In today’s modern environment, there is not one sector that has not been infiltrated and affected by the use of technology. But the benefit of technology hardly comes from merely deploying it, it comes from optimising processes, identifying areas for efficiency improvement and deploying technology with the aim to achieve a well defined objective. To reach the goal of a measurable performance improvement through an increase in efficiency, often means that a number of technologies have to be integrated with each other and have to simplify and improve operational processes.
South Africa as a country of large distances is heavily reliant on the transport sector for the movement of goods in support of manufacturing and retail. Much of our GDP is spent on transport and it is therefore a key economic contributor that this sector functions seamlessly at maximum efficiency.
To reach maximum efficiency involves a number of stakeholders with different requirements. The key stakeholders are the product manufacturers, the freight companies, the fleet management operator and the customers who are reliant on the goods being transported.
Through the Internet of Things, technology has a large role to play to bring about efficiency improvements and this will require the consideration of a number of data sources such as product barcodes, manufacturing data, expiry dates, electronic container ID’s, environmental data and location data to name just a few.
As a result, the technology design itself needs to become as efficient as possible, duplications and overlap have to be avoided, and an effective solution requires a high degree of technology integration between the data sources, the data transport technology and the data analytics platform. Traditional technology addresses one specific vertical to achieve a singular objective, but in such a complex environment, it is necessary that different technology components are well defined, integrated to each other, and interfaced into a common platform.
To answer the demand for such integrated systems, Pietermaritzburg based Ikhaya Automation systems has teamed up with trailer manufacturer Serco and fleet management company Mix Telematics. Combining the expertise and market knowledge of these three companies means that the solutions offered by the companies are optimally integrated to each other and that their customers are able to benefit from a single solution able to address their complex requirements. Each of these three companies provides leading technology in their specific field of expertise, so that customers are assured of lasting solutions able to meet the requirements of tomorrow.