Logistics-software maker Telogis Inc. charted its path to robust revenue amid a souring economic climate and a burst of technology adoption.
The Aliso Viejo-based company was established in 2001. But its growth story began about five years ago, when GPS technology and wireless devices were taking hold, businesses were replacing legacy operational systems, and the economy was on the brink of unraveling.
“People were trying to do more with less, and companies were willing to spend money to save money,” Chief Financial Officer Kyle Messman recalled.
Boon
The mix proved a boon for Telogis, which uses global positioning systems and software to help companies with large fleets of delivery trucks create better routes, track shipments and deliveries, manage mobile work forces, and optimize work flow.
The company topped $57 million in sales in 12 months through June, a 167% increase from two years earlier. That landed Telogis in the No. 43 spot on the Business Journal’s list of fastest-growing private companies based here (see related stories throughout issue; list starting on page 36).
Telogis has mixed internal growth with six acquisitions in the last three years. Its head count doubled in the last year to 325 employees.
Its latest buy of Maryland-based Navtrak Inc., which targets small to midsize businesses, added more than 100 employees and key customers on the East Coast. Financial terms of the August deal were not disclosed.
Last year’s deal to acquire the analytics and fleet management unit of Connecticut-based UTC Fire & Security expanded its reach in the insurance industry. The business offers software and services for loss prevention and risk reduction, with Liberty Mutual Agency Corp. of Boston a primary client.
New Lease
Sales and employment growth, coupled with an eye toward more acquisitions, prompted Telogis in April to take a five-year lease at a new 26,000-square-foot headquarters, doubling the space from its prior building. It was the company’s fourth move in the past four years.
“We’ll fill up this building very quickly,” Messman said. “We plan to stay very acquisitive and we’ll continue to hire.”
Telogis also operates development centers in New Zealand, Toronto and Austin, Texas, with sales offices throughout Europe and Latin America.
Customers
Its customers include government agencies, food and drink makers, oil and gas utilities, and others. Clients include Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. and Dallas-based AT&T Inc.
In 2008, the company caught another wave of business as gas prices skyrocketed to $4 a gallon. Higher expenses pushed fleet operators and small-business owners to cut fuel costs. Many turned to software-as-a-service systems—including those marketed by Telogis—to manage logistics online.
Telogis software aggregates driver and vehicle patterns, oil and maintenance schedules and idling times. The data is analyzed to determine more efficient transportation routes or usage.
“We see new opportunity to monetize all the data collection,” Messman said. “We’re just starting to scratch the surface on the analytics of the business.”
A partnership with Ford Motor Co. last year to imbed its telematic software in the Detroit automaker’s commercial fleet of pick-up trucks and vans promises to bring new markets and potential revenue gains as well, Messman said. Telematics fuses information and communication technologies.
Under the Ford partnership a business owner can upgrade a vehicle purchase with Telogis software and manage a fleet remotely through a website.
