Viva Energy recently implemented an innovation hub, called V-inno. We spoke with V-inno Program Manager, Emma Appleton, about the exciting initiatives that lie ahead as part of this visionary hub.
"Viva Energy’s a new organisation, almost three years old now, and while we’ve inherited a fabulous history, we have an exciting opportunity and a need to develop our own identity," Appleton says.
She says the idea for V-inno sprang from an internal pitch in the style of the TV series Shark Tank. “We recognised that to build the culture and future success at Viva Energy, we needed to bring more focus to innovation and how we deliver that for customers.”
Appleton says innovative thinking and methodology can be applied to external or internal customers “but whoever it is, when you solve their problems, that’s when value is delivered”.
Championing the cause
The hub is still new but has already developed a number of ‘innovation champions’ across Viva Energy to be involved in specific projects and bring expertise in the innovation process into their teams. Appleton is adamant that innovation needs to thrive throughout the organisation rather than existing within a separate department.
“To be effective at customer driven innovation, you need to be outward looking. I encourage anyone at Viva Energy who is interested to get involved. I believe the most important attributes for working in innovation are enthusiasm, natural curiosity and a desire to improve things.”
Appleton is currently working with the logistics group to investigate different ways to help fuel-delivery drivers as part of the end-to-end delivery process. A group of Viva Energy staff have accompanied drivers on their shifts to see firsthand the issues that frustrate them on a daily basis.
“We used the observations across the different parts of the delivery task to frame specific challenges, such as ‘How can we help drivers achieve terminal stealth?’ which is looking at the frustrations drivers experience when they just want to get into the terminal, load and get on with their next delivery.”
Strategically aligning innovation
This is one of the projects currently in progress that is looking at different aspects of frontline operations to understand what could make it flow more smoothly.
V-inno may be new, but the team is building on great foundations with Viva Energy having recently delivered on new to industry initiatives such as a new scheduling tool, Quintiq, and a new shipping technology known as DUKC or dynamic under keel clearance.
“We’re looking at different areas where we might work, but first up it’s about aligning innovation effort with our business strategies,” Appleton says. “It’s not necessarily about having more money or more people; it’s about using what we have, more effectively. We’re looking for the changes that add value.”
Those strategic innovation techniques are being applied to Viva Energy’s customer-facing platforms with a view to doing things differently and more successfully.
With support from V-inno, Viva Energy is looking to improve the customer experience with several initiatives already underway, including looking at their transport customers.
V-inno and Transport Sales have joined forces to ask “How might we revolutionise our transport customers’ experience of partnering with Viva Energy by helping them grow their end-to-end fuel value chain?” Beyond selling the customer fuel we believe there is value to be uncovered that will truly set us apart from our competitors and we are actively engaging with customers to identify the greatest opportunities in this space. We see this as an opportunity to deliver tangible value for our customers, helping them reach their destination and improving Viva Energy’s offering.
“We expect there will be parallels across all our customers, in the application of new technology and understanding how we can work together across the board,” Appleton says.
Driving value
Innovation happens at all levels. People tend to think of it in terms of electric vehicles and driverless cars, but it’s also being able to predictably deliver value-added change year-on-year.
“If we can do that reliably,” says Appleton, “we’ll develop a culture where our company is constantly generating value, in a way that is responsive to real needs while staying abreast of future changes.”
What Viva Energy wants is to develop innovation as part of our culture that goes throughout the business. Ideally, that would involve people who are able to work cross-functionally, with a passion for doing things differently, and continually adding value in a customer-focused way.
Appleton says, “V-inno is there to support and help people where they are, in their businesses, to improve life for everyone.”
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