Ford Motor Co., is well known for its impressive line of work (and leisure) trucks—the F-150 has been the best-selling truck in the U.S. for 45 years. Businesses large and small and all those in between depend on Ford trucks—and Ford parts and service to keep their Ford fleets running.
Ford has moved into the hybrid and electric vehicle market, including trucks. The Ford Maverick is a compact truck and the first pickup in America with a standard full-hybrid powertrain. Its 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder hybrid powertrain delivers 191 horsepower when combined with the electric motor, and 155-lb.-ft. of torque mated to a continuously variable transmission driving the front wheels. It features an in-house-designed and manufactured electric traction motor, which is light and powerful and offers standard payload of 1,500-lbs. plus the capability to tow 2,000-lbs.
Now, the company wants to help fleet operators in another way. Ford has launch VIIZR, a new field service tool built on Salesforce and designed to meet the needs of the small business owners– such as plumbers, electricians, and heating and ventilation technicians. VIIZR will help small businesses simplify key commercial activities such as invoicing, scheduling, and managing requests so they can focus on serving their customers from anywhere.
The market for field service management is estimated at $3 billion annually in the U.S. and is expected to double in the next six years as changes to consumer behavior, brought on by COVID-19 and other factors, will drive high demand for trades.
VIIZR is built on Salesforce Field Service and was developed specifically for trade businesses by Ford. There are currently 675,000 small and medium business in service and maintenance and construction vocations in the U.S. and yet, a recent study found that only one in five small business owners are satisfied with the way their businesses managed customer and employee relationships. Only 10% believe today’s business productivity software tools are designed for businesses of their size, with most believing that such solutions are built for much larger companies.
Salesforce Field Service already helps companies around the world realize significant productivity gains, with customers reporting 36% improvement in scheduler and dispatcher productivity, and a 28% decrease in work order scheduling time.
“Ford Pro helps commercial customers maximize productivity,” Ford Pro CEO Ted Cannis said. “We know the back office is a major pain point for tradespeople, who are often writing up paperwork from the cabin of their truck or van. VIIZR gives that time back, providing greater returns to these businesses and better service to their customers.”
Effective field service requires companies to match the expertise of their workforce with their customers’ requirements and manage the complexities of scheduling – and for many small business trades today, managing customer interactions and mobile workers involves time-consuming, manual processes done on paper. For businesses with less than 20 employees, VIIZR could reduce backoffice work by more than 40% or about 25 hours a week.
VIIZR provides affordable, advanced field service tools with subscriptions starting from $39 a month per user, which enables trades to digitize everything – quotes, work orders, invoicing and job management—while managing customer relationships and jobs through an all-in-one customer profile, making it easy to communicate with them and improve the overall experience. Also, it allows scheduling, dispatching, and coordination of field technicians for greater efficiency and a more profitable business.
VIIZR helps the trades eliminate waste from their business by boosting productivity – real-time job scheduling can save time and fuel; digital invoicing saves paper and ink; and a more efficiently run business ultimately saves money. As part of Ford Pro’s ongoing efforts to evolve with the requirements of their customers, VIIZR is looking for trade businesses to pilot the platform on a complimentary basis ahead of its official launch in the first half of 2022. To learn more about the Early Access Program and to be considered for inclusion, visit VIIZR.com.
Want to tweet about this article? Use hashtags #construction #IoT #sustainability #AI #5G #cloud #edge #futureofwork #infrastructure #digitaltransformation