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Within this growing industry, Battery Electric’s customers were increasingly requiring battery monitoring systems (BMS) as part of their sales and service solutions.
“What happened was more and more of them were asking for
a BMS,” Bryson explains. “We’re always looking for ways to improve our customer service, and this was one of the things they wanted. Offering them a BMS means we can give them the whole package.”
When Battery Electric realized that their service and supply operation would need to include a battery monitoring system, it was a logical progression from what they were already doing. “For many of our customers, we do the impedance and load testing anyway,” says Bryson.
“A full battery monitoring solution was the logical next step.”
Battery Electric began investigating options, and went through testing with a couple of them. “We’d get a brand new unit and the firmware would be 3 years old!” Bryson recalls. “And then they’d have to send us 3 different firmware versions just to get that box running, and 2 software versions. And in another case, we actually had to go back to an older version of firmware to get the thing to work properly!”
It was then that Battery Electric were put in touch with PowerShield. “Apart from anything else, when considering the whole package – which was our objective – PowerShield were a much better option than the others,” Bryson explains. “We like to sell our customers a battery bank, and come back to us 20 years later for a new one, rather than coming back every year with problems.”
“PowerShield were a much better option than the others...We like to sell our customers a battery bank, and come back to us 20 years later for a new one, rather than coming back every year with problems.”
Although Battery Electric have only recently started selling PowerShield battery monitoring systems, Bryson says that it’s already starting to help them differentiate themselves from other battery suppliers. “Not all other service providers offer the whole solution,” he explains. “Being able to provide the whole package is starting to set us apart from the competition. What we’re doing is giving them the tools that help them with compliance, making sure they’re meeting regulations from their insurance and inspection agencies.”
Bryson goes on to explain that the customers enjoy the benefits of having alarms, and being able to monitor their batteries in real-time. “Although it’s still a bit too early to tell, becoming a PowerShield reseller has enhanced what we can offer to our customers,” he explains.
Battery Electric’s success so far with the PowerShield battery monitoring system has given them the confidence to recommend it to current and potential customers. “We’d much rather sell a higher quality product that a) we like to install and that we don’t have any problems installing, and b) that’s a great application for the end user,” says Bryson.
“PowerShield is easy to work with, and the BMS is really an excellent product. It’s simple for technicians of any ability to install and operate. And easy for the end user as well. And the support from PowerShield has been excellent, especially compared to what we were using before.”
“Being able to provide the whole package is starting to set us apart from the competition. What we’re doing is giving them the tools that help them with compliance, making sure they’re meeting regulations from their insurance and inspection agencies.”
