TruckTrader is an online trading platform and mobile app for truck owners, companies and dealers to buy and sell trucks.
TruckTrader Focuses on Trustworthiness and Transparency
A generation ago, we bought almost everything from a local retailer. However, the internet and e-commerce have drastically changed the way we research and shop for the things we need. That includes car shopping and the internet has made it more convenient and transparent.
“On-line shopping for a private car for new and used vehicles is becoming more and more common in Malaysia. But, when it comes to commercial vehicles like trucks, panel vans and cargo lorries, the options are still very limited. Most commercial vehicle dealers still operate their business in a traditional way through showrooms, leaflets, roadshows and advertisements in the newspapers’ classified sections,” said Damien Low, one of the partners of TruckTrader.
Damien noticed the technology gap between the passenger car and commercial vehicle dealers. The passenger car dealers, he said, already knew how to make use of the available software and online services, along with cloud applications to expand their market access, increase revenue and improve competitiveness while the commercial vehicle dealers are still mainly trading offline.
“It is time to bring the industry to the next level, which is to digitise it! This led us to set up TruckTrader in 2017 and start operations in early 2018. TruckTrader is an online trading platform and mobile app for truck owners, companies and dealers to buy and sell trucks. Our strength is to transform the buying process into an easy, efficient and safe one by providing sufficient and accurate details as well as price transparency.”
TruckTrader has operated for about a year and currently has about 4,000 commercial vehicles listed on its platform, from brand new, used to rebuilt. Customers have a wide selection in the different variety of vehicles including trucks, vans, tippers, trailers, pickups and machinery.
“To-date, we have about 400 new and used commercial vehicle dealers working closely with us. Recently, we secured cooperation from China Auto Manufactures (CAM), Daihatsu Malaysia, Hong Seng Group, JoyLong, Maxus and Go Auto, just to name a few,” he added.
Before any organisation subscribes for an account package that allows them to list their vehicles on TruckTrader, there would be a trial period for them to explore the features. “We could also help the sellers manage their stock inventory through our platform.”
Apart from business organisations, the company also welcomes individual consumers. “Individual consumer could also sell his/her commercial vehicle through TruckTrader’s website or app. We would go through the details before posting it to ensure that the information that he/she provides is sufficient and accurate. We could also help those who are looking for certain trucks or customised trucks. Direct communications with the seller or buyer is also possible. To use our platform, one needs to register for an account.”
Since it started operations last year, TruckTrader has closed about 300 deals. Damien said the company knew the number because it had to find out whether the truck was sold to ensure that the vehicle listing was up-to-date.
“Our website has good traffic with more than 1,000 visitors per day and receives 5,000 page views daily,” he added.
Trustworthy and Transparent
Unlike most platforms or marketplace that did not place an importance on price transparency, Damien said TruckTrader focused on two core values – trustworthiness and transparency. Most sellers and dealers in the marketplace, he pointed out, would not disclose their clear listed price, breakdown details and respective charges and were, of course, not willing to show the maximum selling price of the vehicles.
“With TT Quotation, a feature of TruckTrader, we could provide secured pricing for our customers with true price guarantee and no hidden costs incurred. That means the buyer could see the price breakdown and understand the costs incurred and from where; whether it is from the insurance, road tax or other miscellaneous charges. By being transparent on pricing, we earn the trust of the users.”
With the improvement made on its app, he revealed that the seller could snap pictures and post the products using the mobile phone, with a reference provided on how the photos should be taken. This would be more efficient and help sellers in saving time and cost.
Moving forward, as a one-stop solution platform for vehicle trading, Damien said TruckTrader would continue to invest and widen its services. This year, he said, TruckTrader would collaborate with ASPACTREX 2019 as well as vehicle parts and service providers.
“Besides that, we would also collaborate with solution providers for commercial vehicles, for instance to enable a choice of finance and insurance products as well as delivery services. We strive to provide what the commercial vehicle market is lacking and help the industry move towards e-commerce and digitalisation by providing a transparent and optimum price for seller and buyer. Another area that we would like to explore is the leasing sector. We are all set to become the most trusted and influential one-stop solution online platform for vehicle trading, so that whenever you ‘Think of Truck, Think of TruckTrader’ – a tagline that describes our goal.”
TruckTrader 线上商用车平台目标：改写行业游戏规则
一个世纪前，我们从本地零售商那里购买几乎所有的物品。然而，互联网和电子商务改变了我们寻找和购物的方式，这显然包括了买车，而互联网将这一切变得更为方便和透明。
“在马来西亚，上网购买私家车和二手车已经日趋普遍。但是，如果要购买的是商用车如卡车、厢式客货车及货车等，选择却非常少。大部分的商用车代理仍然透过非常传统的方式如陈列室、传单、路秀、报章上的分类广告来经营他们的业务。”TruckTrader 的合伙伙伴之一Damien Low表示。
他注意到了轿车和商用车代理之间的技术差距。他说，轿车代理已经知道如何利用可取得的软件和线上服务，再加上云运用程序来扩张他们的市场、提高利润和改善竞争力，而商用车代理仍主要集中在离线交易上。
“现在正是将这个行业带到另一个层次，也就是将它数字化的时候！这促使我们在2017年成立了TruckTrader，并在2018年初正式投入运作。TruckTrader是个让商用车车主、公司及代理购买和销售卡车的线上交易平台和手机应用程序。我们的优势是透过提供足够和精确的资料，再加上透明化的价格 ，将购买程序转变成一个简单、高效和安全的过程。”
TruckTrader已经运作了大约1年，目前列在其平台上的商用车约有4，000辆，包括全新、二手及重建商用车。客户拥有广泛的选择，从卡车、客货车、自卸车、皮卡到机械等。
“截至目前为止，我们与约400家商用车（包括新车和二手车）代理合作密切。最近，我们与中国汽车制造商（CAM）、马来西亚大发、丰成集团、JoyLong、Maxus及Go Auto等达成了合作协议。”他补充说。
在公司订购用户配套以将车子上载到TruckTrader前，他们会让用户拥有一个试用期来发掘该平台的各项功能。“我们也能通过此平台来协助销售者管理他们的现货库存。”
除了商业组织，该公司也欢迎个人客户 。“个人客户能够通过TruckTrader的网站或应用程序来销售他/她的商用车。我们会在上载前，检查有关资料，以确保所提供的资料是足够和精确的。我们也能协助用户寻找特定卡车或定制卡车。用户也能直接与卖家或买家沟通。在采用我们的平台前，必须注册为用户。”
自去年运作以来，TruckTrader已完成300宗交易。他说，公司之所以知道这个数字是因为他们必须找出卡车是否已售出，以确保列在其平台上的车辆是最新的。
“我们网站的流量相当好，每天有超过1，000名访客和5，000 网页浏览量。”他补充。
可靠和透明度
他说，与大部分的平台或市场的不同之处是TruckTrader注重两个核心价值— 可靠和透明度。他指出，市场上的大部分销售者和代理都不会揭示他们的标价、价格细分与各项收费，也不愿意公开某一辆车子的最高售价。
“TruckTrader的TT 报价功能不仅能为我们的客户确保定价，保证真正的价格和没有任何隐藏成本。这表示，买家能够看到价格细分，并了解这些费用来自何处，如保险、路税或其他的杂费。价格透明化，使我们赢得了用户的信任。”
他透露，如今其经过改良的应用程序，能让卖家在参考有关如何拍照的指示后，采用手机拍照和将产品上载。此功能使该平台更具效率，协助卖家节省时间和成本。
他说，作为一个一站式商用车贸易解决方案平台，TruckTrader将在未来继续投资和扩展其服务。今年，他表示TruckTrader将与2019年ASPACTREX活动主办方，汽车零部件及服务供应商合作。
“此外，我们也将与商用车解决方案供应商合作，比如说让用户能够选择融资和保险产品，以及运送服务。我们努力提供商用车市场所欠缺的，透过为卖家和买家提供透明和最佳价格，协助商用车行业迈向电子商务和数字化。另一个我们想要发掘的领域是租赁领域。我们已经准备好成为最值得信赖和最具影响力的一站式汽车线上贸易解决方案平台，以便你‘一想到卡车，就想到 TruckTrader’—- 一个描述我们目标的标语。”
