As we mentioned last week, the July/August 2017 issue of Service Dealer will land on your desks during the first few days of July - and it includes a major feature we're really proud of, on the notion of The Future for independent dealers.
We wanted to give you a preview of what to expect again this week. So today I'm including an edited extract of an article looking at how the cutting edge innovations we're seeing today, could be an indication of directions which dealerships could see themselves heading in years to come.
You can read the piece in full in the July/August edition - if however, you don't receive a regular copy of the magazine please sign up for free here.
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TOMORROW'S WORLD TODAY
Editor Steve Gibbs takes a look at current cutting edge concepts which may give an indication of what the dealership of tomorrow could look like.
Whenever one gets into a discussion, speculating where future trends might lead us, you do run the risk of looking like an episode of Tomorrow’s World circa 1983 – which foresaw us all walking round with fax machines strapped to our backs, eating our dinner in pill form. On the moon.
However, to perhaps get a sense of what sort of future innovations may become increasingly common for outdoor powered machinery dealerships, we can look at some of the cutting-edge ideas which are starting to be developed by the major manufacturers right now.
Be sure that if concepts like these take off for any company pioneering them, everyone will want in with their own versions.
Apps
The future for all retail will no doubt see the increasing utilisation of the powerful computer which all consumers carry around with them in their pockets nowadays.
It doesn’t seem too much of a stretch to speculate that smartphones and their apps are likely to play an increasingly significant role in the business lives of dealers of the future. We’ve seen in the ages of Service Dealer in recent months how robotic mowers are already beginning to harness the available technology for remote app control – Etesia’s SKD ExxDrive and Viking’s MI 632 PC iMow both spring to mind.
Spreading the use from just robots though, Cub Cadet have now launched an app for consumers to have more control over their ride-on mowers. The Cub Connect app consists of an automated maintenance dashboard and log, which the company hopes will make it as easy as possible for users to keep their machine running at peak performance. It helps with this by keeping track of a wide variety of maintenance records over the lifetime of the equipment.
Will this increased usage of smartphone technology mean that in the future dealers will have to be specialists in telecommunications as well? Will we see floorspace in the showroom given over to mobile providers? To handset manufactures?
Who knows? That could be way down the line. What could very well start to happen in the immediate future though, is that the sending out of servicing reminders from the workshop via ‘snail mail’ could begin to be phased out.
If customers are receiving reminder pings straight to their phones, and presumably directly into their To Do lists and Calendars, this could prove an efficient and effective method of making sure workshops are full year round.
Battery power
What else could be next? If we think in terms of today’s machinery trends then a good bet must be the ever-growing use of non-fossil fuel powered machinery.
Grass machinery manufacturers are certainly heading that way. The challenge currently and in the future for manufacturers must be to power every larger equipment via rechargeable batteries.
An indication of this came at the SIMA show in France this year where John Deere received a Special Mention from the organisers for its SESAM electric tractor.
John Deere's SESAM tractor
The SESAM (Sustainable Energy Supply for Agricultural Machinery) is the industry’s first fully battery-powered tractor. This prototype machine produces 130kW of continuous power and is based on the 6R Series tractor chassis, using an adapted DirectDrive stepless transmission, with a speed range from 3 to 50kph at full power. The tractor is emission-free and develops high torque at low speeds and a maximum output of around 400hp, with no energy losses when idling.
John Deere say the SESAM tractor is a central component of their vision of the energy autonomous farm of the future. Potential benefits include the use of farm-produced renewable energy and new farm business models that would allow farms to provide electric power grid services in rural areas, for example.
Currently, one battery charge lasts for up to four operating hours in typical mixed mode operations or for around 34 miles of road transport work, while charging time is about three hours. The battery is designed to last for 3100 charging cycles.
As we have said time and time again in Service Dealer, the beauty of independent dealers is their ability to adapt and change to developing market conditions. With whatever technology prevails in the future, consumers and professionals alike will always desire advice, help and service from dedicated experts.
It could be the case though that dealers in the future of all machinery persuasions, will need to be open to the belief that their go-to tool is likely to be the tablet rather than the spanner.
Read the article in full in the July/August edition of Service Dealer
