How to Create Efficient Fuel Administration and Higher Profit

The oil industry is a volatile market that seems to be forever in flux. No matter where you are in the industry, efficient fuel administration is crucial to maintaining your profit. From downstream producers to upstream refiners, everyone needs to streamline and avoid redundancies.

DTN is proud to support the fuel sector with powerful tools and solutions. Our suite of products allows you to boost your bottom line while saving hours of work. Call a team member today to see a free demo and learn more.

 

Topsy-Turvy Market

Anyone working in the energy sector knows that there’s a lot of money changing hands. With over $3 trillion in revenue each year, oil and gas constitute one of the largest sectors of the American economy.

But if you are a fuel buyer or seller, you also recognize that profit margins can vary significantly in different situations. Political events, economic fluctuations, and even the weather can drastically change your revenue stream.

With a volatile market and a lot at stake, it’s crucial to have tools that help you minimize waste and maximize your efficiency.

 

Be Sure to Choose the Right Fuel Administration Tool for Your Needs

No matter which part of the fuel stream you work in, there are tools that will help you profit. From offshore drilling operations to transportation and trading, you can find a software option that helps you maintain and grow your business.

Depending on what your work involves, consider any of the following elements as you choose a fuel administration solution:

Industry News Reports

When you’re running a business, you don’t have time to pay attention to all of the news outlets for pertinent stories. Keeping an eye on Twitter and different feeds could be a full-time job on its own.

Instead, you need someone to do the work for you. When choosing software or apps to streamline your job, look for an option that offers curated news stories and market reports. These systems can identify relevant new stories and deliver them to you immediately.

For example, they can track news items regarding outages or pipeline problems. With this knowledge at hand, you can make quick and confident decisions regarding your sales and purchases. 

Market Condition Updates

In a swift-moving industry like fuel, you cannot work off stale data. You require current, accurate information in your feed so that you can plan and make your next move. 

Real-time updates on market behavior put you in the driver seat for decision-making about allocations, rack prices, and contracts. You will be able to work proactively instead of reactively as you monitor the data coming to you.

Customization

The fuel industry is incredibly complex. You cannot get by with a one-size-fits-all solution. It will leave you frustrated, wasting resources, and losing ground against your competitors. Investing in an administrative solution that meets your specific needs is the way to go. Anything else is inefficient.

Look for programs and systems that allow you to set parameters that matter to your business. You should be able to customize your searches, content, and price alerts so that you get precisely the data and insights that work for you.

By personalizing the tools to your needs, you can remove redundancies and focus on profitable activities. High-quality admin software should have plenty of customization available.

Streamline Bills of Lading

If you work in the midstream fuel market, then electronic bills of lading (eBOLs) can dominate a lot of your time. Without a tool to help out, you are likely to put in additional hours to gather and organize this data. 

Look for something that integrates all of the eBOLs with your back-office programs. This capability will make it simple for you to invoice your clients and pay your suppliers quickly. A robust software platform can compare invoices to eBOLs and notify you of any discrepancies right away. 

This functionality will save you hundreds of hours of administrative work that you and your team could spend growing your business instead. 

Accurate Allocations

The downstream oil and gas market can feel cutthroat if you don’t have current, accurate allocation data to utilize. You cannot successfully sell a product unless you know precisely how much there is to sell.

If you work off inaccurate or incomplete data, you could end up jeopardizing your company’s reputation and profit. Look for a fuel allocation solution for your business that allows you to:

• Have clear and timely communication with customers.
• Offer a user-friendly dashboard to your customers.
• Control the information you share and who receives it to protect your clients’ privacy and your integrity.
• Tailor the functionality to your operation.
• Check allocations in real-time so that customers avoid denials at the terminal.
• Plan ahead by forecasting future allocation needs.
• Set alerts for customers whose allocations or credit are getting low.

 

Education and Training for Greater Efficiency

Tools and software solutions can streamline your operation, making you efficient and profitable. But don’t neglect the education component. Any time you invest in ongoing training in the fuel industry, you learn ways to do your job even better.

Every efficiency you can uncover will protect your bottom line and help you stay competitive. The more you streamline, the more you can accomplish, and the higher your profit can go.

Some training options to consider are courses that cover:

• The Refining Process
• Trading Fundamentals
• Risk Management
• Full Certification

Whether you work for yourself or another company, ongoing education is always an excellent idea. It makes you more marketable to others, and it lets you take your business to the next level.

 

One-Stop-Shop at DTN

The experts at DTN want to see you succeed. And we know that maximizing your efficiency is critical to that success. We offer an excellent suite of tools and solutions that will remove redundancies and streamline all of your essential activities.

Connect with a team member today to see which products work best for you and your business.