The Tech Transformation in Refined Fuels: Empowering Wholesalers for Success

Wholesalers stand at a critical juncture. The industry, long reliant on traditional methods and analog processes, is undergoing a dramatic shift.

As the industry moves deeper into the digital age, wholesalers who embrace technological innovation are positioning themselves for unprecedented efficiency and growth.
As the oil and gas industry moves deeper into the digital age, wholesalers who embrace technological innovation are positioning themselves for unprecedented efficiency and growth. This transformation is not just about keeping up; it’s about leading the charge in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

This article will address the challenges of traditional operations while presenting new technology that was engineered to increase accuracy, speed to market, and back-office operations. These solutions ultimately create more time and more customer satisfaction for wholesalers to conduct more business, and more profitable contracts.

 

Analog is the anchor. Hindering growth.

For decades, refined fuels wholesalers have operated in an environment where manual processes, phone calls, and paper trails were the norm. While these methods served the industry well in the past, today these processes are a significant impediment to growth in the modern era.

Consider the challenges of wholesaler efficiency. The following collectively slow the speed of business, including missing opportunities, potentially reducing margins, and operating with less confident decisions.

Inefficient data management: Manual entry and processing of bills of lading, invoices, and price sheets lead to errors and delays.

Limited market visibility: Relying on stale, delayed, or incomplete information for pricing and supply decisions.

Slow response to market changes: Inability to quickly adapt to price fluctuations and supply chain disruptions. 

Compliance risks: Difficulty in maintaining accurate records for regulatory compliance.

Maintaining analog processes not only slow down operations but also hinder a wholesaler’s ability to be ratable – consistently meeting contractual obligations and maintaining their strong reputation with suppliers. In an industry where relationships and reliability are paramount, these limitations can be a significant barrier to growth.

 

The digital dawn: New tools for a new era

Enter the tech transformation. Advanced digital solutions have been designed to address these longstanding challenges, offering refined fuels wholesalers new processes to optimize their operations, enhance decision-making, and ultimately grow market share.

DTN has been a leader in this space for decades, guiding the development of “DTN for Wholesalers” suite of solutions for refined fuels wholesalers and their partners tailored to tackle these challenges:

• BOL management. Automated data processing of eBOLs which eliminates manual entry errors, seamlessly integrating with back-office systems, accelerating the order-to-cash cycle, and enhancing operational efficiency across the fuel supply chain.
• Real-time market data and analytics. For informed buying decisions, a comprehensive view of supplier prices, market benchmarks, and custom pricing formulas, which allow more strategic purchasing and improved margins.
• Real-time refined fuel demand. For wholesalers a first-mover advantage. By delivering insights into developing market conditions, RFD facilitates strategic supply management, trading, and merchandising decisions.
• Real-time pricing data. With data from over 1,900 terminals, wholesalers can optimize their margins and quickly react to market spikes or shifts. Features detailed intraday change analyses and configurable alerts for fast response to pricing opportunities.
• Integrated diverse data. Combining energy, weather, and agriculture data and insights advise refined fuels trading strategies, providing real-time market context and advanced charting capabilities, which empowers traders to make more profitable decisions.
• Data interoperability. Develop interoperability across the fuel supply chain by standardizing and integrating critical business data from multiple sources and formats, reducing transaction friction, improving data accuracy, and supporting more informed decisions.
• Accurate temperature differentials. Ensure favorable contract terms with accurate temperature differentials at each terminal. These insights into gross and net temperature variations allow precise volume calculations and pricing adjustments across varying climate conditions.
• Real-time terminal allocation visibility. Real-time terminal allocations help wholesalers maintain strong ratability with their contracts by delivering a centralized view of supply and allocation amounts, supporting consistent fulfillment of contractual obligations and stronger supplier relationships.

The DTN for Wholesalers suite forms a comprehensive ecosystem that synergistically enhances efficiency, market intelligence, and financial performance, creating an unparalleled competitive edge in today’s market.

But how can we make sense of this in our daily operations. Applied, these capabilities unlock a series of snowballing benefits for your daily operations. Let’s explore how these translate into tangible benefits across key areas of a wholesaler’s operations.

Operational agility: Optimizing inventory and resources. Streamlining workforce tasks. Seamless system integration.

Inventory management: You’ll have real-time visibility into current terminal allocations, helping maintain optimal product levels, while ensuring wholesalers can meet demand without overcommitting resources.

Workforce efficiency: eBOL management automates data processing, reducing manual workload. This allows staff to focus on higher-value tasks, while reducing human errors and improving overall productivity.

Integration with existing systems: With improved interoperability across your fuel chain, DTN seamlessly integrates with your existing systems, reducing implementation hurdles and improving adoption.

Financial performance: Enhanced cash flow management. Robust risk mitigation. Simplified regulatory compliance.

Cash flow: Real-time market data and analytics enable accurate forecasting and more strategic purchasing, which benefits in better cash management and reduced financial risk.

Risk management: Diverse data sets inform trading strategies, while helping to manage price volatility. Advanced charting capabilities support more effective hedging strategies.

Compliance: Automated data processing and integrated back-office systems simplify regulatory reporting, reducing compliance risks and associated costs.

Competitive advantage: Elevating customer satisfaction. Precision in competitive bidding. Data-driven strategic decisions. Scalable business growth.

Customer retention: Real-time pricing data and alerts help wholesalers respond quickly to market shifts, ensuring competitive pricing for customers. Improved responsiveness heightens customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Bidding: Accurate temperature differentials ensure accurate volume calculations, aiding more precise and competitive bidding.

Data-driven decisions: Real-time demand data informs supply management and merchandising strategy. Shifting from intuition to data-driven decisions increases confidence.

Scalability: The suite for wholesalers forms a comprehensive ecosystem that supports business growth. From optimizing current operations to entering new markets, these tools scale with the business.

 

New capabilities. New metrics for success.

The adoption of new technologies is ushering in a modern era for refined fuels wholesalers, fundamentally changing how wholesalers operate and measure success, beyond the bottom line. In this new landscape, wholesalers are taking advantage of new workforce agility and efficiencies:

Improving financial performance: Better pricing strategies, optimized inventory management, and reduced operational costs lead to improved margins.

Gaining competitive advantage: Predictive analytics and real-time market data enable wholesalers to anticipate and respond to market volatility ahead of competitors.

Strengthening supplier relationships: Consistently meeting contract obligations (ratability) becomes easier with better supply chain visibility and demand forecasting.

Enhancing daily operations: Rapid data processing and real-time market insights allow for quicker, more informed decision-making.

Expanding market share: Armed with comprehensive market intelligence, wholesalers can identify and capitalize on growth opportunities more effectively.

The metrics for success are evolving alongside these new capabilities. Wholesalers can now measure performance not only in terms of volume sold or profit margins, but also in metrics such as:

• Speed of price adjustments in response to market changes
• Accuracy of demand forecasts
• Reduction in invoice errors and processing time
• Improvement in contract fulfillment rates
• Expansion into new markets or product lines 

By weighing success in these ways, wholesalers are more likely to be more competitive, win new contracts, win new customers, and demonstrate modern professionalism.

 

Embracing the future

The tech transformation …is about embracing a new way of thinking.
The tech transformation in refined fuels is not just about adopting new tools; it’s about embracing a new way of thinking.

Wholesalers who are now leveraging new technologies are finding themselves better equipped to navigate the ever-changing complexities of the modern fuel market. They’re able to make faster, more confident decisions, operate their teams with increased efficiency, and position themselves as leaders in their markets.

Looking to the future, it’s clear that the most successful refined fuels wholesalers will be those who fully embrace today’s digital transformation. And by doing so, they’ll not only meet the challenges of today’s market but will also be well-positioned to seize the opportunities of tomorrow.

 

To learn more about the many ways DTN for Wholesalers suite is evolving the downstream ecosystem, visit dtn.com.