by John Keller | Jul 19, 2013 | Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Strategy
The ability to make one-click price changes at all retail fuels locations is critical when optimizing fuel prices because it reduces the potential for human keying errors, streamlines the overall fuel pricing process, and ensures maximum fuel profitability. Retail fuel managers frequently face the frustration of not being able to react quickly enough to changing market conditions. Interference, be it from technology or the environment, can hold back price changes, and prevent the optimized prices from reaching the street. By the time the prices do change, it may be too late, as the competition has already leapfrogged to a new price based on newer market fluctuations.
A centralized process for managing fuel price changes to all locations removes the store manager from the loop and increases speed-to-the-street. Tracking and analyzing fuel prices can now be done by a fuel analyst at headquarters giving store managers more face time to interact with customers. By leveraging technology and improving traditional company processes, these overburdened store managers can be freed up to oversee tasks within the store, more effectively handle store operations, and provide better customer service.
The ability to automate fuel price changes at the POS, fuel pumps, and electronic price displays is one key differentiator between the patented PriceAdvantage SMART fuel pricing software solution and other solutions in the industry. The ability to immediately execute price changes within a region, location, or market means you have the right strategy prices in place at the right time to offset your competition. Traditional fuel pricing models relay fuel price changes gradually from one channel to another, allowing for interruptions, miscommunication, human error, and delay after delay. Removing store managers from the critical path eliminates these delays by creating a direct channel from pricing to implementation.
The patented PriceAdvantage SMART fuel price management solution provides analysis of the competitive landscape and a complete picture of the optimal prices in each market. Then fuel managers can use PriceAdvantage to automate the entire fuel price change execution process, including price change confirmation at the POS, sign and pumps, to maximize overall fuel profitability. PriceAdvantage provides a complete picture of the playing field, allowing fuel managers to attain true fuels price optimization day in and day out.
by Grant Garrison | Jul 12, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software
The key to an effective fuel price management system is total integration between all channels which gives managers the ability to set optimal prices for each region with maximum ease. To enable this premium level of command and control, retail fuels companies need to follow several strategies for productive price management. As a quick reference guide, the fuel price management experts at PriceAdvantage have compiled a list of 4 strategies for fuel price command and control.
1. Mobile Integration
Relying on outdated technology to keep track of price changes is an unsustainable practice. It’s worth making an investment in new technology considering the degree of additional control and flexibility it provides. Mobile technology, such as Smartphones or tablets, allows fuel managers to enact immediate price changes from anywhere. Mobile integration ensures that fuel managers will receive automatic alerts when surveys are overdue, price changes are late, or whenever any channel interruptions occur. By integrating their fuel pricing software with mobile technology, fuel managers can save time and stay informed of competitor price moves.
2. Tracking with Technology
Using fuel pricing software to manage and optimize fuel pricing is straightforward when managers apply professional software. Technology can provide complex, actionable outputs from records on competitor pricing history, c-store price history, historical fuel costs, and fuel volume history and targets. It’s not enough to make sure software is accessible from anywhere. The right fuel pricing tool will also provide automated tracking for the entire delivery cycle. A fuel price management system should track each and every process from collection of surveys to price changes, showing users where opportunity losses are occurring, and increasing speed-to-the-street.
3. Forecasting trends
Forecasting trends in the fuel pricing market shouldn’t be based on hunches, but on precise economic models developed by industry experts. An efficient model should apply top-notch analytics based on historical fuel prices, and make an educated evaluation of arising patterns from this past competitive landscape. Forecast modeling places control in the hands of those who understand the data best.
4. Pricing Optimization
An integration of the three strategies listed above will lead to total fuel pricing optimization. Continual automated monitoring, notifications of service interruptions, technology integration, well-crafted pricing models and daily confirmation alerts are vital for an efficient fuel price management system. However, these tools become less effective if they do not allow the analyst to obtain results based on a selected period of time. Analysis and optimization economic models must provide results based on varying historical references in order to accommodate market changes caused by seasonal demographics, and varying competitor influences. Always apply the latest technological solutions, with total report customization control, to gain the greatest advantage over the competition.
These are four indispensable strategies available to managers for maximizing fuel pricing command and control. By incorporating this type of approach into your fuel operations and continually seeking new upgrades to internal processes, you can be certain that your fuel price management system is keeping you ahead of the competition.
by John Keller | Jun 27, 2013 | Customer News, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Software, Industry News, PriceAdvantage
More and more we’re seeing PriceAdvantage customers adapt GasBuddy OpenStore as their digital marketing solution. First it was Rutter’s, then it was Parker’s, followed by Family Express. CST Brands, formerly Valero, is the fourth PriceAdvantage customer to use both PriceAdvantage as their fuel software system for managing retail fuel prices, and GasBuddy OpenStore for digital marketing.
The synergy between the two solutions is powerful. When the fuel analyst pushes the optimized prices to the street, and the fuel price changes are completed at the POS, pumps and electronic price signs, the confirmation message is returned back to PriceAdvantage with a time and date stamp audit trail showing the exact time of completion.
Once the price changes are complete, PriceAdvantage through its integration automatically publishes the newest gas prices to GasBuddy OpenStore. From there the prices can be distributed to the various GasBuddy sites, making sure the latest and most accurate prices are on the GasBuddy map. This process also helps make sure every store appears on the GasBuddy map and doesn’t drop off due to a lack of price report updates.
PriceAdvantage offers a similar integration with OPIS, where upon completion and confirmation of the fuel price changes, PriceAdvantage publishes the latest price information to OPIS, from which the prices are distributed to the entire OPIS network including MapQuest, Garmin, and AAA.
Gas price signs have already moved from the old fashioned manual suction cup, to the electronic gas price sign, and are now adding the digital virtual sign seen on the Web. With PriceAdvantage and the integrations to GasBuddy OpenStore and OPIS, the price signs are current across every type, maximizing all marketing and branding efforts.
by Grant Garrison | May 2, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Fuel Pricing Technology
Speed is one of the key components of pricing optimization, as reacting to market changes faster than competitors will always keep retail fuels managers ahead of the game. Tracking the pricing strategy of all local competition enables chains to meet consumer demand with greater accuracy and efficiency. The days of sending a rep to drive around and check the prices at other stations are long gone. Now, the best possible method of ensuring pricing optimization is with application of a fuel pricing software solution.
Software offers many benefits which are unavailable with traditional fuel price analysis. Trying to track price changes via a self-developed system leads to headaches and aggravation for everyone involved. No department can be expected to become the go-to source for fuel pricing information. Tracking and recording all the changing data with in-house tools will gradually increase in complexity until it builds to total chaos. Instead of that, software pricing integration tools provide a one-stop hub where managers can access the data they need and apply it to their pricing strategy.
In order to effectively track competitor price changes, companies should obtain access to data provided by a resource such as the OPIS Radius Report. This real-time information service can gather retail fuels prices for all competitor stations within a region. Be it a 2-mile, 5-mile, or 10-mile radius, managers can use these tools to track fuel prices history in their operating environment and respond to price changes without ever leaving headquarters. It’s easier and more intelligent than it’s ever been to monitor the competition, understand their pricing strategy, and beat them to the market.
Price tracking technology has completely changed the way in which we size up the competition in the retail fuels market. Pricing reports can now be integrated with software such as PriceAdvantage to pull content directly from the report and present the data in an easily understandable interface. Making intelligent pricing decisions is no longer a complex, labor intensive task, but an effortless one. Managers can now maximize their pricing optimization by gathering the data online, porting it into comprehensive software solutions, and then instantly push any price changes to the street.
This capability to instantly visualize competitor behavior gives even non tech-savvy managers an edge in their market. It gives them the tools to react to trends and market shifts before the competition even knows what they’re doing. By the time other regional chains utilizing outdated software can react to these new conditions, the company with the right tools can be leapfrogging them to the next trend.
Don’t settle for substandard systems or business processes. Technology has made it easier than ever before to define strategy and outmaneuver competitors. Stop chasing prices and make the competition start chasing you!
by John Keller | Apr 17, 2013 | Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software
The most effective way to cut delays and interference out of the fuel pricing process is through the application of automated fuel pricing software. A lack of structure within the pricing system will lead to miscommunication and late changes. Automating your strategy with a fuel price management system allows you to adjust fuel prices with greater speed and stay ahead of your competitors. Streamlining the fuel pricing process paves the way for maximizing fuel profits. Retail fuels managers need only realize the potential of modern technology.
Fuel pricing software is now leagues ahead of where it stood even a decade ago. Modern advances have increased speed-to-the-street and enabled one-click price control of POS, fuel pump, and electronic price signs. In the past, managers and headquarters had to continually interact to keep things running. Communication had to be maintained to ensure that price changes were enacted. Now price changes can be made centralized from headquarters so that employees can focus on site responsibilities. This eliminates execution delays and effectively makes regional price changes as easy as a click of a mouse.
Another process simplified by implementation of this technology is competitor analysis. Rather than have agents in the field visit the locations or collect field intelligence through other disparate means, managers can now track the information on every competitor move through one centralized UI. All recent fuel cost history can be viewed and taken into consideration when making changes and managers can instantly adjust store prices in reaction to competitor moves. Modern software can also be set-up to send notifications to headquarters in response to any industry price changes. Technology has freed fuel managers from reacting, and now they can act based on up-to-the-minute data.
Maybe one of the most attractive facets of fuel pricing software is its ability to present users a complete picture of the industry. By analyzing price movements, fuel volume sales, and competitive surveys, fuel analysts can view both real-time and historical price change information allowing for better decision making abilities. Leveraging this technology improves processes and reduces operating expenses. There are no interruptions in the price change channel, as it’s all taken care of via the same tool. Technology provides a method for tracking price change implementation throughout the entire process. These fast pricing reactions, coupled with reductions in delivery delay, show the value of modern fuel pricing solutions.
So stop wasting time calling every location in an effort to coordinate fuel price changes. Instead, utilize specialized fuel pricing software to streamline, automate, and maximize profitability in your retail fuel operations.
by John Keller | Apr 10, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Software, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
Before releasing their complete “NACS State of the Industry Report of 2012 Data”, the National Association of Convenience Stores released some key c-store metrics for the US 2012 calendar year. Fuel price management statistics follow:
- Motor fuels sales increased 2.9% to a record $501.0 billion. Obviously this is related to the price of fuel throughout the year, but it is an interesting statistic to consider when comparing 2012 c-store corporate financial reports, and calculating market share across c-store chains.
- First quarter 2012 sales and profits were the best of any other quarter, while fourth quarter sales and profits were the worst. This is another interesting statistic to consider when reviewing c-store corporate financial reports, and the numbers showing comparisons to the previous quarter and prior year.
- Motor fuels sales accounted for 71.5% of total sales. That means once again, fuel price management addressed the largest product category by far in terms of revenue dollars.
- Motor fuels accounted for 35% of profit. From a fuel price management perspective, that means fuel price management is a discipline that requires watchful care because profits are relatively slim compared to other product categories.
- Motor fuels gross margins for the year were $0.178 per gallon before expenses, compared to $0.182 per gallon in 2011. These figures are yet another indicator of the increased competitive pressure in the fuel price management environment as c-stores compete for decreasing fuels volumes and margins shrink.
- Credit and debit card fees added 5.1 cents to every gallon of gasoline sold at convenience stores in 2012. That means we can immediately drop the 2012 margins to $0.127 before other expenses that could be an additional $0.07 per gallon. This means fuel analysts are frequently working with overall net fuel margins for the year in the neighborhood of $0.05 per gallon.
Only with a robust fuel pricing software system can fuel analysts optimize profits in the largest c-store product category, when the environment continues to be such a challenge.
