The only thing certain about the price of fuel is that it’s gonna change. The laws of supply and demand will see to that, setting a rhythm that keeps diesel suppliers and fleet managers in a whirling tango of negotiation. “I can’t tell you what our price of fuel will be six months from now,” says Roger Mondou, director of commercial business for Ultramar in Montreal. “No one can.” So he says fuel companies have to provide a sense of certainty in other areas: consistent invoicing, truck stop and cardlock locations that don’t take you far out of route, even a clean shower wherever you stop. “We’re doing business in a time when if we can’t fix the price of fuel, we can at least make it more convenient to buy fuel and the purchases easier to control,” notes Mondou.

Part of the strategy for Ultramar is to expand the network of truck stop and cardlock sites where its Pipeline Commercial card is accepted. The company has 57 locations in Quebec and the Maritimes, and 28 in Ontario–all told, it’s the largest commercial diesel fuel network in Eastern Canada.

It also supplies fuel for TravelCenters of America (TA), which opened its first truck stop in Canada last November (a former Ultramar location in Woodstock, Ont., that continues to fly the Ultramar banner).

That deal helped cement another agreement with TA: to have Ultramar’s Pipeline Commercial card accepted for fuel purchases at about 150 TA locations in the United States.

“With TA, the beauty for the fleet manager is that the transaction is managed as though it occurred within our own Pipeline Commercial network,” Mondou says. “You get the same reporting, same invoice, no transaction fee, and the same credit terms as always.” That’s important, he explains, because in the States, the typical term is seven to 10 days, depending on your bargaining power. In Canada, the usual terms are 30 days. “We give you another 20 or 23 days,” says Mondou. “It helps your cash flow.”

Mondou says Ultramar is close to another agreement that would see the Pipeline card accepted at a large number of truck stops in Western Canada.

“Buying fuel can be complicated–there’s more to it than the price on the sign by the road,” Mondou says. “Customers have been telling us for years how they want to simplify the process by doing business with fewer suppliers, ones that can provide seamless service across a large fuelling network. With the right partners, we’ve been able to expand our reach into the United States and soon Western Canada while at the same time requiring one card and one invoice. It’s the answer people are looking for.” www.ultramar.ca; 1-888/871-4404