One never knows when Ford Pro Telematics will come in handy to protect a company’s commercial vehicle fleet or solve a crime.
Ford Pro Telematics software offers vehicle tracking and monitors vehicles for service such as oil changes, fuel filters, and tire rotations. The system’s dashboard can be viewed on a computer or a cell phone.
Ricart Ford in Groveport, Ohio uses Ford Pro Telematics to manage its fleet of service and customer loaner vehicles as well as its fleet of Ford Mobile Service vans. Commercial Vehicle Sales Manager Colin Ailes says the system helps improve productivity, lowers costs, and increases vehicle uptime.
One time, it helped solve a crime.
Not long ago, Ailes’ phone buzzed with an urgent text message from the dealership’s rental manager: One of their loaner vehicles, a Ford Bronco Sport SUV, had been connected to a crime in Columbus. The suspect, having dropped off their own vehicle for service earlier that day, had used the dealership’s loaner vehicle to flee a crime. Now, the police needed Ailes’ help to track down the missing Bronco as they pursued the suspect.
The suspect didn’t realize that the Bronco was trackable via Ford Pro Telematics, which collects key data, such as location, using the vehicle’s built-in modem or plug-in device.
“This was the first time I’d tried to log in to our Ford Pro account from my phone, and I was super impressed,” he recalls. “All I had to do was plug in the VIN, and within minutes, I was able to see where the vehicle was located.”
The suspect made three stops at a fast-food chain, all of which Ailes could track on the dashboard. Using live GPS data from Ford Pro Telematics, Ailes coordinated with the police to help apprehend the suspect.
“We got our vehicle back, though it wasn’t in the best shape,” Ailes says.
The incident presented a compelling argument for investing in Telematics for all loaner vehicles. But it wasn’t Ricart’s first experience with the software.
“We have a huge parts division with 34 delivery vans hooked up to Telematics with Dashcam,” Ailes says.
The Ford Mobile Service fleet at Ricart also is connected to Ford Pro Telematics, as are the parts-runner vehicles. Ailes says they mainly use Telematics software to keep up with scheduled vehicle maintenance.
