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Digicore offers comprehensive vehicle management

DigiCore Holdings (DigiCore) came to life in 1998 with its listing on the JSE bringing together seven different companies that had been working in the tracking and fleet management area for some nine years at that time.

Management and directors hold a large part of the equity in DigiCore with its empowerment partner Pamodzi Investments holding 26%. The results for the year ended June 2001 showed exports during this period of 15,5% for its C-Track product range which have now increased to 50% and this is expected to rise to 70% in the near future making DigiCore a truly global company.

In terms of its South African business DigiCore has an installed base of more than 100 000 vehicles and estimate that they hold some 70% market share in the fleet management business, which should not be confused with the recovery business for private and fleet vehicles offered by companies such as Netstar and Tracker. The flagship product range offered by DigiCore is its C-Track system where the installed vehicle base is some 50 000.

C-Track

C-Track was selected for Telkom's outsourced fleet (19 500 vehicles) and is also in use with Umgeni Water, the Mpumalanga Ambulance Service and by many municipalities throughout the country. As a result of its unique features C-Track has become the system of choice for the high-asset-value fuel transportation industry. DigiCore has also received the VESA award for outstanding product innovation and loss reduction in fleet management. Competing with eight other companies the prestigious award was received through the C-Track fleet solutions system.

Many companies initially wanted an insurance beneficial system such as a basic tracker. With DigiCore now also VESA-approved, users have security with the added value of better fleet utilisation. In many cases the knowledge of the exact location of the fleet allows companies (such as Telkom) to provide enhanced customer service, thereby allowing them to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

C-Track is a comprehensive realtime vehicle management, tracking and operations monitoring system that makes use of GPS to provide positional accuracy of 10 m and uses the GSM networks (locally Vodacom, MTN or Cell-C) to transmit realtime information. A major differentiator is that the fleet operator can choose not to use the provided hub, but can have the compressed SMS messages sent directly to his own computer or laptop. This provides additional security as no third party has access to the information. While primarily focused on fleet management the system incorporates anti hijacking features such as providing an alarm if the vehicle departs from a defined route. The driver also has a panic button that can be used to indicate an emergency or a breakdown. If a vehicle departs from the approved route it can also be remotely immobilised and C-Track also has a battery back-up in case hijackers disconnect the normal battery.

For operability in the rest of southern Africa where access to GSM is limited, DigiCore offers the satellite-based C-Track Startrack system that can be integrated into C-Track Management Software. This option allows tracking anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa and is particularly suitable for SA fleet operators that move goods across borders.

The other features of C-Track are very extensive, and cover everything from vehicle abuse (harsh braking for example), engine monitoring (oil pressure, low water level, etc) to operations monitoring (open doors, trailer unhooking, etc). The system, which of course is tailored to the customer's exact needs, can even be integrated with bar code scanners and PDAs so that management has direct realtime information on what has been delivered where. In practice the manager knows exactly what vehicles he has in a certain area where an urgent delivery or emergency has occurred and he can immediately redirect the nearest appropriate unit.

Ongoing development

The technology used by C-Track is continuously being enhanced and DigiCore spends more than R6 million annually on research and development. One of the imminent changes will see a move from SMS compression technology to GPRS, a system that will reduce the operating costs even further. While DigiCore does not have its own recovery service, alliances have been formed with recovery companies throughout South Africa and recovery is an option taken up by many fleet users.

The use of C-Track considerably increases the efficiency of usage of a company's fleet and Telkom for example believes that it will be able to reduce the number of its vehicles from the current 19 500 to 16 000. Data also shows that fleets operating under C-Track reflect a 15% reduction in maintenance costs, a 10% saving in fuel and a massive 35% reduction in accidents, drivers being aware that they are being continuously monitored. In addition, goods shrinkage is eliminated as collusion of the driver with thieves is avoided through monitoring of unplanned stops and door openings.

As an exporter, DigiCore is certified to ISO 9001:2000, the latest version of the internationally recognised quality standard. The largest export markets for the company at present include Europe and Pakistan, and in the latter country they provide the tracking standard accepted by the insurance industry. Other countries where the product has successfully been introduced include Australia and Eastern Europe. Feedback from both local and global users is used to provide new operational functions in the software. In addition, according to the company, the C-Track 2000 backend software has been found to be much more powerful and user friendly than that offered by any of its competitors. Manufacture takes place at the company's Durban-based facility (DigiCore Electronics) and a production and engineering staff of some sixty people produces more than 1000 C-Track systems per month. In terms of being a global product the C-Track software is currently available in seven different languages and five software experts are dedicated to expanding the number of language options.

Co-Driver

C-Track is complemented by another DigiCore product called Co-Driver. Co-Driver was one of the company's first products and was launched during 1990. The base of vehicles to which it is fitted is now over 50 000 and these installations include motorcycles to heavy trucks, forklifts to earthmoving equipment and locomotives to motorboats. Whereas C-Track is realtime, Co-Driver monitors and stores driving details with data being recorded for up to a month of use. In realtime it also provides benefits to the fleet owner by warning the driver (with a buzzer) when he exceeds pre-set limits put on engine revolutions, speed and braking rates for example. As the driver knows that his behaviour is being monitored for later evaluation he reacts positively to these warnings.

Although Co-Driver is not intended to be a realtime solution it can be supplied with a passive GPS module integrated to a GSM receiver. This allows for downloading of current and historical data economically on a customer specified time basis. This realtime random access feature is used where certain vehicles are distributed over a large area and require remote downloading but not the continual realtime data supplied by C-Track. Often customers configure the Co-Driver to download economically overnight to enable management reports for the whole fleet to be viewed every morning.

While this article has addressed the core tracking and fleet management solutions available from DigiCore, the company offers an extensive range of complementary products. These include Beka-Max that is an automated lubrication system, and Protech that monitors a wide range of critical engine parameters. In addition to these, the company's TempLog system will monitor temperature (at several points) of heat sensitive cargo (meat, fruit, fish, day-old chicks, etc) ensuring that this arrives in perfect condition at its destination. All of these complementary products can be easily integrated with C-Track and Co-Driver.

As for the future, DigiCore intends to maintain its leading position in the local market while growing its export business to 70% for its C-Track product range and beyond. With its strong focus on R&D new value-added products and solutions can be expected with a major focus being on fuel use, as this has become the biggest single expense for most fleet operators.

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