Talking to the equipment

The power equipment and landscaping industries are experiencing all the technological shifts imaginable today. Much of this is driven by advancements in product manufacturing from large and small suppliers. These innovations promise to enhance efficiency, reduce labor needs and ease business ownership. A lot of that is tied to a new product, one often but not always battery powered. 

In this article, we look at the business-boosting side of the technology transformation. This is not about how computers, artificial intelligence (AI) and electrification improve products, but how technology advances can boost your relationships with products, and you business. 

We take a look at new technology from Kioti Tractors as well as five-year old evolving technology from Toro. These two manufacturers aren’t alone in using technology to help both dealers and commercial users do business. Giants like Caterpillar, John Deere, New Holland and others are using tech to drive advancements for large-scale agriculture, construction and mining work. That will likely trickle down to zero-turn mowers, mini excavators, and the pros who profit from them. In the meantime, here’s our look at Kioti Connect and Toro’s Horizon 360 services. 

See Vermeer’s update on equipment connectivity.

Kioti connected

Kioti Tractors have established a reputation for reliability and good dealer relations in both agricultural and landscaping applications. We attended the company’s dealer meeting about a year ago and talked with several dealers who appreciated the company’s focus on solving problems for commercial buyers. Kioti has introduced advanced features in its latest models and is also using technology to improve ownership, use and service communication.

In February this year, the manufacturer introduced Kioti Connect, an app-based system that connects vehicles with both users and Kioti dealers to provide a wide range of information about use patterns, maintenance needs and on-site optimization with artificial intelligence-driven technology. 

Daedong, Kioti’s parent company based in South Korea, launched Daedong Connect in 2022 to help users there. “We tried to provide information to customers and dealers to prevent bigger problems; that was the starting point,” said Youngjin Son, Kioti’s senior V. P. and chief product technology officer. “Then we tried to develop that idea even further so we can collect a lot of data and then use those data to provide a kind of forecast for the machine. Plus, we can provide data to farmers about how they can spray fertilizer, how they can use the same land year by year, how they can utilize different crops year by year. For example, this year they grow corn and next year they wonder, is it best to grow corn or change to beans.” 

The Connect service provides real-time monitoring of machine health to help owners optimize use patterns. The technology can remind operators about scheduled maintenance tasks, like oil changes or air filter replacements. Soon, Kioti plans to enable smart remote diagnostics that help users identify issues remotely.

Can dealers connect to Connect?

Kioti dealers can monitor customer equipment remotely, helping them improve response times by seeing potential issues early. They can tell their customers, using data from vehicles, that specific services are recommended on specific timelines. “Dealers can, instead of waiting for a customer to call or come, communicate with the customer,” said Son. “Hey, from the data I’m seeing, I recommend you check this.” 

Son said this technology can be a sales tool that will be win-win for them and for the customer. But it is really just a way to help improve relationships with customers, he said. “Some dealers are a little bit hesitant to come onboard with this, but our team is working to train and educate dealers on the power of Connect.”

The Kioti Connect technology works, today, in HX and RX tractors and compact equipment. So while it definitely favors farmers and other ag users, the tech applies to landscapers and commercial users on the build side. And, as technology does, it will trickle down. 

We asked Kioti if its Connect technology could be used for mowers or on other vehicles. “Right now, we are rolling this out for tractors and compact equipment,” said Son. “And the AI-powered Kioti Connect services can be applied with Kioti’s tractor-management system equipment or without. No plans for mowers right now.” Son adds that the system is currently free of charge to owners for the first three years.

Who needs this? 

“For those customers like hobby farmers who use their tractors 200 hours per year, when something is wrong, they might say, ‘Okay I can put the tractor inside my garage and fix it when I want to,’” said Son. “That’s a hobby and they want to do it. They have a different attitude.” 

Son said it is different tor professional customers who run a tractor 2,000 hours per year. “If their tractors stop running even for a few hours, it can cost a lot so they want to know potential problem areas right away. They really appreciate if we inform them,” he said. “When we can help them prevent any stoppage then they say, ‘Okay, can you help us?’ It’s a totally different dynamic between hobby farmers and commercial users.”

In Korea, Daedong ran an AI pilot program with government funding. “We started with a small group so our own in-house AI could handle it,” said Son. As the company expanded the services commercially throughout the Korean peninsula the data demands became too great to handle in-house. Son said the company will use OpenAI’s Chat GPT with ongoing AI expansion.

The company said AI can provide customers with information related to agriculture practices and tractors. Operators can track the machine location through their device and set up custom geofences. This can all lead to advances in autonomous operation as well, which Kioti has been testing in some ag formats using RTK location information along with GPS.

Toro’s long Horizon

Nearly five years ago, Toro introduced Horizon 360 software as a business management tool. “Toro is an equipment manufacturer, and we brought this technology to small and medium-sized businesses to help them run more efficiently,” said Katie Roell, marketing manager, digital technology landscape contractor equipment. 

Horizon 360 devices are agnostic, said Roell. “You do get more information off of a Toro or an Exmark piece of equipment because it’s proprietary to us,” she said, “but you still can track the location, equipment address and job status for rainbow fleet [multiple brands/colors of] equipment.” 

Roell said that many small to medium sized contractors are still learning that the right processes and contracts can make them more profitable. “If these business owners are just using pen and paper in the truck, keeping track of their routes and assignments to their operators, they don’t know if the job is completely profitable because they’re not accurately tracking time on job, they’re not tracking materials dispensed on job, etc.” Toro’s Horizon 360 is a way for them to accurately track and account for all the details of each job. 

Users can measure actual time on job with the tool’s geofence location tracking, and if they add the devices, they can see actual working time on the job. They can track their materials and maintenance on equipment. “And then at the end of the day, they can see if these jobs are profitable or not,” said Roell. “That helps them grow their business and grow with the Toro company.”

Down to business

A core feature of the Horizon 360 tool is job scheduling and routing, according to Roell. The software has QuickBooks integration to help with scheduling and with closing invoices. It also serves as a customer management tool and business owners can set up automated communication – emails or text messages – to assist with customer relations. Roell said this is a feature that contractors don’t sign up for initially but are finding it’s an added benefit. “With the addition of the scheduling and routing, they’re starting to get analytics on making sure all those invoices are closed out. That’s the core of why contractors are using Horizon 360.”

“The maintenance section is the nice add-on feature where they can capture maintenance schedules,” said Roell. “They don’t realize the value of being able to manage their equipment and maintenance schedules until they’re doing it. They realize, ‘If I stick to the maintenance schedule my equipment lasts longer and my total cost of ownership is improved.” Much of this CRM-like service is available in the premium version of Horizon 360.

Dealer connected?

“We are looking at how we can integrate Toro dealers to provide better service. If we know that a piece of equipment is due for maintenance, how can a dealer support the contractor to make sure there’s no downtime. Today, there isn’t a dealer integration,” said Roell.

“When we started Horizon 360, we geared it toward the landscape contractor. More recently we have been adjusting the model so it also fits with the demands for snow and the addition of on-demand jobs.” She admits that snow management is not scheduled like landscaping work, but the software can still add efficiencies. 

“We’ve made adjustments in the software to make sure it’s flexible enough for their businesses,” said Roell, “and we continuously take feedback on what analytics they might like to see. How many pounds of material am I using at different job sites that I might need to adjust or forecast for in the future?” 

Data privacy

Collecting and analyzing data presents many opportunities for companies like Toro and Kioti. Still, many users are cautious about how their data might be used, stored and shared. 

“We haven’t had contractors who have been concerned about our use of data,” said Roell at Toro. “We take data privacy very seriously. We are not selling their data. This is a business management system. If they’re using any other business management system, even QuickBooks, they know their information is going to that company. It’s secure and we take that seriously.” 

“We have to accumulate some data so we can provide this service,” said Son of Kioti. “Without data, we cannot provide anything. Customers understand that. A few customers say, ‘I don’t want to activate.’ That’s definitely their choice so they can deactivate it. That’s how our policy works.”

Roell said that some operators are concerned that we want to watch and know everything they’re doing, or that their managers will watch that way. “When the owner is able to explain it as a way for them to have backup and proof of service when a customer calls. The customer might say, ‘You didn’t salt this parking lot properly,’ the owner has the tracking data to know that work was done.” It’s not Big Brother watching the operator and saying they should work a different way. “We’re protecting the operators and enabling that proof of service. It becomes a much better conversation for the owners there looking at those devices,” she said.

Is every manufacturer a technology company?

OPE+ attended the Kress Next Summit event recently, and Kress leaders said the company is a technology company. Toro isn’t quite ready to make that same statement yet, but many manufacturers of product are leaning heavily on technology today – we will talk with more of them soon. 

Pure technology companies, such as Greenzie, enable makers of mowers including Wright Manufacturing and others to become technologists. As such, Greenzie needs to be on the leading edge of its autonomous vehicle technology. The company recently release its 4.0 software release, which includes performance updates aimed at minimizing unnecessary stops and increasing a mower’s accuracy. Enhancements such as automatic sensor resets, hardware disconnect mitigation, cell signal degradation recovery, and further efficiencies. 

Technology is a growing part of the manufacturing and use of outdoor power equipment, from battery management to maintenance scheduling to product use tracking. We’re all technologists, starting now.