By Landon Swan posted on June 17, 2024
The stage was set for a transformative leap in the farm equipment dealership industry. Mazergroup, Canada’s largest New Holland equipment dealer, has started a journey to enhance customer experiences through advanced A.I. technology provided by visorPRO.
During a Farm Equipment webinar, Wally Butler, vice president and CFO of Mazergroup, Brock Moir, CPO at visorPRO.ai and Robert Saik, CEO of visorPRO.ai, discussed the potential of A.I. to revolutionize service delivery and operational efficiency in rural settings.
“A.I. is a game changer, a tool to provide customer care and to help our technicians do their job better, faster, stronger,” Butler says.
Mazergroup’s venture into AI began tentatively in 2023 with a pilot project, but it was in 2024 that the dealership fully committed to integrating AI into their dealership operations, specifically leveraging visorPRO within the farm equipment area.
This decision reflects Mazergroup’s proactive stance in adopting new technology to better serve its customers spread across numerous small rural communities — a demographic that presents unique challenges in terms of attracting and retaining skilled personnel, Butler says.
Saik articulated visorPRO’s role in augmenting the intelligence of agricultural practices through AI-driven insights and rapid information retrieval capabilities. He emphasizes that AI is accelerating progress at an unprecedented rate, highlighting its potential to reshape how agricultural equipment is serviced and maintained.
Butler emphasizes Mazergroup’s strategic alignment with AI technologies. He views AI not just as a tool for enhancing customer care but also as a catalyst for improving technician efficiency.
Mazergroup believes that empowering technicians with quick access to contextual information from visorPRO will streamline repair and maintenance tasks, thereby reducing downtime and enhancing overall service quality and improving quality of life for customers.
“If we can increase our throughput, get customers back up and running more quickly, or get our internal work done more quickly because we’re spending less time on the diagnostic, or trying to solve problems, or trying to get information, then we’re thinking this is a real key to improving the work-life balance,” Butler says.
VisorPRO’s capabilities extend beyond mere information retrieval from OEM manuals; it aims to evolve into a comprehensive knowledge hub encompassing video transcripts, discussion threads, work orders, and custom articles tailored to dealership needs. This expansion promises to further enrich its utility, making it an crucial resource for Mazergroup’s day-to-day operations.
One of the standout features of visorPRO, Butler says, is its ability to provide instant, accurate responses to customers. For instance, when a customer asks about the oil specifications for their machine, technicians can swiftly access visorPRO to retrieve details on change intervals, fluid capacities and recommended types — empowering them to deliver informed recommendations promptly.
This capability not only enhances customer satisfaction but also positions Mazergroup as a leader in leveraging technology to elevate service standards.
VisorPRO facilitates continuous improvement through user feedback mechanisms. Technicians can provide insights into the tool’s effectiveness, enabling iterative enhancements that align with Mazergroup’s commitment to excellence.
Looking ahead, visorPRO and Mazergroup may include a feature where users can talk to the AI technology, within the next few years.
“Here’s a tier zero support line that now your customers can call and it’s talking to an AI, whenever it needs to escalate something, it will, if it can answer basic things, it will,” says Moir. “Now, you’ve given your customers a tool to solve a bunch of problems that they’re bringing to you, you’re looking like a superhero because it’s solving a bunch of problems for your customers, and when it’s having a hard time, it’s bringing that back to your service team and actually getting them that elevated level of care that they need.”
Mazergroup envisions establishing a centralized repository within visorPRO — a vault housing essential manuals ranging from operators to service guides. This initiative aims to streamline access to critical information necessary for servicing a wide array of equipment, thereby bolstering operational efficiency across Mazergroup’s extensive network of dealerships.
The partnership between Mazergroup and visorPRO marks a significant stride toward integrating AI into agricultural equipment service, Butler says. By embracing visorPRO’s AI capabilities, Mazergroup not only enhances its operational agility but also solidifies its reputation as an industry innovator committed to delivering unparalleled customer service in rural communities.