by John Keller | Apr 8, 2013 | Fuel Pricing Software, Industry News
In a similar way as the US, retailers in the UK are experiencing shrinking demand for retail fuel volumes, as reported by The Financial. Retail sales volumes are down 3.5 billion liters from 2007 to 2012. That represents a 9.3% decrease in the overall UK retail fuel market.
But as the overall retail fuels volume market is shrinking, the product makeup of the market continues to shift in the favor of Diesel. Diesel retail fuel volumes last year represented 49% of the overall market, as compared to 39% in 2007. Diesel retail sales volumes were 14.8 billion liters in 2007, and 16.7 billion liters in 2012, an increase of 12%.
The biggest reason for the UK market decrease is the same as for the US: improved vehicle fuel efficiency. According to a study by the University of Michigan, the average fuel efficiency rating for new vehicles is four miles per gallon higher than in 2008.
Just as in the US, as retail fuels volumes in the UK continue to shrink, and fuels retailers fight for an ever-shrinking size of the fuels volume pie, competition will continue to intensify. In this environment, fuels analysts need to be at the top of their game, and use best in class fuels optimization technology for their fuels price management solution.
by John Keller | Apr 1, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Technology
To avoid failure in modern retail fuel pricing, retail managers should employ the myriad technological solutions available for fuel pricing optimization. Automating the fuel pricing process using effective fuel pricing software has become a vital practice for transforming fuel operations. Retail fuel managers across the country must start identifying problem areas and rolling out technological solutions.
Shifting internal operations towards an automated fuel pricing solution can save corporate managers many hours of intensive research and labor. Given the vast amount of data flying into pricing systems each day, no one person or even any corporate team can be expected to keep all data up-to-the-minute when making pricing decisions. The potential to automate and normalize fuel pricing processes across multiple locations has never been easier, or more essential.
The capacity for centralized control of fuel pricing is one of the primary reasons for upgrading. In the past, it was necessary for most corporate locations to have a dedicated modem for processing all electronic transactions. The stores themselves had none of the necessary technology, such as back-office PCs, point-of-sale networks and WAN. Due to PCI compliance initiatives, technology at the individual site level has been significantly upgraded within the last few years. Currently, every pricing related device can be controlled directly from headquarters. All pump dispensers and electronic price signs can be updated immediately from a remote location. This shifting of infrastructure has greatly increased efficiencies by allowing price controls to be altered the moment price changes occur, eliminating delays and matching consumer behavior.
These sorts of cloud-based fuel pricing solutions streamline operations and improve reaction time. They significantly improve on traditional technology by offering users comprehensive analytical tools, proficient price management, and easy-to-understand dashboards which monitor site performance. These gas price solutions increase speed-to-the-street and give customers more relevant pricing information, leapfrogging any competitors using outdated systems. Streamlining the pricing process can enable price changes to take merely minutes at a time, delivering customers superior pricing based on current information.
The advances in modern fuel pricing equipment have completely changed the marketplace. Every aspect of fuel pricing within the retail c-store business can now be implemented along the same channels. Prices can be changed, adapted, and controlled all from the head office through the use of modernized, intelligent software solutions. This high level of automation capability guarantees a quick response to competitor behavior, and allows analysts to apply total fuel pricing optimization.
by John Keller | Mar 28, 2013 | Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software
In a recent issue of Advertising Age, I came across an interesting insert from a company named Collective about reaching people across all their multiple devices. It was written from the perspective of breaking down silos between devices when building an advertising campaign, so people will get the same message while watching TV, as they get while browsing the Web from their smart phone, tablet, or PC.
One of the parts of the document discussed the prevalence of people owning multiple devices, the most common time of day people use each device, and the nature of the tasks they perform while on each device.
From a fuel price management perspective, this discussion caught my attention because fuel analysts must be highly attentive to the dynamic market in which they compete, including while travelling, after hours during the business week, and on weekends. In order to still have a personal life, fuel analysts are turning to their mobile devices to monitor changes, and to respond to those changes quickly. For example, it is now possible using PriceAdvantage from a tablet or smart phone to review a set of proposed price changes triggered by competitor price movements, and strategy business rules built to respond to those competitor price movements. Using PriceAdvantage on a mobile device, fuel analysts can review store and market performance to make an informed decision about what the new optimized price should be. And from that tablet or smart phone the fuel analyst can use PriceAdvantage to initiate the price change and track the status of the price change, paying special attention when price changes are deemed late.
The beauty of all this is that fuel analysts can quickly take care of business from the field during half time of their kids’ soccer game, or from the couch during March Madness. Fuel analysts have these devices with them all the time anyway, so allowing these devices to increase fuel pricing efficiencies only makes sense. In the case of one territory manager of a Skyline customer, PriceAdvantage was the tipping point to convince him to buy a smart mobile device just so he could take care of business while away from the desk.
Even if you don’t own a mobile device, having PriceAdvantage at your finger tips is a logical replacement to the headaches of the homegrown Excel-based fuel price management solution because it improves efficiencies while on business travel. One customer told us of the nightmares of being away from the office in the days before PriceAdvantage. He would have the office assistant email all the spreadsheets he needed, but since he didn’t have access to a printer, he would try to make sense of it all on a tiny laptop screen. Because it was such a handicap to be away from the office, he would only take care of pricing a subset of stores and hope for the best with the others when he was on business travel. Now that PriceAdvantage is in place, he allows the assistant at the home office to accept the proposed prices at those stores where the strategy pricing rules have generated proposed prices where all the strategy criteria is met, so he can focus on the remaining exceptions. And with his laptop and a VPN connection, he can access the entire fuel price management system and have access to all the rich analysis and optimization capabilities it provides. Being away on business is no longer a hindrance, and he doesn’t even miss a beat while on the road.
Whether you’re checking email on the smart phone first thing in the morning or last thing at night, or using the tablet while refueling at Starbucks, or in a hotel between store visits, PriceAdvantage allows you to always be in touch, and always operate at peak efficiency.
by John Keller | Mar 11, 2013 | Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Pricing Software
Back in 2001, Ford had a record year of selling natural gas vehicles when Ford sold 5491 vehicles. That record was shattered in 2012 when Ford sold 11,600 vehicles. And the Ford sales number in 2012 is more than three times what Ford sold in 2010.
Compare that to the Chevy Volt 2012 sales number of 23,461 vehicles, which was three times the Volt sales number of 2011.
Pike Research estimates that 20,381 natural gas vehicles were sold across the US in 2012.
While these natural gas vehicle numbers are still less than 1% of the overall standard fuel vehicle sales count in the US, they do point to a visible growth trend in mindshare for natural gas as a viable alternative fuel for consumers. In the right markets, fuel managers would be wise to take advantage of natural gas fuel margins in volumes that can quickly yield a return on their infrastructure investment. This is especially true in markets where the traditional fuels volume continues to shrink dramatically.
by John Keller | Mar 8, 2013 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Strategy
Congratulations to Scott Hartman for his induction into the PCATS Hall of Fame, from all of us at the PriceAdvantage team. Scott has always been a thought leader in the c-store industry, and his visionary guidance has made a big impact on making PriceAdvantage the industry-leading fuel pricing software that it is today.
Scott’s leadership enabled Rutter’s to first roll out PriceAdvantage to all their stores beginning in early 2011. The Rutter’s implementation of PriceAdvantage included a complete command and control solution that included their Radiant (now under the NCR corporate umbrella) POS systems, as well as their Skyline electronic price signs.
Then in the latter half of 2011, Scott’s vision extended the Rutter’s PriceAdvantage implementation to include a GasBuddy integration. Scott recognized that the world of retail fuel price management includes virtual as well as physical signage. Scott led Rutter’s to incorporate their retail fuel price marketing into their overall retail fuel price management strategy by having PriceAdvantage automatically push fuel price updates to GasBuddy once PriceAdvantage finished the fuel price changes. This solution insures Rutter’s always has the most accurate and up-to-date prices on the GasBuddy sites.
What’s next for Scott’s vision for PriceAdvantage? Now that PriceAdvantage can push fuel price updates to OPIS, just like to GasBuddy, Rutter’s will be able to make sure all sites receiving fuel pricing information from OPIS will also have the latest and most accurate Rutter’s fuel prices. With the PriceAdvantage integration to OPIS, Rutter’s will be able to automatically push prices out to AAA, Garmin, and MapQuest, as well as a growing number of sites partnering with OPIS.
Thanks again, Scott. We couldn’t have done it without you. And we look forward to a continued strong partnership with Rutter’s for years to come.
by John Keller | Mar 7, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Technology
If one thing is consistent in a reading of historical fuel prices, it’s their tendency to change. With constant changes in the market due to shifts in supply and demand for crude, gasoline, heating oil, and natural gas, coupled with ever-evolving government regulations and random natural disasters, staying on top of change becomes a difficult task for any manager. Making sure that fuel pricing software is optimized to monitor and correct for change becomes a vital part of fuel operations management.
The onslaught of pricing data received each day by stations around the country requires that all information be immediately accessible by multiple vendors at different locations. Without guaranteeing the accessibility of this data, the petrol management system used by a corporation becomes useless. When reviewing and selecting fuel pricing software, only accept a solution which offers mobile integration. This technology allows users to access the system from their iPad, Blackberry, or other mobile device and helps fuel analysts to remain a step ahead of the competition when making fuel pricing decisions.
Upgrading on-site technology or equipment is also a crucial part of staying ahead of the competition in modern fuel pricing. Outdated signage or displays can reflect poorly on the business, especially in a metropolitan or high-traffic environment. LED price signs allow managers to make price changes to any location directly from headquarters. Corporate fuel pricing software can be integrated with these signs, allowing for remote management and greater adaptability to sudden changes in the marketplace. These changes not only streamline processes, but generate substantial savings. One PriceAdvantage customer was able to save over $141,000 in annual service maintenance on its signage after upgrading, increasing face time with customers by up to 50 hours annually per store. Technology has become vital to the success of the retail fuel business, and is a tremendous boon to fuel profits.
Fluctuations in the fuel pricing market affect all of us. Retailers, consumers, and agencies suffer when prices shift dramatically overnight. Contractual disputes between vendors and retailers can delay price changes and hurt potential revenue. This has shown itself time and again in historical fuel prices. Therefore, all agencies should establish a reasonable investigative framework that is both transparent and straightforward. Cultivate honest, open relationships with all partners and customers. A lack of reliability means a lack of business, especially in the current economic environment.
The fuel pricing market is a very stormy environment. By implementing these recommendations and ensuring your fuel pricing software is optimized and upgraded, managers can continually adapt to a tumultuous market.
