OnlineFuels makes buying easy

DIGITAL POWER

FUEL • ONLINEFUELS IS TWEAKING THE LATEST VERSION OF ITS FLAGSHIP PLATFORM WHILE LEADING ITS INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION THROUGH A COLLABORATION WITH SHELL DEUTSCHLAND

ABOVE: MARC NOY, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ONLINEFUELS DEUTSCHLAND (LEFT), WITH ONLINEFUELS, A LEADING B2B online fuel sales platform in the UK, has been turning heads with its innovative way of comparing and purchasing fuels. OnlineFuels provides distributors with the opportunity to view all their fuel buying options in one place, delivering unparalleled market visibility.

The latest update for the online system, due to be unveiled in May, promises to provide an even greater level of service to users and clients and will include the highly anticipated Delivered-in feature. For those attending FPS EXPO 2019 there is the chance to have a sneak peek at the latest incarnation of the platform before wider release.

Purchasing fuel is an essential but timeconsuming part of industry. OnlineFuels has developed a way to make comparing, sourcing and actually buying fuel as easy and clear as possible. Users of the system can accurately make informed decisions through the use of live market charts that highlight price changes.

Additionally, the software provides the option to set alerts when the market reaches certain parameters, allowing users to set their own targets and never miss the opportunity to buy at the best prices. There are also the abilities to negotiate fuel prices, receive detailed reports and examine insights into previous purchases.

EU EXPANSION OnlineFuels will now be making ground in Germany by means of a new deal with Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH and the launch of a fuel sales platform for the German commercial B2B market. “Germany is the largest fuel market in Europe – an ideal place for us to expand our online offerings to Europe,” says James Stairmand, founder and CEO of OnlineFuels.

Jörg Debus, Shell’s commercial fuels manager, Europe and Africa, says: “With an online platform we want to give our B2B customers the opportunity to order products around the clock to mitigate potential exposures. In addition, the platform aims to make the oil purchasing process as simple and efficient as possible for our clients.”

Stairmand says of the deal: “This is an exciting move for us. We have previously successfully worked with Shell in the UK market. When the company approached us to target Germany, it made complete sense. Our vision is to prove the model in UK and Germany and to keep pushing further afield, the whole time keeping the product as consistent as possible, meaning we can make our platform as great for the user as possible.”

Looking to the future, particularly as the market moves away from the use of fossil fuels and into renewables, it will be interesting to see how providers such as OnlineFuels incorporate these changes in scope. Whatever the main fuel source is, it will still need to be bought and sold in the most efficient and effective way possible, and OnlineFuels seems to have the answer.

The German subsidiary, OLF Deutschland Oil GmbH, will be based in Hamburg and the plan is to go live in the first half of 2019. HCB www.onlinefuels.com