Johannesburg, 07 Jun 2018
USC Metering (trading as Utility Systems) has snapped up the coveted '2018 Best Practices/Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership Award', differentiating itself from a host of candidates in sub-Saharan Africa's smart water management arena. The accolade, bestowed by growth partnership company Frost & Sullivan, is to be handed over at a gala banquet in Cape Town during September 2018.
Utility Systems, headquartered in Durban, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, offers Standard Transfer Specification (STS) prepayment smart water meters and electronic water management devices (WMDs) to a global customer base. Its cloud-based advanced metering infrastructure allows for the remote control, configuration, and management of water meters in the domestic, small commercial and bulk market segments.
Making the award on the basis of two key factors, strategy innovation and customer impact, Frost & Sullivan points to Utility Systems' superior product suite, flexible approach, ability to outsmart its competitors through a versatile offering, strong brand, and excellent growth; this, against the backdrop of a notable trend towards the use of prepaid smart water metering in South Africa and its neighbours.
Smart water technologies are introducing near real-time asset management, promoting profitability and sustainability through connectivity and technology convergence. As such, Utility Systems supplies 30 000 to 40 000 devices a month to 26 countries worldwide.
Frost & Sullivan analysts evaluated Utility Systems on the basis of strategy effectiveness, strategy execution, competitive differentiation, executive team alignment, and stakeholder integration, as well as price/performance value, customer purchase experience, customer ownership experience, customer service experience, and brand equity.
Handpicked multinational companies distribute the company's high-quality devices, which are also available at a mid-price range for households (a water segment critically affected by water stress). These distributors, coupled with trade shows, assist in strengthening the brand globally.
Furthermore, at each project's inception, the company's support staff complement provides comprehensive training to distributors or end-customers, using videos, manuals, and tutorials to ensure the system will run efficiently and smoothly on-site. A 24/7 helpline and refresher courses are available, while software upgrades are free of charge.
With ISO certification for the design, manufacture, marketing and after-sales service of its WMDs, and by manufacturing all of its products in an ISO 9001 facility, Utility Systems has already supplied over 1.5m products to 65 municipalities and metros across South Africa.
Clearly, Utility Systems is ably leveraging its experience, knowledge and skills in the water sector, to help to protect scarce water resources by commercialising relevant and badly needed technologies. In a fast-growing market, it is taking water management to a new level.
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