RICHFIELD, Ohio — ProQuest Automotive announced that it has signed a five-year agreement with Hino Motors Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, to develop an electronic parts catalog (EPC) application for use in all of the North American dealerships of Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc.

Headquartered in Orangeburg, New York, Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc. (Hino Trucks) is the medium-duty truck arm of Toyota Motor Corp. Hino Trucks is launching a nationwide sales effort to build U.S. sales of its Class 4, 5, 6 and 7 trucks. The ProQuest EPC in CD format will launch in early February timed to coincide with the introduction of a new Hino conventional truck.

“We selected ProQuest to build our North American EPC so that we can provide the most accurate parts information, in an intuitive format, to our CityPak dealer network,” said Derek Kaufman, senior vice president of sales, marketing and customer support for Hino Trucks. “The new ProQuest EPC will effectively support our emphasis on the serviceability of Hino trucks.”

Providing a ProQuest EPC to each dealer in its innovative CityPak dealer network will help Hino Trucks keep the serviceability promise it makes to its customers, many of whom buy dozens of vehicles at a time, Hino Trucks officials said.

ProQuest has direct relationships with more than 70 North American dealer management system (DMS) companies, and ProQuest EPCs integrate fully with DMSs, eliminating the need to retype parts order data. Hino said this integration will enhance workflow by allowing access to the dealer’s business system without interrupting a transaction. Integration also improves the speed and accuracy of the dealership’s parts specification and billing procedures, the company said.

Hino said it chose ProQuest to develop its North American EPC based on ProQuest’s reputation for quality, its long-term relationship with Toyota, and the proven strength of the Toyota EPC.

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