EQSTRA FLEET MANAGEMENT
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EQSTRA FLEET MANAGEMENT
EFM Realising Potential of
Big Data PRODUCTION: David Napier
After a strategy defining few years starting in 2008, Eqstra Fleet Management has gone through a host of major changes to ensure it remains in pole position at the forefront of this important and economically constant industry sector. www.enterprise-africa.net / 3
INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE
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What a time to be active in the fleet management industry! In April 2017, research company Berg Insight delivered a report that said the industry is buoyant and set for a further period of sustained growth. “Fleet management in South Africa is in a growth period which will continue in the years to come. The number of FM systems in active use is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6% from 1.1 million units at the end of 2016 to 1.9 million by 2021,” the report read. “The penetration rate in the total population of non-privately owned fleet vehicles used by businesses is at the same time estimated to increase from 24.1% in 2016 to 39.6% in 2021.” This is good news for one of the country’s biggest and best fleet managers – Eqstra Fleet Management.
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Previously part of the Imperial portfolio, Eqstra Fleet Management was under the Eqstra Holdings banner until it was bought by the enX Group in 2016 in a deal reportedly worth R7.8 billion. Last year, Managing Director, Murray Price told Enterprise Africa about the platform on which Eqstra Fleet Management had positioned itself for future growth. An all new IT system, which took eight years to install, and a host of new digital services which take fleet management to the next level moved helped to move this business from a leasing company doing a bit of fleet management to an end-to-end fleet services provider which plays in the leasing industry. “From the moment we started, the new strategy brought us into a lot of new areas we had not traditionally been involved in. It had been built to handle
leasing, and as with all new strategies there was no time for systems to catch up,” he said. “With all these ancillaries now added to our core, we realised we needed to change the system and have a complete rebuild,” he added. This resulted in the roll out of a new enterprise resource planning process management software (ERP) Microsoft Dynamics AX which allowed for the collection and review of large amounts of data. “It delivers a single point of access to the full array of our fleet solutions, providing more control to our customers as well as better reporting capabilities across all aspects of their fleet. “We have had some feedback from fleet directors operating across the world who tell us they have not seen
EQSTRA FLEET MANAGEMENT
// AT EQSTRA WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT FLEET MANAGEMENT AND DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE AND QUANTIFIABLE VALUE TO OUR CUSTOMERS // this end-to-end solution anywhere else; not in the UK, Australia, or the USA. “Obviously there is more and more pressure from customers. They are looking for more for the same amount of money or for less, and we believe we’ve got the platform that allows us to do this,” said Price. BIG DATA When processing information from such a large array of vehicles, the ability to quickly process and display data in a meaningful manner is imperative for EFM. This is why Price is keen on effective collection and use of big data. “Big data is going to have an enormous effect on the fleet industry as a whole,” he said in his EFM video. “Big data is only useful when you can compare it to other data. By bringing it into one embedded platform it allows us to use data more effectively and start to look for trends and insights that maybe we would have missed. It’s interesting to see that someone is speeding on a tracking device but what does that mean for fuel consumption and fines, is it impacting operating CPK (cost per kilometre) or maintenance for the vehicle? Bringing that data into context is really where we see a key differentiator for Eqstra Fleet Management, and that’s why we went through the significant pain of building one platform that does all elements of fleet. “Many people said we were crazy for doing it, and there were times when I agreed with them, but we’re at the time
now where we have one vehicle record with all the operating data around it and that gives us a huge advantage, being able to tell customers about the trends we see and how changes in behaviour could result in changes in cost benefit.” RISING COST At the end of March, the Department of Energy announced that a fuel price rise would hit consumers’ pockets. The hike saw a 72 cents a litre increase in the price of 95 ULP and 69 cents a litre in the price of 93 ULP. Prices in Gauteng for a litre of petrol rose from R13.76 to R14.48 cents a litre. Diesel, sulphur and illuminating paraffin also saw price increases. While the prices at the pumps are regularly fluttering in South Africa, this was the largest jump in some time and made those who are regulars at
the service station nervous. “Fuel has become a bigger component of your fleet cost. At the moment, we estimate it being around 46-48% of the operating costs of the vehicle, depending on the type of vehicle. Without doubt, it’s going to be a big driver. Most of our customers take the view that by changing driver behaviour, you can make significant fuel savings but that will be dependent on what happens with the Rand and with oil,” said Price. The Rand has strengthened in recent months, most putting the correction down to the appointment of new President Ramaphosa. Today, it sits at just above 11 to the Dollar and just above 14 to the Euro. Right now, oil is priced at just above $60 a barrel and so the stabilising price of crude combined with a
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: AUTOMOTIVE
strengthening Rand has resulted in the pair of figures cancelling each other out. With fuel prices on the way up, in the short-term at least, now is the perfect time to be investing into a
partnership that can gain insight and results. “Our EFM business strategy is to not only be the best but also the most responsible fleet provider in the market. Eqstra Fleet Management and
Logistics is an authorised financial services provider, fully compliant and ISO 9001 accredited,” said Price. “We are agile, responsive and our solutions are a product of customer need. Our solutions offer comprehensive fleet management, proven to save your company time and money and keeping your fleet active,” he added. DRIVING REVOLUTION The world’s top fleet managers are already looking to the future for the next innovation both on and off the roads. It is now clear to see that in the future (someway off yet), we will be facing roads that are taken up by self-driving vehicles. Having been in development for some time, this is a concept that is definitely coming, and Eqstra is already building its knowledge to make sure its customers are fully equipped with the necessary information to make the most of the situation.
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EQSTRA FLEET MANAGEMENT
“The impact of self-driving cars is going to be an absolute game changer for the industry as a whole and its more than just self-driving technology, there’s four key areas of technology together that believe will significantly impact the market,” detailed Price. “Firstly, there’s battery technology and the improvements we’ve seen from Tesla. Secondly, it’s the rise of autonomous vehicles. Third is that those vehicles will be electric vehicles and lastly, they are likely to be charged from solar. The impact of these things combined is likely to be as big as us moving from riding horses to driving cars because we believe it will see people move away from owning a vehicle and towards requiring a service.” Some have described it as a movement from car ownership towards a rolling contract deal, similar to what you might expect from a mobile phone provider. This future-tech shift is something that could be a great asset
for businesses, but Price points out the human factor that will be upended. “It will have an impact of employment as the driving of vehicles is the second largest employer in the world behind farming and we believe there would be an operational impact from end to end. There would be a risk of insurance not being relevant because there would be no more accidents, there would be a risk of no more maintenance as the vehicles would be electric, so if you take it across the industry we would have to move away from our current operation towards how we manage the logistics solution for customers rather than owning vehicles.” While, following a test crash in which a woman was killed in the USA, self-driving cars seem to be not approaching in the next few years, the management of fleet and the way that you use the information available remains of vital importance to companies all over Africa.
“At Eqstra we are passionate about fleet management and delivering sustainable and quantifiable value to our customers. Our range of integrated solutions are designed to not only finance vehicles but to actively manage your fleet optimally and efficiently,” reminds Price. The company holds the vision of ‘being the leading integrated fleet management solutions provider globally, creating compelling value and sustainable returns that exceed the expectations of our stakeholders’ and it looks as though it is achieving this, as its moves on from its big IT overhaul to the next challenge, whether that be data, self-driving, or changing driver behaviour.
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April 2018
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