OTRA

The challenge: everything digital, while they built the network

OTRA is a B2B truck-parking platform serving carriers and freight forwarders across Europe. The founders went all-in on the physical network — from 0 to 200+ locations in under four years — in a traditional, slow-moving industry. We took ownership of everything digital so they never had to slow down: positioning, brand, product, customer journey and the technical integration that made it all work.

What we did: an embedded product & brand team, from POC to exit

For nearly four years we operated as OTRA's full digital department — not a layer of advice, the operating team. A fixed monthly engagement put a senior crew on the priorities of the moment, from the first proof-of-concept through launch, international expansion and the eventual sale of the company's assets to a UK competitor. We stayed one step ahead of the competition the whole way.

Driver-first, built fast

We designed the whole experience driver-first — the people actually using the parkings, not just the planners booking them. That choice shaped the brand, the customer journey and the product. And we moved fast: the full POC was built in barely three months, in the thick of COVID.

The hard part: making seven systems feel like one

Almost every parking runs its own software — in order to develop the networks we integrated with seven different major parking systems in Europe to be ready to run the parking bookings as soon as the partnership deal was signed. We integrated each one so planners and drivers got a single, seamless experience, and built our own REST integration API to onboard new sites faster as the network scaled from a handful of locations to 200+.

What we delivered: from brand to product to acquisition

• Brand creation — name, logo, positioning
• Product strategy and digital product design — desktop and mobile apps for planners and drivers
• Driver-first customer experience design across every user type
• Integration of 7 third-party parking systems into one seamless experience
• A custom REST integration API to accelerate onboarding of new sites
• IT partner selection and management
• Key transport and solution-partner discussions
• International integration strategy
• SEO strategy and execution
• Asset-sale valorisation — preparing and presenting the product to acquirers

The result: a product that became part of the deal

A complete, working digital product built from scratch with limited means — and a brand to match. When the company was sold to a major UK competitor expanding across mainland Europe, the digital product was a core part of the acquisition.