Your next, Shell’s now

“Data is the new oil.” A revealing statement made by an oil company that is more than 100 years old. However, the Fleet Solutions division of Shell South Africa is heading for an increasingly digital future, as it sets out to disrupt not only the fuel-supply industry, but other suppliers to the transport industry as well.

It was thus that Shell South Africa hosted its Next Meets Now intractive customer experience event this week.

“Our customers’ needs have changed and we want to make life better and easier for them, every day. Everything we do is about the customer,” says Bongani Motloung, Shell Fleet Solutions sales manager.

“We are making lots of changes, from hardware – including how our forecourts look – to software implementation, the personal attention given by our forecourt attendants and the way our sales staff consult with customers,” he adds.

With that in mind, the company has launched a solution for all its fleet customers, which is a first in South Africa: real-time SMS notifications.

“The system highlights suspicious transactions and then immediately alerts operators via SMS. This allows them to act while the incident is still fresh and evidence is still available for investigation,” explains Thayuri Moodley, Shell South Africa marketing manager.

Over the last few months, in the lead up to the system’s launch, Shell has worked with a bus-fleet customer that has been experiencing suspicious fuel transactions. The system has proved successful in flagging three suspicious transactions that proved to be fraudulent. These cases have since been passed on to the Shell Fraud Support division, which, among other services, offers dedicated fraud analysts and fraud investigations.

Shell South Africa’s fleet-card offering is now 35 years old – and its fleet-card business is represented in 23 countries, with two-million customers transacting at 200 000 Shell and Shell partner sites every day. The company is also looking to the future and expanding its business model to offer its customers added value and enable them to run their businesses more smoothly.

Parminder Kohli, global marketing manager, business development and corporate manager at Shell, explains that technology and digitisation are driving economic disruption across all industry sectors.

Furthermore, he expects that in less than a decade the payment industry will be severely disrupted – a key consideration when the Shell Card is at the heart of Shell’s payments business.

So what is Shell doing to stay ahead of the pack, considering, says Kohli, that the world is going to need up to 30-percent more energy than it does today by the time its population reaches nine-billion people – while climate change hangs in the balance?

“The world needs a mosaic of solutions and different and varied energy sources. Shell plays a part as an energy company,” he says.

The company is, therefore, launching new solutions to complement its fuel offering, which will include telematics for analytics; fuel reporting and route optimisation; freight optimisation; last-mile and long-haul solutions; fleet-management services specific to business-to-business customers; and e-road services.

“Data really is the new oil; it’s the new resource to power humanity,” Kohli reiterates. “The world of the future is full of opportunities, and Shell Fleet Solutions will be there every step of the way.”