TruckDown!

TruckDown! is an Internet service designed to help in meeting the repair needs of the heavy trucking industry.

The Challenge

When rigs break down, there are specific requirements to get them up and running again. In the past, finding qualified industry professionals has not been an easy task, and TruckDown! sought to fill that niche. Traditionally, industry professionals used "phone book" directories, but these quickly became outdated and need to be re-issued far too often. TruckDown! was formed in 1997 specifically to bring the this service online, and were very successful in the process. However, updating data was a manual error prone process as it was all fed through a single staff member who had to update the information received via email and fax. As the success of the company increased, it was apparent a more advanced system was required.

The Solution

METREX converted their existing system from an offline data entry system to an online system, automating many processes that used to be time consuming and error prone. Staff across North America find service companies that can meet the needs of the trucker. Co-ordinating the input of that data with an offline data entry system meant transferring files from one staff member's computer to another. Now, TruckDown! truly offers a virtual office for their employees, and information is available faster and more accurately for their users. Additional features on the site allow users of the system to create their own virtual maintenance network so that even smaller trucking companies can build their own North America wide service network.

The Results

After the TruckDown! site moved on to the MOMEX web platform in May 2001, site growth continued slowly through word-of-mouth. The roll-out of the current site design in October 2001 served to boost traffic statistics for the next 10 months before growth began to plateau again in July and August 2002 at the new, higher level.

Search Engine Optimization techniques applied to the site and site content in January 2003 began to show results within a couple of weeks, and although it is too early to give statistics, it is apparent that the TruckDown! site is riding a new wave of growth!