Maximise Margins Using Rack Marketing and Bestbuy & Dispatch System for Fuel Marketers

Fuel marketers play a critical role in the supply chain of petroleum products, especially in the wholesale and retail sectors by making conventional, renewable, and alternative fuels available for commercial and day-to-day usage. Usually, they operate based on a model wherein petroleum marketers purchase fuel from production and distribution companies and then supply or deliver to the c-stores, fuel stations, or other establishments based on prices and availability. 

If you are a fuel marketer, you would agree that handling multiple spreadsheets to manage paper hedges, operational data, and physical trades gets quite cumbersome and warrants the need for a one-stop solution. 

So, let us discuss how industry-specialised rack marketing and bestbuy & dispatch software can take your business to the next level!  

Fuel Marketers: Different Aspects of the Business at a Glance

• The first aspect includes the distribution of fuel or petroleum products to companies for fulfilling fuel orders. It is, therefore, important to predict future fuel prices and leverage purchase volumes to negotiate the best supply deals. 
• Some fuel marketers may also operate their own retail c-store chains or fuel stations. This means they should be more efficient at handling and operating a customer-focused business and meet the individual needs in the marketplace. 
• On the other hand, some fuel marketers may go for out-of-the-box models wherein they offer business development services to help their channel partners operate successful c-stores or fuel stations. In such a case, the expertise and skills can help companies grow their business and profitability. 

Juggling Multiple Challenges in the Energy Industry

Fuel marketers have to handle hundreds of invoices and manage multiple spreadsheets comprising physical trades, operational data, paper hedges, and much more. Plus, managing logistics including truck loads, pipeline movement, terminal locations, and trading makes the business more challenging. This not only leads to a lack of transparency but also makes it difficult to gather data, leading to operational risks and financial mistakes.

Moreover, to better control and manage the working capital in a tight margin market, the fuel marketers need to have timely and accurate information on expected cash flow during the week, how to speed up invoicing and collection, and access real-time PnL.

Ensure Higher Margins with Rack Marketing and Bestbuy & Dispatch System for Fuel Marketers

A one-stop rack marketing and bestbuy & dispatch solution for petroleum marketers that handle trading and risk management activities, transportation as well as invoicing is the right choice! A cost-effective and efficient ETRM software can help fuel marketers in trading PnL, deal capture, risk analysis, portfolio management, inventory management, hedging, pipeline scheduling, invoicing and reconciliation, bulk purchases, and much more.

Here’s how you can expect higher margins with an industry-specialised rack marketing and bestbuy & dispatch solution.

• Get complete visibility and control: You can get real-time views on PnLs, inventory position and pricing. Moreover, you gain a consolidated view of your business, as well as credit line visibility across accounts and counterparties. Additionally, the solution allows you to reconcile trade in real-time to manage market volatility. 
• Focus on rack marketing: You can easily automate posting to OPIS of wholesale terminal prices of petroleum products at your and third-party operated terminals and get a quick comparison with OPIS benchmark prices to fix the final price as a differential to the market price. Moreover, you can automate the publishing of rack product prices to your customers’ mailing lists or via DTN. 
• Manage inventory efficiently: The solution allows you to manage inventory effectively through various costing methodologies such as Moving Average and FIFO (first-in, first-out).  Moreover, you can capture spot transactions along with spot and contract rack orders, and practice flexible pricing. 
• Make the right decisions with Bestbuy and Dispatch: With this important feature, you can optimize costs and your working capital by buying fuel at the best price at the right time. Also,  you can witness a reduction in phone calls with real-time online orders and delivery status. You can now improve fuel delivery speed and ensure driver accountability and performance, warrant quick schedule deliveries with one-click drag-and-drop dispatch, eliminate paperwork with electronic BOLs and delivery tickets, as well as get paid faster.
• Proactively manage risks: You can access real-time position management and know about advanced risks. In-built checkpoints and best practices ensure regulatory compliance and minimise risk. Plus, you can utilise advanced analytical tools including what-if scenarios, portfolio analysis, and value at risk (VaR) models to hedge against downside PnL risk and protect profits. 
• Effectively manage your contracts: The right solution allows you to manage single and multi-site end customers and gain visibility of daily lifting from purchase contracts with respect to the monthly lifting constraints. Plus, you get detailed reports on the remaining balance.

 Final Words

When managing volatile price changes, a tight supply chain and a challenging transportation market, fuel marketers need up-to-the-minute customer, supplier and inventory information. 

Inatech’s Techoil Rack is an industry-specialised software for fuel retailers is equipped with Bestbuy and Dispatch functionality. With Techoil Rack, you can do all of this and much more while protecting margins and maintaining profitability with the most advanced tools needed to operate successfully in today’s fast-paced fuel wholesale market.

To know more about Techoil Rack and schedule a demo, contact us today!