Untitled - Bharat Petroleum

ewarded BPC’s efforts with the Petro Card and
SmartFleet business clocking a turnover growth of
31%. Sale of fuels through the cards accounted for
nearly 20% of Retail’s MS and HSD market sales
turnover. Keeping pace with the increasing penetration
of credit and debit cards in various consumer
segments, BPC has firmed up strategic paymentfacilitating
alliances with State Bank of India and HDFC
Bank, for increased customer convenience and to drive
their respective customer bases to BPC’s outlets.
BPC added another dimension in its Customer
Relationship Management programme by joining
hands with the Tata group in the launch of the Tata
Credit-cum-Loyalty Card. BPC is part of the Coalition
Loyalty Program as the exclusive fuel partner. The
Tata Group has initiated the programme in association
with Master Card International and SBI Card, that
would accord a unified view of customers across
various participating brands. The programme will be
a ‘mileage’ program, where members will earn a
common currency of reward points for their
transactions (including referrals, where tracked)
across the participating companies.
BPC’s network of 383 In & Out stores is by far the
largest organized convenience retailing proposition in
the country. The sales turnover grew by 42% to touch a
level of Rs.605 million in 2005-06. During the year, 6
In & Out stores made up the “millionaire club” by
clocking sales of Rs.1 million per month with several
more stores being within striking distance of this mark.
The daily sales per square foot of these millionaire
stores is in excess of Rs.40/-, which is more than
several established supermarkets in the country. On
the Allied Retail Business (ARB) front, Food &
Beverages (F&B) and Automated Teller Machines
(ATMs) continued to be the area of focus under the
alliance management strategy. Alliances with 19 banks
account for the 222 ATMs located in BPC’s network of
retail outlets. With the fast food industry showing an
annual growth of 40%, F&B as a proposition within the
In & Out, as well as a standalone proposition, is an
area where BPC plans to grow aggressively. The
existing 27 restaurants at the retail outlets achieved a
turnover of Rs. 129 million during the year.
Another key alliance initiative with Western Union
Money Transfer has seen the In & Out store network
record 17,430 transactions and a turnover of Rs.370
million. The In & Out network is today amongst the
largest branded retail networks offering this service,
besides banks, financial institutions and post offices.
During the year, the web of alliances of the In & Out
proposition was strengthened with the entry of new
partners – Godrej Sara Lee for its Ambipur range of car
accessories, IFB Industries Ltd. for setting up
Launderettes and consolidation of existing alliances
with ITC, Red Bull and others. The pilot initiative in
Kolkata, on retailing of movie tickets from the stores
through strategic alliance with a multiplex, has been
highly successful with the stores recording sales of
Rs.2.2 million worth of movie tickets during the year.
The multiplex alliance is now being rolled out across
major cities in the country.
The “In & Out convenience store” brand had the
distinction of being nominated for the “Retailer of the
Year – Food & Grocery” award at the Images Retail
Awards – 2005 alongside three leading retailers of the
country – Nilgiris, Food Bazaar and Star India Bazaar.
The branded service stations, “V-Care” in BPC’s
network, which were launched during 2004-05, saw the
addition of 10 more centers during the year 2005-06.
Managing the supply chain efficiently holds the key to
the success of the retail business. The total tankage
across the country now stands at 3.01 million KL. The
extension of the Mumbai Manmad product pipeline to
Piyala near Delhi, along with a connecting pipeline to
Bijwasan and Tap off points at Kota and Bharatpur, has
been mechanically completed. This will help in
bridging product shortfalls and consolidate product
security in the Northern Region.
The concept of Model Location, which was introduced
in the previous year, has facilitated the shift from
compliance to excellence in operations, thereby
becoming a role model for the oil industry. A total of 33
locations have been certified as Model Locations and
another 17 locations are being taken up for certification
during 2006-07.
During the year, BPC finalised a Road Transport rate
contract through a process of e-bidding. This was a
first in the Indian petroleum industry. This process has
significant potential for bringing about savings in
transportation costs, which forms a major portion of
the distribution costs for oil marketing companies. With
a view to effectively track the fuel movements
transported through lorries, Global Positioning
Systems (GPS) have been installed in 150 tank lorries.
BPC has commenced a new initiative of segmenting
customers, with a view to provide superior customer
enablement, thereby achieving market leadership
position. This initiative of offering solutions to
customers, based on their psychographics and fuelling
behaviour, was initiated during the year. The year
2006-2007 will see a larger rollout of these programmes
Annual Report 2005-2006
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