The worlds of Fleet Management and Vehicle Tracking have followed the ‘convergence’ trend exemplified in the information and communication technologies used within these related fields. Where Fleet Management vendors once operated in a distinct niche market, many have merged with giant vehicle tracking companies, sharing technology, skills and clients to offer fleet owners a comprehensive and streamlined solution to control their fleets, writes Paul Collings.

When it comes to combining cutting-edge technologies to produce safe and efficient business tools, there are few industries that can compete with commercial trucking. From the advanced engine management technologies developed by truck OEMs, to aftermarket communication platforms that integrate a host of tech tools to monitor vehicle and driver (GPS/GSM/Internet), modern Fleet Management (FM) and vehicle tracking (VT) are domains characterised by innovation, flexibility and adaptation. 

It can be argued that in the capital intensive, high-risk and price-sensitive business of road hauliage where profit margins are super-slim, the only way to find success is to minimise operating costs. Achieving this is no easy matter and requires a great deal of ingenuity, discipline and investment in technologies that for the old-school trucker may be akin to buying a space shuttle. 

But the wheels of progress wait for no man and the speed at which the FM and VT industries evolve is enough to make a propeller-head spin, especially in South Africa, a country that can proudly say it ranks in the top echelon of FM and VT technology development. 

With all this in mind, FleetWatch spoke to a dozen leading local suppliers of FM and VT products and services, logging the trends, uncovering the issues, dispelling the myths and casting an eye into the future. 

Consolidation

Trucks are high-value assets and as such require constant monitoring to ensure they are not damaged or stolen and that they run as efficiently as possible. Traditionally, this was achieved by employing the best driver possible who would, through his skill and honesty, pilot the rig as economically as possible, avoiding any road hazards and not falling prey to thieves. 

Today presents a rather different picture. Experienced drivers are as rare as tigers, road conditions are worsening, diesel prices are soaring and thieves have become consummate professionals at separating owners from their hard-earned gains – which is why the FM and VT industries have become the giants they are today. 

While both FM and VT technologies have the same mission, i.e. risk management, they have operated as separate industries for many years. However, 2007 saw the merging of three of South Africa’s top VT companies with three leading FM operations. The question is, how have these mergers affected the market? Have they lowered the cost of ownership of FM systems in general? Have these mergers effectively ‘streamlined’ the task of managing fleet risk? 

Altech Netstar was South Africa’s first ‘big name’ in VT and ‘stolen vehicle recovery’ (SVR), with an impressive record of not only getting units into the market but also for its ability to get stolen vehicles back to their rightful owners. Early this year the company merged with Comtech, an FM concern with a solid track record and well-established position in the FM market. While Altech Netstar continues to operate its VT service under the original name, the FM offering has been branded Altech Netstar Fleet Solutions (ANFS), under the directorship of Comtech’s Brian Edmonds. 

According to Edmonds, “Comtech had complimentary technology to Altech Netstar’s proprietary FM system called Vigil and the decision to merge was based on the belief that both companies had enough in common to successfully share skills and client bases.” 

6Below left:  From the road to the control room to the air, FM systems provide a seamless link in the road freight supply chain, designed to maximise the efficiency and safety of mobile assets, both mechanical and human.
5 Weighbridge operators at sugar mills use integrated scheduling and FM/VT systems to streamline the flow of trucks from plantations to the mill.	5 Expanding the footprint - Altech Netstar's Managing Director, Joel Stransky (right) with Altech Netstar's Fleet Solutions Managing Director, Brian Edmonds.

Altech Netstar’s new Managing Director is none other than 1995’s rugby ‘golden boy’, Joel Stransky, who says, “we were looking for a well-established FM solutions provider and Comtech had all the right ingredients – technical  expertise, an innovative approach, a solid client base and over 12 years’ experience in this specialised market.” 

Says Edmonds: “It’s all about economies of scale and the merger has allowed both parties to offer more for less. Certainly, our fleet customers are very happy to have the ‘big company backing’ of Altech Netstar.” 

The second big merge of 2007 was Matrix Vehicle Tracking with FM stalwart, Control Instruments (briefly known as OmniBridge). Says Managing Director of the new JSE-listed entity now called MiX Telematics, Riëtte Botha: “We don’t think the cost of ownership has necessarily changed, but customers can now enjoy the benefits of getting a full range of solutions from one trusted vendor, and with that comes added peace of mind.” 

The third alliance is Tracker with Skytrack, whose Marketing Director, Michael du Preez states: “The mergers with leading tracking companies have brought the benefit of economies of scale to a market that previously excluded many potential participants because of costs. These two or threevehicle fleet operators can now enjoy the security and economic risk management benefits offered by fleet management systems.” 

Confusion or not?

Re-branding a product or service is always a risky business and the world of marketing has scores of examples to prove how a change in corporate or product ‘identity’ can compromise profits (think cola and beer). 

According to MiX Telematics’ Botha: “We have a clear distinction between our commercial and consumer solutions. The consumer solutions have kept Matrix Vehicle Tracking as a product brand as it’s well recognised in the market place. Our commercial solutions - the Fleet Manager range - still carries the VDO brand as it has done for the last 10 years due to its historic relationship with Siemens VDO. 

“A well planned and implemented brand strategy is obviously required in order to make such a change acceptable in the market place. In our case it has been extremely successful. The MiX Telematics brand represents the global company which incorporates Matrix Vehicle Tracking as a strong product brand.” 

For ANFS, there is no argument on this front. Says Edmonds: “The Netstar brand remains in place and in essence, what has been achieved via the merger is a broader range of services and products, from radio trunking to high-end FM solutions. FM and VT/SVR are all about support and the financial resources at our disposal are allowing us to expand our footprint all the way across sub-Saharan Africa, building the necessary telecommunications infrastructure to allow our long-haul customers to move safely and confidently across borders and into regions that previously had no cellular or landbased connectivity.” 

Tracker is finding much the same response from its clients. “We are one of the most successful vehicle tracking and monitoring companies on the continent with brand equity and a reputation built over more than 10 years. Today Tracker is a brand trusted by consumers, insurers, motor manufacturers and a large base of existing fleet clients.” 

5FleetBoard’s Pascal Weiss is confident that in 2009, new Actros buyers will benefit greatly from the fitment of the proprietary FM system.

What about the independents? 

Leading the pack of ‘independent’ blue-blood SA FM and VT providers is DigiCore, which continues to expand its global footprint and its product range. In response to the mergers, Mark Rousseau, DigiCore’s Managing Director says, “These mergers come as no surprise to DigiCore and in fact, we have to admit a degree of pride in the fact that our company has been offering a full range of FM and VT solutions for over four years now. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all.” 

Celtrac has taken over the management and service delivery of Orbtech, a pioneering FM and vehicle security system development house with a reputation for innovation and coming up with industry ‘firsts’. For its National General Manager, Allen Harington Jnr, “with so many fly-by-night guys out there dropping dodgy products into the market, consolidation can only help the industry. With fewer companies trading in this market, the more the public will become aware of what constitutes a quality product and service. It’s high time fleet owners stopped getting their fingers burnt.”

But there is a downside to these mergers for dedicated FM suppliers. “With the merging of the bigger companies, prices came down and rental options were also given. We have seen a positive response in the fleet industry, which has negatively influenced our business as we specialise in Fleet Management, not track and trace/recovery,” explains Powerprotect’s National Sales Manager, Gavin Roos.

The question of services 

The technologies used in FM and VT have matured to an extent where most vendors sell pretty much the same sort of product, based on standard platforms like GPS, GSM/GPRS, RF, Internet etc. What separates one FM/VT company from the next is the nature of their after-sales service and support infrastructure. While modern FM systems are designed to extract all manner of data from a vehicle, it is useless unless managed by people who can leverage it into real business

So what are these companies offering in the way of services to help drive the utilisation of data generated from customers’ systems? The most prevalent service in this regard is the ‘bureau’ where fleet owners can outsource the day-to-day monitoring of fleet data to their FM/VT provider. 

“MiX Telematics provides ‘Bureau Services’ whereby customer-focused resources are dedicated to ensuring the consistency and integrity of each customer’s data. These services monitor the operational download status of each vehicle and ensure every customer receives the information they need. Reports are scheduled for automatic delivery to appropriate persons within the client’s organisation in which information relevant to those people’s roles and responsibilities are highlighted for attention. Customers can also track their vehicles and reports on-line using a secure Internet log-in password,” explains Botha. 

A high-level ‘fleet consulting service’ is provided on an appropriate time and attention allocation basis, determined by the number of vehicles in the client’s fleet and the complexity of the operation, Botha continues. “A high-level interpretation of the client’s data is provided identifying areas where, through enhanced use and application of the data provided, further operational efficiencies can be realised.” 

Ongoing training is also provided by Mix Telematics to ensure the clients’ understanding of the system’s features and functions and how these need to be leveraged within their own operating environments, says Botha. 

Providing a comprehensive data analysis service is also a core offering of ANFS, says Edmonds. “Our system integrates with CANbus and is therefore very adaptable to a client’s specific reporting requirements. Our Emote service is designed to keep our clients fully informed on the status of each vehicle and driver, most importantly where exceptions and infringements have occurred, in the form of weekly easy-to-read reports.” 

While FM providers generally offer training services to their clients, they come at a price. Celtrac believes in truly understanding a client’s business needs and takes the whole notion of FM-system training to another level, says Harington. “We offer free training to all our fleet customers which includes a four-day course and a set of exams to ensure everyone responsible for delivering results from the system knows exactly how to use it to its full capacity. We also conduct train-the-trainer courses and, where necessary, send one of our system operators into a company for a week to understand what its FM needs are, whereupon we produce workflow manuals and operating procedures for the client.” 

Power Protect works very closely with its clients who all make use of its bureau service, says Roos. “We monitor all the information generated by our FM system to minimise risk and improve efficiencies as much as possible for our customers.” 

6 The power of video - Fleet controllers use DriveCam's reporting software to ascertain where drivers are taking unnecessary risks and implement corrective coaching.	6 Fast 'n Fresh ensures fleet efficiency using Altech Netstar Fleet Solutions’ FM and tracking systems.

Engaging the driver 

“Our client services team as well as our software tools and driver performance reporting suite are focused on driver behaviour reporting, monitoring and exception management,” says Botha. “Our ‘Enhanced Driver Reporting’ extension enables our client-care managers and clients alike to focus on specific aspects of driver behaviour, to determine areas where intensive driver training is required and to provide a basis for incentivisation, adherence monitoring and individual key performance management. The Driver Management tool also enables them to rate all drivers in the fleet, scoring them on a number of predefined or personalised factors such as over-speeding or over-revving, harsh braking or using the vehicle without authorisation while at the same time measuring the vital signs of the vehicle like oil pressure, engine temperature etc.” 

Powerprotect also uses data to formulate driver behaviour profiling tools, says Roos. “Many of our clients make use of our tailormade points scheme where drivers are monitored on a monthly basis, with incentives being offered for scores above a certain percentage.” 

While not committing staff to engage directly in driver training, Celtrac offers driver-profiling software within its system for a once-off fee of R50 per vehicle, says Harington. “We specialise in providing the tools to effectively expose risk. We train the system users how to interpret the data. It’s up to the fleet manager to correct errant driver behaviour using the reports our system puts out.” 

3Scania SA’s MD, Christoffer Ljungner emphasises the importance of combined truck and FM technology using the CANbus interface to feed data to the FM Communicator from MiX Telematics.

Cost benefits 

Scania SA has its own FM offering based on the Mix Telematics platform. Says Scania SA Fleet Management solutions’ Jeandre Koen: “With regards to good FM system management, we have seen up to 30 percent cost savings where clients are using driver behavior graphs and pinning them to the driver notice board. Incentives are brought into the process and the top two drivers are awarded prizes. It has a positive motivational effect on the teams of drivers.” 

At the end of the day, FM systems are installed to boost bottom line performance. “As a trial, Simba fitted 28 of its vehicles with the VDO FM Communicator unit. During this trial period it saw a significant return on investment. The use of the FM Communicator on-board computers provided relevant information, which helped reduce distances traveled by 12.5% which translates directly into fuel savings and reductions in wear and tear costs. Noticeable drops in incidents were also reported,” says Botha. 

According to Roos, “Power Protect has had extensive success when it comes to cost savings. Blue Ribbon (Premier Foods) is one company that comes to mind. Bread deliveries to clients are now plotted by careful route planning. Utilisation of the asset is also monitored. Sales into areas can be tracked and if the area does not yield good sales figures, vehicles can be redeployed to a more lucrative area. The careful monitoring of fuel usage and speed has resulted in savings in excess of R1 million a month.” 

Vehicle management is integral to all FM solutions and Botha illustrates the value of digitizing this function. “Auto Carriers uses our FM Communicators to schedule routes, service dates, driver/vehicle license expiry dates to ensure drivers do not exceed the maximum 14 consecutive driving days and to ensure they get back to home base by the 14th day.” 

5Using CANbus information, FM systems are becoming increasingly useful in vehicle maintenance and service scheduling.	5Mark Rousseau, DigiCore's MD.

Proprietary OEM systems 

In Europe, truck OEMs have realised the advantage of coupling their engine management systems (OBCs) with telemetry systems, including in-cab phones, video streaming and FM/VT technologies. The fact that these OEMs have the protocols to the CANbus systems in their trucks gives them something of an advantage over aftermarket FM/VT suppliers who have to develop interfaces to read data off various OBCs, generally not getting access to all the data they would like. 

“Very few fleets are made up exclusively of a single OEM’s products. These OEM FM/VT products are also generally geared towards the management of warranty risk and performance measurement. They seldom focus outside the OEM’s core competence and are in most cases proprietary and cannot be used across mixed fleets,” argues Botha. 

Says Koen: “CANbus has already taken fleet management to another level and OEMs will have the edge on external fleet management companies but as time passes OEMs will make CANbus protocols available as clients will most likely stay with their current fleet management companies simply because converting an entire fleet will prove too costly.” 

The only bona-fide OEM proprietary FM system in SA right now is FleetBoard, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler, designed primarily to manage the Mercedes-Benz Actros range. “Daimler decided to introduce FleetBoard into the South African market for a number of reasons," explains Pascal Weiss, Sales and Business Development Manager of FleetBoard South Africa. “Daimler decided that South Africa is the most interesting test market outside of Europe where FleetBoard is a market leader with some 45 000 trucks managed by the system. The high level of FM system adoption in this country, coupled with Mercedes-Benz’ market leadership will allow us to compare FleetBoard effectively against competitor products.” 

What makes FleetBoard different to other (aftermarket) FM systems using the GPS/GSM/Internet platforms is that it has full access to all the 400 technical data points within the Actros engine management system via CANbus. “This ensures the highest possible levels of data integrity from the vehicle which make driver performance measurement more accurate. It is also the most advanced vehicle management system delivering precise fuel consumption information as well as a host of other features to help maintain trucks more effectively,” says Weiss. 

Another benefit FleetBoard offers is that it can integrate seamlessly with business management systems (ERP systems like SAP, for example). “It can also integrate with other truck OBCs via a CANbus interface, so it’s not only for the Actros,” adds Weiss. 

The coming year is going to prove most interesting for FleetBoard in South Africa. Competing with the established FM suppliers will not be easy but Weiss is quite clear on why the system has been introduced locally. “The Actros 3 range will be launched early next year and we want to give it something extra that really adds value to its capabilities. FleetBoard is that unique feature that will differentiate the Actros from the competition.” 

5Rentrack’s Dave Renton.	5Tough guys – Rentrack’s ground force reports that hijackers have started to shoot at recovery teams out of sheer frustration at the recovery rates made possible by technology and swift tactical response.

Hijacking lowdown 

The South African Police Services report that truck hijacking is on the increase, from 892 incidents in 2007 to 1245 in 2008. That’s a whole lot of robbery going down. The stats don’t pinpoint whether it’s the entire rig, the truck tractor or the trailer/load that’s being targeted, but the fact remains… assets are being lost. Or are they? 

According to Dave Renton, Managing Director of Rentrack, a longestablished stolen vehicle recovery operation, “hijackings are on the increase and in the trucking industry, it’s the load that is becoming the primary target of the crime syndicates.” 

The reasons for this are not hard to understand. A stolen top-of-the-range truck tractor probably has a resale value of around R500 000, while a ‘nicked’ load off a fully-laden interlink may be worth well beyond R2 million (imagine 35 tons’ worth of cell phones). 

The fact that tracking systems are invariably wired to a truck’s battery makes it relatively easy for thieves to locate and disarm a tracking/FM unit, which is why the theft-savvy operators of this world fit a self-powered GPS/ GSM/RF tracking unit to their vehicles, covertly placed within the trailer (often in the load itself). 

Deon Bailey, Managing director of Mtrack, a company providing a totally wireless GSM/RF tracking unit to the commercial road transport industry says: “We estimate that our incidences of truck hijacking have increased by 30 percent from last year and it appears that ‘collusion’ has much to do with it. Clients often underestimate just how smart these syndicates are, and just how often there is insider information and/or direct staff involvement.” 

One of the biggest new trends Mtrack has seen this year, Bailey says, is that of hijackers using a ‘clean’ horse to tow the trailer and cargo away. “This horse (which can usually be traced back to a previous hijacking) has been thoroughly cleaned by the thieves to remove any tracking device. They then tow the trailer away in the belief that the trailer and cargo is unprotected.”

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how reliable a tracking unit is, it is up to the owner of that vehicle to actively ‘manage’ it, ensuring it is always fully functional and that all ‘alerts’ are swiftly attended to, Renton explains. “The ‘human error’ factor plays a substantial part in vehicles not being recovered, simply because the owners of the vehicle fail to monitor the functionality of the tracking system. A tracking company like Rentrack will notify the client company the minute the unit becomes inactive, whether that be because of theft, tampering or loss of battery life, but the client has to respond to these calls immediately, and this doesn’t happen as often as it should.” 

Despite these oversights, both Rentrack and Mtrack can boast impressive recovery rates. “Over the last year, we’ve recovered 75 percent of all stolen vehicles,” says Renton. “What we encourage is that all owners of recovery units become more proactive in ensuring their units are fully functional at all times and that whenever they get a call from our control centre informing them of disfunctionality in any unit, they respond appropriately.” 

Says Bailey: “Mtrack has a recovery rate of 188 out of 189 recoveries, year to date – mostly high value assets. This kind of success rate does not happen overnight. It is the result of years of constant client training and system modification to get our processes working efficiently. It is also due to the efficiency of our recovery teams, Rentrack and ITA.” 

4Far right: Sky-high - helicopters play an integral part in the value chain of any vehicle tracking recovery service using the very best telematics equipment to assist in the tracking and tracing of stolen vehicles.  4Left: GPS positioning technology has a dual function – assisting drivers find their destination effectively while constantly informing control room personnel of the whereabouts of the rig.

5 A MANLINE truck catches it’s breath several hundred kilometres from home but under the watchful eye of the FM Communicator system from MiX Telematics.	5  Handheld convenience – the convergence of cellular communications technology with Fleet Management systems brings new levels of mobility to fleet managers.

Into the future

What is certain, amidst all this development, is that FM/VT technology will continue to evolve, at speed. The ‘next big thing’ is most likely to be the inclusion of ‘in-truck video recording/streaming’ into the reporting spectrum. There are a number of suppliers in this regard but their systems are not integrated with existing FM software. Having a number of costly ‘boxes’ on a truck does not serve the fleet owner’s best interests as much as one fully integrated unit might. 

And herein lies the rub, the way forward: The challenge now is for FM/VT suppliers to produce a product that gives fleet owners a mix of data, video/audio intelligence and ‘handson’ services that seamlessly integrate with other software systems used to manage company processes, be that payroll, resource planning or general accounting, to deliver a precise 360-degree view of what really happens to a vehicle, its driver and the load when they’re out there earning their keep.