The 3,000,000th unit connected to Wialon: interview with the record breaker from Mexico

In 2021, Wialon achieved an unsurpassed milestone: 3 million units were connected to the system, making it the world’s largest platform for GPS tracking and IoT. It was Cobertura Total en Telemetria Mexico (CTTMX), a Wialon partner from Mexico, that connected the record-breaking 3 millionth unit.

We talked with Juan Miguel Samano, CEO of CTTMX, about the company’s background, efforts that stand behind their success, and the values that guide the company.

CTTMX: then and now

Congratulations on connecting the 3,000,000th unit! Did you follow the unit counter at all?

Yes, we followed the counter. We always wanted to reach a Wialon milestone, and, thank God, we were able to connect the 3,000,000th unit.

Please tell us about your company. How did it start?

This company started as a dream for those who believe in God. Our company is our family. We have over 100 collaborators and 500 clients, with our presence in the south of the United States, Mexico, and Central America. We specialize in advanced telemetry and solutions that generate value for our clients in the corporate market.

We started with basic sensors, such as temperature and fuel level sensors. As customers got to know us, we expanded to other types of digital sensors. Now we can work with everything that generates a value or measure and integrates with our TRM (Total Register Management) system.

From the very beginning, we set out to be the best on the market, and part of our business philosophy is to deliver the best. The primary indicator of this is that we are in the Wialon TOP 50 Global ranking.

Gurtam visited the CTTMX office in 2018 to celebrate 5 years of partnership

Do you remember how and when you started your partnership with Gurtam?

Of course, I remember! Over 9 years ago, I looked for a powerful platform that was easy to use, as complete as possible and had a transparent billing model. I spent more than 96 hours in front of the computer, testing demos until voilà, I found Wialon. From that day on, I have used only this platform. Everything we’ve achieved has been with the help of the entire Gurtam team.

CTTMX never misses a chance to co-exhibit with the Wialon team at the global technology events. They introduced their products at our IoT zones during all Expo Seguridad shows in Mexico and MWC Los Angeles 2019 in the USA.

By the way, speaking of tech shows, we invite you to join us at Expo Seguridad on June 28-30 and GITEX Global on October 10-14. If you want to become our co-exhibitor and gain valuable exposure for your brand, contact us at marketing@gurtam.com.

What is the current state of the telematics and IoT market in your region?

The Mexican market is very competitive, and the customers are very demanding. Many of them are corporations from Europe where IoT solutions are very advanced. Central America is where “the blue ocean” really is for us. We have our corporate operations base in Nicaragua, and we serve the entire region from there.

The CTTMX team gladly shares their expertise with the Wialon community on webinars

In your opinion, what is the reason for you topping the rank of the most fast-growing partners in Mexico?

We have the best team of truly committed people who love what they do. Instead of bosses, we have leaders whose job is not to meet a deadline but to train more leaders. This allowed us to become as solid as we are now.

The customers are also our priority. We see them as friends and not as a number of connected units. We have learned to deliver information [for decision making], not just data, which made us an important asset to our clients.

What are the new things that you’ve tried, and they worked unexpectedly well for your business?

By 2022, we had updated our TRM to version 5.0. We also changed our CRM system and ticket management. We got recertified for ISO 9001:2015, and all the management is done now in ERP SAP.

CTTMX keeps maintaining the best quality standards as it was recertified for ISO 9001:2015

I mention all this because it is thanks to the process control we keep costs low and customer satisfaction very high. Another point that strengthens us is the alliance with America Movil. We are their official video service provider.

About challenges, values, and plans

How did work with your clients change when COVID hit?

At first, there was a lot of uncertainty. We used to visit customers and close deals with a handshake. With the COVID-related restriction, doing it via Zoom felt like jumping over the technology barrier.

But now everything is different. Everyone at CTTMX can work remotely. We use videoconferencing, VoIP telephony, and VPN systems to secure information. Our resilience allowed us to grow and position ourselves in new business niches.

What were the major challenges for you as a telematics provider in 2021?

The major challenge was the scarcity of devices and cash flow. Perhaps you are wondering how CTTMX grew so much during a crisis. The reason is that customers were asking us for more solutions, and the payment terms were not expanding. We support our customers because it is thanks to them we are where we are today. We also took care of costs and optimized our resources or, as they say, we did more with less.

The contribution of CTTMX in the life of the local community was honored with the ESR award that distinguishes socially responsible companies

You did a great job in 2021, but what are you proud of most of all?

The IoT project for saving the olive ridley turtle fills us with pride because our purpose there was not to make money. It was our contribution to saving endangered species. My DOGO team that is involved in software development won in the IoT project of the year contest with this and one other project.

The CTTMX team with the IoT project of the year 2021 award

I am also very proud that even in the times of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, my entire team, including the customer service, stood up and maintained the growth of our company.

What was your most complicated project in 2021 and why?

Our most difficult project in 2021 was the one for a Toyota spare-parts distribution center. We had to integrate attendance control, spare-parts control, movement monitoring within the warehouse, dispatch control, and control of last-mile deliveries. We had different sources of information for each area, and, above all, there was a lot of non-compatible hardware.

After several rounds of analysis and debates, the solution was to integrate everything with flespi. From then on, everything went smoothly. It actually went so well that we are already closing a contract to replicate the solution in another country.

>>Find out more about CTTMX’s projects presented for IoT project of the year 2021: cold-chain monitoring solution (winner), turtle incubator monitoring solution (winner), and solution for preventing product theft.

What was the hardest time in the history of your company? How did you make it through?

The most difficult time was the first 3 years of the company's existence. We had the misfortune of having a hardware provider that lacked ethics, cheated financially, and blocked our equipment. It was a tough moment, but we turned the bad times over: changed the hardware brand and began to buy directly from the manufacturer. We also built a team of engineers with excellent expertise.

Can you please share your plans for 2022?

We have started 2022 with full operation in El Salvador, Panama, and Costa Rica, collaborating with the most important clients in the region. We have already entered the insurance telematics niche, and two major insurance companies in Mexico have trusted us to be their official provider.

This year, we set out to be one of the top 10 companies in Wialon TOP 50 Global, and I think we will achieve it thanks to my team. I am very proud of them!

The CTTMX team at Expo Seguridad Mexico 2021

What advice would you give to other Wialon partners to ensure their growth like yours?

I would recommend my colleagues not to allow remote communications to distance themselves from their clients. On the contrary, they should be as close as possible, even without direct contact.

We doubled the number of collaborators in the technical support team over the COVID period. Instead of laying people off, we grew almost by 30% in the number of employees and almost by 50% in units and clients.

We have achieved all of this because we believe it doesn't matter how advanced the devices are, if we don’t have the human capital prepared and the heart willing to give the best to our client.

We are grateful to Juan Miguel Samano that he took his time to answer our questions. Our warmest congratulations to the entire CTTMX team on connecting the milestone 3,000,000th unit! We wish them more ambitious projects, loyal clients, and further growth! Hope to see their company on the Wialon TOP 50 Global list this year again!

CTTMX also took part in the IoT project of the year 2022 competition with their project on creating a fleet driver management solution. Check it out!

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