It was in 2019 that Sam Mahrouq, the chairman and CEO of iKON Technologies, and a global businessman and entrepreneur, announced the company's leadership team that was dedicated to innovation and customer satisfaction. For the premier telematics firm in the U.S. and Mexico providing connected car technology to the automotive industry, the announcement was a reaffirmation to its commitment toward innovation and superior customer service. Making the announcement, Mahrouq mentioned, "Our business base has always been the franchise dealers. We are dealers ourselves, developing innovative tools for our customers that help them to increase their profitability."
For a company that was developed (and continues to be improved) by dealers for dealers, iKON Technologies stands tall in the automotive landscape today. The company invests its people and technologies to partner with auto dealers to gain complete visibility and access over inventory while using innovations to improve customer retention, loyalty, and trust. "Technology enhances the customer experience; iKON is adding efficiencies previously unparalleled in the industry. This improves the bottom line for our customers, the automobile dealers," says Mahrouq. iKON solves one of the most significant challenges for automotive dealers today—inventory management. The company's system provides the answers to questions such as where and how long the vehicle is on the lot, whether it is ready for sale, or if the battery is charged, where the loaner cars are, what vehicles are in collision repair, what the "get ready" process is. This allows customers to monitor, protect, and optimize their mobile assets throughout the U.S.
Through its system, iKON also provides theft protection that assists the larger dealers to safeguard the hundreds of thousands of dollars of inventory that they would otherwise lose each year due to theft. The company sets up geo-fences around the dealership and tracks where and when the vehicles move. "We take data privacy and security very seriously. All of our solutions are designed with security and privacy in mind," mentions Mahrouq. Further, iKON also helps dealers in customer retention as its systems can "pull" customers back to the dealership for parts and service by making use of data analytics and smart marketing. What differentiates iKON is its relentless focus on continuous innovation, improvement, and drive to meeting the market's needs. "We are improving our platforms and technologies, all the while adhering to best practices," states Mahrouq, who has been at the helm of guiding the company toward success. A native of Amman, Jordan, he is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington College of Business and recently funded the $500,000 Sam Mahrouq Financial Markets Lab. He has been instrumental in leading iKON by following his business philosophy, which focuses on ethics and not exploiting others around him. "We are helping franchise dealers increase their profitability and attain customer satisfaction and loyalty in greater numbers, establishing the win-win in business transactions," mentions Mahrouq.
Another advantage that iKON has is its people and collaborative work environment. The company understand the day to day challenges of its dealers and their customers.
In addition, iKON doesn't just deliver the solution but also stay on-site to comprehend the dealership's management and sales teams, the path of inventory (once received by the factory to get ready to sell), to develop ideal, customized solutions for the dealer.
Under Mahrouq's leadership, iKON has become a technology leader and is constantly improving and developing new features. The company is in the process of implementing a system of behavioral analysis—around speed, braking, consumption, maintenance, etc.—that can provide information and benefit to consumers as well as society. "We have a positive impact on the planet through reduced insurance costs, promoting good driving behaviors, significantly improving the "relationship" between users and their vehicles," concludes Mahrouq.
