Six years ago, two Johannesburg-based entrepreneurs opened a small business with a big vision of stopping mobile phone store robberies in their tracks. Their solution, CellVault was a world-first that combined stunning simplicity with a dash of technology: secure lockers with a built-in time-delay that would deter robbers who don’t have time to wait around.
Today, VaultGroup has grown into a 40 plus person business that is changing the face of the local storage security industry by providing high-tech solutions to the local market, offering custom-built secure storage to customers in two specific verticals.
CellVault is an ultra-secure time lock mechanism designed primarily for high-value, low-volume assets and PackVault is a convenience product offering solutions for the so-called BOPIS (Buy Online & Pick up In-Store) market, click ‘n collect and residential complexes. The technology underpinning both solutions is developed in-house, and features custom-designed hardware and software, purpose-built to address customer needs, said Lance Baum, COO, VaultGroup.
CellVault is an expandable, time-based locker system, designed to prevent the theft of valuable assets. The lockers are time-delayed and programmable to function within customer-specified requirements. “The system walks the fine line between ease of use and inconvenience, thereby allowing store operation to function as normal while being enough of a hindrance to deter thieves,” added Baum.
According to Baum, as with CellVault, the PackVault solution involves no keys. “The PackVault platform offers the same hardware scalability and enterprise solution but features user-friendly customer interfaces, each purpose-built for the environment it is placed in. A combination of barcodes and touchscreen input allows for lockers to be reserved, allocated, freed, or cancelled, as per customer requirements,” he said.
