Introduction

Lenders use several tools to measure the risk of a loan. When they deem a car loan risky, they do not have to deny it. Instead, the lender installs a device into the vehicle ensuring it does not leave the country and making it easier to locate if the vehicle needs to be recovered.  

Inquest takes an innovative approach to vehicle tracking solutions for the car finance industry. Instead of focusing strictly on locating the device, they provide a software platform which allows a lender to notify the purchaser if they fall behind on their payments. This approach not only results in more on-time payments but provides the purchaser with fair warning that a car may be repossessed.  

If recovery is needed, Inquest's tracking devices connect directly with the vehicle, allowing them to disrupt the vehicle's starter. This simplifies the recovery process. 

Inquest focuses on providing an innovative solution. Therefore, when searching for a connectivity provider, they wanted a partner that not only provided reliable connectivity, but also focused on innovation. This is how they found emnify. 

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Challenge

 
Provide reliable real-time vehicle tracking for the financial industry.

 
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Solution

Cellular-connected GPS trackers allowing banks to notify owners of late payments, get the vehicle location and disrupt its starter to simplify repossession. 

About Inquest Wireless

Founded: 2019
Headquarters: Ottawa, Canada
Industry: Automobile Tracking

Case Study Inquest Wireless

Why emnify

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Connect

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Multi-network IoT SIM:
Reliable data communication, even in remote regions

Network compatibility:
Supports all network types to ensure greatest possible coverage

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Configure

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Factory Test Mode:
Configure devices before they are sent to the customer without additional cost

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Integrate

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Data Streamer:
Retrieve connectivity data used to intelligently update a device's configuration when needed

REST API:
Pass features forward to provide additional value

Using the IoT approach to build a customer centric solution

Traditionally, devices designed to locate vehicles for repossession required professional installation. Inquest was able to remove this variable by taking the IoT approach and building an edge device that could function independently from the vehicle for up to three years. Because of this design, the devices are "plug and play" and can be installed directly at the dealer. Inquest's innovation didn't stop at the device.

"We tested a number of providers, however emnify's API and Data Streamer gave us the tools we needed to create a truly innovative product," said Jeff Franklin, CEO at Inquest Wireless.

To ensure that their services met a high standard of quality, Inquest created an industry first end-to-end solution. Each Inquest device can be remotely managed and monitored using Inquest's real-time online portal. With the portal, lenders receive the current location of each vehicle, overuse, or misuse alerts, and even notifications if a vehicle has been impounded.

"We have never had an outage as a result of emnify."

Jeff Franklin, CEO at Inquest Wireless

IoT connectivity that fully integrates into their platform

When searching for a connectivity partner, Inquest searched for an innovative partner who could help them add value to their product. After evaluating several platforms, the team chose to work with emnify because it could integrate natively into their platform.

"emnify clearly wants to be on the cutting edge of their industry," said Franklin. "We're working with them because we can leverage their innovation to improve our product."

Driven by this concept, the Inquest team leveraged the emnify REST API and Data Streamer to integrate connectivity management and data into their own platform. This allows them to provide connectivity as part of the solution, and not as an afterthought.

“Our platform interacts with emnify over 90,000 times per day. Through this integration we're better prepared to troubleshoot potential issues, often discovering them before they cause a problem.”

Jeff Franklin, CEO, Inquest Wireless

Data to optimize device behavior

Inquest Wireless attracted a lot of attention as a plug and play vehicle tracking solution for the car finance industry and was able to capture a majority share of the Canadian market within a couple of years. This caught the eye of companies outside of their target sector.

By using the Data Streamer, the team at Inquest was able to identify a trend of devices using more data than expected. After digging into this, they realized that their product was being used as a fleet management tool.

"People are getting ahold of our device and putting it into, let us say, pizza delivery vehicles. They are using it as a fleet product, and a fleet product should be paying renewals," said Franklin. "So, we developed a feature to identify people abusing the system for fleets and offer them a renewal option."

“emnify's support staff has helped identify problems that we didn't even know we had.”

Jeff Franklin, CEO at Inquest Wireless

How Inquest Wireless achieved its success

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