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SUCCESS STORY
TruckPro is one of the largest independent distributors of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts and advanced repair services in the US. Through a distribution network of more than 150 stores across 35 states and Canada and advanced service shops, they deliver a comprehensive range of products to support commercial and government customer requirements in the areas of brake systems, electrical, engines, gear and drivetrain, and more. TruckPro is recognized for delivering measurable value and outstanding support to its customers and suppliers with the most experienced truck parts team in the country.
With the help of Syndigo and Pivotree, they achieved these goals and more:
In 2021, TruckPro decided to make big investments to become an industry-leading e-commerce platform for the heavy-duty vehicle industry. Their main goals were to offer a wide selection of inventory from their stock and from suppliers, as well as enable a marketplace with a seamless omnichannel experience for customers.
Core to their digital shift was implementing a comprehensive PIM solution that would manage core product data, support data enrichment, and provide seamless syndication and insights to give their customers the best possible e-commerce experience.
As TruckPro embarked on this digital transformation initiative, they knew that selecting the right PIM system was critical. After evaluating vendors, they selected Syndigo PIM as their platform of choice to connect their inventory, suppliers, and customer e-commerce touchpoints.
Implementing a best-in-class PIM solution with Syndigo was a key pillar of TruckPro’s digital transformation. But they also knew that a PIM system alone wasn’t enough to achieve their broader e-commerce goals like drop shipping and third-party marketplace integrations, so they had to reassess their system architecture and governance to truly unlock performance.
Their new PIM needed to share near real-time data with their customer-facing systems to enable the seamless omnichannel experiences envisioned. This required implementing an integration middleware layer for greater connectivity between previously siloed applications. With this architectural overhaul, changes in product data or inventory within their PIM now go downstream to ordering and fulfillment systems much faster.
They also revamped data governance policies and procedures that support third-party marketplace selling, drop shipping by suppliers directly to customers, and new fulfillment options emerging from accurate inventory and order data. As a result, their entire approach to system integrations, data sharing between external parties, and downstream data consumption became more agile and automated.
Once TruckPro selected Syndigo PIM, they needed a consultant with deep expertise in new technologies like PIM. They selected Pivotree based on their vast experience executing complex digital journeys for many organizations. By partnering with Pivotree they were able to avoid common pitfalls and implement best practices tailored to their specific needs.
Data discussions that were once relegated to IT backrooms are now front and center in boardroom strategy sessions. There has been a notable shift in mindset about the value of data at TruckPro. It even influences decisions about who to partner with based on their data maturity.
While virtually all stakeholders agreed conceptually that master data carries value, there was some resistance when translating that into practical resource allocation. For example, how much funding is required? Do they need to invest more in a partnership or an FTE? Do they need to change their system architecture in this one area or not? Fortunately, they overcame this hesitancy by quantifying current data costs and painting a clear target future state to socialize the concrete benefits at both the leadership and working levels of the organization.
Syndigo PIM has significantly contributed to TruckPro’s tremendous digital growth. With huge digital catalog breadth (over 4 million parts listings), complete product information for buyer decision-making, and online transaction volume gains, they are achieving their vision to meet customer needs around the clock through flexible omnichannel purchasing.
Critical to their digital success has been the ability to showcase not only their own inventory but also over 4.5 million SKUs from partner suppliers. This customer experience promotes greater product visibility, and the ability to drop ship orders directly from vendors to buyers provides unparalleled immediacy and convenience. They get the products to customers the way they want them and when they want them.
Throughout this journey, TruckPro accumulated valuable lessons from building internal alignment to rearchitecting their technology stack. These insights can be applied to any organization pursuing a similar digitally-driven evolution.
With an established PIM foundation now powering their e-commerce platform, TruckPro is pressing forward to enrich data inputs and expand the solution’s capabilities even further. Future initiatives include a vendor portal and an in-store point-of-sale experience for employees.
First on their roadmap is launching a vendor portal to enable product manufacturers to directly publish and maintain information on their own parts catalogs. This will greatly expand TruckPro’s master data scale and content accuracy. Related to this, they are evaluating various syndication options to add more inputs into their PIM to help fill any product content gaps.
The next initiative is to integrate the product catalog into their retail point-of-sale solution to provide the same rich part descriptions, images, and specifications that look like their website to empower their in-store counter teams.
After using their PIM implementation to transform themselves into an e-commerce leader in the heavy-duty vehicle industry, TruckPro is well-prepared to enter the next wave of innovation.
