A telematics industry leader providing highly ingenious solutions for asset monitoring: iKON Technologies

An indispensable part of the fleet management solution is GPS tracking. This can significantly boost efficiency and improve the safety of fleets. However, resources of a business cannot be confined to just drivers and their vehicles as it extends beyond that across wide service areas. To overcome the hurdle of mismanagement, GPS-based asset tracking solutions are known for ensuring that no asset, large or small, is overlooked while providing business owners and managers with much-needed peace of mind. Installation of GPS-based solutions on fixed and moveable assets will allow business owners and managers to monitor all the key aspects of their business and provide the necessary attention to the assets.

There are various companies specializing in mobile asset management, but the one that stands out from the rest is iKON Technologies.

The solutions of the company are designed and developed by Dealers for Dealers. No products have existed in the marketplace that could provide vehicle location, whether for the salesperson as a tool to immediately present the vehicle of interest to the customer, alert the staff when a battery on a vehicle was low, or alarm, track, and locate a vehicle that was stolen. In the past, the salesperson would walk the lot pressing the key fob to find the vehicle of interest, and when they did find it, the car wouldn’t start, both of which waste the customer’s time and could ultimately cost the Dealer the sale of the vehicle. Not only does iKON provide these features and services to dealers, but it also provides customized target marketing to the dealers’ customers. The “Smart Marketing” program automatically alerts the customers, answers their phone calls, and promptly schedules their appointments from the vehicle needing a simple oil change to major repairs or recalls.

Dealers also have Smart Marketing as a free resource to advertise and entice customers with service specials, discounts, and other marketing information. iKON calls out their customers in bold letters because all of the marketing materials and call center answering is branded with the Dealer’s name and logo. iKON is a driver behind the Dealer’s success with the motto of “The Dealer’s Success Is Our Success.”

Consumers get peace-of-mind, knowing where their vehicles are at all times. Service and recall notifications are promptly sent to them. Theft-alert notifies them when a vehicle leaves its designated location. iKON offers a theft recovery guarantee so that customers can take advantage of discounts on dealer services and insurance rates for having iKON Technologies onboard. iKON Technologies was founded in 2018, and it is based in Arlington, Texas.

In conversation with Sam Mahrouq, CEO of iKON Technologies

Q. GPS technology has made navigation and tracking much more accessible than ever before. What are issues addressed by your solutions with GPS?

GPS is more accessible today than ever; however, the technology is not readily available to dealers. Those provided by the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OMEs) cannot track multiple vehicles and brands with the same application. iKON does accurately and efficiently. While there are a few competitors in the marketplace, they do not provide the same customer service, diversity of service, and price structure as iKON Technologies.

Q. Tell us about your data management system and user compliance.

iKON requires a very limited amount of data from the consumer, and it is secured in iKON’s own servers. Privacy policies and procedures are in place, as well as safeguards to protect the customers’ information.

Q. How do you help users manage their portfolio and asset recovery process?

From either the Dealers’ or Consumers’ perspectives, we have backup systems and protocols in place to ensure the quickest recovery time possible for the assets for which we are responsible.

Q. How do you market your services?

iKON currently utilizes referrals, testimonials, word of mouth, and research, research and research to market our unique products and services. We find the best fit for the ideal customer by understanding their pain points and ensuring that iKON can deliver to eliminate these pain points so our customer, the dealer, succeeds.

Q. Do you have any new services ready to be launched?

Yes, iKON has just launched a number of new features, such as an oil-change notification for customers. We are continuously adding new capabilities and functionality to our products for the dealerships and the consumers. Currently, Dealers have to either look at the vehicle roster to see which batteries are dead or wait for the Dealer Success Manager to print out and notify them. Notifications will soon be instantaneous. Simply put, Dealer Success Managers will have tools in place to proactively resolve

issues that arise quickly and expeditiously. Our Smart Marketing, along with our white label program will ultimately send dealer messages to vehicle owners about dealer specials, recalls, and vehicle maintenance beyond oil changes.

Meet the leader behind the success of iKON technologies

Sam Mahrouq is an entrepreneur and global businessman who serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the MEI Group (Mahrouq Enterprises International). His most recent focus is iKON Technologies, a vertical expansion of his business products and services in the automotive industry. Also, under Sam’s business umbrella are 11 car dealerships, a prominent Dollar Rent-a-Car franchise, MEI Auto Finance, and a real estate investment group. A native of Amman, Jordan, Sam is a 1991 graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington School of Business, having come to Texas for what he terms a superior and practical education. Paying the bills while attending class was paramount, and he admits he failed miserably in food service. So, next step was to shine his own vehicle and sell it to a woman who was overjoyed with his customer service and price. His business acumen showed that, for him, selling used automobiles was most productive and, in many ways, helping others on limited incomes. From that point forward, he was doing business globally.

iKON Technologies was developed by automobile dealers like Sam—for dealers. The company invests in technologies and its people to partner with dealers so they are able to gain and maintain complete visibility and access over their inventory, while improving customer retention, loyalty and trust. Simply put, iKON’s solutions allow its customers to monitor, protect and optimize their mobile assets throughout the United States. Sam credits his successes to always adhering to best practices, looking for the win-win, and not exploiting others.

“Our solutions allow customers to monitor, protect, and optimize their mobile assets throughout the United States.”