Motiva Forms Pact to Create 'Uber' of Fuel Delivery

HOUSTON — Motiva Enterprises executed an agreement with fuel delivery and logistics company The NOW Network to develop a digital fuel ordering platform intended to improve the fuel ordering process for its wholesale customers.

"Our vision is to create our own version of Uber for the fuel delivery business," said Bill Spurgeon, Motiva executive vice president of marketing and sales. "We are partnering with The NOW Network to develop an innovative digital solution which will vastly improve our customer experience by fundamentally transforming the way fuel is ordered. Our aim is to develop a new ordering platform which delivers measurable value to our customers and other supply chain partners by increasing transparency and optimizing efficiencies."

The fuel ordering platform enables more effective terminal load balancing and cost savings through increasing supply chain optimization, according to the company. Motiva plans to leverage the new technology to provide wholesalers and carriers with tangible benefits such as:

• Fuel ordering via a single loading app, allowing customers to track load delivery from the terminal to the station;
• Increased visibility and improved logistics planning for wholesalers and carriers;
• Reduced cost realized by streamlining invoice reconciliation processes;
• Reduced carrier wait times and bottlenecks at terminals;
• Reduced delivery errors by restricting drivers from selecting incorrect product; and
• Reduced supply disruptions while improving product quality assurance through load tracking.

"The NOW Network team is honored to be working with an industry leader like Motiva to help transform this part of their business," said Sam Simon, founder, chairman and owner of NOW. "We believe The NOW Network has created an industry leading platform that fundamentally changes how the energy supply chain does business."

The new digital fuel ordering platform is expected to eventually connect Motiva's entire retail supply chain, from terminals to end users, making the product fulfillment process more proactive and predictive for its supply chain partners.

Development of the platform began in January. Motiva plans to pilot its planned pickup system with limited wholesalers and carriers prior to a broad rollout later this year.

Houston-based Motiva refines, distributes and markets petroleum products throughout the United States. Under exclusive, long-term brand licenses for the Shell and 76 brands, Motiva's marketing operations support more than 5,000 retail gasoline stations.