A new national role brings together quality assurance, operator training and customer support — building a post-sale experience that matches the standard operators expect from every high-quality business relationship.

Mike Blundell – National Quality Customer Support & Training Manager

Fleet operators have never had more choice — and have never held their suppliers to a higher standard. The responsiveness, consistency and accountability that marks the best business relationships in their professional lives does not pause at the fleet supplier. VDI Australia’s latest national appointment is built around that reality.

VDI Australia has appointed Mike Blundell as National Quality, Customer Support & Training Manager — a newly created role that brings together quality assurance, customer support coordination and operator training under a single national remit.

Blundell brings almost 20 years of experience in the heavy vehicle sector, including 13 years specifically in the Australian bus industry, across technical service, aftersales operations and customer competency development.

One remit across every post-sale touchpoint

The new position works alongside — not in place of — VDI’s existing technical, aftersales and parts functions. Those departments remain distinct. Blundell’s remit is to coordinate and elevate the quality of the customer experience across them, creating clearer accountability and consistency for operators at every touchpoint after delivery.

The design of the role is deliberate. In fleet support, individual departments can each perform their function while the overall operator experience remains uneven — a booking falls between systems, a query sits in one team while the relevant context lives in another. This role creates a coordinating layer with clear ownership across those functions. The result for operators is a single point of accountability, not a series of handoffs.

“As VDI grows nationally, our responsibility to operators extends well beyond delivery,” says VDI managing director Peter Woodward.

“This role is about being deliberate and accountable in how we support fleets over their full life — through consistent service quality, practical training and a customer experience that reflects the standards operators expect from their best partners. Mike’s appointment signals our commitment to building long-term relationships grounded in capability, trust and real operational support.”

A named contact with the authority to resolve

Central to the new structure is a customer service coordinator team already operating across the eastern seaboard — providing operators with a consistent, named point of contact for service bookings, parts queries and technical concerns.

The coordinator model goes beyond contact routing. Because coordinators build an ongoing relationship with individual operators and their fleets, each interaction adds to a working knowledge of that operator’s context — their fleet composition, service history and standing concerns. Operators are not starting from zero each time they make contact. Under Blundell’s oversight, coordinators are also empowered with the authority and tools to drive issues to resolution, not just log and escalate them.

“The foundation was already there — a dedicated coordinator team doing strong work across the eastern seaboard,” says Mike Blundell, VDI’s National Quality, Customer Support & Training Manager.

“The focus now is giving that team the tools and authority to resolve, not just refer. When an operator contacts us with a concern, they should leave that conversation with a clear answer and a next step.”

The longer ambition is clear: the post-sale relationship becomes a sustained, reliable part of the operator’s working life — not an exception when something goes wrong.

“The relationship that determines whether an operator comes back isn’t built at delivery — it’s built in every interaction that follows,” Blundell says.

“Our goal is to be the partner operators rely on throughout the life of their fleet. That means delivering not just the vehicle, but the expertise and support that helps them succeed. When they succeed, we succeed.”

“VDI is working with partners to deliver competency training for our service staff and to collaborate and assist our customers’ technical and operations teams to reach the highest standards in the industry with this new technology,” says John Soars, Chief Operations Officer at VDI Australia.

“As we blaze a path forward, we will share our learnings and experience with our partners. This new appointment will speed up that process and create the learning culture that allows us to excel in our operational and critical safety deliverables — for VDI and our partners.”

Training that travels with the technician

VDI is addressing the shift to electric and zero-emission fleets through a deliberate investment in nationally accredited training — moving beyond internal manufacturer programs to deliver recognised qualifications through partnerships with registered training organisations. The first course is already complete, a second is scheduled within weeks, and a dedicated Cert IV trainer is expected to be embedded within six months.

The distinction between manufacturer training and nationally accredited qualifications matters practically. A manufacturer training record documents attendance. A Certificate IV qualification issued through a registered training organisation is verifiable, portable and legally recognised — it follows the technician through their career. For operators with compliance obligations around high-voltage vehicle maintenance, having qualified technicians on staff is not a preference. For the technicians themselves, it is a genuine professional credential.

“The credential matters beyond the training room. For a technician working on high-voltage systems, a nationally recognised qualification carries real professional accountability — it is verifiable, portable, and it sets a standard that protects both the individual and the operator’s business,” Blundell says.

Embedding a dedicated trainer within the business — rather than contracting training externally on a program-by-program basis — means VDI’s training capacity grows with its fleet footprint. Operator teams have access to consistent, contextually relevant instruction, not a generic course delivered by someone unfamiliar with the specific systems in the fleet.

VDI upskilling in step with its operators

The training investment extends to VDI’s own service and technical staff. As electric and new-technology vehicles become a larger share of the fleets VDI supports, its own people need to hold the same standard it is building in operator workshops.

“Our own team carries the same obligation. As we move deeper into new technology vehicles, our service and technical staff need to be fully across high-voltage safety and EV systems — not just our customers’ technicians. We’re upskilling in parallel, so when an operator’s workshop is being trained, we’re learning alongside them,” Blundell says.

Accountability built in from day one

Within his first six weeks, Blundell has introduced structured monthly reporting on product campaign execution — ensuring improvement programs reach every affected vehicle in the fleet. A new automated service scheduling tool is also being rolled out, giving operators clear visibility of maintenance requirements from the moment of delivery.

The campaign reporting addresses a specific accountability gap. Product improvement programs deliver their value only when completed across every vehicle for which they were designed. Tracking that completion with structured data — what has been initiated, what has been completed, what remains outstanding — closes the loop between program deployment and verified outcome. Six weeks in, that infrastructure is already in place.

The scheduling tool addresses a different pain point: visibility. Operators managing large or diverse fleets have often found out about required maintenance reactively. The new tool gives operators forward visibility of their maintenance requirements from delivery, enabling planned downtime rather than unplanned outage — a meaningful practical shift for operators managing timetabled services or contracted routes.

“Six weeks in and we already have structured reporting on campaign execution in place. These programs exist to keep fleets performing at their best — and if we are not tracking whether they are being completed, we are not delivering on our commitment to operators. That level of accountability should be a baseline, not a milestone,” Blundell says.

As fleets modernise and operator expectations rise, VDI’s investment in this role is a clear signal of the kind of partner it is building itself to be — one that treats post-sale support not as a function, but as a competitive commitment.

To find out more about VDI’s fleet support and training programs, call 1800 YUTONG (988 664).

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Mike Blundell’s new role at VDI Australia involve?

Mike Blundell has been appointed National Quality, Customer Support & Training Manager at VDI Australia — a newly created role that brings together quality assurance, customer support coordination and operator training under a single national remit. The role works across VDI’s existing technical, aftersales and parts teams to create a consistent, accountable experience for operators throughout the life of their fleet.

How is VDI Australia supporting operators through the shift to electric and zero-emission fleets?

VDI Australia is delivering nationally accredited training for high-voltage and EV fleet systems through partnerships with registered training organisations. The first course is complete, a second is scheduled, and a dedicated Cert IV trainer will be embedded within the business within six months. VDI’s own service and technical staff are upskilling alongside operator teams.

What nationally accredited training does VDI Australia offer for bus technicians?

VDI Australia offers training through registered training organisations leading to nationally recognised qualifications — including Certificate IV level programs for technicians working on high-voltage and electric vehicle systems. These qualifications are verifiable, portable and legally recognised, as distinct from manufacturer-only training records.

How can bus operators contact VDI Australia’s customer support team?

Operators can contact VDI Australia via vdiaustralia.com.au or by calling 1800 YUTONG (988 664). VDI’s customer service coordinator team provides operators with a consistent, named point of contact for service bookings, parts queries and technical concerns.