On Wednesday at the 2025 Procede Software Conference in San Diego, Chief Product Officer Eric Fortin took to the stage to share with a sold-out crowd of over 500 people the bevy of new products and solutions Procede has developed and released (or will soon release) since the group last met in San Diego in 2024.
Among the impressive list of new features was Communication+, an external SMS and email messaging tool available for Procede mobile users that Fortin believes will revolutionize how users engage with customers, build interest and turn touchpoints into sales opportunities.
Fortin says Communication+ provides users another resource in their arsenal of Procede-backed solutions and shows how the company continues to leverage both deep, fulfilling relationships with existing users and the PSC experience to turn customer input into market-leading innovation.
Communication+ may be new, but communication? That’s the bedrock Procede’s entire operation stands upon. It’s why the company continues to grow, win market share and maintain a 99% retention rate in the fierce business management system marketplace, says CEO Larry Kettler.
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“We have such an engaged audience,” Kettler told TPS Wednesday during an on-site interview at the 2025 PSC. “The people that come and experience what we’re doing here, they want to be a part of it.”
At PSC, being a part of the action comes organically.
Procede’s annual conference agenda is devised from feedback the company receives from the prior year event and customer input received throughout the calendar year, which is then molded together with the many initiatives and projects Procede has underway at all times to determine the vital topics and solutions that make up the three-day schedule, says Chief Customer Officer Deanna Cocco.
By never going into PSC planning with a goal to push a single message or theme, Cocco and Fortin say Procede holds an event that is always timely, forward thinking and comprehensive, with sessions answering questions and bringing solutions to many hot-button customer problems.
Procede embraces an organic approach to inspire its PSC theme, ensuring an event that’s timely, forward thinking and comprehensive, with sessions answering questions and bringing solutions to many hot-button customer problems.
“We try to be nimble, proactive in strategy, with the execution grounded in user input from the industry,” Fortin says.
This year’s emphasis on AI implementation, as an example, was equally driven by Procede’s growing integration of AI solutions into its platform and requests from users for more information about how the technology works and where it might make sense for them. Even before this year’s conference was over Procede was receiving thanks from attendees for that, Kettler says.
“We had people saying they appreciated that we put together a presentation and shared how we are figuring it out,” he says. “Now they’re going to be able to take pieces [of it] and apply them to where they think they should in their business.”
But the PSC isn’t just a springboard for Procede products. It’s also a wonderful networking opportunity for customers, Kettler says. An opportunity for people in similar roles at different companies across the industry to come together and share how they use Procede’s products and work with the company to make their operations more efficient.
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Kettler says that’s arguably his favorite part of the week — seeing dealers talking to each other, sharing their habits and processes and educating each other about how Procede tools and resources can best be maximized.
Walk through the PSC and that enthusiasm is palpable. Procede had 14 employees when Kettler joined the company 15 years ago; it has now surpassed 150. And everyone remains as hungry as ever to continue making the company, its customers and the trucking industry stronger.
“We are very fortunate to have a team and customer base that is this engaged and passionate and cares,” Kettler says.
“Everyone here is open to grow and learn and advance together,” adds Cocco. “It’s nice to see that collaboration; it helps make the event that much more impactful.”
