Shell is Growing Its B2B Experience with a New Range of Fleet Solutions

When it comes to keeping the world moving, the responsibility falls to those brands which can provide the best range of fleet services. However, in 2020, these services must look beyond simple considerations such as fuel and maintenance and expand their offerings for B2B clients.

With the situation the world now finds itself in – i.e. the coronavirus pandemic crisis – the need is being felt more keenly than ever to keep our infrastructure moving as much as possible while keeping everyone safe of course. Even taking the current crisis out of the equation, B2B brands even peripherally attached to our supply chains are always striving for new ways to improve the way goods move along our roads.

As one of the biggest players in the game – not to mention one of the largest companies in the world – Royal Dutch Shell is constantly innovating to improve its B2B services and fleet solutions around the world.

Shell

Telematics technology is creating a new level of connectivity and utility for our vehicles and is something Shell has been investing significant time, money, and effort into developing.

In its most recent Shell Power of Data Survey, the oil and gas brand together with Fleet World analysed attitudes to telematics and emerging connected technologies from 252 industry executives to see how data is affecting the way they run their fleets.

It was discovered that a massive 82 percent of respondents were already using some kind of connected technology in their fleets, with around 72 percent of light commercial and 58 percent of car-based fleets reporting that they have incorporated telematics into their vehicles. This is a massive increase over previous result, mainly due to the technology becoming more sophisticated with greater utility, and more affordable.

Improving fuel efficiency was the most common (63 percent), closely followed by improving driver safety (59 percent) and cutting costs (58 percent). However, there has been some kick back from drivers, concerned about monitoring.

“For drivers, the ‘carrot’ approach is better than the ‘stick’, and ‘gamification’ – turning better driving into a game for end-users – is becoming more common” said Fleet World. “The latest version of Lightfoot’s driver behaviour monitoring solution puts an emphasis on creating league tables for drivers. This not only allows them to compare their performance to their peers, but it drives behaviour improvements by offering prizes for the most efficient, mechanically sympathetic drivers.”

Eager to put its money where its mouth is, Shell has been building on this data and has recently launched a new telematics and fleet card offering for its Indian B2B customers.

Telematics

Combining three elements of its B2B business – Shell Fuels, Shell Fleet Prepaid, and Shell Telematics, this new and improved offering is designed to lower the total cost of ownership for fleet owners through better control over operations and a greater degree of protection against misuse and fraud.

“The range of solutions introduced in India will bring together Shell’s global experience and cutting-edge technology to offer a distinctive ‘Shell advantage’ to Indian fleet owners,” said General Manager of Business Development, Marketing and Operations for Fleet Solutions at Shell, Parminder Kohli. “Fuels are formulated with dual detergent technology called Dynaflex. This technology enriches fuel formulations with powerful cleaning agents and also utilizes dual detergent to work in both newer and older engine technologies and cater to the diverse mix of fleets.”

Integrating accurate and real-time fuel level and consumption data with purchase information from the fuel card gives fleet owners unprecedented visibility into fuel costs and enable any fraudulent activity to be identified quickly. Live maps allow vehicles to be tracked with satellite map view, Google Street View, and live traffic information, so you always know where your trucks are.

All journey histories are automatically logged and uploaded as well, allowing for constant review and updating of routes. Geofencing allows control centres to be alerted when vehicles cross certain thresholds – such as leaving city limits.

“Shell Telematics gives you all the insight you need to help get the best out of your fleet,” said Shell. “By combining Shell Card and vehicle data, our end-to-end solution makes it simple to do everything from spotting card fraud through to tracking delivery progress and monitoring driver behaviour. Whatever the size or type of your fleet, Shell Telematics is an easy, cost-effective way to make better-informed decisions to help bring down your Total Cost of Ownership, as well as be complaint with AIS 140 mandate.”

Final Thoughts

Telematics are changing the way logistics brands manage their fleets. From driver behaviour to vehicle performance, there are few elements of the business which cannot be improved through telematics and the sophisticated data it provides. By integrating its telematics offering with its Fleet Card, Shell has created yet another way for this innovative technology to benefit fleet owners.

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