by John Keller | May 26, 2015 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Fuel Pricing Technology, Fuel Software, Industry News, PriceAdvantage, Retail Fuel Margins
Kocolene, an operator of 22 Fast Max stores throughout Indiana and Kentucky, experienced a 3% increase in 2014 fuel volume sales after just one year of using PriceAdvantage fuel pricing software – exceeding the national average increase by 2%. At the same time, the fuel retailer was able maximize fuel margins to create a substantial increase with overall gross fuel profits. The 2014 performance improvements are featured in a recent case study alongside other organizational benefits derived from using PriceAdvantage mobile fuel pricing technology. The case study may be found here.
In early 2013, Fast Max executives realized their manual, tedious processes for obtaining market data and setting fuel price changes needed updating. By adopting PriceAdvantage mobile fuel pricing technology, Fast Max was able to replace manual phone and paper processes for collecting competitive fuel prices, gained immediate access to accurate competitive information and market data, and automated price changes from headquarters to the store POS system and fuel price signs.
Within the first year of using PriceAdvantage, Fast Max increased its fuel sales and productivity. PriceAdvantage allowed Fast Max to quickly and easily catch developing trends in the market, signaling when an adjustment in their pricing strategy was needed to capture fuel sales. “Using PriceAdvantage, we have seen a 3% gain in fuel volumes over the previous year while maximizing margins and experiencing significant growth in gross profits. On top of that, we have a relationship with PriceAdvantage that feels more like a partnership.” Lance Gentry, Vice President of Operations.
By using PriceAdvantage mobile fuel pricing software, Fast Max corporate management reviews data, receives alerts and makes price changes on their smart phones, as well as perform many functions without having to call each store and interrupt a team member or manager who may be assisting customers. PriceAdvantage streamlined the entire pricing process and provided store managers and team members more time to service and sell to customers, as well as perform other tasks.
Fast Max chose the PriceAdvantage subscription pricing model that provided rapid software implementation with minimal upfront costs or hardware investments. This flexible model allowed Fast Max to license specific software components, enabling them to create an affordable solution to meet their specific needs. With the demonstrated increase in sales, PriceAdvantage easily delivered a measureable ROI.
by John Keller | May 22, 2015 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Fuel Pricing Technology, Industry News, PriceAdvantage
Today was the kickoff meeting for another PriceAdvantage Customer Advisory Board. The purpose of the PriceAdvantage Customer Advisory Board meetings are to provide industry updates, as well as product feedback and direction to the PriceAdvantage team. The PriceAdvantage CAB helps to be the eyes and ears of what’s going on at the front lines of the c-store industry. On this advisory board we have the wisdom of these industry leaders:
- Varish Goyal, President, Vintners Distributors
- Kyle Lawrence, President, By-Lo Oil (Speedy Q)
- Tom DiMercurio, CFO, Flyers
- Karen Meyer, Fuel Pricing Manager, J&H Oil
- Ben Stealy, Fuel Pricing Manager, Mapco
- Tom Navarre, VP Petroleum Marketing & Logistics, Family Express
In our meeting today, each member provided an overview of their business and the strategies they use to compete. Then we discussed future product versions and specific features of PriceAdvantage as a team so everyone could weigh in on what’s important.
Customer collaboration is an integral part of how we do business here at PriceAdvantage. I look forward to our ongoing meetings with this group, and learning from their collective wisdom.
by John Keller | Apr 29, 2015 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Fuel Pricing Technology, Fuel Software, Industry News, PriceAdvantage
The PriceAdvantage team would like to extend a warm welcome to Get-n-Go as our latest c-store customer to join the PriceAdvantage family. Get-n-Go is using PriceAdvantage to automate and accelerate fuel pricing at their 18 convenience stores throughout South Dakota.
Get-n-Go selected PriceAdvantage based on their confidence that the software will help them price fuel more confidently and quickly.
“We’ve had our eye on PriceAdvantage for quite some time,” stated Dave Vande Kamp, Get-n-Go’s Controller. “It was simply a matter of timing. We were operating on an older version of the Gilbarco POS, and once we upgraded we were able to easily take advantage of the PriceAdvantage pre-built integration. Now all of our critical pricing data is streamlined and I can price fuel faster with great confidence that I am making a sound decision.”
Get-n-Go is running PriceAdvantage as a SaaS solution to leverage the benefits of a cloud service model including the low upfront cost, ease of implementation, and the maintenance and infrastructure cost benefits.
“The fact that I can price fuel from my phone is huge. I’m no longer tied to my desk and I have more time to focus on my other responsibilities,” stated Vande Kamp.
by John Keller | Mar 19, 2015 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Pricing Technology
Long-time PriceAdvantage customer Sheetz has opened two new locations in North Carolina this month, according to Convenience Store Decisions.
“Sheetz is experiencing a lot of growth companywide and we have done a tremendous amount of growth in the North Carolina market,” said Ryan Sheetz, director of brand strategy. “North Carolina is a great fit for us. We opened our 500th store in Thomasville and opened a second distribution center in Burlington last November.”
Sheetz has been using PriceAdvantage integrated to their Skyline signs since 2009. Since the beginning Sheetz has seen a significant ROI in maintenance service costs alone as you can read here.
Congratulations to Sheetz and their continued success. We’re honored to have such a long term partnership.
by John Keller | Dec 18, 2014 | Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Industry News
At the close of the NYMEX today, Oil traded at $54.70 bbl, down $1.77 from yesterday. Gas prices continue to plummet across the US, and experts predict that gas prices are not yet at their lowest.
That’s a pretty safe prediction, given that it takes time for decreased NYMEX oil prices to make their way through refining, to wholesale, to the retail channel. And since a $5 drop in crude can equate to a $0.12 drop in gas prices, it’s not unreasonable to expect retail fuel prices to drop that much in the coming days. Many fuel retailers are experiencing a time when their replacement margins are routinely below their actual margins, since the cost of buying a new load today is less than what they paid yesterday (or last week, depending on how quickly they turn over the inventory in their tanks).
What does this mean from a fuel price management perspective? First, it means we can expect to see increased retail fuel margins to finish off the year. That should make Q4 of this year one of the strongest in recent history.
Second, it’s important to consider that the retail fuel pricing game is not as simple as the basic price elasticity principles you learned in Microeconomics 101. Consumer psychology is always at play. As a wise fuel manager once taught me, sometimes lower gas prices lead to the customer reaction of waiting to see if the prices drop even further. And now that the US culture has started to get used to falling gas prices, just because you drop retail fuel prices at your locations doesn’t mean you’ll automatically see an uptick in fuel volumes.
The retail fuel pricing business requires no less finesse in these times than in times of low fuel margins. Fuel pricing software like PriceAdvantage continues to be critical for analyzing your business so you can always have the right price at every store all the time.
by John Keller | Jul 8, 2014 | Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
It has been a tough first half of the year as far as retail fuel margins go. According to the weekly OPIS margin reports, the year to date average currently stands at $0.165 per gallon compared to $0.180 this time last year. Alimentation Couche-Tard, whose outlets include Mac’s and Circle K, just reported in their financial earnings their gross fuel margin in the United States fell more than 23% this quarter to $0.1485 per gallon from $0.193 per gallon same quarter last year. While same-store fuel volumes increased 2.8% at Couche-Tard, that wasn’t enough to prevent the company from missing analysts’ expectations.
But according to Brian Milne of Schneider Electric, now that ISIS (the extremist militants, not the mobile wallet company) has been contained in Iraq, and Libya is expected to increase their output from roughly 200,000 bpd to 500,000 bpd in the near term, supply disruptions are perceived as being much less likely. That explains why global oil prices are down from early June and should continue on that trend. The Brent crude contract is already down $5 bbl from its June high.
That means now is the opportunity to gain margins the fuel retailing industry lost while the cost of oil was climbing. Keep careful watch on the competition, but don’t be too quick to drop your retail fuel prices – use retail fuel pricing software like PriceAdvantage to protect your margins.
