IoT-powered digital platforms bring unprecedented visibility to fuel logistics
By Jaroshen Naidoo, Executive Head of Digital Enablement, Vodacom Business
The switch to cleaner fuels is also a chance to create lasting business advantages from digital technologies.
A Transition Fraught with Risk
In less than a year, starting July 2027, the Clean Fuels 2 (CPF2) program will be in full effect, bringing South Africa’s petrol and diesel specifications to international standards and supporting cleaner vehicles.
It marks a major transition for the fuel sector, from refinery upgrades and pipeline changes to storage adaptations and extra scrutiny at the pumps. The transition to cleaner fuels will run alongside phasing out of older fuels, creating risks such as contamination and selling of fuels that do not meet the new standards.
Visibility as Opportunity
Fuel sector businesses need better visibility to manage those risks and ensure compliance. That is also the opportunity: better visibility for CPF2 compliance can also create much greater end-to-end monitoring and metrics for other barriers that frustrate honest operators.
Fuel evaporation is a modest concern, but those annual losses can damage hair-thin margins. Theft is a much bigger issue, with over R1 billion in diesel stolen annually. Adulteration is an even-bigger problem: it costs the economy R3.6 billion annually, with some diesel samples revealing 68% paraffin levels.
Visibility doesn’t just strengthen compliance; it puts money back into legitimate fuel operations. CPF2 creates the space and motivation to invest in visibility, and digital technology stands ready to deliver.
The Digital Toolkit
- IoT sensors: IoT sensors and connectivity ensure that you can track and monitor all aspects of fuel transport and storage, from temperature and shipping volumes to adulteration.
- Private data lakes: A cloud-hosted private data lake stores data collected by sensors to ensure maximum control and cost-efficiency.
- Pervasive connectivity: The networks of Vodacom and our partners ensure constant visibility, capturing data continually for real-time scrutiny and long-term interpretation.
- Artificial intelligence: Specialised machine learning converts the data into insights, revealing patterns and trends in customised dashboards, enabling alert systems, producing compliance-compatible reports, and creating the scope for preventative maintenance and other efficiencies.
- Digital twins: A digital twin enables testing business model assumptions prior to actually rolling them out, enabling planners to first see the end results of a project prior to committing capital investments.
Turning Parts Into Solutions
These technologies are the parts. Vodacom Business turns them into an IoT-comprehensive solution. We combine our expertise as a connectivity giant, cloud solutions leader, and industrial IoT innovator to build reliable and value-driven digital services for fuel sector companies.
From large refineries to friendly neighbourhood forecourts, we build scaling solutions to focus on specific challenges and use our digital platforms for maximum value, regardless of an operation’s size or revenue.
CPF2 is an opportunity to add the power of digital smart technologies to your business. Whether it’s to track contamination potential in pipelines, ensure fuel-in-transit reaches its destination, or what comes out of the pumps meets your standards, Vodacom Business has the answer.
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