RER: What have been the most recent benefits and capabilities of the telematics system you offer to rental companies?
Leibold: Available on most new models, John Deere’s JDLink telematics solution delivers valuable fleet insights directly into the hands of the fleet manager. The JDLink service enables access to vital data, such as machine location and utilization, time in idle, fuel level, upcoming maintenance, machine alerts, and more, all from a web or mobile platform.
Beyond machine monitoring, the JDLink solution also enables John Deere Connected Support, allowing the local John Deere dealer to remotely diagnose and in some instances resolve issues without a trip to the field, which minimizes potential downtime.
What are the key types of information your system shares with rental companies?
Leibold: With John Deere telematics, we give rental houses the ability to filter down data to the exact dates and times when a customer was using equipment to provide detailed machine performance, location, and utilization reports for that period. This gives rental houses the opportunity to have in-depth conversations about ways to increase customer jobsite efficiencies by providing deeper value and a more customized experience than traditional rental houses can.
How does your system help rental companies bill their customers?
Leibold: Telematics help rental companies to identify exactly how much and how often their equipment is being used, enabling accurate billing. Gone are the days where rental companies need to determine how their products are being used. Instead, having data in hand enables rental centers to know precisely when and where their customers are using products.
How does your system help rental companies to practice preventive and predictive maintenance?
Leibold: Rental companies can view the machine’s hours of operations on a daily basis, and get immediate alerts for machine diagnostic trouble codes, helping to prevent failures and unscheduled downtime. JDLink also makes it easy to view a machine’s daily hours of operation, helping contractors to plan downtime for maintenance or repairs to maximize uptime and productivity.
Sometimes equipment rental companies have commented that they are overwhelmed by too much data. Do you help them to work out what is best and most important for their operation?
Leibold: We offer a variety of tools within JDLink that help customers dissect their data into easily digestible graphs, charts, and tables to ensure they have the tools to monitor their fleets efficiency and performance. The JDLink Dashboard view provides customers only the most important information to avoid overwhelming with too much data.
In the past, often rental companies felt they couldn’t afford telematics systems. Are they now more affordable for smaller rental companies?
Leibold: John Deere took into consideration how important telematics are for our customers and wanted to reduce the barrier of adoption by implementing that customers with active JDLink connectivity would no longer be required to renew their subscriptions. Customers can activate any compatible machine in their fleet at no additional charge, unlocking access to valuable machine data by increasing access to JDLink connectivity. This cost is included in the cost of the machines for many of our products, making telematics more accessible.
