Olayide Folorunso, the co-founder of Fuelmetrics Restricted, a startup within the power automation area, speaks on know-how adoption within the power area and a possible AI disruption with Temitayo Jaiyeola.
Fuelmetrics has been on the forefront of automating the downstream oil and gasoline sector for a decade. How has the adoption of automation and digital options advanced inside the downstream sector?
We now have been doing this for a couple of decade, and the adoption of automation and digital options usually downstream has advanced considerably. That is pushed by the larger want for companies to be extra environment friendly, clear, and worthwhile, significantly on the level that we are actually.
Sooner or later, some companies cared much less about profitability so long as they might get authorities patronage. However now individuals are extra centered on being worthwhile. Earlier within the decade, the sector was closely reliant on guide processes, which led to many thefts and stock discrepancies. There was poor report preserving, poor accounting, and poor information.
Nevertheless, the rising demand for accountability and operational precision has made firms extra prepared to embrace know-how by way of automation and digitisation. We play a significant position on this explicit area and have been instrumental in reworking the business. Adopting applied sciences supplies real-time information analytics for the gamers on this business.
Gamers within the area can use this to make knowledgeable selections. Gasoline stations can now leverage these automation programs to observe their oil inventory degree and gross sales, scale back thefts, and scale back fraud. It additionally helps them with their compliance and regulatory points, and total, they’ve good value financial savings.
How will rising applied sciences like AI rework the power automation area?
Everyone seems to be speaking about AI and machine studying, that are apparent subsequent steps for any know-how firm. Incorporating AI and ML into our Epump answer will revolutionise operations as a result of it could actually assist us present predictive insights, automate selections, and analyse information from the IoT sensors; because of this customers can probably determine tools points and carry out predictive upkeep.
That might additionally imply that we will scale back unplanned downtime for the operators. Machine studying fashions may help us forecast demand, and a few are already built-in. It could actually assist us predict demand by analysing historic information. Operators gained’t run out of stock. ML fashions will be capable to predict climate patterns and market tendencies and the way effectively a enterprise can do.
As well as, AI fashions would improve fraud detection and flag anomalies. This can ultimately assist to extend the general effectivity and operational effectivity of the enterprise relating to safety and profitability.
What do you do with the real-time information that you just collect?
We leverage this information in our superior know-how at Epump. It helps to enhance transparency and operational effectivity by way of power utilization. Which means we may help our purchasers scale back gasoline wastage.
We do that as a result of we will do efficient monitoring. Which means we assist firms, and that is by way of each operators inside the area who’re retailing gasoline and those that are consuming. We assist them contribute to a extra sustainable and environmental method to power consumption by monitoring and reducing waste.
With particular situations, how has the Epump answer improved your customers’ operational effectivity, transparency, and profitability?
After we started to work with one among our prospects in 2018, they’d simply 18 gasoline stations. It is advisable perceive that a part of the rationale folks can’t scale operations is due to operational complications. However due to our answer, they’ve grown their stores to 89.
One other station had about 73 stores scattered throughout the nation, and of these, they nonetheless had a number of that they’d leased to another individuals to handle as a result of they might not completely handle the community. However as we speak, they’ve taken again their stations, are managing the community, and have grown their variety of retailers to 176. We started managing this station in 2021.
With options like Epump, firms can handle their retail community remotely. In fact, they nonetheless have their folks on the bottom doing what they need to be doing, however it makes administration straightforward.
With the worldwide progress of the EV market, how do you suppose your answer will evolve if EVs change into extra outstanding in Nigeria?
We aren’t simply centered on oil or petrol. We’re an power automation firm. We offer progressive and reasonably priced know-how options to assist companies thrive. So, we aren’t simply precisely restricted to possibly gasoline by way of hydrocarbons and all of that.
We’re able to evolve the place the world is relating to EVs. We now have some analysis that we’re doing each by way of growing EV chargers after which, in fact, cost by way of EV chargers. So, we aren’t limiting ourselves to gasoline administration programs.
We’re power on a broader scale, and we’re wanting on the actions and figuring out when the correct time is to pivot after which start to roll with it because the business pivots.
What challenges have you ever needed to climate because you started operations?
A part of the challenges we had was within the earlier days. The adoption of know-how was low within the nation, and there was a bias in opposition to homegrown know-how.
We had an answer in-built Africa for African companies. However folks thought that should you should have one thing good, it needed to come from extra superior and developed international locations. So, in fact, there was that preliminary resistance.
However over time, that resistance has gone down utterly. Individuals have extra religion within the enterprise and the know-how. At present, among the challenges we nonetheless face need to do with normal know-how adoption. After which I’d additionally say infrastructure challenges by way of – as a result of we’re reliant on the – in some sense on web providers, which signifies that we’re reliant on possibly among the telcos and all of that.
To place it in context, our know-how adoption continues to be comparatively greater than the regional common. However, sure, a number of international locations on the continent have been in a position to automate all of the stations inside the nation. We’re on that pathway right here, too.
What’s the way forward for gasoline station automation?
The way forward for gasoline automation lies in creating what I’ll name extremely linked and environment friendly customer-centric ecosystems that can combine superior applied sciences like IoT, AI, and renewable power. So, stations will ultimately transition from simply being gasoline shelling out factors to built-in service hubs.
They’ll offer various power mixes and sources. Digital funds will play a key position on this data-driven buyer expertise. Automation will then deal with optimising each side of operations, together with stock administration, prioritisation, and pricing. These programs will stay sustainable and adjust to environmental laws as a result of environmental laws will change into a giant deal.
Fuelmetrics will proceed to play a pivotal position in shaping this explicit future, main the adoption of cutting-edge applied sciences, identical to we now have carried out with the formal tools area. We’ll proceed to set business requirements for automation, and our platform will drive the transformation of this transition from hydrocarbons to greener power or once we get to EVs.
We’re well-positioned to assist our prospects successfully transition into this future that’s so near us.