WARREN SCHEWITZ AND ARIELLA KUPER The key to the success of Clear Asset’s online bidding solution has been sophisticated customer relationship management systems
Amid generally impressive growth in the South African online auctioneering industry last year, online mining auctioneering company Clear Asset broke the R1-billion mark in asset sales. The company shipped assets to more than 20 countries, firmly establishing itself as a popular online destination for the purchase of heavy-duty assets with dedicated verticals in mining, agriculture, scrap, maritime and aviation.
Clear Asset MD Ariella Kuper adds that, with the success of such online auction platforms during 2016, there is little doubt that the industry will see even more growth in 2017.
More than 50% of the company’s equipment sales are going to overseas buyers, which it says demonstrates that South African online equipment auction platforms are becoming increasingly attractive to global businesses. “A main attraction for international business is that such platforms present opportunities to buy high-quality assets at favourable exchange rates and have them shipped anywhere in the world,” says the company.
Clear Asset also expanded its maritime division in 2016, completing the sale of five container and bulk carrier vessels, including the sale of two 80 000 t bulk carriers at a combined price of $20- million and a third carrier for $14.95-million. The company is looking to expand this product offering further during 2017, particularly across Africa.
“The number of ship arrests around the world has risen drastically over recent months as banks and creditors seek compensations from ship owners who find themselves unable to pay outstanding loans and dry dock fees. South Africa has become a favourable jurisdiction and the skill set offered by maritime attorneys, in conjunction with the likes of Clear Asset, bodes well for international instructions.”
Clear Asset stresses that the key to the success of its online bidding solution has been sophisticated customer relationship management (CRM) systems, which, in addition to providing transparency and governance around the transaction, ensure that significant user information matches the right asset to the right buyer globally.
The company has also integrated its CRM platform with global marketplace Proxibid to expose assets held in Africa to North American buyers. Equipment listings on Clear Asset can now be seamlessly transferred to Proxibid. Clear Asset notes that owning its source code – which was locally developed in Stellenbosch – has also been a distinct advantage in being able to customise its requirements to clients needs and easily integrate with other online players for maximum global exposure and outreach.
“We are able to track who viewed, bid [on] or bought our assets and use this information to target our global database to ensure that when appropriate assets come up they are matched proactively with a targeted audience . . . Our institutional focus has served us well as our buyers know they are getting access to [high-]quality pre-owned assets that have been thoroughly assessed and inspected by our qualified technical team,” says Clear Asset CEO Warren Schewitz.
Clear Asset will be attending this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, which will run from February 6 to 9 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.