Wholesale Customer Service

Wholesale Marketing provides its customers with a complex product and service package, which means that in addition to selling fuels and various other products, it also offers value-added services related to transportation and usage.

From our wholesale storage depots, fuels may be transported by tanker lorry operated by MOL, the customer, or third party carrier. Clients undertaking volume commitments for periods of over one year, we offer preferential contractual terms and an additional diverse range of services.

Owing to its high quality products and services, our Customer Service is listed among Qualified Bidders published by the Hungarian Public Procurement Council every year. Sales organization is ISO 9001:2000 Quality Assurance Standard certified. To maintain the quality of our Customer Service, its agents are reported on monthly and quarterly in line with the Company’s Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2008). Quality improvement in the organization is also based on these reports. The following standards certify our activity: the ratio of missed calls is to be under 5% and the 90% of the incoming calls is to be answered within 15 minutes.

Our Wholesale Customer Service began operations in February 2005 in Hungary. The primary objective of this unit is to provide better and more accurate services to customers, to manage incoming information in a standardized manner, and continuously to analyze customer inquiries and monitor requests deriving from these activities. Its scope of operation was subsequently augmented to include telephone-based Customer Service Sales Order Entry that takes incoming phone calls ”live” between 7am and 5pm. Over and above order entry, the service also provides information - following their identification - to contractual partners about the status of outstanding orders, as well as billing issues. Information is also provided on various products and services.

The Wholesale Customer Service agents constantly collect up-to-date information from our sales representatives and from colleagues in different units. They also monitor customer enquiries and based on information received regularly participate in professional training sessions. The aim of such training is to further develop their communications skills, as well as deepen their professional product knowledge.

Internet Sales Application
Ordering and recording sales orders have been possible since 2006. At that time the system ensured direct connection between customers and MOL SAP system. It operated as an on-line system and its speed depended on how loaded the SAP system was. Since 2008, MOL has been developing a new internet sales application. The operation of the off-line service does not depend on the speed of SAP, it promptly generates order numbers that SAP takes over and provides information related to orders.

The development of the new Internet Sales Application system was finished by the end of 2009. The new features enable customers to reach full-scale order, invoice and payment related information. 

In 2010 the system has been a great success, 49% of sales orders is already received via Internet Sales nowadays.
Although our customers have already recognized how practical and comfortable the new Internet Sales system is, our aim is to help customers understand other benefits, like environmental protection aspect, of Internet Sales System on knowledge sharing lectures organized in cooperation with our wholesale segments and raise the ratio of ISA orders to 53-55% by the end of 2011.

Wholesale Customer Satisfaction
MOL Group has been executing customer satisfaction surveys among its wholesale customers since 2002, with the aim of understanding customers’ expectations, their decision-making processes and becoming aware of their evaluation of our company’s performance. The scope of CSS has been determined by MOL Group commercial and business strategy with focus on core markets. Customer satisfaction measurement means a questionnaire-based quantitative research approach however besides satisfaction, customers’ priorities and loyalty drivers are also identified. Satisfaction surveys for Hungary and Slovakia have been executed with comparison of competitors’ performance. In order to develop further measuring and evaluation methodology, since 2008 surveys have been conducted on these markets by independent market research companies. In 2010 customers’ valuation reflect stable performance on all involved markets. Based on the loyalty segments and satisfaction matrix, improving actions are quantified and implemented to the company’s quality objectives. The actions are monitored quarterly and modified according to the results of the survey each year.

Product catalogues
Based on the experiences of MOL wholesale sales representatives, our customers are interested in the specifications of products. In line with MOL Group image guidelines and considering the environmental factors we are aiming at publishing a virtual product catalogue focusing on our customers’ needs, emphasizing the competitive advantages and benefits of the application of the product, and in the meantime, they are containing indispensable commercial data, such as custom tariff number, REACH registration number and contact information as well.

Product catalogues are available here.

Brochure on Unloading Tanker Lorries
In order to inform our customers about the proper unloading process, MOL has published a brochure. This publication contains all eligible information on the responsibilities, tasks and the complete procedure of correct goods delivery. Our main aim while preparing this brochure was to protect the interests of our customers so that they receive the proper amount and quality of ordered product.

MOL Group Card portfolio

MOL’s standardized fuel card portfolio provides more transparent products and services under a uniform name and logo (MOL Group Cards) and supports mutual card acceptance among the members of the MOL Group. Mutual acceptance provides the possibility to refuel with MOL Gold Cards regionally across seven European countries at almost 1300 filling stations comprising the MOL network in Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, the MOL and Roth chain in Austria, the Slovnaft network in Slovakia, Tifon filling stations in Croatia, and INA network in Croatia, Slovenia as a convenient payment method for companies operating vehicle fleets. Fuel Card Billing and Clearing (FCBC) service simplifies the regional invoicing system of MOL Group Cards by permitting to post all domestic and foreign invoices in one envelope, which makes terms of payments more transparent and reduces the paper consumption. In order to ensure an easy and user friendly online platform for our customers to monitor and manage card related administration we created the Virtual Card Center. Since 2010 we provide online contracting possibility to enable a faster and more environment conscious way of requiring Green prepaid fuel card.

Professional advice
Colleagues, who are in daily contact with our customers and people making enquiries, take part in regular training sessions on crude oil refining and product quality. Moreover, specialists from Downstream Technology participate directly or help them in answering customer questions in a professional manner.
In addition, our product catalogues and safety data sheets provide information about the quality features and use of our products. Our customers can access our up-to-date web pages from which short descriptions of our products or catalogues detailing product information can be downloaded. Catalogues are also available via our sales representatives or our call centre.

Customer meetings
As personal relationships are of high importance for MOL, we organize customer meetings and professional days for our VIP partners every year. On these occasions our customers are informed about product developments, quality changes, services, billing and our good housekeeping practice. They can personally meet our managers, who are ready to answer all questions and discuss their experiences.
The aims of customer meetings:

• Maintain and improve personal relationship with customers to reveal their needs and strengthen their loyalty in order to retain them on long term and gain new partners
• Transmit the main messages of the main product groups
• Communicate the latest information about the company, organizations, products and services

Post-evaluation is carried out after each event. On the basis of the results, we are continuously developing our services.

Beyond customer meetings, we organize visits to Duna Refinery, Százhalombatta for those VIP partners who might be interested in the refining processes. The aim of the visits is to give an overall picture about oil refining. During the guided site visit customers have the possibility to have an insight to the structure of the refinery and the operation of its plants and to the tank car loading system.

Internal development
Sales representatives were given focused and continuous training courses in order to improve their fundamental marketing knowledge, HSE and specific product standard with significant focus on fuel quality change to implement bio components into the market according to different countries’ legislation and commercial strategy.