Q. What is your view on fleet management and tracking in relation to transportation and logistics in the South African and African context? Why is it considered a crucial aspect in relation to vehicle/fleet maintenance?

A. Ctrack’s fleet management solutions provide information for key management areas such as security, HSE (health, safety and environment), productivity, operational management and control, and asset management. Transportation and logistics require control over costs, including reduction in operational costs through change in driver behaviour (less abusive driving resulting in less speeding, idling or unproductive kilometres), improvement in productivity through better planning resulting in improved routes, quicker turnaround times, more loads and increased profits. Driving behaviour has a very direct impact on operational costs and impact on vehicle/fleet maintenance and repairs. Fleet management and tracking is crucial to transportation and logistics because there is no other way to measure what the driver is doing, how he is doing it and what impact it will have on the business. Fleet management and tracking in South Africa is in a mature state and the various industries understand and realise that it has become an integral part of transportations and logistics. Although many African countries have fleet management and tracking solutions available, they do still face certain challenges with regard to GSM coverage, skilled employees to implement, use and benefit from the information available from fleet management and tracking solutions.

Q. What fleet management and/or tracking technology do you offer the transport industry?

A. Ctrack provides various fleet management and tracking solutions from our Ctrack ICE (In Case of Emergency) personal tracking device, Ctrack Insure basic SVR (Stolen Vehicle Recovery) unit and Ctrack Secure advanced SVR unit including business private kilometres recording accepted by SARS. Ctrack Fleet Lite offers basic fleet management and monitoring functionality, while Ctrack Assist offers cost-effective comprehensive fleet monitoring functionalities including driver identification. Ctrack’s Solo optimum GPS/GSM fleet solution is full featured, scalable and not only provides the most comprehensive Ctrack information, but also allows for the integration with other third-party solutions such as on-board weighing systems, temperature monitoring solutions, collision avoidance systems and driver fatigue monitoring solutions. It also offers multiple data transmission options such as GSM (2G and 3G), Wi-Fi, satellite and Tetra. Ctrack’s telematics technology incorporates information received from a 3-axis accelerometer such as harsh braking, harsh acceleration, harsh bumps and harsh cornering. Ctrack’s DBI (Driver Behaviour Interface) is an in-vehicle display unit that provides real-time driver behaviour feedback on driving style in the form of green, amber and red lights. In the event that driving parameters are exceeded, the lights change from green to amber and eventually red, and only by changing the driving behaviour positively will the DBI return to green. Ctrack’s FleetConnect solution is a management information system software package that consolidates all costing aspects of your fleet highlighting any variances form personal, manufacturer and industry norms, and provides visibility and control on vehicle asset expenses.

Q. When it comes to fleet management and tracking, how important is offering clients an integrated/holistic solution and what are the benefits?

A. DigiCore owns the entire supply chain from research and development, assembly and manufacturing, sales and support of all Ctrack product solutions. Extensive industry knowledge and expertise allows Ctrack to provide customer-focused solutions. As a result of owning the Ctrack product life cycle, DigiCore can increase product production as and when required. Providing an integrated/holistic solution affords clients the time to focus on the benefits that can be realised from the Ctrack management information because they do not have to manage different solutions providers. The customers’ energy and focus can now be on reducing costs, improving operational efficiencies and productivity/utilisation – thereby maintaining and adhering to customers’ service levels and expectations. Many companies have different systems to manage and track vehicles, manage drivers, manage costs such as fuel, tyres, batteries, toll, licensing and traffic offense management. Through Ctrack’s integrated solutions, clients can monitor and track vehicles and drivers, make more informed operational and financial decisions, and view the impact of vehicle and driver usage through FleetConnect. Having one integrated/holistic fleet management and tracking solution allows customers to focus on their core business and have one less thing to worry about.

Ctrack offers a variety of telematics solutions for both the consumer and fleet industries. Ctrack offers GPS/GSM stolen vehicle recovery products for the individual, including options for recording of business and private kilometres in an electronic format acceptable to SARS to sophisticated fleet monitoring and management solutions incorporating in-vehicle integration with navigation modules allowing for tasking of mobile personnel, voice and text communication. Ctrack offers flexible management software options from server-based administrative software to zero footprint internet-based software, as well as mobile software for smart phones and tablets.