ADAPTING DATA COLLECTION TO THE ‘NEW NORM’

1 June 2021
Auto finance and insurance experts say the sector is in recovery. Marius van Reenen, Chief Operating Officer of MiX Telematics Africa, joined a panel discussion with industry peers at the recent F&I Summit to talk about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and how many business sectors in South Africa are starting to recover.
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PreviewMiX Telematics says data collection and analysis is adapting to the New Norm of 2021 to meet the needs of B2B and B2C customers3.22 MBDownload

Reflecting on the performance of the industry and MiX Telematics, a leading global SaaS provider of connected fleet management solutions, Van Reenen acknowledged that there were still challenges in certain verticals such as rental, hospitality and entertainment, but that the company continues to perform well despite the tough economic conditions attributed to the pandemic.

 

“It’s been a very interesting year – obviously with Level-5 lockdown in South Africa last year, we saw a severe drop in both consumer and commercial vehicles with movement going down to virtually nothing; with only certain vehicles allowed to travel. However, what is very promising is that in the last three months, we have seen an increase in fleets across most industries and we look forward to the levels that we experienced in 2019,” he further commented.

 

Van Reenen also addressed how data collection and analysis needed to be adapted to the new norm of 2021 and beyond in order to meet the needs of both B2B and B2C customers.

 

“Historically, the majority of products were track-and-trace type solutions as the main interest was a vehicle’s location at a particular point in time. Now, however, the world is changing where asset data is continuously consumed and further enriched with other data sets that provide actionable information and business intelligence,” he said.

 

This type of rich data in terms of risk management, safety and efficiency are invaluable for businesses and consumers. For example, dealerships are able to utilise the data to know when a vehicle’s next service is due, helping to communicate with customers and making sure that the terms of their service and maintenance plans are adhered to so that claims are not repudiated.

 

“It’s about understanding the underlying behaviour and being able to predict what maintenance is likely to be needed on particular vehicles, helping dealerships structure their stock holdings of consumables and related items in order to be able to service a customer timeously - all possible with rich data and artificial intelligence,” he said.

 

The F&I Summit, which took place virtually in May, saw over 550 delegates benefit from this dynamic and highly interactive programme, which included local and international experts, industry stakeholders, motivational speakers, and highly regarded sales experts.

 

This event brought together the best and brightest executives in auto finance and insurance to provide industry stakeholders with up-to-date information, innovative sales techniques, and unparalleled networking opportunities to help navigate the year ahead. Other sponsors of the F&I Summit included NADA, Lightstone Auto, Motorvaps and Absa.

 

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About MiX Telematics

MiX Telematics is a leading global provider of fleet and mobile asset management solutions delivered as SaaS to 744,000 global subscribers spanning more than 120 countries. The company’s products and services provide enterprise fleets, small fleets and consumers with solutions for efficiency, safety, compliance and security. MiX Telematics was founded in 1996 and has offices in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uganda, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and the United Arab Emirates as well as a network of more than 130 fleet partners worldwide. MiX Telematics shares are publicly traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE: MIX) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MIXT). For more information, visit www.mixtelematics.com

For further information, contact:

Monica O’Neil

Senior Marketing Manager, MiX Telematics (Africa)

monica.o’neil [at] mixtelematics [dot] com