On September 1, 2001, Dermody Petroleum commenced the operation of eRural, a transactional system that provides an unparalleled level of service for their customers. Over 2 years in development, eRural provides an Internet solution for customers requiring more convenient business information, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For many businesses in regional Australia, fuel and lubricants are crucial inputs to their operations. Dermody’s new site is designed to provide customers with better business information including accurate account data; transaction lists which can be exported to file; and tax invoices which can be viewed and reprinted from screen. Once users have registered for eRural, they can also see their monthly statements on-line, before the mail is delivered.

Including a complete BP product catalogue, eRural links to Material Safety Data Sheets and Technical Data Sheets to BP's products – valuable information for any business. Customers can also place orders directly with their closest depot, regardless of the time of day. And orders can be saved, meaning ordering next time is only a few clicks away.

“The development of eRural has been an evolutionary process,” said Nick Shaw, part of BP’s development team. “We focused on designing a system which was sensitive to the unique challenges of living and working in regional Australia. The speed of the Internet is often taken for granted in for cities, but in regional Australia the access through copper phone lines can be significantly slower. By adhering to strict design criteria, we were able to make the application as lightweight as possible to maximise the speed of use”.

BP has also taken the extra step of engaging a third party to provide an computer enablement offer to regional customers. “By involving our affinity partners, Virtual Communities, we are able to provide a turn-key solution for customers looking to upgrade their computer hardware. In addition to the capability of supplying Dermody’s widely spread customer base, Virtual Communities provide IBM equipment to at prices traditionally only available in the high demand regions of capital cities” said Mr. Shaw.