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Next meets Now in the drive for digital disruption The Fleet Solut ions d ivis ion of S hel l S o u t h A f r i ca i s h e a di n g fo r a n i n c r e asi n g ly di gi tal fut ur e, as it s et s out to re sh a p e t h e f l e e t wo r l d as w e kn ow i t to day, wr it e s G av i n My e r s
isruption” is one of the most talked about buzzwords in today’s boardrooms. As technology evolves and becomes ever more integrated into our daily personal and professional lives, more and more of the traditional ways of doing things are opened up for new, better ways to take over. Similarly, the fuel supply industry faces numerous challenges in the coming decades – the demise of fossil fuels and the rise of electric and alternative power, changing travel patterns from personal transport to the likes of e-hailing services, as well as the already increasing use of drone delivery for last-mile logistics and the impact this has on the transport and logistics sector. In preparation for this “disruption” to its century-old business model, Shell is looking to a new, digitised future across all its business units. The company is, essentially, being its own “disruptor” and getting ahead of the trend. The future direction for the brand is immediately evident with the recent name change of its Commercial Fleet division, which is now known as Fleet Solutions. Speaking at Shell South Africa’s recent Next Meets Now conference, Parminder Kohli, global marketing manager, business development and operations manager at Shell, explained that technology and digitisation are driving economic disruption across all industry sectors. Many of these sectors impact directly on Shell’s business units, for example, it’s fleet-card business. “In less than a decade, the payment industry will be
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28 FOCUS ON TRANSPORT
severely disrupted – a key consideration when the Shell Card is at the heart of Shell’s payments business,” he said. Considering that Shell South Africa’s fleet-card offering is now 35 years old – and the company’s fleet-card business is represented in 23 countries, with two-million customers transacting at 200 000 Shell and Shell partner sites every day – the company is right to try to avoid disruption. On the other hand, the world is going to need up to 30-percent more energy than it does today by the time its population reaches nine billion. It is estimated that the population of Africa will double in the next 30 years, representing the biggest growth rate in the world. “Urbanisation will be huge; 800 million people will move to cities in the next 30 years,” Kohli said. “All this is taking place against the backdrop of climate change... We need to find a way to balance it all. The world needs a mosaic of solutions, including different and varied energy sources, and Shell needs to play a part as an energy company,” he added. For example, says Kohli, Shell has recently bought New Motion – Europe’s largest network of electric-vehicle charge points. It has also developed a range of new solutions to complement its fuel offering; many of which will have a direct benefit for the transport and logistics industry. These include telematics for analytics, fuel reporting and route optimisation; freight optimisation, last-mile and long-haul solutions; fleet-management services specific to business-to-business customers; and e-road services.