A Polish Energy Company’s Data-driven Response to a Fuel Crisis Caused by War

Amidst the dynamic global business landscape, crises often serve as catalysts for adaptability and innovation. Our exploration delves into the realm of data transformation and governance, highlighting how market crises can drive significant organizational change.

This last article of a three-part series, titled "Crises as Catalysts: Unveiling the Powerhouse of Data Monetization" is a retrospective glance at the years 2022–2023, marked by a series of fuel market crises and the innovative data-driven solutions we implemented in response. 

The article undertakes an examination of the benefits of data products based on the MIT CISR Data Monetization Framework (I-W-S Framework), which encompasses three distinct approaches:

• “Improving” delivers financial value indirectly by improving processes and work tasks with data, thus reducing the cost of goods or reducing overhead costs.

• “Wrapping” delivers financial value indirectly by bundling core products with analytics features and experiences, thus increasing the product value proposition.

• “Selling” involves the direct conversion of data or information solutions into revenue (Wixom and Rose, 2015).

Each crisis unveils a new facet of the transformative potential of data, and this journey will culminate in a comprehensive understanding of how these challenges have shaped and evolved businesses.

Crisis scenarios, business challenges, and data solutions

2022-2023: Russian military aggression in Ukraine and fuel crisis in Poland

Crisis Scenarios

In the current scenario, Russian military aggression in Ukraine during 2022–2023 has raised significant concerns within the international community. This has led to a surge in geopolitical tensions, posing a threat to regional stability. The conflict's humanitarian impact has been profound, resulting in displaced populations and widespread human rights abuses.

Simultaneously, Poland was grappling with a fuel crisis in 2023, precipitated by supply disruptions and vulnerabilities in energy security (Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to a fuel crisis throughout Eastern Europe and consequently to rising prices. This was most noticeable in Poland since the country is Ukraine’s neighbor). This crisis has placed considerable strain on the nation's economy, underlining the pressing need for diversification in energy sources and the fortification of resilient infrastructure.

Business Challenges

• Upon conducting a comprehensive analysis of our primary competitors and prevailing global trends, we discerned a pivotal strategic challenge — the imperative to actively diversify beyond our traditional fuel revenue streams. Given the market's inherent volatility and the unpredictable behavior of major industry players, our foremost priority lies in harnessing artificial intelligence and predictive models for intricate network dynamics.

• Internally, we responded by establishing the Analytical Department, elevating it to an independent and autonomous function equal in stature to other key company divisions. This department's primary mission is to drive data evolution and enhance data monetization continually. We commit ourselves to the relentless pursuit of extracting value from our data assets daily, optimizing our internal operations, and addressing the core challenge of diversification.

• On the external front, we introduced Fast Data, a data-driven product that rapidly ascended to the status of flagship application within the e100 market. This innovative solution stands as our strategic response to the pressing challenge of expanding revenue sources beyond fuel.

Data Solutions

• Internal emphasis on advanced forecasting techniques:

  • Client clustering

  • Behavioral models

  • Real-time client profitability analytics

• Utilization of technology stacks including Microsoft Azure and Python

• Development of proactive machine-learning tools for event anticipation

• External focus on enhancing flagship product, Fast Data:

  • Integration of digital marketing funnel

  • Impressive 180% year-on-year revenue growth

• Acknowledgment of CEO's leadership in spearheading the data-driven approach across business operations

Benefits of data-driven solutions

If we use the I-W-S framework described above, we can see the following picture. Let's take a point now, and all the data-based products I described in the section above - we have the following distribution.

When assessing the data's worth through a data monetization perspective over the stated five-year period, it becomes evident that a conservative estimate would be around 4-5% of the average annual EBITDA during this duration.

In summary, this article elucidates the pivotal role of data-driven methodologies in surmounting market crises. As we delve deeper into the I-W-S framework and scrutinize the deployment of data-based products, a compelling narrative emerges, underscoring the adaptability and resilience crucial for thriving amidst adversity.

About the Author:

Andrii Vasyliev is Chief Data and Analytics Officer at E100. With over 12 years of experience, his achievements include building data platforms from scratch, implementing principles of data governance and management, and creating data-driven products that add significant value to organizations.