Vehicle tracker puts 'Big Brother' concept to use for SMEs on the road

It’s almost like taking the concept of the famous Big Brother show—with a key person keeping an eye on everyone’s moves—on the road for the benefit of the thousands of small and medium enterprises (SME) in the country.

That’s because this new web-based asset monitoring system called F.A.S.Track (Field Asset System for Tracking) allows business owners to precisely pinpoint the location of a fleet of vehicles (or people, for that matter), wherever in the country they may be, 24/7. This innovative system is a product of PLDT SME Nation.

Amil Azurin, PLDT SME Nation avp & marketing head

With this productivity tool’s accurate per-minute location monitoring feature, which owners can choose to receive either through email or SMS, the days of missing cargo or drivers sleeping on the job may soon be over.

“Study shows that 99.6 percent of businesses in the Philippines are considered SMEs. And these SMEs all want to expand and grow. With this service, we give them the opportunity to do just that,” said Niño Nanquil, the company’s productivity solutions head for SME marketing.

This feature-packed product addresses one of the many challenges SMEs face today—an increasing fuel cost. With F.A.S.Track, business owners would be able to track their assets in real-time (subject to Internet connection) as soon as the company’s service vehicles go out to move goods from one destination to another.

“We’ve heard many stories of delivery staffers using company vehicles for personal reasons. Some even divert from assigned routes to do other things while on duty. These inefficiencies are curtailed with this system,” said Amil Azurin, PLDT SME Nation avp and marketing head.

With this product, routes are effectively optimized. This also results in better and lesser vehicle maintenance schedules in the long run.

The F.A.S.T.rack is the first and only option in the market that offers a no upfront CapEx scheme. The product comes in four variants, depending on the business owner’s needs.

There’s the Standard Tracker, a compact and hand-held size item that can be placed in any vehicle. The Covert Tracker, on the other hand, is a light-weight device specifically designed for mobile personnel or packages (it is battery powered so it can be put inside a pocket or a bag).

There’s also the Motorcycle Tracker, a water-proof device perfect for motorcycles as it can be outfitted with an engine immobilizer. Lastly, there’s the Heavy Duty Tracker, especially designed for heavy machinery equipment, construction machines, and armored vehicles.

“In any business, time is of the essence. The features in this system helps owners avoid delays caused by personnel inefficiencies, lack of planning, and inevitable circumstances,” Azurin said.

Among the other useful features of the F.A.S.Track is its SOS panic button, which sends a message for help in any pre-programmed number by the owner; the fuel sensor, a feature that alerts owner if a significant amount of fuel is siphoned at a suspicious amount of time.

The door sensor, on the other hand, sends an alert message if a door is opened (useful for locked doors with valuable inventory inside vehicle); and the temperature sensor.

But wait, there’s more. The F.A.S.Track also has a geo-fencing feature—a system that informs the owner if a vehicle has gone outside or come inside a pre-programmed “fence.” If, for example, a vehicle is supposed to drive only inside the Makati area, the owner gets a report if the vehicle suddenly drives off to Quezon City.

According to product specialists present at the media launch recently (members of the motoring press drove from Taguig City to Tagaytay while using the product), business owners using F.A.S.Track can view real-time reports wherever in the world they may be as long as they have Internet connection.