Otoqi, automotive logistics provider: ‘With Carlocate, we would have resolved this situation in 48 hours instead of several weeks’.
Otoqi is a French logistics company specialized in vehicle transport for professional clients, using drivers or designated staff. We spoke with Jean-Marc Leoni, CTO at Otoqi, who explained how he uses Echoes’ solutions to support his daily operations.
Can you tell us about Otoqi and its mission?
Otoqi is a key player in automotive logistics across Europe. In practice, we organize vehicle transport for car manufacturers, dealers, and rental companies through a network of several thousand independent or salaried drivers.
With three hubs—Paris, Berlin, and Milan—we handle tens of thousands of vehicle transfers each year. Our clients include carmakers, distributors, long- and mid-term rental companies, as well as short-term rental firms.
What are the major challenges in your operations?
Our biggest challenge? Vehicles getting lost in the logistics chain. For example, a client may report that a delivered vehicle is not where it’s supposed to be. Most of the time, it’s just an administrative error—but occasionally, the issue is more serious. Without a geolocation tool, tracking down these vehicles takes time and money.
How do Echoes and the Carlocate solution support you in this mission?
Carlocate allows us to access the vehicle’s location using manufacturer systems—without installing any GPS hardware. It’s simple: with the owner’s consent, we enter the vehicle information into Carlocate and receive its real-time position.
What tangible results have you observed?
Using Carlocate has delivered two key benefits for Otoqi: faster response times and reduced costs.
In one case, Carlocate helped us locate a vehicle that had been sitting in a logistics yard for months, undetected due to an administrative registration error. Without Carlocate, it could have taken weeks to resolve. These time savings helped reduce costly field investigations and client compensations.
One of the most striking examples is a vehicle that sat for weeks on a lot without being reported, forcing Otoqi to repurchase it—only to locate it later. With Carlocate, we could have solved the issue in 48 hours.
How satisfied are you with the solution?
Carlocate is a valuable tool, which we currently use on a case-by-case basis—only when vehicles are reported missing. The simplicity of accessing OEM data is a real asset, helping us avoid heavy administrative processes. Ideally, we’d like to activate it systematically for every vehicle transfer.