Real Customers Discuss How Telematics Put the ‘Pro’ in Ford Pro

Written By Paul Kampe
Mar 13, 2024
<2 MIN READ

Ford Pro is known for the strength of the Ford vehicles it offers commercial customers, but the multi-faceted global business unit is also underpinned by its telematics offering and old-fashioned listening skills.

Ford Pro Telematics software provides customers data-driven insights and real-time analytics related to such areas as vehicle health, maintenance needs, driver behavior, and fleet efficiency. The software can also monitor vehicle locations and fuel consumption, as well as analyze driving patterns and streamline maintenance schedules. This information helps businesses optimize their fleet operations. 

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Fize Électrique, an electrical contractor based near Quebec City, is a Ford Pro customer with a fleet of 12 EVs including seven E-Transit vans, an F-150 Lightning and a Mustang Mach-E.

A group of Ford Pro customers took to the stage at the recent National Truck Equipment Association Work Truck Expo in Indianapolis to discuss how the company’s telematics offerings have revolutionized their businesses. The conversation was moderated by Bobit Business Media editor Lauren Fletcher.

The panel included Mike Hauge, fleet electrification manager at global water, hygiene, and infection prevention company Ecolab; Del Underwood, vice president, purchasing and fleet, HomeTown Services; and Alain Fiset, founder and director of smart energy at Fize Électrique.

Below are the key takeaways:

How Ford Pro Telematics helps fleet managers

The group members shared the ways Ford Pro Telematics software has improved their fleet management and cost of ownership through insights related to charging, mileage, vehicle health monitoring, and maintenance alerts that help avoid paying for more significant repairs in the future. Telematics also helped the panelists maximize uptime, which is significant because a vehicle out of service can mean lost revenue of more than $20,000 per day in the case of heating and cooling or plumbing businesses.

Ford Pro is listening to commercial customers

Ford Pro is also listening to customers and making improvements to resolve their pain points by addressing their telematics requests, such as Fiset’s demand for the total amount of carbon dioxide saved each month. Dave Prusinski, general manager, Ford Pro Integrated Services, teased updates to the telematics tools that include deeper insights, more EV features and reporting, and more functionality as part of a “more holistic solution on top of an already great solution.”

Companies should electrify their fleets ASAP

Hauge, who leads Ecolab’s efforts to electrify 1,000 sales and service vehicles in California by 2025, said it’s important fleet managers avoid “analysis paralysis” when considering a switch to EVs.

“Don't wait for 100% of the answers in the data,” he said. “You will never get it. You will never take a step forward and start learning.”

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Ford Pro is collaborating with Ecolab to electrify its North American sales and service fleet beginning in California with more than 1,000 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro trucks and Mustang Mach-E SUVs.

Fiset also encouraged other fleet managers to go electric, noting his Canada-based company has 12 EVs, and his employees are actively buying EVs for their own personal use. He insisted each fleet has at least one gas-powered truck or van that could be replaced with an EV.

“It’s a smartphone with four wheels. You get over-the-air updates,” he said. “So, start right now. Be ready for the future.”