India has an ambitious goal to become a 7 trillion USD economy by 2030. Understanding the role that road infrastructure plays in boosting the economy, the government has been partnering with private enterprises to improve last-mile connectivity. 

Dilip Buildcon Limited (DBL), is one of India’s largest infrastructure development companies with around 98 projects spread across 14 states. It is renowned for its delivery of state-of-the-art projects spanning roads and highways, rails and metro, airports, coal mining, irrigation, tunnel, special bridges and urban development.

“Our integrated approach to innovation and execution not only enhances our project management capabilities but also underscores our commitment to excellence. Combining this with the foresight and strategic direction of Dilip Suryavanshi as CMD, and Devendra Jain as MD, is what sets us apart, enabling us to consistently deliver exceptional results ahead of schedule,” says Chief Information Officer, Satyanarayana Kasturi.

The fleet challenge

As owners of a fleet comprising 12,000 vehicles, the fuel cost for DBL touched approximately Rs. 1500 crore annually. Further, the company’s per-day fuel consumption amounted to about 460,000 litres and managing their fuel & fleet inventory while ensuring profitability was turning out to be a significant challenge.

“We refuel thousands of vehicles across hundreds of locations, and managing inventory while ensuring profitability for DBL was taking a hit,” states Ajay Kumar Chhapariya, AGM of Fuel. Across DBL’s 96 active projects, equipment for 12,000 vehicles was being fuelled everyday using 118 dispensers, 89 pumps and 80 local storage units. Since the equipment was refuelled multiple times through the day and required the DBL team to record the meter reading upon each instance, several entries for the same equipment had to be captured on the same day. 

With DBL deploying vehicles owned by suppliers or contractors in addition to those already rented and owned by them, monitoring fuel procurement and distribution presented multiple complexities. 

DBL also maintained all vehicle-related documents, including the papers for registration, tax, insurance, fitness, permits, and loans for the entire fleet. Manually processing documents for more than 12,000 vehicles was time-consuming and did not provide the transparency that was needed to accurately expense budgets. In addition, any oversight in ensuring the validity of a vehicle’s permit, fitness certificate, and other compliance documents could result in heavy penalties being imposed under the Motor Vehicles Act.

Looking to transition from spreadsheets to an automated system, DBL turned to IBM Consulting to design a foolproof system for the fuel management process and, a few years later, for the Regional Transport Office (RTO) processes.

Collaboration with IBM to customize robust solutions

IBM has a long-standing association with DBL, which includes the SAP S/4HANA platform deployment, which earned their partnership the SAP ACE awards in 2019. With a deep understanding of the business and scale of operations, the IBM Consulting team went through multiple rounds of consultation, testing, and fine-tuning, based on which they deployed two solutions – a fuel management system and the RTO process system – built on the SAP platform.

Managing the fuel process

The fuel management system went live in 2018, enabling detailed information on fuel procurement and consumption to be captured. Using stringent approval processes and cross-verification of odometer reading & fuel filling with GPS and fuel sensors, the system has enabled efficiency in distribution and is helping prevent overconsumption.

“With our fleet and dedicated team of drivers, we have empowered ourselves to surpass project timelines with remarkable efficiency. Our collaboration with IBM enabled us to gain full control over our resources, by which we can now ensure seamless coordination and timely completion of tasks,” says Mr. Kasturi.

“The leadership team was keen to ensure transparency and monitoring capabilities in the fuel management and RTO processes – and by working with IBM, we saw that vision slowly turn into reality,” explains Umesh Pande, AGM of Insurance and RTO. 

Keeping RTO documents up to date

The RTO process system that went live in January 2024 digitized documents, improved transparency, and control, and has helped manage expenses - a primary goal of the implementation. An estimated USD 96,000 has been saved so far along with savings in time and an improved accuracy rate. 

Using automated alerts, DBL has been able to avoid penalties, saving approximately USD 120,000 every month. The system also includes a dashboard that provides a real-time view of all vehicles and documents. As departments, such as purchasing and loan processing get integrated with SAP, decision-makers are now gaining a complete view of information. For every deployment, IBM supports DBL with troubleshooting, user manuals, and training users on both systems.

According to Rajiv Sharma, Head, SAP, the robust design and successful implementation of the RTO process system with the support of IBM is a game changer in the history of DBL. “Every minute activity of our fleets is being captured in the SAP system with advanced processing and smart notifications,” he says.

Exemplifying excellence in infrastructure development

Being one of the pioneers in the EPC sector to adopt such deep levels of digitalization, DBL continues to improve and integrate processes in SAP. Together, under guidance of the management team, DBL is driven by a collective vision to innovate, excel, and lead the way in the industry. 

India’s infrastructure sector has been undergoing a major shift in recent years and technology has played a pivotal role in driving this change. To adapt to evolving industry conditions and capitalize on emerging opportunities, organizations like DBL are leading the sector in adopting flexible & strategic practices that enable rapid response to real-time feedback. We are glad to be DBL’s technology partner as we collaborate to implement superior services while minimizing resource allocation and maximizing efficiency”, says Devang Sheth, Account Partner - Industrial Sector, IBM Consulting.