ACAPMA Conference 2010

More than one hundred petroleum distributors, convenience retailers, and their trade partners gathered in Canberra on 21–23 September for the annual conference of the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association (ACAPMA).

More than one hundred petroleum distributors, convenience retailers, and their trade partners gathered in Canberra on 21–23 September for the annual conference of the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association (ACAPMA).

The 2010 ACAPMA conference aimed to:
• clearly express the importance of petroleum distributors and convenience retailers to the Australian community, especially in regional areas;
• have members of parliament, as well as key regulators, meet with delegates and discuss the challenges faced by operators in the petroleum distribution industry;
• use industry experts to educate ACAPMA Members on key transport and retail topics.

“Our message here in Canberra is that the majority of the work in petroleum distribution and petrol convenience retail is carried out in regional Australia,” said ACAPMA President Jeff Griffiths. “We work in communities that are the foundation of the Australian economy; where you will find the food bowls, mines and factories that keep Australia growing.”

Now that ACAPMA has the Australian Government’s attention, it has expanded its agenda of topics. New issues such as the lack of sufficient terminal infrastructure to handle the growing need for imported refined products, as well as the need for banks to release capital funds to support business development, are paramount.

At the same time, ongoing issues remain on the working agenda. These include the need for a policy framework around alternative fuels and the predatory nature of supermarket cross-subsidizing fuel discounts with grocery margins, and the many older problems that still confront independents daily.

“In the end, we simply want a fair go,” Jeff Griffiths said.

Under the theme, Delivering the Message, the conference program included keynote presentations from members of parliament in the Australian Government, as well as business and media leaders. Delegates participated in open forum sessions, discussing and debating topics important to both petroleum distribution and petrol convenience operators. There was also opportunity for delegates to discover the latest in industry initiatives at the boutique trade hall, while the social functions provided ample networking opportunities.

Keynote messages

The keynote speakers were:
• Senator the Hon Nick Sherry, Senator for Tasmania and Minister for Small Business;
• The Hon Bruce Billson MP, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs;
• Peter Breckenridge, Vice President and Director of Development, McDonald’s Australia;
• Terry McCrann, Media Commentator and Economist.

The Hon Bruce Billson MP noted that “…the world is run by the people that turn up,” and congratulated delegates on their attendance and participation. Mr Billson then argued that the Labor Government is failing to address competition and small business issues because of its lack of understanding of regional Australia. He went on to say that he encourages all ACAPMA Members to “… get behind ACAPMA’s efforts to be a strong voice.”

“If I can leave a meeting with a clear message about a problem, the evidence that supports it, the impact that you see and then a crisp account of what action steps that you’d like to see taken, that gives us all a chance to do our work effectively,” he advised.

The Hon Nick Sherry spoke about the importance of independent small businesses in Australia, including independents in the petroleum industry. He also outlined the key areas that he would be working on in his new ministerial role.

“I am a strong advocate of the proposition that small-to-medium sized businesses are the backbone of the Australian economy,” he said. “There are two million small businesses in Australia, and they represent 96% of all businesses, employing nearly five million people. This accounts for half the total employment in the private sector.

“Independent companies such as those of ACAPMA Members have an important role in keeping the big guys honest and providing the best service and prices to Australian consumers. A key part of my role will be working with Australian small businesses to ensure their perspectives are heard and taken into account in the design and implementation of all government policy.”

Peter Breckenridge gave a very frank presentation on the challenges that McDonald’s faced in the rejuvenation of its business in the early part of this century. McDonald’s had ignored important consumer feedback, instead focussing on promotional discounting and marketing.

“We forgot that you need to supply what customers want,” Mr Breckenridge said. “We had become followers not leaders. By late 2002, we realised we needed to make major changes, and we did.”

McDonald’s developed a new marketing plan and, by listening to customer feedback, began to rebuild trust in its brand. This led to changes in every aspect of the business, including the design of the restaurants and the menu.

“We successfully launched our deli sandwiches and wraps offer, as well as the biggest initiative – the launch of McCafé,” Mr Breckenridge said.

McDonalds has enjoyed eight years of positive sales growth since these changes were implemented. A recent survey indicated that 82% of respondents now see McDonald’s as providing ‘more than just burgers and fries’.

Terry McCrann, economist and media commentator, pointed out to delegates that we live in interesting times. “What I want to do today is give you a sense of how I see the great forces that are going to drive the world in which you have to do business,” he said. “A little bit of economics, a little bit of psychology and a little bit of an explanation on the beast that is the Gillard government.

“In a broad sense the world economy is in reasonable shape coming out of the global financial meltdown and the recession that struck Europe and the Unites States, but it’s very tenuous. We [Australia] did not actually have a recession, so some of this may seem a little distant to you when I talk of the severity of the downturn in the rest of the world.

“What the world economy had running into the financial meltdown was a false prosperity. China was the world’s factory that loaned America the money to buy Chinese consumer goods … all done through ‘funny money games’ on Wall Street. The United States is still struggling to come out of this recession, with 9% of all mortgages in default; so you have this interplay in America where people have lost their jobs and now they are losing their homes. The basic problem that we face in the western world, that we have borrowed more and more, but we are still running huge deficits.

“Will China save us? … Australia is now more dependent on China than any other economy in our history. Something like half our export income comes from China and Japan, mainly from coal and iron ore. The other thing that is driving this economy is housing. This means we have an economy built on two pillars; China and second-hand housing … I have a certain caution whether the boom in China will be never-ending.

“The key to understanding what is going to drive Julia Gillard is that she failed. She did not deliver on the election, and she is essentially a ‘policy-free zone’. I tend to think that [the Gillard government] it is not going to last three years.”

Hypothetically speaking

Using real situations as examples, the ACAPMA Hypothetical which was facilitated by ACAPMA General Manager, Nic Moulis, took delegates through the processes and pressures that petrol convenience operators face in creating and operating their businesses. As a bonus, delegates gained a better understanding of the services offered by ACAPMA Trade Members and the ACAPMAssist program. The panel took delegates through the process from environmental compliance to retail marketing, starting with the following statement by Mr Moulis:

I have decided to go into the petrol convenience industry and I am looking to develop a ‘greenfields’ location …

The panel comprised industry leaders from ACAPMA’s Trade Member companies, in the order that they spoke, namely:

Peter Breckenridge, Vice President and Director of Development, McDonald’s Australia
Mark Beaufoy, Environmental Law Specialist, DLA Phillips Fox
Paul Moritz, Principle Environmental Scientist, Coffey Environments
Phil Quinan, National Marketing Manager, Envirotank
Russell Dupuy, Managing Director, Environmental Monitoring Solutions
Grant Stillman, National Manager OTIS, OAMPS Insurance Brokers
Marg Taylor, Workplace Relations Advisor, ACAPMA
Steve Cardinale, Director, New sunrise Group
Ryan Maritz, National General Manager, The Distributors.

Next issue of C&I will include a full report on this important forum.

Delivering safety

In the Delivering Safely Panel, also facilitated by Nic Moulis, transport industry experts Prof Ian Johnston AM, Deputy Chair, National Transport Commission, and John Gilbert OAM, Training Package Specialist - Transport & Logistics, Training & Logistics Industry Skills Council, addressed the facts, myths and issues facing those involved in the freight task in Australia. It was clear from their presentations that better planning and driver training could improve safety performance.

“There is a major safety problem with heavy vehicles,” Prof Johnston said. “They comprise 3% of all vehicle registrations, but are involved in about 15% of fatal crashes. The transport industry has the highest number of deaths of any industry. One of the fundamental issues to be addressed is the fact that a transport operator runs a private business in a public space.”

Prof Johnston went on to explain that, even though the national transport safety strategy addressed important items like the use of seatbelts (with low level of compliance in the transport industry), it was a myth to think that wearing seatbelts is enough to save us.

John Gilbert stressed the importance of driver training. He explained that to develop a training package he consults widely in the industry, including employers, registered trainers, unions and increasingly regulators. However, he stressed that it was the industry that needed to get involved in the development of training programs if the training was going to meet the industry’s requirements.

“The one message I would like to get across today is to engage with the skills council,” John Gilbert said.

In closing

Nic Moulis was positive is his outlook as he closed the conference. He congratulated ACAPMA Members on their successes, describing how they have used their key market advantages to achieve outstanding results. Contemplating the future, Mr Moulis saw that there will be opportunities for members to remain viable independent businesses; however, there will be challenges that the industry, through its association, will need to address.

“Looking around this room, I see entrepreneurs who have not lost focus on their goals,” said Mr Moulis. “I see company managers who have used the key success factors in our industry to their benefit. Our goal must be to identify the opportunities early and to address each challenge sooner rather than later. I trust that you have benefited from the opportunity, now and over the past year to learn together, work together, play together and grow together.”

In closing, Mr Moulis thanked the membership, the ACAPMA Board, and his staff for their efforts in bringing the conference together and making it such a great success. He gave special mention to the conference sponsors:

OAMPS Insurance Brokers (Principal Sponsor)
Commercial Indemnity (Parliament House Experience)
Customers ATM (Partners’ Program)
Mercedes-Benz (Business Lunch)
New Sunrise (Business Breakfast)
OAMPS Superannuation (Welcome Function)
Unigas LPG (Gala Dinner at Australian War Memorial)