International Truck and Engine
International Truck and Engine is the only remaining American-owned manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks. The company has been in business since 1902 and delivers more than half of the new school busses produced each year. In 2007, International developed a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle for the US military resulting in over $1 billion in orders from the Army and Marines.
Challenge
On a daily basis, service technicians at International's network of more than 800 dealerships rely on the EZTech diagnostic computer system to troubleshoot and repair trucks and engines. When looking for outside support to launch the new release of the product, International was referred to Panasonic for it's Toughbook line of ruggedized computers and Heartland Services for their expertise in deployment, service, and support.
Solution
In order to ensure a successful launch, the staff at Heartland worked with both International and Panasonic to develop a custom deployment and support program that included imaging, hardware integration and software configuration, as well as post-delivery maintenance and support. The initial Heartland-supported deployment consisted of 1,050 units configured and delivered to more than 600 dealership sites across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Details
After the success of the initial deployment, Heartland continues to support all aspects of the EZTech program. Our deployment center manages all incoming orders and outgoing shipments with quick, efficient turnaround. This includes maintaining loaners and a swap pool, ensuring minimum downtime for International's dealers. The Heartland center in Leawood, Kansas also manages all disk image maintenance and upgrades to the EZTech system and ensures consistency and reliability with burn-in and self-check on every unit that goes out the door. Finally, we provide detailed reporting, asset tracking and "hardware fleet" management weekly to International's EZTech team.
Results
International expected total sales of 1,050 EZTech units to its network of dealers -- with approximately three-quarters of that total being a "required" purchase. With the accuracy and professionalism of the Heartland team, International has doubled their expected sales -- shipping almost 2,000 EZTech units. The success of this program has allowed International additional flexibility to build a team to provide additional support to their network of dealers.