Engen Lubricants, the sub-Saharan African manufacturer and distributor of lubricating oils, has up-ended the market and dealt the competition a major blow with the announcement of its Oil on Tap solution, a remotely-managed oil dispensing unit. Anton Allner, Engen Industrial Lubricants Strategy Manager, says the South African lubes market has gone through a period of bruising price-based competition. “Clearly, this was unsustainable and market fallout was inevitable, which would have harmed healthy value-based competition. We know the market is differentiated these days – many customers want technical support, service and quality – not merely rock-bottom prices.”

This is where Oil on Tap will change the game, he continues. “Lube marketers have been taking a survivalist stance, but we believe we’ve unearthed real value and a strong basis for renewed competition with this industry first.” Engen has identified small- and medium-sized service centres and engineering workshops as key to this campaign. Numbering some 16 000 registered workshops in South Africa, this segment will be vital for its overall growth strategy. Oil on Tap is a storage and dispensing cabinet containing two tanks filled with two types of lubricants. It uses mobile data technology and sensor equipment to remotely monitor oil usage and transactions. When levels drop beneath a certain level, an automatic alert is sent to Engen Lubricants to proactively arrange for replenishment.

Paying only for what they use, dealers and wholesalers can request an itemised billing report and transaction history using a touch screen. Allner says Engen hopes to forge closer links with customer-facing outlets by rising above the crowd with cutting-edge innovations such as the Oil on Tap solution. “Oil on Tap is the next generation in oil dispensing. It ushers in a new era in service and convenience for fluid purchase. It’s going to be difficult to match or replicate this, and we’re confident it will be an overwhelming success.”