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The power of applying mobile technology to fuels pricing

by | Sep 18, 2013 | Uncategorized

Mobile technology hasn’t just increased the ease with which we travel, check the news, and plan our day. Mobile technology has revolutionized fuel pricing software. In fact, it’s safe to say that fuel pricing software makes for a highly compelling case for why to use mobile technology at all. Mobile fuel pricing software accelerates the communication of key information necessary to gain insight into the latest, most accurate market data, allowing fuels managers to quickly enact changes anywhere and anytime, and thereby optimize profits.

Cloud computing and mobile technology give retail fuels managers greater control over their fuels pricing by consolidating resources and making information more readily accessible. Mobile fuels pricing integrates data from disparate systems into one simple yet comprehensive display, giving managers all the information they need to make strategic pricing decisions, and then act on them. The PriceAdvantage mobile capability allows managers to view this information in an easy to use interface from the Smartphone, iPad, or other mobile device. Managers have this information at their fingertips 24/7, increasing the speed at which they can make informed decisions. PriceAdvantage gives managers complete control of the fuel pricing process through mobile technology, day or night.

Aside from reducing communication headaches by streamlining the price change process, the PriceAdvantage mobile fuel pricing software gives fuels managers a comprehensive picture of what the competition is doing. It returns competitor price changes and surveys as soon as they are reported, keeping managers up-to-date with market shifts. PriceAdvantage also offers advanced analysis views which allow the fuels manager to slice and dice the market data in a meaningful way and answer key questions.

The advanced PriceAdvantage mobile solution provides a superior way to manage the enterprise proactively rather than simply conforming to trends. PriceAdvantage users can set the standard in their region with increased speed-to-the-street. By giving managers the tools to understand the pricing environment, the PriceAdvantage mobile application removes all the waste, delays, and mis-communication from the process. This up-to-date information helps fuels managers anticipate the next move of the competition based on past competitor behavior and current margins, so all pricing decisions are strategic. This mobile capability allows managers to stay connected and respond to market changes at home, in transit, or even while in the stands at a child’s soccer game.

Another way mobile technology increases the level of control is by sending automatic alerts with every price change confirmation or delay. Fuel managers can set alerts within the system to inform them whenever surveys are overdue or price changes are late. That makes it easy to see when and where any problems occurred, and quickly react to correct the delay at its source. Rather than forcing managers to sift through data to find the issue, PriceAdvantage mobile technology identifies the location of the pain point to make it easy to determine how to correct it.

Fuel pricing software is a key component of the modern retail fuels marketplace, and combining it with mobile solutions technology allows any fuels manager to stay ahead of the curve and ahead of the competition.

Retail fuel margins recover from recent losses

by | Sep 18, 2013 | Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins

The latest OPIS report shows average retail fuels margins across the US have recovered the losses of recent weeks and now stand at $0.211 per gallon. That’s a $0.04 gain this week. Retail fuels margins are higher than they have been in four weeks and are nearly back to the levels of August 16.

Year to date retail fuel margin averages are up slightly to $0.182 per gallon and the average Q2 retail fuel margins are at $0.198 per gallon. The six week average is essentially unchanged at $0.202 per gallon.

Historically this is the time of year when costs start to drop as we transition to the winter blends, offering opportunities for increased fuel margins across the country.

When natural disasters strike

by | Sep 16, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Software

Fifteen months ago I wrote an article about natural disasters and fuel price management because the city of our home office was experiencing terrible forest fires. Since then another major section of the Colorado Springs metropolitan area suffered a forest fire, even larger than the fire of 2012.

I write this blog article to revisit the topic because the state of Colorado is now going through some of the worst flooding in its history, with many properties devastated, and lives lost.

From a fuels price management perspective, these Colorado floods are a significant disruption to the business of fuels management. Roads are difficult to travel, making it a problem to deliver fuel loads, and difficult for customers to travel. Demand for fuels in affected areas will unquestionably be low and possibly next to nothing. Some stores may even have to close temporarily.

In the future when we refer back to these days, it’s critical that your fuel software has the ability to annotate the special circumstances surrounding these business disruptions. PriceAdvantage provides an easy interface to add notes to the volume graphs for each day when the disruption can be recorded for future reference. Then in comparison analysis views, it’s easy to recall the reason why there are such glaring anomalies in fuels volumes.

CST Brands to issue cash dividend on stock

by | Sep 13, 2013 | Customer News

When Valero announced their intentions to spin off their retail businesses, the primary reason was to increase shareholder value.

On September 12, the now spun off retail business CST Brands announced their intention to offer cash dividends to stock holders. Initially the dividends are set at $.0625 per share.

After opening at a stock price of $27.50 per share on May 2, CST Brands stock is now trading in the $30 per share range.

CST Brands has been using PriceAdvantage as their retail fuel software at all their US stores since 2012.

Retail fuel margins up slightly

by | Sep 10, 2013 | Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins

The latest OPIS numbers show a $0.002 increase in US average retail fuel margins over last week. The average retail fuel margins across the US are now at $0.171 per gallon. The year to date national average remains at $0.181 per gallon. The Q2 average dipped to $0.196 per gallon. The six week average remained the same at $0.203 per gallon.

The current retail fuel margins are $0.028 higher than last year at this time.

Recently the crude prices have stopped their rising, so hopes are up that margins can remain strong as we finish Q2.