Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has launched Excelerator, its next-generation e-commerce platform to streamline the parts ordering process. With input from more than 40 dealer partners to its design, Excelerator will succeed Pinnacle Truck Parts as DTNA’s one-stop parts ordering platform. In addition, DTNA announced it is expanding its suite of service technology and customer solutions with this year's rollout of Techlane, Service Pre-Authorization, and TechAssist, which aim to deliver maximum uptime for customers.
“Excelerator connects our customers to our distribution network in a revolutionary way that better enables them to get the right part, at the right place and time, which is key to achieving our purpose of 24-hour or less turnaround for vehicle repairs,” said Stefan Kurschner, senior vice president of aftermarket at DTNA. “The significance of our purpose has never been clearer than in our current environment. Our customers keep the world moving, and our digital tools must enable their mission.”
New to the Uptime Management Suite, Techlane leverages DTNA’s big data analytics including warranty repair history in connection with fault codes logged during a repair event to provide the technician with a jumpstart in the diagnostic process. The application provides specific guided diagnostics to verify identified components during testing by the technician, as well as an interface to the vehicle’s electronic systems through DTNA’s proprietary diagnostic tool, DiagnosticLink.
Techlane will also automatically log the data from each repair into the “technician’s story” in the background, to further inform future repairs across DTNA’s dealer network and eliminate the need for the technician to write a summary of the repair. Techlane was rolled out in a pilot phase in February 2020 at six dealer locations as part of a joint development process, with plans for deployment across DTNA’s dealer network later this year.
“With investments in new technologies like Techlane and TechAssist, we estimate that we could see as much as a 20% gain in technician efficiency at many dealer locations,” said Paul Romanaggi, chief customer experience officer of DTNA. “And with the addition of Pre-Auth to our service products, we eliminate communication lag that could make the difference between a four-hour versus next-day repair. It’s all about maximizing uptime. DTNA understands this, and so do our dealers. That’s why we’re not taking our foot off of the pedal to deliver new digital service solutions, especially now that so many people rely on our vehicles to keep the world moving.”
Excelerator addresses the growing propensity for online parts ordering and establishes the infrastructure for future large-scale e-commerce growth. Industry analysts MacKay & Company project that online parts ordering will grow to 15% of the $30 billion truck and trailer parts market within the next three years, and DTNA expects that Excelerator will account for 25% of the company’s total parts sales.
“As we continue our journey of digital transformation, it is critical that we provide cutting-edge solutions across all aspects of the customer experience that will take our business, and our dealers’ businesses into the future,” said Kurschner.
