Ford Launches Service Tool to Help Small Businesses

Ford announced the launch of VIIZR, a new field service tool built on Salesforce designed to meet the needs of the small business owners, such as plumbers, electricians, heating, and ventilation, according to the company's press release.

VIIZR will allow small businesses to simplify commercial activities such as invoicing, scheduling, and managing requests, so they can focus on serving their customers. 

“For more than 100 years, Ford has been the backbone of commercial business,” said Jim Farley, Ford CEO. “Salesforce is the global leader in CRM and together, Ford is excited to bring advanced digital tools to the trades to help drive the productivity of their business.” 

VIIZR is built on Salesforce Field Service, a solution for managing mobile workforces and providing onsite support, and was developed for trade businesses by Ford. There are currently 675,000 small and medium business in service & maintenance and construction vocations in the U.S. 

“Effective field service requires companies to match the expertise of their workforce with their customers' requirements and manage the complexities of scheduling – and for many small business trades today, managing customer interactions and mobile workers involves time-consuming, manual processes done on paper,” said Paul Whitelam, SVP/GM, Field Service Management at Salesforce. “VIIZR is helping tradespeople digitize their businesses, empowering them to focus less on back-end processes and more on their craft.”

VIIZR is currently looking for trade businesses to pilot the platform on a complimentary basis ahead of its official launch in the first half of 2022.