The Smart Buyer's Guide to Purchasing Bulk Diesel Fuel

Buying bulk off-road diesel fuel from a professional fuel supplier

Diesel and other fuels are at a historic low price wise, but oil markets have historically been volatile. As a result prices can be easily driven up by political disputes or other crises.  If your business depends on diesel, or another fuel, you need to make sure you are insulated as possible from the effects of fuel price shifts. You need to be able to make smart bulk diesel orders. 

Effective fuel management

Fuel management needs to be a company wide initiative, adopted at all levels; from management all the way down to the individual truckers. Being thrifty with your fuel use not only greatly reduces your operating costs overall but also allows you to minimise your company’s environmental footprint. Both large and small companies can benefit hugely from smarter fuel use. 

The basics of using fuel the right way

For a company to implement fuel management policies, their first priority must obviously be on minimising fuel costs. However, they should co-currently keep the needs of their drivers and operators in mind. Thrifty fuel use should not come at the cost of good facilities. This is important for both maximising efficiency in your operations but also making sure that your firm has good employee retention.

Adopting these policies is a full-time commitment on the part of the company. From a managerial perspective it’s important to cultivate strong, consistent relationships with fuel suppliers in order to make sure that you are kept up to date on prices and special deals, as well as being able to negotiate when necessary. In terms of gathering information, employees at all levels are vital, especially your drivers and operators. They will likely be the most sensitive to changes in fuel prices. Again, efficient fuel management is a company-wide effort.

The fuel manager’s job

Only larger businesses will be likely to require a manager whose duties are solely dedicated to overseeing fuel. However, overall fuel management responsibilities do need a single manager, even if distributed as part of a larger management portfolio. 

Fuel management responsibilities will necessarily be delegated to someone familiar with financial and accounting matters. Diesel fuel costs are often complicated by a tangle of tariffs, fees and extra taxes. Therefore a good fuel manager must fulfil three major duties. They must be able to determine the real cost of fuel. They must be able to negotiate deals with suppliers. Finally, they must be able to pass information along to the rest of the company to allow it to carry out good fuel management policies. 

The purchase network

A necessary part of implementing fuel management policies is setting up a limited purchase network. This allows you to control where your drivers are purchasing from, ensuring that they are buying as cheaply as possible, from sites where you have identified low costs or negotiated them.

To build a limited purchase network, first identify your operational area - whether that be a province, a country, or multiple countries. In that area each primary site must be within roughly 650 kilometres of another primary site. However, depending on the nature of your business, it may be preferable to reduce this number to roughly 325 kilometres. 

Of course, this necessitates making sure that your drivers are aware of this fuel purchase system. It is especially important that you are aware if the facilities are substandard in any way. Poor facilities, as mentioned earlier, are a gateway to inefficiency and low employee retention. 

Buying bulk fuel

To take full advantage of economies of scale for diesel and other fuels, purchasing bulk fuel is important. This is especially true for smaller businesses that operate out of a single location. This cuts down on managerial expenses by dealing with a single partner. You may also benefit from ancillary services. These can include renting out equipment or having the fuel delivered.

 

If you’re interested in purchasing wholesale diesel fuel or learn more about fixed price contracts, we at Fuels24.com, are here to help. We have a broad selection of fuels at competitive prices. We offer multiple ancillary services as well. If you’re interested in our Products and Services, check out our website or contact us by email at z@fuels24.com or by telephone at (832) 668 0396

 

-If your business depends on diesel, or another fuel, you need to make sure you are insulated as possible from the effects of fuel price shifts. You need to be able to make smart bulk diesel orders. 

Back