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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
SEPTEMBER 2017
30
PROFILE
TRACKING THE CHANGING FACE
OF TELEMATICS
2006, Cartrack widened the scope of its
business to include full telematics services.
While SVR still forms part of our business,
we have also added Fleet Management and
Insurance Telematics in the scope of our
services. Whereas 10 years ago we were
100% an SVR-focused business, the ratio
has now shifted to 61% of all units having
Fleet Management capabilities as well.
MS: What prompted the big shift from purely
SVR to full telematics services?
AI:
Traditionally, within commercial fleets,
telematics was all about the location of
the vehicle and the driver. But, to further
improve productivity and reduce costs, the
range of application has since evolved very
quickly over the years. The global market is
moving more towards keeping cost control
in mind as cost cutting has become, and
will always be an important factor when
it comes to Fleet Management. Companies
now use Fleet Management tools to
maximise the value of their operations,
boosting driver performance and to engage
in a powerful way with the end customers.
Meanwhile, Insurance Telematics for driver
risk assessment by insurance companies
is another growing application of our
telematics services.
MS: Just how big is your commercial vehicle
business at this stage?
AI:
In total we have about 500 000
vehicles on our books, including both Fleet
Management and SVR services. If you drill
down to commercial vehicles, I would say it’s
about 20% of that figure. We believe there
Munesu Shoko (MS): Cartrack is traditionally
known as a stolen vehicle recovery (SVR)
company, but the business has surely evolved
over the years. Tell me more about the
developments.
Andre Ittmann (AI):
When we started the
business in 2004, Cartrack originally focused
on stolen vehicle recovery (SVR), especially
on the back of South Africa’s highest vehicle
theft/hijacking rates in the world. But, since
KEY TALKING POINTS
Telematics has traditionally been about the location of a vehicle. But, Andre
Ittmann, CEO of Cartrack South Africa, reasons that the range of application is
evolving quickly and the role of telematics is expanding fast. A case in point is
Cartrack’s expanding business portfolio; having started out in 2004 with a sole
focus on stolen vehicle recovery, by 2006 the company had widened the scope of
its business to include full fleet management and insurance telematics services,
writes
Munesu Shoko
Andre Ittmann, CEO of Cartrack South Africa, is of the view that the technology
underpinning Fleet Management solutions has evolved to become a key point of
competitive advantage.
Stolen vehicle recovery services constitute 96% of
Cartrack’s business
93% stolen vehicle
recovery success