Electrification, connectivity, Big Data, shared mobility, autonomous technology — the flow of information involving these buzzwords of transportation has turned into a torrent. Yet between the fanfare of press announcements and product promises, how do you know if you’re witnessing the beginning of a revolution, or just a hot air balloon?

Ask the fleet managers. 

Fleets are at the center of the new mobility revolution, as they’re implementing, testing, and scaling these new technologies and processes. They’re the ones charged with assessing the operational and financial viability of products and systems on the ground. Great ideas may not live up to the hype when they’re put through real-world operational challenges with fleet managers at the helm.  

At the 2020 Fleet Forward Experience, fleet managers from commercial, corporate, and government fleets will share their real-world learnings of new technologies in actual fleet use cases.  

They’re participating in panel seminars on Tesla’s role in fleet, corporate and government vehicle sharing initiatives, launching corporate EV schemes, the first deployments of commercial EVs, the role IoT will play in fleets, and solving on-time challenges with map intelligence for trucking fleets.

“With the rapid changes in how we move people and goods, this is an exciting time to be in fleet,” said Chris Brown, conference chair. “Yet with the increasing onslaught of information, it’s getting harder to understand what will truly make fleets more efficient on the ground. For that perspective we’re grateful to have input at the conference from the fleet managers themselves.”

These fleet managers will speak at the 2020 Fleet Forward Experience:

Lucas Janetski, fleet administrator at County of San Luis Obispo; Jordan Baynard, indirect procurement manager at Ecolab; Eric McCann, technical fleet manager, Bimbo Bakeries USA; Henry Kayler, Sr. purchasing manager, fleet, Vestas; John Paape, vice president of technology & CIO, Roehl Transport; Ryan Richards, strategic sourcing manager - facilities & engineering procurement, Genentech; Serge Viola, director, national fleet, Purolator Inc.; Said El Said, Tenn. DoT ITS program manager, Vanderbilt University; Banny Allison, director, fleet operations support, Aramark.

Yet the fleet manager perspective is only one part of the mobility ecosystem. Other speakers at the 2020 Fleet Forward Experience include consultants, analysts, and economists, as well as subject matter experts from auto manufacturers, tech providers, fleet suppliers, and fleet management companies.

This growing ecosystem of Fleet Forward speakers and attendees are also invited to join the coffee break networking sessions following the opening seminars each day. The coffee breaks provide small Zoom breakout rooms on moderated topics such as fleets' roles in autonomy, corporate fleet electrification, commercial EV integration, how fleets are integrating data, and what the immediate future looks like for fleets. 

"The coffee breaks are another opportunity for fleet managers to engage in candid discussions on what solutions will work for their fleets," Brown said. 

Fleet Forward Experience, free for fleet operators, convenes virtually Nov. 9-13.