From Month-End Surprises to Continuous Operational Intelligence
For fuel distribution companies, inventory represents one of the largest assets on the balance sheet whilst also being one of the most challenging to track accurately. Fuel sits in coastal terminal tanks, travels in delivery trucks, resides at unmanned retail locations, and sometimes lives on customer sites as consignment stock. Meanwhile, the commodity value fluctuates, volumes change with temperature, and every transaction across multiple channels must relieve the correct inventory location whilst posting costs accurately.
Traditional approaches struggle with this complexity. Different systems track different parts of the operation—terminal stock in one platform, retail inventory in another, deliveries in spreadsheets or standalone TMS. Whilst each system may track inventory perpetually within its own silo, bringing these views together requires manual reconciliation. Financial visibility lags operations because transaction data must be exported, compiled and imported into separate accounting systems. Month-end close becomes a multi-week exercise of reconciliation, adjustment, and correction as finance teams piece together data from disconnected sources.
NetSuite's integrated inventory and financial management modules deliver a fundamentally different experience: real-time visibility across the entire inventory network within a single platform, automated transaction processing that keeps records accurate, and financial reporting that reflects actual operational performance as it happens.
The Fuel Inventory Challenge
Consider the operational complexity of tracking fuel inventory across a typical NZ distribution network:
Multiple Storage Locations:
- Coastal terminal with multiple large-capacity tanks (diesel, premium diesel, regular 91, premium 95, premium 98)
- Delivery truck fleet with fuel loaded and in transit
- Network of unmanned retail stations, each with underground storage tanks
- Customer sites with consignment inventory (fuel owned by distributor but stored at customer location)
Continuous Movement:
- Fuel arriving at terminals from coastal shipping
- Terminal-to-truck transfers as drivers load for deliveries
- Truck-to-retail station transfers for network replenishment
- Truck-to-customer deliveries for bulk commercial supply
- Retail station sales via fuel cards (thousands of daily transactions)
- Bulk customer consumption of consignment inventory
Reconciliation Complexity:
- Daily tank gauging at terminals and retail sites
- Temperature-related volume changes (expansion/contraction)
- Evaporation and measurement variance
- In-transit inventory on trucks between locations
- Consignment inventory tracking and customer usage reporting
The disconnected systems approach: Different platforms track different locations. Terminal inventory lives in one system ,retail station levels in another, delivery records in TMS or spreadsheets, and financial data in separate accounting software. Each system may track inventory accurately within its own scope, but bringing these views together requires manual reconciliation. Data must be exported, compiled in spreadsheets, reconciled for discrepancies, and imported into accounting systems. By the time the full inventory picture is assembled, it's already outdated—fuel has moved, sales have occurred, and deliveries have been made.
The operational impacts:
- No unified visibility into network-wide inventory positions—requires compiling data from multiple systems
- Stock-outs at retail stations discovered too late because replenishment planning relies on lagged, manually compiled data
- Excess terminal inventory tied up in working capital due to lack of network-wide visibility
- Shrinkage and losses only visible after manual reconciliation across systems
- Finance team resources consumed by data compilation, reconciliation and manual adjustments
- Decision-making based on fragmented data from disconnected sources rather than unified operational truth
NetSuite Inventory Management: Network-Wide Visibility
NetSuite's inventory module provides real-time visibility and automated tracking across the entire fuel distribution network:
Location-Based Inventory Tracking
Every fuel storage point operates as a separate inventory location in NetSuite:
Terminal Locations: Each storage tank at terminals configured as an individual location. When fuel arrives from coastal shipping, goods receipts post directly to specific tanks—Terminal Tank 1 Diesel, Terminal Tank 2 Premium 95. Current inventory by tank is always visible.
Fleet Locations: Delivery trucks operate as in-transit locations. When drivers load at terminals, transfer orders move inventory from terminal tanks to truck locations. When deliveries occur, fulfillments relieve truck inventory.
Retail Locations: Each unmanned station is a separate inventory location. Fuel card transactions automatically relieve inventory at the specific station where sales occur. Replenishment transfers from terminals refill retail locations.
Consignment Locations: Customer sites with on-site fuel storage are tracked as consignment locations. The distributor owns the fuel until the customer uses it, with periodic consumption reporting triggering sales and inventory relief.
This location-based structure provides instant answers to critical questions:
- What's the current inventory level at each terminal tank?
- Which retail stations need replenishment?
- How much fuel is currently in transit on trucks?
- What consignment inventory sits at customer sites?
Automated Inventory Movements
Rather than requiring manual data transfers between systems or reconciliation spreadsheets, NetSuite processes inventory movements as operational transactions occur—with financial impacts posting automatically:
Goods Receipts: When coastal vessels deliver fuel to terminals, goods receipts post immediately—increasing terminal tank inventory and creating accounts payable liability in a single transaction.
Transfer Orders: Terminal-to-retail replenishment, terminal-to-truck loading, and truck-to-customer delivery all process as transfer orders—reducing inventory at source location, increasing at destination, all within one system without manual data synchronisation.
Sales Transactions: Fuel card sales and bulk delivery invoices automatically relieve inventory at the correct location whilst posting cost of goods sold to the P&L—no separate inventory relief process required.
Inventory Adjustments: Daily or weekly tank gauging reconciliation creates inventory adjustments for variance—evaporation, temperature changes, measurement differences—with variances posted to shrinkage/loss accounts immediately for visibility.
Forecasting and Replenishment
NetSuite's inventory capabilities extend beyond tracking current levels to intelligent forecasting:
Consumption Pattern Analysis: Historical usage data by location identifies patterns—seasonal variations, day-of-week trends, event-driven spikes.
Automated Replenishment Triggers: Scheduled scripts analyse current inventory, consumption rates, and replenishment lead times to generate transfer order recommendations proactively—preventing stock-outs before they occur.
Tank Capacity Optimisation: Visibility into tank levels across the network enables optimal terminal stock positioning—holding enough inventory for network supply without excess working capital tied up in surplus stock.
NetSuite Financial Management: Real-Time Business Intelligence
Integrated financial management ensures that every operational transaction flows automatically to financial reporting:
Automated GL Posting
All fuel transactions post to the general ledger in real-time:
Inventory Receipts: Terminal fuel deliveries increase inventory asset and create AP liability automatically.
Fuel Card Sales: Thousands of daily retail transactions post revenue (to cash or AR) and COGS without manual journalentries.
Bulk Deliveries: Commercial customer invoices post AR and revenue whilst relieving inventory and posting COGS automatically.
Inventory Adjustments: Tank gauging variances post to shrinkage/loss expense accounts, providing visibility into losses as they're identified rather than months later.
Freight and Delivery Costs: Delivery-related costs flow to appropriate cost centres, enabling true profitability analysis by channel and customer.
Multi-Dimensional Profitability Visibility
Because operational data and financial data live in one integrated system, NetSuite enables profitability analysis that's extremely difficult to achieve when inventory, sales and financial systems are disconnected:
Customer Profitability: Revenue, COGS, delivery costs, and account management expense by customer—identifying which accounts deliver healthy returns and which require pricing attention or cost management.
Channel Profitability: Separate visibility into retail fuel card operations, bulk commercial delivery, wholesale supply to franchises, and consignment operations—showing which business lines drive overall profitability.
Product Profitability: Margin analysis by fuel type—diesel, premium diesel, various octane grades—highlighting which products deliver best returns.
Location Profitability: For retail operations, profitability by unmanned station location—identifying high-performing sites worth replicating and low-performing sites requiring improvement or exit.
Delivery Route Profitability: When delivery costs(truck fuel, maintenance, driver wages) are captured in NetSuite, profitability analysis by delivery route or geography highlights network efficiency opportunities.
These analyses require NetSuite's SuiteAnalytics capabilities, processing high transaction volumes across multiple dimensions to calculate true profitability after all costs—visibility that's simply impossible when operational and financial data live in separate systems.
Accelerated Financial Close
Real-time GL posting transforms month-end close from a multi-week ordeal to a multi-day process:
Automated Reconciliation: Because all operational transactions post to GL automatically within the same system, reconciliation between operations and finance is continuous rather than month-end. When inventory moves, financial records update simultaneously. Discrepancies surface immediately for investigation rather than being discovered weeks later during manual cross-system reconciliation.
Reduced Manual Adjustments: Inventory valuations, COGS calculations, and revenue recognition happen automatically throughout the month. Month-end becomes validation rather than creation of financial data.
Faster Reporting: Financial statements reflect actual operational performance as soon as month-end verification completes—typically2-3 days rather than 2-3 weeks.
Improved Accuracy: Automated posting eliminates the manual journal entry errors, data export/import issues, and reconciliation mistakes that occur when operational and financial systems are disconnected.
OneWorld for Multi-Entity Operations
For fuel distribution operators managing multiple legal entities—perhaps separate companies for terminal operations, transport, and retail, or regional entities for different service areas—NetSuite's OneWorld capability provides consolidated visibility:
Multi-Entity Structure: Each legal entity operates as a subsidiary in NetSuite with its own chart of accounts, tax registrations, and statutory reporting.
Automated Consolidation: Financial consolidation happens in real-time as transactions occur. Parent company executives see consolidated P&L and balance sheet instantly without manual compilation.
Inter-Company Transactions: Fuel transfers between entities (terminal to transport, transport to retail) process as inter-company transactions with automated elimination entries for consolidated reporting.
Departmental Reporting: Many NZ operators run as a single legal entity with departments separating business functions (terminal, transport, retail). NetSuite supports this structure equally well, providing departmental P&L and balance sheet without multi-entity complexity.
The Business Impact
Fuel distributors who implement NetSuite's integrated inventory and financial management report transformational improvements:
Operational Visibility: Real-time inventory visibility across the entire network enables proactive management—replenishing retail stations before stock-outs, optimising terminal inventory levels, identifying shrinkage immediately.
Financial Efficiency: Month-end close reduced from 2-3 weeks to 2-3 days. Finance teams focus on analysis and strategic work rather than data compilation and reconciliation.
Decision Quality: Management decisions based on current, accurate operational and financial data rather than lagging, questionable reports. Profitability analysis informs strategic choices about customers, channels, and network investments.
Working Capital Optimisation: Better inventory visibility enables lower overall inventory levels whilst maintaining service—reducing working capital tied up in excess stock.
Margin Protection: Real-time profitability visibility highlights margin erosion immediately, enabling rapid response rather than discovering problems months later during financial review.
Scalability: Systems that provide real-time visibility and automated processing scale efficiently as operations grow—adding locations, customers, or transaction volumes without proportional administrative overhead increases.
From Reactive to Proactive Management
NetSuite's integrated inventory and financial management transforms fuel distribution operations from reactive firefighting to proactive optimisation. Real-time visibility enables intelligent decision-making. Automated processing eliminates manual reconciliation bottlenecks. Financial reporting reflects actual operational performance as it happens.
For NZ fuel distribution operators managing complex multi-location inventory networks and seeking genuine operational and financial intelligence, NetSuite's integrated platform delivers rapid return on investment through improved visibility, reduced administrative overhead, and better strategic decision-making.
Ready to gain real-time visibility across your fuel distribution network? Contact us to discuss how we'd approach implementation for your operation.
Disclaimer
The information and recommendations provided in this article represent Project Salsa's view based on our experience implementing NetSuite. Implementation approaches, inventory configurations, financial integrations, and reporting structures may vary significantly depending on individual business requirements, existing systems, operational complexity, regulatory requirements, and specific customer needs at the time of implementation.
Oracle NetSuite Product Direction Statement:The preceding is intended to outline the Oracle NetSuite general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, timing, and pricing of any features or functionality described for Oracle's products may change and remains at the sole discretion of Oracle Corporation.
Project Salsa recommends conducting a thorough requirements analysis, inventory assessment, and financial integration evaluation before making any technology investment decisions.
