ERM Advanced Telematics is in the business of providing fleet management and telematics products and solutions. ERM's flagship product is its StarLink line of telematics tracking devices.
ERM also offers a full range of add-on accessories that can be attached to StarLink for solutions such as driver behavior monitoring, accident detection and vehicle diagnostics. The company brings its telematics solutions to market through partnerships formed with fleet management and other telematics services providers.
"We operate in a highly competitive market and offer our partners much more than just location based solutions," explained Kfir Lavi, Senior Vice President at ERM. "We offer unique and customised solutions for our partner's specific requirements and the niche markets they enter."
Flexible product and efficient R&D
Lavi sees the flexibility of ERM's StarLink product along with the company's R&D capabilities as the key strengths that attract fleet management service providers to working with ERM.
According to Lavi, StarLink is highly flexible and has a modular design. At any time – even after a StarLink device has been installed on a vehicle – ERM's partners can add more features with the company's add-on accessories.
Lavi points out that ERM has an experienced R&D team that can quickly give its service provider partners solutions that support the business logic and service requirements of nearly any fleet management or telematics service.
Strong numbers
"Our go-to-market strategy can be described as very effective," said Lavi.
Through the company's partnerships with its service provider partners, ERM's telematics devices are installed in over 68 countries and on more than 1.5 million assets. The company has active partnerships with service providers all over the world, including advanced markets in North America and Europe as well as emerging markets across Asia, Africa and South America.
"ERM is in this business for over 30 years and over time we have worked with seemingly every type of service provider possible," stated Lavi.
The majority of ERM's partners are fleet management service provider companies. Some of these partners focus on specific markets, such as public transportation, school busses, motorcycles or car rentals. ERM has several partners that are involved with stolen vehicle recovery services. The company also works directly with vehicle manufactures through OEM agreements.
"You can find our technology today in almost every type of vehicles from two wheelers to 18 wheeler trucks and from rickshaws in India to heavy duty mining equipment in South America," boasted Lavi.
Top selling products
ERM's StarLink tracking and telematics devices are the base of the solutions that the company designs and is the main product that it sells to its partners. The StarLink Tracker device with a 2G or 3G cellular support is ERM's best-selling product to date.
Lavi highlights that during the past year, the sales of the 4G version of StarLink with WiFi and Bluetooth support has been blooming. ERM's eSafe add-on for driver behavior and black box solutions has been the company's top selling accessory over the past five years. Lavi also notes that the demand for ERM's eData add-on accessory for vehicle diagnostic, which provides deep integration with the vehicle's CANBUS and OBD, is growing.
ERM is currently promoting its next-generation StarLink Tracker WiFi device. This device can support IoT and Connected Car applications and services. It utilizes a 4G cellular network and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi communication technologies to make the telematics information it captures, including information from the sensors it is connected to, readily-available for wider use.
With this device, the telematics information can be sent to the fleet manager and any relevant third party for reporting purposes as well as directly to the driver on a mobile device or infotainment system installed on the vehicle. By utilising Internet connectivity, this StarLink device eliminates the need to use multiple SIM cards in the same vehicle.
New wireless connectivity strategy
ERM has recently embarked on a new wireless connectivity strategy to minimise the use of wires that need to be installed. The company will soon be releasing a new wireless BLE fuel monitoring solution as an extension of its existing eFuel add-on accessory. For fleet management providers serving the trucking industry, ERM's new wireless fuel monitoring solution replaces the need to use equipment that requires wired installations to connect sensors.
Lavi explains that for many heavy duty trucks with multiple fuel tanks, the existing approach with wired connections is expensive and prone to maintenance issues. ERM's new wireless fuel monitoring sensor will connect all fuel tanks and will make the gathered telematics information immediately available to the driver, fleet manager and any other relevant party. Lavi has strong expectations that this wireless fuel monitoring solution will be one of the company's top selling accessories in the coming years.
Lavi concluded that "for our service provider partners, we open the door to a range of new services and revenue generating opportunities."
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