Beyond the Cabinet
Keys are the heart of the product and key cabinets are our bread and butter, but key movementdata is more valuable when supported by software features and hardware that can supportother logistical challenges such as vehicle movements, inventory tracking and processmanagement. With the One Platform now in beta testing, e-Track has started work on bringingin some of these workstreams to better support our clients.With some new fabrication designs and the e-Track core system under the hood, we have beenable to prototype a front of house key locker and key drawer system which will launch beforethe end of 2026 to support those businesses looking for a flexible customer drop and collectsystem or a front of house bulk key storage solution.
Creating the edge
With a reliable hardware offering, after being awarded multiple blue light contracts frominnovative UK Police forces, e-Track needed a web-based platform that could comfortablyscale past 100 devices. One that could consume data to help operations drive efficiency andperformance of teams whilst reducing fleet size and costs. With engineering team expansionand time invested into client workshops, e-Track mapped out its ‘One Platform’ capabilitiesand got to work on making the client first solution that would solve vast fleet managementissues, combining bookings with analytics, insights and machine learning.
Strengthening Our Global Presence
As international demand continued, e-Track Inc was established to service the USA. Thismarked a significant milestone in the company's grand plans to be able to support globalbusinesses where UK-US operations were looking to standardise systems internationally. Witha low maintenance, plug and play solution, the idea that the product can be manufactured inthe UK and shipped internationally to support US business was a concept that was engineeredin to the design of the product at the start with minimal components and a Mean Time to FailureRate that exceeded all competition, the quality, speed and a 24/7 support desk allowed globalexpansion.
Gaining Traction
The products were a hit and throughout 2023 with over 3 years-worth of accounts, e-Track wasestablished and so could now start to sell direct to the B2B market. We managed to secure afew early UK government tender contracts and received interest from international resellers,but the focus remained on the UK, to double down on quality, build out the team and productsand continue to define processes that could support the business as it grew.
Raising the Bar
As the only new UK-manufactured intelligent key management solution brought to market in thelast 25 years, e-Track was hell bent on pushing boundaries, focussed on low level softwareengineering for secure data transmission and the highest possible hardware quality that wouldstand the test of time, every scope created for product innovation challenged legacy methodsto exceed customer expectations. This year saw the launch of the high secure safe option andthe embedded dock door system for localised key control to prevent unsafe pull aways fromwarehouse dock doors.
Setting the Standard
Within the first 2 years of trading, Keytracker as a reseller deployed just over 100 e-Trackcabinets. With a focus firmly on quality, support and feedback, e-Track chose to invest time inthe early years laying foundations and achieving BSI:ISO9001 by implementing a rigid qualitymanagement system. The early-stage systems made no money, but high standards and marketexposure for product testing provided the feedback needed to help e-Track build from realworld customer input.
Investment
The start-up needed capital and as the core intellectual property was being patented and thefirst systems started rolling off the fabricators production line, we had the basis of a product totest in the market. The channels we’re established in Keytracker for distribution and the e-Tracksolution started to be offered to businesses looking for a more cost effective solution. Covidpushed businesses digital, where manual key control couldn’t provide remote workers visibilityof user and key transactions and a UK made, SaaS based, plug and play system could bedeployed quickly to help UK operational teams keep control of their keys.
Registration
e-Track’s founders, Father and son Andy (Keytracker founder) & Adam Slaney Smith both withdeep understanding of the key management industry gained from within Keytracker Ltd,registered e Track Ltd as a UK business in June 2019. Adam was in a perfect position to run thestart-up, with significant UK key management experience, an engineering design passion, andan ambition to deliver innovation in what was a stagnant market.
Conceptualising
Throughout the year, we dug deeper into our client experiences, demands and future wishesand started designing a new wave of product with our most trusted and exposed confidants inthe key management industry. With thorough market research and early stage R&D, we testednew technologies and created a well-defined scope for what would be the worlds mostadvanced key management system.
Listening
Following another large-scale project distributing a legacy key management system from withinKeytracker Ltd, this time into the Scottish Prison Service, we started speaking with our clientsabout the challenges of current systems on the market and it was at this point we realised, themarket needed innovation and the appetite for a higher quality product at a lower price pointwas vast.
