Paccar is the latest trucking supplier to launch a business-to-business e-commerce Internet marketplace intended to be an open exchange for the procurement of goods and services.

Tom Plimpton, Paccar senior vp and the person heading up the company's Internet-focused ePaccar venture, said Truckxchange.com will leverage the buying power of Paccar in the general business marketplace to generate savings for Truckxchange.com users, who will likely be Paccar customers, dealers and suppliers to begin with. However, any business will be able to use the site by registering. A registration form is currently available on the web site, however the service will not begin operation until the third quarter of this year.
Plimpton said available products will consist of items that Paccar currently buys -- "from office supplies to computer equipment." But if the system grows as anticipated, he said, the company will purchase those things Truckxchange.com customers need. Truckxchange.com will not offer aftermarket parts initially, he said, but could at a later date. Plimpton would not rule out the possibility of eventually selling trucks on Truckxchange.com.
Truckxchange.com will be a market maker, acting as an intermediary between buyer and seller, who will not deal directly with one another. The online market will earn revenue through transaction fees that will be transparent to customers.
When the service begins, customers will browse an online catalog at the web site, Plimpton said. For now, however, the site only offers a form for registration. Customers need not be current Paccar customers or suppliers, Plimpton stressed.
Paccar, which manufactures Kenworth and Peterbuilt trucks, last year formed two new technology divisions. Paccar.com is a venture capital fund focused on startup companies and technologies applicable to Paccar's core business. The second company, ePaccar, coordinates Paccar's Internet activities.
ePaccar will operate Truckxchange.com using software and operating services of Commerce One, an e-commerce company based in Pleasanton, CA.