Puma Energy Australia: Largest Fuel Company, Services, Market Segmentation, And Growth Prospects

Puma Energy in Australia: Services and Market

Discuss about the business to business analysis of a company.

Puma Energy is an oil company under the majority ownership of Singapore based Trafigura and the Angola based Sonangol Group (www.pumaenergy.com, 2018). The petroleum giant is a multinational company which operates in over 49 countries and provides different services and products related to the petroleum industry such as supply, storage, refining, distribution, and retail supplies. Puma Energy entered the Australian industry in January 2013, when it acquired Neumann petroleum in Queensland, Australia. Eventually, Puma Energy went on to become Australia’s largest fuel company by acquiring Ausfuel for $652 million and Central Combined Group in February 2013.

Puma Energy is one of the largest petroleum companies in the world. The company aims at becoming the global leaders of the petroleum industry, similarly, in Australia, it has already become the largest independent fuel marketer by acquiring the existing Australian companies and expanding its reach to over 270 retail outlets, 20 depots and 3 seaboard terminals scattered all over Australia (www.pumaenergy.com.au, 2018). In addition to this, the company maintains a fleet capable of delivering 1 billion litres of fuel each year. Moreover, besides business Puma Energy also focuses on different community works such as education, health, rural development and social inclusion. It has partnered with The Starlight Children’s Foundation to promote children’s welfare in different parts of Australia.

Puma Energy being a multinational value has a solid brand value and operates under several brand names in different sectors. In Australia, the business to business (B2B) sector operates under the brand name Puma Energy, while the retail sector operates under different names such as Puma, Gull, Choice, Peak and Matilda (www.pumaenergy.com.au, 2018). Moreover, the cartage sector which is active in the import and export sector operates under the brand name of Directhaul.

Puma Energy, being the largest petroleum company in Australia, provides fuel and energy services for the running of several commercial services. The B2B sector is one of the prime focuses of the Puma Energy development structure and it has taken up the challenge of catering to the B2B companies in their best way possible. Some of the products that Puma Energy produces for bulk B2B uses are:

• Diesel
• Biodiesel blends
• Motor Spirits
• Aviation fuels

Puma Energy guarantees the best quality products to its clients for running factories and other commercial organisations such as airways and defence organisations. The quality of Puma Energy products are monitored by Puma Energy Quality Guarantee. Adhering to ISO standard 9001 the Puma Energy fuels maintain the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 (www.pumaenergy.com.au, 2018).

Puma Energy’s Business Operations and Brands

The Puma Energy promises a successful market prospect as it includes different marketing techniques for maintaining a quality B2B standard management. The company supports a wide range of customers and has to cater to a variety of needs. However, to maintain its standard and quality the company provides customized solutions for different customer needs meeting challenges with a high success rate. The ambitious attitude of the company and the adaptability to use specialized teams for different purposes such as mining, aviation equipment, and tankers for refuelling marine vessels are highly popular methods used by the company to maintain its success in the market.

Business Environments:

• Political analysis: Political factors play a very important role in the petroleum industry as petroleum products play a crucial role in the running of the economy. Puma energy similarly has the potential threats to deal with different political agendas that could affect its business operations. A huge industry like the petroleum is highly dependent on labours, hence political agendas which can enforce labour strikes and motivate agitations in the minds of the labours are highly responsible for affecting business. Moreover, political blackmails, and government pressure to monitor rising fuels due to the conflict in the Middle Eastern regions are determining factors in the smooth running of the business (Conca, 2015). A huge number of commercial organisations, transport systems and industries are highly dependent on Puma Energy for their business operations and Puma Energy has to constantly monitor and eliminate these political threats for the benefits of the clients. This requires an efficient management system which can deal with the political threats.
• Economic analysis: The economic factors which determine the world financial conditions highly determine the smooth running of petroleum organisations like Puma Energy. The increasing global financial crisis and higher foreign currency exchange rates are the prime economic factors (Mensi, Hammoudeh & Yoon, 2015). Moreover, the rising fuel prices, and the rising demand for fuel for different purposes primarily for defence purposes highly affect the running of smooth business. The value of stock markets, the social cost of living also determine the smooth running of business for the petroleum giants.
• Social analysis: The social factors that determine the running of business for the petroleum companies are primarily demographic structures, cultural factors, ethnicities, literacy of the society and the income distribution among the population of the country. It has been seen that the importance of oil and associate products cannot be denied by any community. Social factors primarily does not affect the running of petroleum companies, as petroleum products are one of the prime factors which run the society. However, in the recent times the awareness related to pollution has raised concern in the environment friendly communities who have tried to decrease their carbon footprint by shifting to more sustainable ways of fuel consumption. This has affected the business of several petroleum companies, Puma Energy being no exception. In order to tackle this situation the petroleum companies are also turning towards research and analysis in order to develop more sustainable forms of fuel (Jafarinejad, 2016) which can cater to the environmental issues and promote the green movements.
• Technological analysis: The modern world and society is more dependent on technological developments. The petroleum giants like Puma Energy hence use these technological factors for the better development of their business infrastructure. Technological factors are used in the field of research and analysis, mining, exploration, methods of transport and in refineries. These factors help increase the production and in that case helps the companies expand the market. The quality of the products are also enriched with the use of technology. Moreover, the technological factors are also used for promotion of products which can lead to market expansion and business development (www.pumaenergy.com.au, 2018).

Market:

Puma Energy is Australia’s largest independent fuel company, and has a huge market base in the B2B sector. Australia has a huge number of industries and a growing market. Puma Energy has the potential to cater to these developing industrial structure. Moreover, the development in the aviation industry and increasing fuel demands due to development in the transportation system give Puma Energy a great market prospects. Converting these commercial prospects into successful clients opens a way of greater success for Puma Energy in the future.

Competitors:

Puma Energy is the largest independent fuel company in Australia, but it faces stiff competition in the marketing sector. The Australian government encourages this competition in order to avoid monopoly business and maintain a fair and customer friendly price for the customers (Ironside & Foster, 2013). Some of the companies which present competition to Puma Energy are as the following.

• 7-Eleven fuel is one of Australia’s largest fuel companies and has a large market share in the fuel industry. Its customer friendly services and dependence on technological promotions and marketing gives the company advantage over others making it Puma Energy’s one of the toughest competitors.
• Liberty Oil is one of Australia’s favourite choice when it comes to fuel marketing. Started in 1974 as Solo, it has expanded all over Australia and has reached every Australian fuel market (www.libertyoil.com.au, 2018). Holding a considerable market share with a long chain of retailers and wholesalers, Liberty Oil has the potential to be the largest independent fuel suppliers to the Australians. This type of market enthusiasm and market domination makes Liberty Oil one of Puma Energy’s competitors.
• Shell Fuels Australia is a part of the multinational company, The Shell Group, which has some the largest refineries in Australia namely, the Clyde Refinery, the Geelong Refinery and Gorgon LNG Project (www.shell.com.au, 2018). One of the most trusted commercial and bilk suppliers, Shell Australia holds a large market share. Moreover, a large number of products and its long time brand value of more than 113 years in Australia (www.shell.com.au, 2018), makes Shell Australia a stiff competitor for Puma Energy.
• BP fuels are another of Australia’s largest fuel companies. Investing in exploration, mining, production and development of various petroleum products, BP has a market share from the largest industries to the everyday domestic needs. The easy availability and global brand value of BP makes it a tough competitor for Puma Energy.

Customers:

The target customer of Puma Energy is primarily commercial and bulk supplies. However, it also has a large chain of service stations and retail outlets to reach every home of Australia. Puma Energy does bulk supply to different industries and aviation companies. It also has a large customers who require fuel equipment solutions. Puma Energy provides assistance in the production and maintenance of fuel equipment for the benefits of the customers. Puma Energy maintains a large fleet of fuel carriers and provides cartage services for large fuel transports. Puma Energy also has a mining sector, where it offers maintenance for customising Hydrocarbon solutions for mining companies (www.pumaenergy.com.au, 2018). Moreover, Puma Energy provides assistance in building fully integrated safety standards and fuel supply for mining industries. 

Market Segmentation:

Puma Energy has proper market segmentation and it uses different brand names to cater to different markets. The B2B industry recognizes it by the brand name of Puma Energy and the retail sector operates under names such as Puma, Gull, Choice, Peak and Matilda. The B2B sector is targeted with the bulk fuel division and industrial fuel equipment assistance. Puma Energy provides fuel for large industries and aviation companies. The company also provides assistance in building and maintaining fuel equipment for these companies. Moreover, the company provides cartage for the supply of bulk fuels to the industries. This type of product and service division allows Puma Energy to provide several products and services to similar customers. This allows larger profit and gaining trust and loyalty of the customers.

Puma Energy in B2B Sector

Relationships:

The Puma Energy maintains a good relationship with its customers with over 2500 customer friendly experts who are always focused to address the needs and requirements of the customers (www.pumaenergy.com.au, 2018). The expert management system which are always ready to advise the B2B customers about efficient fuel use and cutting down their capital costs makes them popular among the B2B sector. Moreover, industrial assistance in fuel and cartage makes Puma Energy maintain a cordial and professional relation with all their B2B customers. The industrial sector can easily reach out to them for a one stop solution for several problems and makes the seller buyer relation a professional one.

Buyer behaviour:

Puma Energy maintains a loyal customer base. Relatively, new to the Australian fuel sector, Puma Energy has already established a strong customer base with its assorted range of products and customer service. The B2B sector’s principal choice has made Puma Energy a popular choice in industrial needs.

Conclusion:

Puma Energy started business in Australia in 2013, and since then it has gradually extended its market base and popularity in the B2B sector. Its ambitious marketing technique and assorted range of products and services has helped Puma Energy gain loyalty from the B2B customers. The large number of service stations, customer experts and cartage fleet has already established Puma Energy as the largest independent fuel company in Australia. The market analysis and customer behaviour establishes a successful market potential for Puma Energy in the future

References:

Conca, J. (2015). US Winning Oil War Against Saudi Arabia. ENERGY, 6, 50AM-149.

Ironside, R., & Foster, S. (2013). Newman promises to help fuel competition. Retrieved from https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/having-bought-up-125-independent-matilda-petrol-stations-puma-stalks-fuel-giants/news-story/b20c3ca649dcbfb26e65b973699beb37

Jafarinejad, S. (2016). Control and treatment of sulfur compounds specially sulfur oxides (SOx) emissions from the petroleum industry: a review. Chemistry International, 2(4), 242-253.

Mensi, W., Hammoudeh, S., & Yoon, S. M. (2015). Structural breaks, dynamic correlations, asymmetric volatility transmission, and hedging strategies for petroleum prices and USD exchange rate. Energy Economics, 48, 46-60.

www.libertyoil.com.au. (2018). ABOUT US | Liberty Oil. Retrieved from https://www.libertyoil.com.au/about-us/w2/i1001276/

www.pumaenergy.com. (2018). brand-history. Retrieved from https://www.pumaenergy.com/en/about-us/brand-history/

www.pumaenergy.com.au. (2018). Bulk Fuel Suppliers & Local Fuel Contacts | Puma Energy. Retrieved from https://www.pumaenergy.com.au/for-business/bulk-fuel-supply/

www.pumaenergy.com.au. (2018). Company Profile » Puma Energy. Retrieved from https://www.pumaenergy.com.au/about-puma-energy/company-profile/

www.pumaenergy.com.au. (2018). Mining Fuel Supplier Fuelling Australian Mines | Puma Energy. Retrieved from https://www.pumaenergy.com.au/for-business/fuelling-australian-mines/

www.pumaenergy.com.au. (2018). Mobile App » Puma Energy. Retrieved from https://www.pumaenergy.com.au/on-the-road/mobile-app/

www.pumaenergy.com.au. (2018). Our Brands » Puma Energy. Retrieved from https://www.pumaenergy.com.au/about-puma-energy/our-brands/

www.pumaenergy.com.au. (2018). Our People » Puma Energy. Retrieved from https://www.pumaenergy.com.au/about-puma-energy/our-people/

www.shell.com.au. (2018). Who we are. Retrieved from https://www.shell.com.au/about-us/who-we-are.htm