Shell dealers say their reputation is being damaged and they are out of pocket after the oil giant reorganised its logistics this summer causing regular cancelled fuel deliveries, and in some instances stock-outs.
Shell says it is working to resolve problems arising from changing haulage contractor in certain areas. Issues have also resulted from it transferring route planning from a central control point in the Philippines to the individual transport companies
The problem is thought to be worst in London, East Anglia and the Midlands, with one dealer telling Forecourt Trader that the newly-appointed truck operator delivering to him had under-estimated the amount of tankers needed for the contract.
That haulier was advertising on Facebook for more drivers earlier this month after issues set in.
The dealer, who wishes to remain unnamed, has run out of unleaded eight times in the past 17 days. “This represents big losses of thousands of pounds,” he says.
“It is not good out there. I’ve had three days where all main grades have gone, because we don’t hold as much stock of super, and when unleaded is gone everyone hammers super. They’ve been giving us V-Power [super unleaded] to top us up but we are always playing catch up.”
An email sent to dealers from Shell on Tuesday (July 14) said that the transport company “continues to increase resource levels in the affected region”, and that “additional drivers, vehicles and support staff are being deployed wherever possible to support delivery performance”.
It goes on: “Resource levels are already higher than in recent weeks, and opportunities to add further capacity continue to be reviewed throughout the week.”
But the dealer adds: “Every third day Shell puts out an email saying that they are getting to grips with the situation, but it feels like they have not stress tested everything before going live.”
Another dealer says that “service levels have dropped dramatically, and the uncertainty around the deliveries are causing huge problems with loss of revenue”. He adds: “ETAs [estimated times of delivery] are no longer certain and dropped loads are outweighing the delivered loads.”
He is concerned about the reputational damage to his business: “If you keep running out of fuel you lose trust with the customer,” he says.
Another dealer tells Forecourt Trader that they too had faced multiple cancelled deliveries, and that the situation had now improved.
The dealer says: “It had felt like every time we put through a new order we got a text to say it had been cancelled, but we never ran out of fuel and every time we picked up the phone to our BDM [business development manager] she was on the ball and got it sorted.”
Shell says it is working to resolve the issues. “After the change to a new haulage partner in some parts of the UK, a small number of Shell-branded dealers have had temporary disruptions to deliveries,” says the oil company. “We recognise the inconvenience caused to the dealers and their customers and apologise. We are working closely with our distribution partners to support affected dealers, while normal service levels are restored.”
