Fairbanks

Profile

Serves fuel retailers, hypermarket chains and multinational companies in 35 countries with wetstock management services, allowing them to reduce fuel losses, lower operational costs and improve margins.

Employs around 120 analysts in the UK, who ensure 24/7 monitoring of 30,000 fuel stations around the world, with thousands more served through Fairbanks licensees in specific markets.

Fairbanks has chosen to work with Bottomline as a licensee for offering its wetstock management services to customers in the Benelux, France and Switzerland.

David McHale (Partner Success Manager): “Through our DX platform, we monitor millions of litres of fuel each day, often using real-time data to identify the source and location of any fuel losses. The cause could be anything from faulty dispensers to water in the product. Our analysts can often identify the problem remotely, notify the customer or even arrange for engineers to rectify the problem on site.”

Combining wetstock management with Bottomline’s planning service makes sense, McHale says. “There is a natural link there. It creates full visibility of the product through the entire journey, from depot to forecourt. So when Bottomline recently approached us and proposed to become our licensee, we were more than happy to agree. Bottomline are a respected company with a strong market position in their region. Working with such an established partner is the best way for us to grow in a new market.”

While the partnership is in its early days, the response from customers has been encouraging. “BFollowing the announcement of our partnership several of their existing customers have expressed an interest in piloting the service. So the momentum is building.”

While at present the two systems are not fully linked, McHale expects that’s a matter of time. “It’s definitely on our shared roadmap to enable the exchange of data. To mention one potential benefit: our software requires invoice data and confirmed delivery quantities, which can be a challenge for customers to share with us. Much of that information could be supplied directly from Bottomline’s platform.”

Developing such synergies is made easier by the fact that both companies share a similar mindset, McHale says. “Essentially both companies are all about making life easier for customers. We both know our customers well, are good at providing managed services and we share the same philosophy around customer support. In which on the one hand we are quick to exploit the potential benefits of further automation, using advances in AI, while always retaining the human element that we know customers appreciate.”