Mack Truck customers say they are taking advantage of the many benefits offered by Mack® Connect, Mack’s newly introduced comprehensive fleet management portal that enables customers to digitally access information about Mack-powered trucks in their fleet.
More than 50 customers have registered for Mack Connect through their local dealers. This number is expected to significantly increase once more MY 2025 Mack-powered vehicles roll off the line at Lehigh Valley Operations (LVO), where all Class 8 Mack vehicles for North America and export are assembled. Mack Connect with integrated uptime is standard on all new Mack-powered Model Year 2025 vehicles for two years.
Mack made the announcement at the American Trucking Associations Technology and Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition, March 4-7, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana.
“Mack Connect improves customer visibility into the health and performance of their vehicles while greatly simplifying the process to access the data,” said Patrick Brown, Mack Trucks senior strategy and sustainability manager. “Customer response has been overwhelmingly positive, and Mack remains committed to simplifying data so customers can easily use it to make decisions to increase their ROI and better manage their fleet.”
Mack Connect, launched in October 2023, gathers critical aspects about customers’ trucks, services and their specific application, translating the data into improved fuel efficiency, safety and productivity. Mack Connect includes data about fuel efficiency, asset location, idle time, traffic information, safety performance and vehicle speed.
Customers access the status of their Mack vehicles through a 4G Telematics Gateway, factory installed at LVO. Hell Bent Xpress, based in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Hilco Transport, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, are two customers utilizing Mack Connect.
Jamie Hagen, owner of Hell Bent Xpress, said he registered for the service in December through his dealer TranSource in Aberdeen. Hagen operates 12 Mack
Anthem® vehicles in his fleet and said the visibility he receives through Mack Connect into each truck is invaluable.
Mack Connect offers visibility to the Mack GuardDog® Connect integrated telematics solution so customers can easily manage fault events should they occur, while also providing visibility to over-the-air updates when available. Reporting and analytics are available so customers may analyze the data to determine whether adjustments need to be made to improve efficiencies.
“Every time I login to it, I learn something new,” Hagen said. “The most compelling part to me is that I can easily see if an engine or transmission update is needed. It also shows the most fuel-efficient drivers and the least fuel-efficient drivers.”
The system will alert you when drivers are not wearing their seatbelts and for how long. This information can help him improve employee performance.
Hell Bent Xpress operates in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and the Midwest.
“With Hell Bent Xpress, Jamie is obsessed with two things, efficiency and data,” said Eric Hamiel, Mack Truck sales expert at TranSource in Aberdeen. “Mack Connect puts all of his relevant data at his fingertips so he can make informed business decisions on how to minimize his cost per mile and increase his profits. Providing a good product, like Mack trucks, makes it easier to maintain and grow this relationship. Supporting features and services that provide customer value to their bottom line helps take the relationship to another level.”
About 50 percent of the 500-vehicle Hilco fleet are Mack trucks. Currently, more than 200 of Hilco’s Mack vehicles are using Mack Connect. Hilco registered for the service through TranSource of Greensboro, North Carolina.
“I’m a data-driven kind of person, so I like to be able to pull up the data that Mack Connect provides in real-time and present it when we have our executive meetings,” said Mike Laughead, director of maintenance for Hilco. “We are impressed with the system, and it helps managers keep tabs on operations.”
Laughead said aside from the reporting of data, he’s most impressed by the map feature, which allows users to locate and click on a vehicle and access all the data associated with that truck.
“It’s very user friendly and easy to navigate,” Laughead said. “Since using the program, we have been able to remotely diagnose some issues on the road that have enabled us to get the driver back up and running. We have had a couple units go down in which we were able to go into Mack Connect, see the codes and do an over-the-air software update, which got the trucks going, allowing us to deliver the load.”
“The fleet managers use it for driver reporting, efficiency tracking and trip planning,” said James Bland, co-president of TranSource, Greensboro. “The service managers love the history and remote troubleshooting capabilities, and they use it routinely to keep up with their fleet maintenance.”
SOURCE: Mack
