Preface

ABSTRACT

The petroleum sector in the country has undergone a sea of change in the last few years. The industry, which was monopolistic only a few years back, has been subjected to the biggest shakeup due to changed government polices and the impending threat of privatization. With an increase in expendable income of an ever growing middle class, resulting in the increased consumption of fuel, a trend has been set which we have been seeing for some time now.

The PSUs dealing in the marketing of oil have been jolted into action, with BPCL taking the lead in an effort to provide better service, more value for money, induct and retain more customers, thereby leading to increased sales and marketing share.

This was achieved through the launching of various initiatives, the most important and successful of which was its in-house loyalty program, being offered as Petro Card and SmartFleet card, in retail.The Petro Card was first of its kind in India in oil sector, to include the loyalty of the customers by offering various gamuts of rewards and benefits on fuel and lubricant purchase. Soon the company did a survey to find the effectiveness and response of Petro Card and they spotted the inclination of the most potential customers towards the Petro Card market. This segment comprised of the transportation/ big transporters market.

The company realized that the customer in this segment was bulk buyer, who bought fuel in huge quantities. The consumption was high and the need was there.

A typical transporter having a fleet size of 50 vehicles buys about 100 kilo liters of fuel every month. This market was untapped with loyalty cards and had a huge potential. In January 2001, the company came out with SmartFleet card.

The card had various features specially designed for the un-organized transporter market. With the introduction of card, came the concept of customer relationship management. This was important because to acquire the customer, it was necessary to make the customer shift to this system and take a step towards organizing the un-organized segment, as this system has been based on latest technology.

The future of oil marketing lies in the customer and their loyalty towards the company. Its all about doing the right things in a different manner.

Index

Preface..4Acknowledgement5Statement of objective..61. Introduction

1.1 History7 1.2 Origin of BPCL...8 1.3 Retail SBU.12 1.4 Smart Fleet card an overview132. Research methodology18 2.1 Research design 2.2 Sampling

2.3 Data collection

3. Analysis and findings.194. Conclusions.275. Limitation of the study...296. Questionnaire..307. Bibliography31PREFACE

This project titled as Assessment of changing needs of big ticket transporters and individual drivers separately to check out a sales strategy for both involves the study of the big transporters as well as individual drivers problems related to sales or many more and find out ways for further improvement. This project has been undertaken in BPCLs retail department at the NOIDA regional office.

This study is based on market research. About 20% of the total time of the project was spent in developing the background about the field and to understand the concept of the project, 50% of the time was dedicated to field survey, and the rest was spent on analyzing the data and compiling the report.The report is divided into seven chapters. It begins with the companys profile and then towards the sales strategy. The next part explains the research methodology, and then comes the actual study, which involves the analysis of the raw data into inferences that may be further used as conclusive research. The ball moves on the limitation of the study, conclusion drawn and suggestions to the company toward the sales strategy related to big transporter and individual drivers.The study was conducted by using a structured questionnaire which is given at the back of report.

Project GuideMr. Achman TrehanRegional Fleet Sales Manager (Retail), NorthACKNOWLEDGEMENTI express my sincere thanks to Mr. Achman Trehan (Regional Fleet Sales Manager), Ms. Jasmine Singh (Dy. Manager Fleet Sales Retail), for sparing their time and efforts to share with us valuable information about the company and its products, and also helping me in collecting and shaping the data to make it worth presentable.

I would specially like to thanks Mr. Anurag Chaudhary (Assistant Manager) and Mr. Ankur Rustgi (Assistant Manager), fleet sales for educating me about the ways all the marketing efforts and practical forms in the Indian marketplace. It has been an excellent learning experience. My sincere thanks to all the operators at the retail outlets and the fleet card customer for the information they have provided to me.

Nishant Mathur

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE1. To find out basic needs and expectation of big transporters and individual drivers from BPCL.2. To measure the satisfaction of big transporters and individual towards the sales strategy. 3. To suggest the ways towards further improvement in sales strategy for big transporters and individual drivers. 4. To find out the issues faced by big ticket transporters as well as individual drivers.ORGNIZATIONS portraiture1.1. HistoryBharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is one of India's largest PSU companies, with Global Fortune 500 rank of 287 (2012). Its corporateofficeislocatedatBallardEstate, Mumbai. As the name suggest, its interests are in petroleum sector. Its involved in the refining and retailing of petroleum products.

BharatPetroleumisconsideredtobeapioneerinIndianpetroleum industry with various path-breaking initiatives such as Pure for Sure campaign, Petro Card, Fleet card etc.

BPCL's growth post-nationalization (in 1976) has been phenomenal. One of the single digit Indian representatives in the Fortune 500 & Forbes 2000 listings, BPCL is often referred to as an MNC in PSU garb. It is considered a pioneer in marketing initiatives, and employs best in class practices.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) specializes in refining,processing, and distributing petroleum products. It offers petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and lubricants. The companyprimarily operates in India, where it is headquartered in Mumbai and employs about13, 968 people.

The company recorded revenues of INR 1,112,431 million (approximately $ 27,632.8 million) in the fiscal year ended March 2012, an increase of 13% over 2011. Its net profit was INR 17,696 million (approximately $ 439.6 million) in fiscal year 2012, a decrease of 17.5% compared to 2012.

1.2. Origin of BPCL The 1860s saw vast industrial development. A lot of petroleum refineries came up. An important player in the South Asian market then was the Burmah Oil Company Ltd. Though incorporated in Scotland in1886,the companygrewoutofthe enterprisesofthe RangoonOil Company, which had been formed in 1871 to refine crude oil produced from primitive hand dug wells in Upper Burmah. The search for oil in Indiabeganin1886,whenMr.Good enoughofMcMillanStewart Company drilled a well near Jay pore in upper Assam and struck oil. In1889, the Assam Railway and Trading Company (ARTC) struck oil at Digboi marking the beginning of oil production in India.

Whilediscoveriesweremadeandindustriesexpanded,JohnRockefellertogetherwithhisbusinessassociatesacquiredcontrolofnumerous refineries and pipelines to later form the giant Standard Oil Trust. The largest rivals of Standard Oil Royal Dutch, Shell, and Rothschild came together toform asingle organization: Asiatic Petroleum Company to market petroleum products in South Asia.

In1928,AsiaticPetroleum(India)joinedhandswithBurmahOil Companyanactiveproducer,refineranddistributorofpetroleumproducts, particularly in Indian and Burmese markets. This alliance led to the formation of Burmah-Shell Oil Storage and Distributing Company ofIndia Limited. A pioneer inmore ways than one, Burmah Shellbegan its operations with importand marketing of Kerosene. Thiswas imported inbulk and transported in 4 gallon and 1 gallon tins through rail, road and countrycraftalloverIndia.

Withmotorcars,camecannedPetrol, followed by service stations. In the 1930s, retail sales points were built with driveways set back from the road.

Service station began to appear and became accepted as a part of road development .after the war Burmah shell established efficient and up to date service and filling station to give the customers the highest possible stranded of service facilities.

Organization todayFROM BURMAH SHELL TO BHARAT PETROLEUM

Burmah Shell Refineries was incorporated as a company in 1952, and established a refinery in Mahul, Mumbai. On 24 January 1976, the Burmah Shell Group of Companies was taken over bythe Government of India to form Bharat Refineries Limited. On 1 August 1977, it was renamed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. It was also the first refinery toprocess newly found indigenous crude Bombay High, in the country.

BHARAT PETROLEUM then and after

Thecompanyinstalledmicroprocessorbaseddigitalintegrated distributed control systems in catalytic reformers and introduced a new solventunittoreplacethepneumaticcontrolsystemin1993. Thecompanyalsoinstalledanadvancedcontrolsystemforitscatalytic control unit. The company then incorporated a joint venture company, BharatOmanRefineries,in1994.

ThereafterBPCLsignedmemorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bank of Baroda in 1995 to launch the first co-branded credit card in the country. In 1998, BPCL entered into a joint venture withPetronet (India) for theconstruction of a 308 km pipeline from Kochi in Kerala to Karur in Tamil Nadu.

The following are a few achievement achieved by BHARAT PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD:

BPCL launched Speed '93, its own brand of petrol, in 2003.Inthefollowingyear,BPCLdiversified its operation. The company enters into a business e commerce arrangement with IDBI bank to provide an automated payment and purchase process to BPCLs corporate and industrial clients. The company also tied up with tata consultancy services to provide medical advisory and counseling services at gher, the highway retiling initiative of BPCL. In 2006, the Government of theSultanate ofOman signed anExplorationandProduction sharing agreement (EPSA) for the on land exploration block 56 with the consortium comprising BPCL, oilex (operator), HPCL, GAIL India and videocon industries. The same year, the company acquired a 20% interest in an exploration block in Australia.

McDonald's made an agreement with BPCL to open and run restaurants at selected retail outlets across the country in 2000. Quickies, the global coffee chain, followed suit in2001, and began ton offer its services at BPCL stores.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and GAIL formed anotherjointventurecompany,CentralUPGas,forimplementation of City Gas Projects in Delhi and Kanpurin 2005.

In September 2008, BPCL and Videocon Industries Ltd acquired 50% stake in Brazil's EnCana Brasil Petroleo limeade.

BPCL and GAIL (India) Limited announced to form ajoint venture company, Gods Own Gas Company, formarketing compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped gas in Kerala and Karnataka, in March 2008.

In April 2008, BPCL announced the formation of joint venture Company in consortium with other companies, Shapoorji Pallonji Co Ltd and Nandan Biomatrix Ltd forestablishment of Bio Diesel Value Chain in Uttar Pradesh, India.Inthesamemonth,BPCLandGAIL(India) Limited signed an MOU for cooperation in transmission and distribution of natural gas, LPG pipelines and city gas.

InAugust2008,PunjabEnergyDevelopmentAgency (PEDA) signed a MoU with BPCL to step one M/W solar photovoltaic power plants at Lalru in Punjab, India.

MAJOR PRODUCTS:-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) refines, stores, markets and distributes petroleum products. The companys key products and services include the following:

PRODUCTS1. Petrol2. Diesel3. LPG4. Kerosene5. Lubricant6. Aviation fuel7. Fuel and solventsSUBDIVISIONS-The organization structure of BPCL was revamped and seven new strategic business units (SBUs) have been created. The new structure is based on business processes, is flexible, more responsive to external focus.

Note MMTPA (Million Metric Tonnes per Annum)1.3. RETAIL SBUThe retail business continues to operate in an extremely challenging business environment. While the pricing of MS (Motor spirit) was decontrolled with effect from 25th June 2011, the business continued to suffer significant under-recoveries on the sales of HSD (high speed diesel). The public sector oil marketing companies are facing liquidity problem mainly on account of these under-recoveries.Due to these reasons, many initiatives were undertaken, viz. highway retailing strategy encompassing one stop truck shop (OSTS)-GHAR for trucks, highway star initiative coupled with SmartFleet card program for fleet owners and Petro Card program for individual users. This type of program is running successfully due to excellent network of retail outlet managed by entrepreneurial dealers. BPCL currently has 10,310 retail outlets across the country.

BPCL also recognizes the importance of the rural segment and hence, nearly 50% of the new outlets are being commissioned in the rural market. At the same time attention continues to be paid to urban and highway outlets which also make a significant contribution to the overall growth. Now BPCLs loyalty program continues to be popular, especially among the fleet community. As of march 2012, 16.07% of the retail sales happened through the loyalty program.

1.4. SMART CARD - A SMART WAY TO CONTROL YOUR FLEET

The genesis of the SmartFleet programme-

BPCL as a principle has decided to get further closer to its customer. One of the potential segments is that of fleet operator.

The key need of this segment could be categorized into 3 parts:

1. Correct quality (Q&Q) of fuel.

2. Provision of certain facilities at retail outlets on the highways.

3. Provision of certain value added service.

Working of SmartFleet cardSmartFleet card is a type of pre-paid card which is used for the purchase of petrol, diesel or lubricant. The customer can load the card either by depositing the recharge amount with the dealer of BPCL RO having CMS uploading facilities or at the branch of participating banks.BENEFITS1. Cashless Transaction-

The customer enjoys the freedom of paying for fuel, lubricants and items bought at In & Out stores with his SmartFleet card instead of cash. This mode of payment does away with the risk of highway theft and also facilities collecting, maintaining and reconciliation of bills.

2. Pure for Sure -The pure for sure movement by BPCL is intended to ensure the right quantity and quality of fuel to customers. All SmartFleet outlets are pure for sure which ensures that customers can enjoy the advantages of pure, unadulterated fuel. 3.Cash management system- Cash management system is a feature of the CMS enabled SmartFleet cards wherein a customer can manage the fund he requires for fuelling centrally instead of loading it individually on each SmartFleet card. He can recharge the central pool account by depositing cheques into branches of HDFC bank.4. MIS Report - The SmartFleet programme makes it possible for customers to have total control over fleet through monthly vehicle report, which comprise of Individual vehicle report and consolidated all vehicle monthly report.

5. Reward Customers can earn petro miles for every transition done with SmartFleet card. Petromiles can be exchanged for a wide range of exciting rewards. 6. Tier benefits-The Company recognizes and appreciates its regular customers and returns their loyalty with special appreciation programs, which entitle benefits. The more they use SmartFleet, the more they gain.

There are the 4 levels of membership within the SmartFleet programme and in ascending hierarchy ranks-blue, silver, gold and platinum. The higher the tier, the more are the benefits and privileges.

8. Vehicle tracking - Customers can take better control over their fleet by keeping track of the vehicle and the last transaction done. This helps them plan their fleets travel schedule in advance.

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1. Research Design

A market survey was done in order to find out and analyze the basic requirements of big ticket transporters and drivers of trucks/tank lorries. Needs are related to types of problems they are facing at BPCL ROs, whether they are getting proper responses, and also additional facilities/amenities they require from BPCL. With the help of survey findings, we can chalk out a sales strategy for big transporters and individual drivers. The results are in the form of inferences, which can be used as a basis for further research in the related field.

2.2. Sampling The questionnaire was answered by big transporters as well as small transporters and individual drivers. Questionnaire methodology ensured one to one interaction and guaranteed collection of genuine data from the field.2.3. Data collection

The entire data collected was from primary sources using the field survey method. Primary sources were used to get recent first hand information. It is important to explore the customer preference, which is very dynamic. The areas covered under the survey were the Sanjay Gandhi transport nagar of Delhi, BP Bilaspur, and BP-35 (Companys RO).At Sanjay Gandhi transport nagar, interaction was done with transporters having fleet size ranging from (5 to 150) vehicles. The sample size of survey at Sanjay Gandhi transport nagar consisted of 90 transporters for which 14 days were utilized. The survey was done in order to find out their fuelling pattern, monthly fuel consumption, expectations and related queries. The aim behind this whole exercise was to collect inputs for improving sales strategy.

After completing survey at Sanjay Gandhi transport nagar, a visit was done to one company owned company operated (COCO) RO named as BP Bilaspur. It is one of the largest selling retail outlets of BPCL located in the state of Haryana, selling almost 200 kl diesel and 10 to 15 kl petrol per day. Almost 400 vehicles visit this retail outlet for fuelling everyday. The objective behind visiting COCO was to collect some useful information from individual drivers having their own trucks (1 to 2 vehicles). This data may be helpful in increasing sales of BPCL. The sample size of survey at BP Bilaspur consisted of 25 individual drivers for which 1 day was utilized.

After completing survey at BP Bilaspur, a visit was done at one more company owned company operated (COCO) RO named as BP-35 located at Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The purpose behind visiting one more COCO was to understand the automation system, safety rules, quantity and quality checks and many more activities being carried out at the RO. 3 days were utilized for this purpose

The language used in the questionnaire was English; it had been translated in the vernacular for many respondents at the time of taking the responses.The raw data gathered during this survey from 115 respondents.3. Analysis and findings

Having acquired the basic framework of the study, analysis of the raw data gathered during the survey was done to draw inferences. Based on the sequence of questions in the questionnaire, responses are evaluated as shown in the next pages.

Q1.What is your fleet size?

Fleet sizeRange No of Respondents% Respondents

Small 5 to 508876.52

Medium 50 to 1502219.13

Large >15054.34

Q2. From which RO you prefer to take fuel?

Fuelling from No of Responses% Responses

BPCL4438.26

Others 3933.91

Any RO3227.82

Q3.Are you get proper responses from our DSM at ROs?

Answer No of Responses % No of Responses

YES5089.28

NO610.72

Note DSM (driver sales men)Q4. Are you getting quality and quantity at BPCL RO?

Answer No of Responses % Responses

YES4682.16

NO1017.84

Q5. What is your fueling pattern?

Answer No of Responses% No of Responses

SINGLE POINT8775.65

MULTIPOINT2824.35

Q6. Your monthly fuel consumption in Liters?

Range No of Responses% No of Responses

100 to 500 Lts1614

>500 Lts9986.0

Q7. What is your area of operation?Ans- Received following responses to this open question: Delhi to Rajasthan

Delhi to South

Delhi to NCR

Delhi to Gujarat

Delhi to Indor

Delhi to Kolkata

Delhi to Bombay

Delhi to Karnataka

Delhi to Uttrakhand

Delhi to Hyderabad

Delhi to Agra

Delhi to Bengal

Delhi to Punjab

Delhi to M.P

Delhi to Jammu

Delhi to ChattishgardNote- From above it is observed that large numbers of transporters are operating in the state of Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, and Jammu. Q8.What types of benefits are you getting on purchase of fuel?

Ans Received following responses to this open question: Fleet card and Petro Card advantages.

Rebate on cash purchase.

Got small gifts.

Q9. Expectation from us?Ans Received following responses to this open question: Required more rebate on purchasing on fuel. Ensure 100% quality and quantity at ROs. Provide some kind of credit facilities 4. Conclusion Few of the general findings about the whole survey are as follows:

1. Of 115 customers I met in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, 38.28% customers were earlier using the IOCL or HPCL petroleum services but now they are the customers of BPCL. The credit goes to the services quality and quantity provided by BPCL.

2. Of the total transporters/drivers surveyed, nearly 30% were availing services of BPCL SmartFleet Card. These transporters are using the FleetCard services very frequently, rest 70% are also a very important segment and greater emphasis is required in order to excel in this field which will eventually result in increase in sales.

3. Majority of transporters surveyed need more facilities from purchase of fuel.For example

40% of transporters surveyed required more rebate on purchasing on fuel.

60% of transporters surveyed required some kind of credit facilities.

4. Transporters wanted credit. For examples-

New Kashmir transporter required 3 days credit facility.

Delhi golden transporter required 3 days credit facility

5. Marketing of FleetCard should be more aggressive in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar by us as currently; the marketing of FleetCard of any of the three public sector oil companies is not very aggressive.6. Fuel redemption should be available to all kind of customers rather than being restricted to gold and platinum customer only.

7. DSM should be educated about fleet card benefits so as to be able to act as SCCE for that particular RO.

8. The no. of FleetCard enabled ROs of BPCL is less comparatively in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar.

For example Total numbers of ROs - 5

BPCL - 1

IOCL - 4 Fleet card enabled ROs-1

More should be the visibility of fleet card BPCL ROs and thus more BPCL ROs should be terminalized.

9. Currently, monetary benefits in SmartFleet card are less as compared to other oil marketing companies. It should be increased to withstand competition.5. Limitations of the study

1. Sample size is small only 115 which may be adequate to derive at a final conclusion.

2. Survey is conducted in restricted areas, so results may vary when a larger area is covered.

3. The statistics shown in the report are not ends within themselves and need to be proved further by conclusive research.

4. Sometime people are reluctant to provide the exact information, which may affect the overall result.

6. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CUSTOMERDear Respondent-

Kindly help us out in completing the following questionnaire meant for educational purpose.

Name of the transporter-

Contact number-

Address-

Date-

1. What is your fleet size and which types of vehicle owned?

2. What is your area of operation?

3. From which RO you prefer to take fuel?

4. What is your fuelling pattern?

5. Your monthly fuel consumption in liters. ?

6. What types of benefits are you getting on purchase of fuel?

7. Expectation from us?

8. Do you get proper responses from our delivery men at ROs?9. Are you getting quality and quantity at ROs?7. Bibliography-

http://www.bharatpetroleum.com http://www.mySmartFleet.com http://www.petrobouns.com http://www.google.com BPCL-Annual Report 2011-2012

SmartFleet manuals

Gas

Refinery

Numaligarh refinery

Capacity of 3 MMTPA

Mumbai refinery

Capacity of 12 MMTPA

Kochi refinery

Capacity of 8 MMTPA

Refinery

BPCL

Retail

LPG

Lubricants

Industrial and commercial

Aviation

INCLUDEPICTURE "http://4wheelservice.in/servicesimages/cashless.png" \* MERGEFORMATINET

INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.petro-online.com/assets/file_store/pr_files/16154/images/thumbnails/800w-logo_pure_for_sure.jpg" \* MERGEFORMATINET

INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.aam-us.org/sf_images/launch-graphics/inst-member-graphic.png?sfvrsn=2" \* MERGEFORMATINET

Total Respondents 115

Total Respondents 115

PAGE 31