Sanjeev Agrawal, Executive Director (Corporate Marketing), BPCL

BPCL PODCAST

India celebrated National Technology Day and in this special episode of the BPCL Podcast, we speak to Sanjeev Agrawal, Executive Director (Corporate Marketing) at BPCL, who tells us about the company's innovative approach to implementing technology in the energy sector, the various other initiatives & strategies they have planned in the near future to enhance customer experience, the impact of digitalisation on the economy and more.

Listen in.

Transcript:

Sukhoon: Hello and welcome to the BPCL PODCAST - ‘Unlocking Possibilities, Empowering Lives’. In this series of podcasts, listen to conversations with thought leaders from the industry, on the future of the energy landscape. India celebrated National Technology Day and we are excited to bring you a very special episode of the BPCL podcast with Sanjeev Agrawal, Executive Director (Corporate Marketing) at BPCL. In today's episode, we will be exploring how the integration of new digital technologies in energy companies is optimising operations, improving efficiency, cost savings, enhanced safety, better decision-making and enhancing customer experience. So let's get started. Thank you so much for joining us, Sanjeev, welcome to the show.

Sanjeev Agrawal: Thank you. Thank you.

Sukhoon: So, digital transformation has been witnessed across all industries and society too. And, before we get to the world of the energy/oil & gas sectors, I'd love to know how often do you upgrade your gadgets and, what do you think of Gen Z leaving a digital footprint everywhere.

Sanjeev Agrawal: So as far as BPCL is concerned, let me tell you that digital transformation is now becoming a ‘buzzword’ for all good reasons, and simply put - it is the integration of digital technology into all areas of business, resulting in fundamental changes to how the business operates and deliver value to customers. So today, in fact, we live in a very highly connected digital world, where our customers are used to world-class digital platforms to connect, transact, and entertain themselves. And we all know that there are so many things going around like WhatsApp, Amazon, Netflix, etc. These digital platforms are characterised by ease-of-use, omnichannel, personalised and trustworthy services. And, customers today expect a lot and great experiences from whom they choose to do business with. And in addition to our customers, our employees, in fact, demand the same experience from the tools they use to sell to our customers. So it is not the external stakeholders, the internal customers or the stakeholders who are equally demanding these days. So why do we focus as far as the company is concerned on the stakeholders external, but internally people are also saying - “Boss, what is there for us so that we serve ultimately our end consumers?” So, as the energy sector is concerned, digital transformation is bringing about significant improvements in operational efficiencies, enabling companies to better manage their supply chains, and then, providing customers with smarter experiences that meet their evolving needs. Let me also share with you, it is also allowing energy companies to enhance security and safety, which is normally, invariably, got side-tracked while delivering and reinforcing the brand promises using the latest technology in artificial intelligence or machine learning. I will take some more time on this. Allow me to do that. Specifically for energy transition, digital transformation has a huge potential to help us accelerate through this transition. Helping achieve the Net Zero target set by the Government of India. So, not only we are serving our end consumer, but it is also our duty to how best we can meet the targets on Net Zero as a company. New technologies such as IoT, and Digital Twin will not only allow us to integrate renewable energies throughout the energy ecosystem but also enable increased net reliability and more efficient energy demand management. So, that is all about what we think about how our energy sector is going.

Sukhoon: Right. Adapting to the changing times is the key to survival and we know that BPCL is leveraging technology in a big way too. I'd love for you to spill some beans about BPCL’s much-talked-about digital transformation initiative. How is it contributing to the company's transformational journey?

Sanjeev Agrawal: BPCL has been a pioneer in many ways across the oil and gas industry in India. We initiated a great initiative. I'm very proud of that I contributed. I was a part of the team. We call it 'Project Anubhav’ - which is quite an ambitious digital transformation initiative, aimed at delivering the best customer experience across all touchpoints. When I say all touchpoints, it is about achieving operational efficiencies and enabling an agile and resilient workforce. It is helping us engage customers anytime, anywhere, with a smarter experience and building a smart supply chain and enabling a more agile workforce. We are talking about the workforce also. And with initiatives such as digital nerve centre. So it is Iris, which is situated in Noida, where we are integrating messaging and conversational platforms like ‘Urja’ and ‘Hello BPCL’. So these are the three very important delivery points of our digital journey - i.e., Iris, Urja, and Hello BPCL. So these are customer engagement platforms where we are ensuring that our customers get a seamless experience across all channels. You know, all our initiatives under Project Anubhav are underpinned by the three foundation pillars - trust, convenience, and personalisation. We leverage best-in-class technology solutions and collaboration with leading technology companies to deliver these three to both external as well as internal customers. So that is, we are very proud of having Project Anubhav in our company, which is, I think, a competitive edge it provides to us, as far as the competition is concerned in the eco-system.

Sukhoon: Nice. Well, Project Anubhav as you mentioned the name, I mean Anubhav ka matlab experience hota hai. So I believe, the three pillars of trust, convenience, and personalisation are definitely the components to the right mix across any sphere of life too. So I'm sure this is going to be a huge success in the years to come by too. Could you give us some examples of how Project Anubhav is enabling BPCL to better engage with customers and provide them with smart experiences?

Sanjeev Agrawal: Yeah, so it's a long, long way we have come now to this level and, I don't know how much time I will take to deliberate because I become emotional also at the same time, while I’m deliberating on this. So absolutely, our customer engagement platform, which is called 'Hello BPCL', is an umbrella platform for customers to avail of all the BPCL products and services in one place. So at the same time, it gives BPCL a 360-degree view of customers’ energy needs. With Hello BPCL, through our unified mobile app and portal, customers can order LPG refills, recharge fuel loyalty, make payments, and earn loyalty and rewards - all in one place. Not only this, Hello BPCL is our one-stop solution for all our retail - commercial as well as industrial customers. And, BPCL has introduced conversational artificial intelligence, which we call AI - a chatbot, and it is termed as ‘Urja’, for customers. Urja is the first AI NLP chatbot in the Indian Oil & Gas sector, which has been trained on more than 600 used cases and can chat with customers in 13 languages on our website, as well as on WhatsApp. So energy, like, you know, in Hindi we call it - energy means ‘urja’. So, that is why energy is because, in our DNA and core of BPCL, Urja represents that energy with which we engage with the customer. So, we have also introduced ‘U-Fill’. I was at the helm of affairs when U-Fill in the retail business unit, which we propagated. It's a unique, disruptive fuel pre-payment solution for all our automotive customers, unlike conventional post-fueling. When you go to a petrol pump, Ma’am, so you say - ‘pehle aap paisa dete hain aur uske baad fuel lete hain.’ Now here, as a disruptive solution, we are trying to shape customers’ preferences and the customer is doing business with us, that first he has to make the payment to us and then we are going. First, he has to make the payment and then he has to take the delivery of the product. It is quite unlikely that customers are tuned to this way of doing business with us. So, U-Fill enables our customers to have full control of our dispenser. Dispenser is the machine through which you get the fuel in your vehicle. So, the full control goes to the customer and they can easily generate UPI-based prepaid fuel vouchers on Hello BPCL. These vouchers enable customers to fuel their vehicles at petrol pumps in a hassle-free way. And, U-Fill is also integrated with BPCL, as a fuel automation system, which increases ultimately, transactional transparency. Normally, people feel - ‘Arre! Yahaan pe gadbad hota hai.’ So, this is one of the ways through which we are enabling customers to experience transaction transparency, which ultimately gets converted into the ultimate, which I talked about, three pillars of our existence - trust, convenience, and transparency. So this is all about U-Fill. So, you will be surprised to know that, we take now 40 seconds in 100-rupee fuel transactions as against more than one minute, earlier we used to take. So, it is optimising the four quote efficiency, as well as transacting with transparency. So, it's a win-win game. So further, we have also developed an advanced loyalty program for fleet customers, which enables the entire value chain, from the driver in the fuelling bay to the group fleet managers' dashboard to the back-end ERP solutions of the corporate customers. So, this whole gamut of all these offerings is certifying or justifying in the minds of the customer that - ‘Yes, there is a company, Maha Ratna company’ - which is driven through technology these days.

Sukhoon: No, and I think this is about keeping up with the times also. Today's day and age demands these kinds of solutions which are cost-effective, time effective. And you, as you mentioned rightly, right? Transparency also helps you build up trust and when there is so much convenience, I think it's only fair for a customer to go ahead and give it a try at least, and then they'll definitely get hooked on it. It definitely sounds very impressive, if I may say so. Like it's a pioneer mode, indeed. But, what about the operations and the supply chain, Sanjeev? How has Project Anubhav helped BPCL to enable smart operations and build a smarter supply chain?

Sanjeev Agrawal: We are leveraging the latest technology in artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimise our overall operational performance and efficiency. For instance, with Iris, which I just talked about that we have a Digital nerve centre in Noida, we are processing over 3 million inputs per second. Now you just imagine - 3 million inputs per second from local automation systems, cameras, internet of things, devices, vehicle tracking solutions deployed at operational locations, fuel terminals, LPG plants, fleets of tankers and trucks. So, the whole gamut of this complex infra and ecosystem, you can well imagine how complex a system it can become or if it is already there and the ultimate purpose is, how best we can serve the customer. This integrated system has advanced capabilities of remotely stopping operations. Now you will be wondering - ‘Main kyun keh raha hoon apni operation bandh karne ke liye?’ But it is not about stopping the operation. It is about how we are living up to our promise of delivering trust, which means that I am ready to stop my operation, in case there is a deviation from SOPs - Standard Operating Practices - which are critical for product quality, quantity and safety. And again, thereby, reinforcing trust to the end consumer. We have also built an integrated supply chain for our lubricant business by leveraging a unique QR code solution. It provides end-to-end product traceability across the lubricant supply chain, genuineness, check to the customer and loyalty schemes to the mechanics and retailer, as well. So, these are from the lubricant landscape. So if you see that, starting from location, supply chain, serving at the four quotes at retail petrol pumps, we are seamlessly integrating through technology, all of our operations, with a clear focus on three delivery points.

Sukhoon: So I would like to understand one quick thing. So, is this only limited to the specific tier of cities, or is this across the country, wherever, you know BPCL is available? Is there a roadmap that is already in place for this?

Sanjeev Agrawal: Yeah, it is across. So, we have around 20,000 petrol pumps, we have 70 locations and depot terminals where we store petroleum products. We have INC consumers, we have LPG plants, 50 in number. So all these across, we have implemented this. And now, the next is - ‘Anubhav Next’. We are terming it from Project Anubhav to Anubhav Next. Once we have already implemented all the technology stacks, now how best we can further enhance the experience of our customers? So, we are benchmarking our own delivery points. We are not satisfied that yes, we are ahead of the competition. But, what next? So that is under Anubhav Next. We have already started working on that and things are in the pipeline, where you will experience the next wave of Anubhav.

Sukhoon: That’s amazing. So that's the sequel that we should be waiting for! So, this brings me to my next question for you, Sanjeev. We know how a happy workforce is the key to an organisation's success. You earlier mentioned Project Anubhav enabling an agile and resilient workforce for BPCL. Will you shed some light on this?

Sanjeev Agrawal: As you know, that by now, we have multiple customer-facing applications like ALP, I said, U-Fill, Hello BPCL, LPG Booking, Lube instant gratification, Lube secondary sale, B2B, etc. So, now we are also having a system, which we call the ‘Data stack’. Unless you have the repository or the system sustained, which can capture, collate, assimilate and deliver the data points and the end delivery, it'll not serve any purpose, because, things will go haywire. So, we have a comprehensive system where on a sustainable basis, we collate everything. And the next step is, we are developing ‘Lake-houses’- which is a new buzzword. And, this is the first time we are implementing this in this industry, I would say. So ‘Lake-House’ means that it is going to be state-of-the-art technology, which is implemented across outside globally and we are bringing for the first time into the oil and gas sector, where the data is on a sustained basis. Every single data from our operations in across views are going to rest in this. And, the way we want to churn and get the insights and the perspectives, we are going to give to the customers internally, so that they are well placed, have wisdom for decision making and ultimately deliver all the three delivery points, which I said - trust, convenience and personalisation. So, it’s an interwoven world inside BPCL.

Sukhoon: It's like the Inception! They say ‘data is the new oil’, Sanjeev, and BPCL must be churning humongous amounts of data from, you know, its transactions. How do you process this data? How does it help you serve the customers better?

Sanjeev Agrawal: As I said, because there are too much of technicalities involved in this, so, I will not be detailing those things. But if you ask me to describe it in a very simple way - it is that we have already provided and installed different IOT devices. So we have a technology-driven system at the locations, petrol pumps so that they send the data on a real-time basis. It is not on batch mode. This means, that I am not sending the data at the end of the day, or after 6 hours or 12 hours. So, real-time data availability at my future data lake will be available and I can churn it, massage it the way my internal customer wants, analytics, etc., so that they know the preference of the customer and how best they can serve them. Today, I'm serving them. I'm delivering in a particular way. But, what are the different critical insights a customer can give me? Their behaviour pattern. One customer has not come for the next 30 days, suppose. The system will tell me - ‘Boss, wake up! This customer has not come to your outlet after 10 days or 15 days', and just interacting with us. Engagement is going to be the key with me now so that we have better engagement with the customer. They know there is a company which is available at their doorstep, and I can sell them as they demand from me. I'm using the word ‘demand’. It is not an expectation. Now I am forcing customers to demand from me. That is the beauty of our engagement with the customers.

Sukhoon: Nice. And, customer retention, I think, is a very crucial aspect of any business, and I think it's beautiful how BPCL is focusing on that also. I love how you stated that you know, in 30 days, if a customer doesn't return, we will go back and understand what happened and there’s real-time data to, you know, substantiate whatever the next steps would be. This is very interesting, indeed. We are living in times where digital presence is upgraded and evolving by the second. I'd love for you to tell us what are some digitalisation priorities for your company over the next 3-5 years?

Sanjeev Agrawal: So, if you ask me about the priorities, specifically speaking, looking at the Oil and Gas industry, we are in a commodity business where products need to be delivered physically. I mean, we have a roadmap for an integrated approach of physical and digital. We are trying to combine the physical and digital aspects of our business, and we call it ‘Phygital’. So, the phygital approach will play a key role in our industry in the delivery of digital experience and customer experience. Our immediate priorities are to create, as I said, a data lake, which is going to be a very, very highly aspirational piece for all of us, and create meaningful personalisation offerings to customers using customised CXX engines. And at the same time, we are also creating additional value for our customers through our digital solutions, which go way beyond the energy needs of our consumers. And, in the longer horizon, we are also transforming from an Oil and Gas company to an Energy company and this transformation, is because we don't want to be termed as only an Oil and Gas company. So, we have internally decided and carved out what are the offerings so that customer considers us as an energy company. So, this transformation can only be possible if our digital building blocks are rightly placed. We must see that the customer's new energy needs are met and at the same time, enhance customer experience by leveraging the data using advanced analytics, which I just described. And blockchain technology and advancing our computational abilities and data handling approaches, we have built a Centre of Excellence also, where we deliberate the insights of our engagement with the customer and we take a proactive call before our competition can even think about it.

Sukhoon: Well, that's the way I think to go ahead, right? Be able to preempt what the market may look like.

Sanjeev Agrawal: We are very agile and proactive. I mean, I am very proud of my team, across. We are quite agile.

Sukhoon: So Sanjeev, we know that digitalisation leads to various facets of improvement, including efficiency among employees, improved customer service, which you've highlighted, and better data management, which again you've listed in detail. Will you tell us how a company weighs the benefits of digitalisation against the costs that go into the process?

Sanjeev Agrawal: It's a tricky question. For many companies, the driver for digital transformation is to reduce cost, because people tend to think - How I can reduce the cost? I think that that should not be the starting point for any leadership. That is not the right way. And, digital transformation leads to creating processes that deliver opportunities for robust value creation and that go farther and wider than just cost savings. And its maturity framework starts with task automation. We have to automate, followed by enterprise integration. And most organisations, if you see, evaluate the benefits against the cost consideration of these two aspects. But the real value lies in the final step, and that is the innovation of new business models of the organisation, where the maximum value is unlocked for the organisation, as well as its stakeholders. And, this is my personal experience, that buying from all the internal teams in the company is highly, highly essential, which sometimes leadership tend to skip and push things from top to down. And sometimes, I also wonder why we don't have this, so that is our DNA in BPCL. I am proud to reflect that teams in the field and actual users have become owners, interestingly. I would not say surprisingly, but interestingly. We, the down-the-line people have become owners and that is the true leadership, that the digital transformation landscape has created internally - that we are owners at one point in time, senior leadership, but down the line, how each stakeholder owns it. And that is the cost which we are seeing and we are optimising. We are a lean cost-driven company. So holistically, if you see, the potential benefit of digitalisation is always high. Iris, as I said, is our command & control centre in Noida. It has helped our field force to address problems before they become critical for the business and safer operations. So, this way we feel that cost optimisation has taken place in BPCL. We are not driven from the very beginning, from the first day, that how we are bringing the cost down. It is the fallout of our integrated approach that we get the benefit of cost. Ultimately, our aim, again, I'm coming to that three delivery points - trust, convenience and personalisation, and, if we can deliver those, cost will automatically follow us. That is the mantra which we follow.

Sukhoon: Nice. I think I agree with you wholeheartedly. As I mentioned earlier too, I truly think trust, convenience and personalisation are the keys to success, whether be it in your professional space or personal space. And I love how BPCL is owning up to everything and instilling that sense of belonging in stakeholders who are, you know, now owners, as you rightly highlighted. I think that's beautiful. And I think it's the key to any organisation's success as well. But before I let you go, Sanjeev, with all your expertise and knowledge, and in a more general sense, what advice do you have for companies seeking to undergo digital transformation?

Sanjeev Agrawal: You are aware of the ‘PPT’ word. Normally, when we make a presentation, we make PPT. So for us, in the digital transformation team, we call it three fundamental pillars - PPT - i.e., People, Process, and Technology. If I have to give some tips, though, I don't feel that I'm the right person to give tips, but based on whatever experience I have. Rather, I would like to share this experience that focuses on three fundamental pillars - that is, people, process, and technology. It is important to identify the right kind of, the right set of people to drive that digital transformation for any company. And at BPCL, we have a strong team of 500-plus people who are driving the digital transformation of the organisation. And processes identified for digital transformation, need to be thorough in collaboration with the users of the process. Here, the key communication strategy ensures the benefit to the users. Around 20 years back, the company went through a process of restructuring. I still remember the kind of engagement and communication. We talk about big things. That is the strategy and the teams and all such. But, communication is such a small but highly, highly critical element of making disruptive change in any landscape. It is not about the digital landscape. My experience is communication is the single most, after strategy and execution policies, communication is the single most important aspect, which we tend to forget. ‘Log hain, follow karenge. Employees hain, karna padega.’ That is not the way the business should operate. Communication is from my side, this is the only tip I want to give. Engaging with the internal stakeholders and communicating at the right time. This is what is happening and this is what has gone wrong. We have to change gears. We have to tweak our process and thought process. That engagement should be there with the down-the-line people. So this is all about, I mean the tips, if you call it, I want to give. And last, this is also what I'm recollecting, to sum up. We talk about big things. One basic aspect, apart from engagement and communication is, we should be mindful of the sustenance part because normally project team and the service teams are different. The project wale kaam karke chale jaate hain, but the project guy also thinks that and considers that - what is going to be the future. How are the people going to sustain it? And if they're mindful of this aspect, and build the building blocks around that aspect, then it is going to be a highly long-lasting value-creating proposition. So, communication, strategy, execution, and sustenance. These are the things which one should keep in mind while driving any change in the company.

Sukhoon: And it's so good to hear from someone like you, from BPCL, who has set up, you know, process, built teams and is still innovating, is still humble, is happy to share his experiences with us. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and your experiences and the pillars of Project Anubhav with us. Thank you so much for shedding light on the digital transformation.

Sanjeev Agrawal: Thank you. Thank you.

Sukhoon: Once again, thank you Sanjeev for joining us. Thank you for keeping us company and sharing these beautiful moments and all the learnings that you have gathered over your tenure at BPCL. As we conclude our discussion on digital transformation in energy companies, I hope our listeners gained valuable insights from Sanjeev's experience and expertise in the industry. BPCL's innovative approach towards implementing technology in the energy sector is commendable and inspiring for other companies in the field. We hope to have him back soon for another informative discussion. Thank you for keeping me company. I am Sukhoon, and I will see you soon with another episode of the BPCL podcast.

Sukhoon: That was Mr Sanjeev Agrawal, Executive Director (Corporate Marketing) at BPCL.

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