The FINANCIAL — Rompetrol Georgia plans to increase its market share from 15 to 20% in 2009 by adding 15 new gas stations and enlarging its retail segment by 40%. In addition to this Rompetrol is counting on its new fleet management system for corporate clients with commercial fleets, the Fill&Go Business – Levan Lomtadze reporting from Tbilisi.
Since 4 December, Rompetrol Georgia has been offering companies which have commercial fleets the Fill&Go business card. The new service is available throughout Rompetrol Georgia’s gas stations network and allows the purchasing of fuels on credit and permanent access to information about the transactions made.
The new product was presented during the press conference organized by Rompetrol Georgia at the Marriott Courtyard on December 4. At the same event Mr. Dan Voiku, the General Manager of Rompetrol Georgia, briefed journalists on the company’s results of 2008.
The Fill&Go card is the newest service of the first fully automatized fleet management system, launched by Rompetrol Georgia on the market at the beginning of July 2008. Fill&Go Fleet Management includes the Fill&Go Business Card, Fill&Go Ring, Fill&Go EasyRing, Fill&Go Fuel Control application and Fill&Go Fixed Unit. By means of these services, Rompetrol Georgia ensures its clients – companies with vehicle fleets of all sizes – integrated business solutions that meet their needs and contribute to the maximization of their profits.
“The system is designed to automatically register, centralize and stock car data such as kilometres driven, hours of engine functioning and date and time of gas supply. The information is transmitted through the internet to the fleet manager and presented in graphical format. Widely used in many other countries, the system prevents fraud and only allows gas supply to the registered fleet, and rationalizes the time and work force. Fill&Go can save up to 45% of the company’s costs on fuel consumption,” explained Tamar Tandarashvili, Project Manager of Rompetrol Georgia.
As the General Director mentioned, since its introduction on the Georgian market, 200 companies whose fleets add up to more than 3,000 vehicles have chosen Fill&Go as a solution for solving their fuel consumption management issues. At the moment 35% of Rompetrol Georgia sales to corporate clients are made through Fill&Go. Rompetrol Georgia’s target is to have 500 companies, totalizing 10,000 vehicles, using Fill&Go by the end of June 2009. Mr. Dan Voiku estimates that in 2009 more than 65% of the company’s corporate sales will be made through the Fill&Go system.
The Fill&Go Business Card is protected by a PIN code and is embossed with the company’s name and vehicle plate number of the holder. This guarantees the full security of the transactions as only authorized vehicles may use the card. The customer has permanent online access to detailed reports for each transaction: type and quantity of the fuel, the unit price, the total value, kilometres travelled, as well as the date, hour and the gas station where the transaction was made.
The Fill&Go Business Card has no commission fees and online data is available free of charge. Each transaction is registered electronically; the system calculates the fuel expenses and automatically generates the data. The card owner may choose the appropriate payment form.
“The clients receive up to 40 days’ credit and significant discounts for the fuel purchased with the Fill&Go card. The discount starts with 150 litres and increases in accordance with consumption. As for the ring it’s a complex unit control that not only counts the kilometres travelled but also the engine hours worked. This service is recommended for those companies which need precise information on the hourly works of their engines,” the Project Manager of Rompetrol Georgia, told The FINANCIAL.
“In 2008 we had the most dynamic and productive year since the establishment of Rompetrol Georgia,” declared Mr. Dan Voiku referring to the company’s annual results.
According to the data revealed by Mr. Dan Voiku, 15 new stations were opened, 80% of the network was upgraded and re-branded and innovative services for corporate clients under the brand Fill&Go Business were introduced.
In 2008 Rompetrol Georgia consolidated its position as a major European standard fuel supplier. “Rompetrol imported and distributed 100,000,000 litres of oil products in 2008. This is 40% more than the amount imported in 2007. The revenues of Rompetrol Georgia were more than USD 100,000,000 in 2008. In 2009 we are going to increase sales by 40-50%,” commented Dan Voiku, General Director of Rompetrol Georgia.
“During 2008 Rompetrol Georgia managed to seriously increase the number of its clients, both in the corporate segment as well as in the private motorists’ segment. The companies and private persons who buy fuel from Rompetrol Georgia have become our loyal clients. What has convinced them? The fuel quality, the excellent and innovative services and very advantageous commercial conditions (prices, discounts, credit) were all reasons for their loyalty,” says Mr. Voiku.
About Rompetrol Georgia’s plans for 2009, Mr. Voiku declared, “There will be USD 3-5 million in accordance with market expansion needs. 10-15 new gas stations will be added and the Fill&Go system will be developed.”
In 2008 Rompetrol Georgia has increased its market share from 10 to 15%. “For 2009 our target is 20% from the Georgian market,” estimates Mr. Voiku.
Commenting on the price evolutions of the oil products market, Mr. Voiku said that, “Due to international oil products market conditions, Rompetrol Georgia has considerably decreased prices in the last three months. Since August, Rompetrol Georgia has reduced prices by 70 tetri per litre for every product. Throughout this period Rompetrol Georgia has managed to have the lowest price for Euro Regular (RON 92), the most used fuel in Georgia, for instance today the price for Euro Regular active in the Rompetrol retail network is GEL 1.19/liter – the most attractive prices on the market.”
Being asked to comment on how competition influences the actions of Rompetrol Georgia, Mr. Voiku declared to The FINANCIAL, “We are selling on both retail and wholesale channels, and as in every open market we encourage competition as it is one of the drivers to increase the level of the market, the quality of services provided in order to better satisfy the customers. We are one of the biggest players on the market and we are continuously striving to improve our operations and to increase the level of satisfaction amongst our customers. Rompetrol Georgia is a market oriented company. So we are driven by the international oil products market, and as these international trends are influencing all the other players on the market we may say that somehow we are influencing our competitors in the same manner as they are influencing us. Our market strategy is mostly a pro-active rather than reactive one in order to meet the expectations of our consumers.”
Established in December 2005 as an international division of The Rompetrol Group NV, Rompetrol Georgia is the largest European standard fuel supplier on the Georgian market. Rompetrol Georgia manages a network of 33 gas stations at a national level and 2 storage facilities in Tbilisi and Batumi. The company is active in both retail and wholesale operations.
The Rompetrol Group N.V. is a multinational oil company headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, operating in 13 countries, and with the majority of its assets and operations based in France, Romania, Spain, and South-East Europe. The Rompetrol Group aims to become one of the first 10 largest oil companies in Europe and obtain a strong position in the Black Sea and Mediterranean areas.
Written By Levan Lomtadze
