Following a successful trial earlier in the year, Saeed Amiri explains how the service can provide fleets with convenient access to fuel delivery via its own fleet of purpose-built vehicles.
It would be great to get an overview of how Enoc Link works
Enoc Link is an extension to our existing gas network stations, so with Enoc Link we are bringing the services of a gas station to clients. So, we have two different business models: we have B2B and B2C. B2C customers are individual people who will require fuel to be delivered to their homes, offices or wherever they are. And then we have the other model which is based on B2B, which is mainly about corporate and commercial customers. For them, we have all the three products, we have Special, Diesel and Super.
So, our model is based on an application, it’s an app-based on-demand service and the end-user has to just download the application, register his vehicle and credit card and then he can order anytime he wants and the vehicle will reach him and everything is done seamlessly and the client is not required to be around.
Its an end-to-end digital base, so customers can do everything online. So, for business customers, every customer has his own dashboard where he can view all the transactions online. Customers can track each and every transaction, including what vehicle fuel (has been used), how many kms the vehicle can run, the utilisation of those vehicles. The reason why we provide this is to help them in their business as well.
Is the service only available to customers in Dubai?
For B2C, which we piloted recently in September, we have not yet launched it to the entire city. We have a few locations and from there we will grow to new locations. We have signed a couple of deals with some developers also to exclusively deliver to their tenants in residential areas.
On the B2B side, we started piloting it from April and, as you know, this is related to fuel delivery and it took us lots of time to design the truck, understand the customers better, and keep on modifying our truck, and our offering and our metering system or apps, so from April we started till now and now we are launching it officially.
What are the challenges you have encountered since launching?
When it comes to B2C, we at Enoc, already have more than 130 network of gas stations, and we believe that- especially with Expo coming – we are anticipating 25 million visitors for Expo by 2020. So, we believe that the requirements for petrol will actually increase dramatically and by end of 2020 we will have more than 190 gas stations. We have launched the compact station, which is again a smaller model of gas station, which is relocatable so we can actually we can relocate it wherever you want, so it is an extension to the existing gas stations we have. Enoc Link, similarly, is another extension to our gas stations.
We see a need for customers in locations where we are not available. That’s why you don’t see us in the entire city. We believe that there are specific areas in Dubai and other emirates also where gas stations are not available and people really need service like this, and they need someone who is trusted to deliver fuel to them.
This is an extension to the B2C offering that we already have. On the B2B side, we have identified via market research and studies that many of the B2B customers really need fuel to reach to them, for various reasons. Many equipment like cranes and construction machinery cant actually cant reach gas stations and are not designed to go to a gas station. Those type of clients really need fuel to be delivered to them.
Unfortunately, we were not in that industry (construction) before, so they used to source their requirement from the market; which are not reliable suppliers. We knew that there was a need for these customers to have a trusted supplier to ensure the continuity of their businesses. They need a supplier to have diesel delivered to them every day or whenever they want.
And with Enoc, we have our own refinery and are a trusted supplier. Other types of B2B customers that really need our services are logistics companies, for example. They want to increase their productivity and efficiency, they don’t want to go to a gas station and waste time, fuelling. Instead, they want to have their vehicles always filled, at their location, and ready to be operational.
So, that will not only help them but us also to reduce the traffic in our stations with big buses and equipment.
Are you prepared to take on competition in the market?
We actually believe that competition is good for the market. And in a market like dubai, where even the leaders always encourage people to come up with innovative products, innovative businesses, I think it is always good to have competitors in the market: for the market and for the customers as well. Customers today have different choices and different suppliers to chose from; so, we believe that competition is healthy, good for the market and, at the end of the day, we are all here to make Dubai a happier city, a more innovative city. Competition, we believe, is a very good thing to have in the market.
What are your current expansion plans?
At this point of time, we are focusing on Dubai and the UAE market. We are currently available in certain locations only, and we are growing gradually now. It will be a gradual growth, you can download the app, you can look at the areas we sell, but we are in certain areas only.
Where does Enoc Link fit into Enoc’s overall digitalisation plan?
Enoc launched the Enoc Next programme last year. It’s an acceleration programme for businesses and out of that we came up with two businesses that we have now launched. One was BEEMA, which is a pay per km insurance, and the other one is Enoc Link, which we are launching now.
The programme actually enabled Enoc to transform from its existing business to a more digital-based business, and to adapt to the market and customer requirements. In today’s market, customers really need things to be faster, easier, digitally-based so we believe Enoc Next is a programme that enoc really needed to transform us to our new era of digitalisation.
Do you see this as part of the sustainable and diversified economy that UAE is trying to achieve?
Again, as I said, the UAE market is a market that is evolving and we at Enoc believe that these new innovative products like Enoc Link, and even BEEMA are all in-line with the vision of our government. We need the city to be smarter, we need the innovation. For example, if you take Enoc Link: you will find less customers driving and changing the route to go to the gas station. You can be in your office and we come fill your car and go.
We are reducing traffic on the road, we are reducing traffic at the station, similarly, with BEEMA, where you pay per km, the lesser you drive, the more you use the public transportation, the less you pay for bill. So, all these programmes are in line with the government’s vision.
What sort of legal framework have you needed to adhere to?
We started this concept a long time back, a year ago actually, (and) most of this time was taken to perfect this model because of fuel safety. In any industry, safety is important. We have given lots of thought to safety and every component of the truck has been designed based on the highest safety standards.
Coming to the licensing and the authorities, we at enoc we are of cours, proud to be a player that has always been with the government helping to stop the illegal trade of fuel and fuel safety. I think safety has to be top for anyone wishing to do a business like this.
With Enoc Link also, our offer is completely based on customer need. As I said, we conducted many studies in the market and, based on that, we believe that our model provides customers with what they are looking for.
What other benefits and technology do you provide?
We have a complete fraud-free solution, our truck is a completely online truck, so we have eliminated the human interference in the transaction. What that means is that the communication happens between the metre and the vehicle, so we have isolated humans between the transaction to ensure that there is no wrong delivery or any fraud possible.
Another thing we have done is that customers want reliable suppliers that there can always be supply. With other small traders in the market; sometimes they have fuel, sometimes they don’t. As a business, you don’t want to wake up one morning and realise there is no fuel. So, as Enoc, we act as a reliable supplier that can always deliver fuel to our customer.
Those companies can check, because companies have different types of suppliers and different types of vehicles so by looking at their fuel consumption and efficiencies of those engines, they can decide on their future purchases of equipment’s, they can monitor their consumption, its like a complete business solution to business owners.
