Telematics Update talks to Lauran Wetemans, Shell’s B2B commercial road transport general manager, Benelux and France

The group’s focus is on providing refueling services for the Commercial Road Transport (CRT) companies via the euroShell Card, which can be used to refuel and for road services throughout Europe. In the Benelux and France, the group manages a dedicated CRT network of 150 unmanned service stations. Wetemans is responsible for the introduction and sales of Shell FuelSave Partner in the Benelux. Before joining B2B, Wetemans held several management positions in Shell’s downstream businesses in The Netherlands, the UK and Brazil.

What does your company do?

Shell provides refuelling services for commercial road transport operators, both nationally and internationally, through our extensive network of truck-friendly service stations. Our euroShell Card enables drivers to pay for both fuel and relevant road services such as tolls, road taxes and tunnels right across Europe. We already serve one million business-to-business customers in Europe with a total diesel volume of 8 billion litres. Last month, we were also proud to introduce Shell FuelSave Partner, an innovative new fuel management solution that helps our transport customers save up to 10% on their fuel consumption and fuel-related CO2 emissions.

How do you differentiate your offerings from your competitors?

The euroShell Card is Europe’s leading fuel card and Shell offers one of the largest independent networks of service stations across Europe. We serve our customers with a comprehensive offer of high-quality fuels and services, from road toll payments to tax refunds that help simplify the complexities involved in cross-border refuelling and transportation.

Our latest introduction is Shell FuelSave Partner, a fuel management solution that helps our transport customers reduce fuel consumption by up to 10%. Shell FuelSave Partner is unique, because it automatically links Shell fuel card transactions with vehicle and driver data to help fleet managers control fuel consumption more effectively. This provides a complete end-to-end picture of fuel purchases and consumption when using the Shell fuel card.

It is also one of the only systems that can automatically calculate fuel-related CO2 emissions on a per tonne-km basis. This can make it easier for our customers to track, manage and reduce their fleet’s fuel-related carbon footprint, a really beneficial aspect to the offer given the pressure on many of our customers today to show tangible means of measuring and taking action on fuel-related carbon emissions.

The customer also benefits from easy-to-understand, relevant and actionable reports and potential identification of fraud (by matching fuel purchase data with vehicle fuel consumption).

What partnerships are you currently forging?

For Shell FuelSave Partner, in particular, we are working with a number of partners, including IBM, Continental and Airbiquity, who have helped us develop and test the technology platform that supports this sophisticated system. We are also working with many of our existing customers and incorporating their feedback into the functionality of Shell FuelSave Partner. This ensures we are not only addressing our customers’ needs but will also enable us to build the proof of concept that Shell FuelSave Partner can help deliver up to a 10% reduction in fuel expenditure.

Shell is one of the first companies to close the loop between fuel, driver and vehicle. We are able to do this, because technology and innovation is at the heart of Shell’s business. We have some of the world’s leading experts working on delivering high-performance fuels, products and services that help our customers meet today’s energy challenges. Shell FuelSave Partner is one example of how we continue to seek new and innovative ways to help our customers use less fuel and emit less CO2.

Which trends will impact the industry the most in the coming years and why?

In the transport industry, we see some trends influencing the transport business: efficiency, and especially fuel efficiency, are the main focus of transport companies; the CO2 footprint of transport companies will become increasingly important as both social, legislative and market pressure to reduce Co2 emissions increases. Related to telematics, we see a clear request from our customers to integrate several services into one on-board unit. Although the industry is not there yet, we strongly believe that this is a focus area to work on.

You are a key speakers at our upcoming Fleet & Asset Management Europe Conference. What key topics are you looking at discussing with the industry at the show?

I am looking forward to talking about how we can collectively address the global energy challenge! I will be sharing my thoughts on how the transport industry is affected by increasing environmental pressures and what steps can be taken to mitigate CO2 emissions. Also, how to unlock the profit potential of smart technologies. A challenging economic climate has strengthened the power of in-cab telematics systems and technical developments as well as behavioral changes are needed to thrive.

Which gadgets/gizmos/cars are on your current wish list?

I would love to have only a telephone to do the things, which I need to do with a whole bunch of cards right now. I don’t want a debit card, a credit card, a public transport chip card, an ID card and a driver’s license in my wallet. If everything were incorporated in my telephone, it would make life easier. In addition, I only want to use my finger instead of all my keys; I would use my finger to open my car, open the front door of my house and get access to my company building just using my finger.

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