ED 49: May-June 2013

fueling assistance
A prime example of an SME helping
other SMEs is Best Petrol & Diesel
Supply Pte Ltd (BPDS), who provides
customised fuel management solutions
for SMEs, with an aim of helping
SMEs to modernise their internal
processes and operations. Essentially
an Authorised Reseller, appointed by
an oil major to market this service in
Singapore, BPDS features a unique
fuel management solution that is
tailored to an SME’s individual needs
and preferences. A full-fledged fuel
marketing company with a dedicated
in-house operations and sales team,
BPDS helps companies to save money
on fuel through a surprisingly simple and
efficient method – a card.
Not exactly novel technology, BPDS
issues a fuel card to SMEs utilising its
services. Besides offering attractive rates
on fuel and Pump & Go convenience,
this card contains the business’ fuel
preference, needs and requirements,
allowing the drivers or delivery personnel
to simply pay for fuel using the card
without the need for cash transactions.
Traditionally, these workers had to
innovating Solutions
Another company that illustrates the
spirit of mutual help in this challenging
business climate is Synnovate Solutions.
Truly a unique enterprise, Synnovate
focuses on washing dirty dishes from
restaurants and catering companies.
It collects the soiled cutlery from the
establishments making use of its
service, washes and cleans them
before delivering the tableware back to
their owners. With the recent cutbacks
on foreign manpower quotas, such a
service can be considered a godsend to
restaurateurs and eatery operators who
are hard-pressed to find labour for their
dishwashing needs.
This Integrated Dishwashing Solutions
(IDS) is the brainchild of Synnovate’s
founder Mr Lawrence Low, who was a
former restaurant manager and thus
understood the problems that plagued
the food & beverage (F&B) industry.
Manpower for such a job function was
first fork out the cash for the fuel and
then make a claim with the company
for reimbursement. This process can
be tedious, time-consuming and
unnecessary especially in an SME
where staff perform multiple tasks in a
fast-paced environment. With this fuel
card, time can be saved on completing
claims requests, reducing the amount of
administrative work behind each claim
as well as provide a number of benefits
for the whole company.
For one, the SME will decrease its cash
usage, which will consequently improve
its cash flow and finances since no
upfront payment is involved. In addition,
the fuel card will also allow the SME
to streamline its operations, reducing
redundancy by eliminating unnecessary
processes. The drivers’ refueling
performance and habits can also be
tracked, whereby details of all fuel
transactions are provided. With all this
information, SMEs have better control
over their business operations and will
be able to identify gaps in their business
processes and manage their resources
better, which translates to larger cost
savings and a better bottom line in the
long run.
scarce: even before the new foreign
manpower rulings, companies faced
significant difficulty in hiring and retaining
staff to handle this less-visible yet crucial
aspect of the business.
To aid his fellow SMEs, Mr Low has
installed a first-of-its-kind $2.5 million
dollar facility containing four machines
that are able to wash up to 600,000
pieces of dirty crockery a day. Heeding
the call for productivity, each machine
is managed by only four employees,
a significant step up from the large
numbers of dishwashers hired by
restaurants to do the same job on
a much smaller scale. The cleaned
crockery will be returned to the
restaurants within 24 hours, thereby
necessitating the need for more than
one set of tableware, an investment
which can be recovered within three
to six months due to the cost savings
gleaned from utilities, manpower and
detergent costs.
Ma r k E t in t E l l i gE n C E
In line with the onus on technological
innovation, everything involved is
electronic: from the state of the art
Customer Management System to the
Electronic Invoices with consolidated
transaction details, SMEs can better
track and manage their expenditures
on fuel without the fuss of loose papers
or maintaining thick files. Furthermore,
a dedicated account manager will see
to the needs and queries of the SMEs,
promising swift handling of critical
issues as well as a smooth operational
process.
The service itself is provided free-ofcharge
by BPDS, and SMEs simply
subscribe to this card and pay-asthey-use,
allowing them to upgrade
themselves, improve productivity and
streamline their processes, knowing
that their fuel needs are being expertly
handled.
best petrol & Diesel Supply pte ltd
6 Benoi Place Singapore 629927
Telephone: 6898 2525 Fax: 6862 2995
Email: enquiry@bestpetrol.com.sg
Outsourcing dishwashing reaps a
number of tangible benefits. The
savings on dishwashing necessities
allow F&B outlets to channel the funds
elsewhere to improve productivity. It also
alleviates their manpower woes, giving
them the breathing room to focus their
human resource policies on key areas
like customer service and even food
preparation to bring more value to their
customers.
Even in this tough business climate, a
sense of camaraderie pervades the SME
community, helping one another to tide
through difficult times and restructure
for the future. E
Synnovate Solutions pte ltd
8A Admiralty Street, #03-03/04,
Food Xchange @ Admiralty,
Singapore 757437
Telephone: 6659 0318 Fax: 6659 0328
Email: enquiry.synnovate@gmail.com
May | Ju n 2013
En t r E p r E n E u r s’ Di g E s t
49