On-Demand Fuel Delivery : A Lifesaver for Small Manufacturing Businesses

Shalmoli Sarkar — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 09:10:05 +0000

The concept of on-demand delivery through apps and websites has become inseparable from our lives especially in the times of Covid. Today the gambit of doorstep delivery in India is not just limited to food, grocery, medicines, apparel, jewellery but has expanded to fuel as well.

Amid mobility restrictions in the pandemic, the doorstep fuel delivery or on-demand fuel delivery emerged as a lifesaver for businesses that depended heavily on diesel for their day-to-day operations. For a business say mining or textile that owns giant industrial equipment consumes large volumes of diesel and lacks a fuel storage facility to run operations. The hurdle in their business operations arises when the machines run out of fuel and they have no other option but to procure fuel from the retail outlets using private vehicles compromising heavily on safety. The staff kept for procuring fuel is neither trained nor adequately equipped to manage the procedures for which fuel delivery handling necessitates.

The emergence of fuel delivery apps appears to be beneficial to the small manufacturing business as they need not need to face the challenges of procuring and storing diesel in bulk and optimising inventory.

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The doorstep fuel delivery or on-demand fuel delivery emerged as a lifesaver for businesses that depended heavily on diesel for their day-to-day operations.

How on-demand fuel delivery will favour small manufacturing businesses?

Cost saver: Businesses can save money on acquiring fuel and consumption. With fuel prices already surpassing the century mark businesses will certainly try to bring down the operating cost. The on-demand fuel delivery will mean reduced manpower, zero pilferage, zero wastage, and no over-billing. It will eliminate the additional infrastructure required for a small manufacturing business for bulk storage of fuel.
Quality and quantity: The on-demand fuel providers employ technologies such as geofencing and digital billing to ensure there is no pilferage and the business pays for what they have ordered.
No compromise on safety: Safety is paramount while handling inflammable liquids. Fuel is transported through safety compliant browsers that are resistant to fire thereby reducing accidents.
24X7 fuel availability: The machines of small manufacturing businesses can run out of fuel anytime. The 24X7 availability of fuel will empower small businesses to avail fuel anytime, anywhere, and avoid investing in storage facilities. Quick delivery times will ensure the hassle-free process of fuel acquisition.

Reduced Carbon Footprints: On-demand fuel delivery allows reduced carbon emissions by lessening the trips to local fuel stations.

What lies ahead for the on-demand fuel delivery startups?

The on-demand fuel delivery startups contributing to zero carbon emissions align with PM Narendra Modi’s pledge to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2070, at COP 26 held at Glasgow. The government of India aims to encourage those businesses and startups whose digitisation can transform conventional practices. Moreover, as more hyperlocal delivery and D2C startups emerge, the on-demand fuel startups can strike partnerships to be their fuel partner. Also, the opportunity lies in hospitality, healthcare, construction & development, corporate office, parks, institutions, etc.

For oil companies, the on-demand fuel startup opens new business avenues to expand their offerings and develop services for the end-users that were restricted to petrol pumps. With the government‘s increased focus on EVs, on-demand delivery startups can also foray into developing electronic charging stations. Hamsafar, a fuel delivery startup is looking forward to developing charging stations at its tech platform and creating manufacturing consortia for standardized EV components such as batteries, powertrain, and charging equipment.

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Pepfuels, Disrupting Fuel Delivery Space In India

Anju Nambiar — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 03:35:12 +0000

Almost everything is home delivered and ready to consume. Fuels like Petrol and Diesel have also joined the list. Large industries and corporations find it cumbersome to take their fleet of trucks and large vehicles regularly to the fuel station for refuelling. If instead, the fuel is delivered to them via mobile dispensing stations, it will reduce costs, save time, and eliminate the counter productivity of the task. Pepfuels is delivering fuel to the B2B sector through online orders.

Pepfuels, Fuel home delivered

Pepfuels is a mobile fuel delivery start-up with an online doorstep delivery platform for diesel fuel. Founded in 2014 and based in Delhi, they are a B2B (business-to-business) start-up serving customers across multiple industries. Pepfuels offers doorstep delivery of fuels mainly Diesel and Engine Oil through an app-based service.

How they are disrupting the mobile fuel delivery space

Pepfuels, a new entrant is disrupting the mobile fuel delivery space by helping their customers reduce their carbon footprints, save time, and fuel costs, and prevent pilferage. They are also venturing into new markets like Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to fulfil the end-to-end needs of their customers. Through their business model, the company wants to encourage the adoption of a gas-based economy. Their strategic tie-ups with key B2B stakeholders are disrupting the industry. They are expected to reach an annual turnover of INR 100 Cr. Currently, Pepfuels has a presence in three Indian cities namely, Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida and is slowly inching towards a PAN India presence.

How their IoT-RFID Technology works

Pepfuels is pioneering the fuel delivery space in India with India’s very first location-based fuel delivery system through their patented IoT-RFID (Internet-of-Things Radio Frequency Identification) device. This is a smart fuelling technology which has a server monitored reader connected through a dispensing machine. This technology offers accurate, theft-proof, and zero loss in fuel. The vehicle dispatched to deliver fuel is equipped with an RFID tag. The dispensing machines have a reader that reads the RFID tag and dispenses as per the order quantity. Also, the dispensing vehicles are geo-fenced and have GPS and fuel sensors.

The fuel home delivery space in India

Current scenario

In 2020, a INR 2000 Cr market for fuel delivery start-ups opened up in India. Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) had invited bids and Expressions of Interest (EoI). Start-ups who aspired to become fuel resellers could pitch in by becoming Fuel Entrepreneurs (FuelEnts). A lot of start-ups sprung up in the fuel home delivery space after this move.

Existing players

Existing players in the fuel home delivery space include start-ups like ReadyAssist, Fuel Buddy, iSafe Assist, Roda on Road Assistance, MyPetrolPump, Humsafar, Repos Energy etc. who have rolled out on-demand fuel delivery services.

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They are also venturing into new markets like Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to fulfil the end-to-end needs of their customers.

What’s in it for me?

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a government owned body has a INR 100 Cr ONGC Start-up Fund for start-ups. This is under the Start-up India initiative which provides an end-to-end support chain for start-ups including seed capital, hand holding, mentoring, market linkage, and follow-ups. Innovative technology-enabled ideas that can disrupt the oil and gas sector in India stand a chance to acquire seed funding through the ONGC Start-up Fund.

As already mentioned, the market valuation is slowly inching towards the INR 2000 Cr milestone. A lot of start-ups are signing deals with large fuel corporations. Existing oil marketing companies are rapidly expanding to new cities and states in India and establishing a pan-India presence. There is high demand for fuel delivery of petrol, diesel, engine oil among industries like construction, transportation, education, and the corporate industry. The home delivery of fuel is a good answer to the problem of rising petrol and diesel prices in India because it cuts down on the time and fuel costs needed to travel to the petrol station and reduces the environmental impact for B2Bs.

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