Utilimarc at NAFA: Day Three Conference Recap | Utilimarc Fleet FYIs

Gretchen Reese (00:24):

Hey there, welcome to the Fleet FYIs Podcast, the weekly podcast by Utilimarc, that reveals how you can make the most of your data for smarter fleet management. My name is Gretchen and every week you'll hear from me or some of the industry's finest in candid conversations that will not only shed some light on over two decades worth of fleet data insights, but also some of the industry's hottest talking points and key metric analysis with the aim to help you better understand your fleet from every angle. But before we begin, if this is the first time you've heard our show, thanks for stopping by. 

(00:57):

I'm so glad you decided to come along for the ride with us, but I've got a quick favorite to ask you. Once you finish today's episode, if you could take a few minutes to leave us a review on your favorite podcasting platform, we would really appreciate it. Give us a rating, five stars I hope or tell us what you liked or leave us a comment or a question about what you've heard in today's episode. If we haven't yet covered a topic that you're interested in hearing more about, let us know, we would be happy to go over it in detail in a later show. 

(01:34):

Hello everyone. And welcome back to another episode of the Fleet FYIs Podcast. I'm so excited to be talking about the final day of the NAFA I&E for 2022 in Columbus, Ohio today. If you've been listening to the last couple days of recaps, I'm super excited to bring to you my very last one for NAFA I&E 2022, because this show not just for me, but for the entire Utilimarc team and hopefully everyone who attended and everyone who exhibited and everyone who sponsored the show. I hope you guys all had a great experience. I, for one thought it was quite fantastic. It was so great to see all of the booths come to life and all of the vendors come to life and really being able to experience just being out again and meeting up with old friends and colleagues. And, oh my gosh, it was just such a great experience. And I'm so excited to tell you a little bit more about the last day of the show, let's dig in.

(02:55):

So day three, NAFA I&E I can start to break it down here. Um, I like to relate sometimes the NAFA I&E to another show that, um, I recently attended with Michael. He was on the podcast a couple of epigo- episodes ago. I'm sure you probably all remember him, Michael Carr talking about the truth of business intelligence, which if you haven't listened to that episode already, you absolutely should once you're done with this one. But I always like to relate it to the show that I attended last year with Michael Carr and that was the Utility Expo in Louisville. And the reason I like to relate the two is because you have both massive expo halls and whilst at the Utility Expo, you have the outdoor side and there's three lots and a lot of outdoor equipment and so much to see. I almost prefer the smaller environment of NAFA, where you get that really concentrated mix of vendors and exhibitors and fleets. And it's just a completely different experience. 

(03:53):

Now there's obviously benefits to both in different settings, but for me personally, I like the ones where I get to meet the most people and talk to the most people and really be able to connect with the most folks around the actual expo hall. But day three was really exciting. There wasn't as many education sessions, like I mentioned on the first or second day, just because now that the expo hall was open, you know, everyone is focusing on making their rounds and making sure they're meeting everyone and seeing everyone and seeing everything because there's a ton of equipment and services and products available to take a peek at, um, that they can. However, it was quite interesting though, to be able to actually see some of the way that the, or some of the ways that the education sessions were set up today, the ones that were, you know, prioritized. And instead of being separate in a classroom, per se, instead, they were taking place on the main stage or in the NAFA CareerHQ booth, and so many helpful pieces throughout the show, but especially on the last day. 

(04:54):

And you even got to hear some of the insights for how NAFA selects its top 100 fleets every single year. So you get some insights, you get a little bit of an idea as to what the application process looks like. And also you get to understand just exactly the criteria that, um, they're looking for, which was quite cool. Um, now then if you go into every single vendor and everyone there personally, I got to sit in the newest version of the Rogue. I was very excited about that being a Nissan fan myself and I actually drive a Rogue back at home. So I was very excited to see the new model, um, but just being able to catch up with everybody and honestly, connecting with people is one of my favorite things about these shows. 

(05:33):

It's really hard to beat. And especially when you get to see all of the new technology, all of the new vehicle types and everything that some of these exhibitors and sponsors have to offer, it's pretty cool. Especially when you think about how quickly changing the fleet industry is and how kind of, I guess you could say cutting edge a lot of the technology is because even though electric vehicles may still be a couple years away, or, you know, some of these more sustainable technologies may still be a couple years away, there still is that realistic optimism that you know is very present in the industry, whether it is about electrification or the ability that now that there's supply chain issues right now with actually procuring the vehicles, you have some time to catch up on infrastructure and understand what your installation plan will be and where exactly you want it all to be. So that once you have the vehicles, you have a plan in place to be able to charge them and maintain them. 

(06:25):

You know, you can also start to look at alternative fuels and seeing how that could potentially be a shorter term solution, um, that might fit into your lifecycle projections un- until EVs are more widely available, or at least until you can get the amount of EVs that you need to satisfy sustainability commitments that you know, different fleets or organizations have made by 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040 and so on. 

(06:50):

There's so much available here. And so much of a knowledge share and I think that's one of the best things about shows like this, is it's a true knowledge share where you're coming together with like-minded colleagues from various parts of the industry, right? It's not just people that are coming from charging companies like Gilbarco Veeder-Root and Gasboy, or Beam Global it's or even Tritium for example, I don't think Tritium was at the show, but still they are a major player in the charging networks. Still it's like, you have people like that. You have folks from fueling companies like Shell or even BP, and really everyone can come together and create this almost, I hate to call it a brainstorm beca- (laughs), because we're in the Midwest and we get enough storms as is, but we'll call it a knowledge share. 

(07:34):

You can create a massive knowledge share that benefits everyone that's involved, whether you're sharing ideas consistently, or you're just sitting back and you're listening to what everyone else is speaking about. There's a lot to take away from shows like this. And I think that's what makes me so excited. So I don't know about you, but personally, I'm looking forward to NAFA I&E 2023, and I believe it's going to be in Baltimore next year. So I hope that we- we be in the Utilimarc team and myself, we'll see you there. 

(08:29):

So if you attended the show, I would love to hear what you thought. Did you like the education sessions? Did you like the expo format? Did you, what did you like about the show? What didn't you like? Let me know what you thought overall, and if you weren't there, well, then let me know what you thought about all the virtual sessions, because I'm sure those will be available to see very, very soon as well. Um, you can send me an email. You can tag me on LinkedIn, use the Utilimarc Fleet FYIs hashtag. You guys know the drill. You can even send me a carrier pigeon, I don't judge. 

(08:58):

Either way, I'd love to hear your thoughts. And I hope that you'll share them with me because I'm really excited for the other conferences coming up this year and other shows coming up this year. But I am also very much looking forward to NAFA 2023. So until tomorrow, that is all from me where we'll be back with a regularly scheduled Friday episode, delving into some of the topics that are really on the minds of fleet managers today, all across the industry, so until tomorrow, ciao.

(09:27):

Hey there, I think this is the time that I shook you the virtual high five, because you've just finished listening to another episode of the Fleet FYIs podcast. If you're already wanting more content head over to utilimarc.com, which is Utilimarc with a C, U-T-I-L-I-M-A-R-C.com for this episode show notes and extra insights coming straight from our analyst to you. That's all from me this week. So until next time I'll catch you later.