Accenture to transform BPCL's sales and distribution network

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), India's second-largest oil marketing company, has collaborated with Irish multinational company Accenture to transform its sales and distribution network, the company said on Tuesday.

Through artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technologies to build, design and implement a digital platform called Iris, Accenture will integrate real-time data from across BPCL’s countrywide network, including more than 18,000 fuel retail outlets, 25,000 tank trucks, 75 oil installations, and depots, 52 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottling plants and 250 additional industrial and commercial locations, to provide a consolidated view of BPCL’s sales and distribution network.

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“Digital transformation opens up new opportunities for the oil and gas industry. As an organization passionate about embracing change and leading the charge, we look forward to leveraging technology to unlock tremendous value, sustainable growth, and improved efficiency," said Arun Kumar Singh, director (marketing) and director (refineries), BPCL.

Driven by analytics based on AI and machine learning (ML) technologies, Iris can subsequently trigger automated alerts and actions, including rapid response to equipment failures or hazardous situations.

It will also empower the BPCL workforce of more than 100,000 across the country to make faster and more accurate decisions, including preventive maintenance. This will increase sales at fuel retail outlets by minimizing infrastructure downtime, ensuring consistent fuel quality and quantity for retail customers, the company said.

By embedding intelligence in BPCL’s sales and distribution operations, Accenture is helping BPCL to optimize its operational performance and efficiency, enhance security and safety and deliver a superior experience for more than 10 million retail and commercial customers.

“The future will belong to companies that purposely combine advanced digital technologies with human skills and creativity,” said Piyush N. Singh, senior managing director, India Market Unit Lead, Accenture.

The new platform is capable of accepting more than three million inputs per second from automated sensors, cameras, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices deployed at all key locations, tracking performance based on key parameters such as fuel stock, safety, compliance, equipment health and boosting asset uptime.

The digital sales and distribution platform will use BPCL’s cloud infrastructure, making it more agile and scalable.