GED, Changing the Way Refueling is Done to Guarantee Savings

Q: How is Green Energy Development (GED) disrupting refueling in Mexico?

A: GED provides well-rounded fuel solutions for all kinds of transportation businesses. We have 10 years of experience in the subject. Our commitment is to fill in the holes where fuel is leaking through. We apply our particular management philosophy to assure total quality, meaning total fuel efficiency and waste reduction, so our customers can focus their energy on growing their business.

Companies often spend too much time, money and energy on supervising their own fleets and finding where to buy cheap diesel, among many other examples. With absolute transparency, we provide the technology to conduct analytics and insights regarding the company’s fuel operations. The first step is to provide an assessment of how the company conducts its refueling processes.

Given that fuel traders operate by regions, we have really good relationships with main fuel importers and traders, so we know where we can take care of our customers’ fuel, guaranteeing supply at competitive costs. We have also designed part of our systems to best fit our customers’ needs. As an example, in 2010 we created a system that registers every time someone extracts diesels from the tank. Our expertise has led us to work with Grupo Estrella Blanca, Estafeta, FEMSA and PepsiCo.

Q: What are the potential savings on implementing adequate fueling strategies?

A: We can generate between 9 and 13 percent savings on clients’ annual fuel budget. Apart from fuel extraction, another two vulnerable points for fuel leaks are when the fuel station steals between 5 and 20 percent of the fuel through “incomplete” liters and when the driver and the fuel service personnel create a common agreement to manipulate fuel charging, which can represent a loss of between 3 and 10 percent.

Given the complexity of the Mexican logistics market, we divide different segments based on CANACAR's classification. Owner-operators with between one and five units represent 80.4 percent of the market, small companies with between six and 30 units represent 16.8 percent of the market, while medium and large companies with 31 units or above represent only 2.8 percent of the market.

Q: How does GED adapt to different consumer profiles?

A: We support our customers by having competitive fuel prices. Fuel represents the second-most expensive concept in the budget, depending on the size of the transportation company. Most times, without an additional investment, what they need to do is to pay close attention to where the fuel leaks are.

For large companies, we provide integral solutions at their own patios, with both software and hardware that control the exact number of liters that go into the tank while providing insights into how the fuel is consumed. For those that do not have the infrastructure yet, we also design a strategy to conduct the overall plan. Our portfolio of customers is divided 80 percent with small companies and owner-operators and 20 percent with large companies like Estafeta, FEMSA and Grupo Estrella Blanca.

We support 97 percent of the market with private fuel stations, creating relationships with small companies and owner-operators, or through partnerships with fuel stations. We also create partnerships with large retail or wholesales customers such as Walmart so their transportation providers, which often are small companies, use our charging stations, guaranteeing complete refueling and preventing any corruption between drivers and fuel station personnel.

More importantly, given our partnerships with fuel importers, we can offer prices up to MX$1.00 (US$0.05) cheaper per liter than the market average, which is around 5 percent below the market value. These are immediate savings.

Q: How do you raise awareness among potential customers regarding GED’s solutions?

A: We provide success stories we had had with companies having a similar profile. We often motivate prospective clients to test the product in one truck, which can represent less than MX$5,000 (US$250) and most see that ROI in one trip. We also help them to move on from the entry-level options to more sophisticated solutions. We have partnerships with financial entities that can support customers’ initial investment and offer options for customers aiming to embrace these solutions.

We have also taken part in CANACAR’s events and we are trusted partners of the association. This helps to legitimize our business model before small companies and owner-operators.

Q: What are GED’s strategies regarding natural gas for heavy vehicles?

A: Our natural gas offering is in line with our corporate vision to be sustainable and promote environmentally friendly practices. Having said that, this is a relatively new topic for the Mexican market. This is like the egg and the chicken, developing enough natural gas stations or adapting enough vehicles that demand it.

This is part of GED’s long-term vision and it is the next step for companies that have improved their fuel performance by implementing our different solutions. We are partners with GASCOMB, which is the best in the country for converting heavy vehicles to dual fuel engines using natural gas and diesel. Taking into account that natural gas costs half of what companies pay for diesel, they can see an immediate saving of around 25 percent by converting the vehicles, with an ROI between 12 and 18 months.

Q: What are GED’s plans for the future?

A: Our goal is to continue growing among businesses that are looking to substantially increasing their resources by having more efficient fueling operations. We will carry on with our well-rounded human and environmentally friendly solutions. We need to be socially responsible and our ultra-low-sulfur diesel suppliers provide that warranty to our customers while offering substantial savings. Through technology, we are disrupting the way fuel is charged in Mexico.

Green Energy Development (GED) is a Mexican company focused on providing integral solutions to transportation companies to conduct more efficient refueling operations. FEMSA, PepsiCo, Estafeta and Grupo Estrella Blanca are among its clients