed down the line. To keep the lines, clutter free Volvo Trucks uses a JIT supply servicing system that involves the workers requesting parts for the truck and a team member where the inventory is held would pick the items requested by following a pick by light system. The pick by light system uses lights over inventory items to inform the picker what is needed, and once they have picked all the items to send a light at the end of the aisle will light up green.
After leaving the manufacturing plant we moved on to Volvo Group headquarters. While we were there, we heard from the social media director and the head of strategy for the Volvo group. Learning about how fragmented their social media accounts were, and how they are now trying to pivot is important to understand.
There can be budgetary issues related to use of so many accounts and some of those accounts may not be reaching enough people. The shift from obtaining followers as a performance measure to the amount of interaction was a big deal. Interaction between Volvo Group and their audience is much more important to the longevity of the company.
I did have some issues with the strategic side of things. I believe the push for EVs may not be the right move for the trucking industry because it just isn’t as efficient as hydrogen fuel cells. The only limiting factor is the cost of production of hydrogen, but if there is a sudden breakthrough in hydrogen production that significantly reduces the cost, I believe Volvo Group may struggle to pivot.
That evening we attended the World of Volvo building, where many of us were disappointed in the fact that we did not get to see the actual museum exhibit. We attended a networking event in the building where we met several professionals that will be completing internships at a Swedish Embassy location in the United States. Getting to talk to young professionals about their experiences working in Sweden and sharing our experiences in the States benefitted both sides and was an overall great experience. Our networking event ran late into the night were we all had a wonderful dinner (most would say, some may not agree) and after we went out to a local bar. We made some more connections with people there and had a great time. We were at the bar until they closed and experienced a Swedish college tradition where we all stood up with arms on each other’s shoulders and sang a Swedish anthem, which was great. That evening ended with a long walk back to the hotel. During this time we realized either all the scooters had been picked up for charging or have been taken by others heading home.
