Techblog
Levelling the playing field with Singtel Fleet Visibility solution
Managing a mobile workforce and a fleet of vehicles is never easy. You need to be able to allocate assignments and ensure that your staff and your vehicles are where they are supposed to be at the right time. Having a "rough idea" of where your workforce is at any given moment is no longer sufficient. Business owners need to know, with pinpoint accuracy, where their staff and vehicles are in order for them to make educated decisions.
Loh Gim Chong Transport, a local transport company providing bus chartering services, levelled the playing field by using technology (Singtel Fleet Visibility Solution) to their advantage.
Bus chartering service provider Loh Gim Chong Transport cuts wastage by almost 30 percent with Singtel Fleet Visibility Solution
The mark of a true entrepreneur is one who is willing to step out of the comfort zone, takes risks and attempts new business moves boldly. This perhaps best personifies Mr Louis Loh, Owner of Loh Gim Chong Transport, who took to the wheels as a coach captain for two years, before taking over the reins of his family's bus charter service business. "Starting as a coach captain grounded me with valuable firsthand experience to truly understand the daily operational issues faced in our business," said Mr Loh.
Indeed, Mr Loh's efforts are evident in the rapid growth of Loh Gim Chong Transport - from a humble 3-bus fleet in 1981 to its modern 20-bus fleet today catering up to 200 bus trips daily. Loh Gim Chong Transport also distinguishes itself as the first bus chartering service to go online (www.mybus.com.sg) in 2000. Not one to rest on his laurels, Mr Loh knew he had to take giant steps to be counted in the competition against the market's bigger players.
Carving a Competitive Niche to Compete on a New Level
According to Mr Loh, the Singapore bus chartering market serves four main segments, namely: private companies (including government-linked corporations), schools, tourism and/or hospitality and ad-hoc requirements. While most segments are highly price-sensitive, the tourism/hospitality segment and customers requiring ad-hoc bus chartering services typically value service above price.
"We cannot afford to compete on price with the bigger players. However, customers like hotels, tour operators or companies and individuals requiring bus charter services for exhibitions and weddings, tend to place a higher premium on service. They regard transportation as an outsourced service and expect bus operators to take the logistical woes out of their hands. This is the niche we can excel in. By offering value-added services as a differentiation, we can now compete on a new level, while ensuring business viability," explained Mr Loh.
Having considered a GPS tracking system some years back, Mr Loh knew that it would help to alleviate these operational headaches and help him better focus on business growth. "When we learnt of Singtel Fleet Visibility Solution's cost-efficient subscription-based model, we decided it was the right time to take the plunge. Instead of taking a ‘wait-and-see’ stance like most SMEs, we knew we would gain a strategic head start of at least two years, if we implement GPS Tracking now," said Mr Loh.
Want to learn how Louis transformed his business with the Fleet Visibility solution? Download the full case study here.
Visit our website to understand how Singtel's Fleet Visibility Solution can help transform your vehicle management processes.