RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:SEPTA ALEI'd like to present an alternative perspective regarding the focus on sales partners. It is important to acknowledge that the GSI industry primarily operates on a procurement basis, regardless of our personal preferences. In this context, having a sales partner may not necessarily contribute to GSI winning more contracts, as they would still need to go through the bidding process and be chosen as the best solution.
That being said, it doesn't mean that we completely disregard the concept of "sales partners" since as stated in the Business Overview section in their MD&A we clearly do have some in the form of network distributors and system integrators: "Products are sold to end-user customers through Gatekeeper’s direct sales staff, and also through a network of distributors and system integrators who have relationships with customers in multiple mobile markets". Additionally, we do have an exclusive partnership with ByteCurve as their sole video integration partner for the school bus market, and hopefully, we can leverage a similar arrangement with Alstom in the future, as Doug has mentioned in recent interviews.
Personally, I believe it would be more beneficial for GSI to allocate more resources and time to activities such as lobbying and marketing, similar to what BusPatrol is currently doing. These efforts serve as additional avenues to raise awareness and promote the company. For instance, BusPatrol and Verra Mobility successfully lobbied for a stop-arm camera bill in Florida, which was signed earlier this month[1]. One can reasonably assume that their lobbying efforts, newly established relationships, and enticing cost structure will result in a significant number of contracts coming their way.
[1] https://www.cityandstatefl.com/policy/2023/06/florida-school-bus-camera-measure-signed-law/387024/