by John Keller | Sep 1, 2010 | Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Technology, PriceAdvantage
PriceAdvantage 3.3, the latest fuels pricing solution from Skyline Products, includes key new features in direct response to customer input.
A new reporting system enables fuel managers to gain insight into market pricing trends, store profitability, and price history. Version 3.3 provides the first set of 8 reports that will be added to with new versions.
The Roles and Privileges feature controls who has what access to each part of the fuels pricing solution. Version 3.3 ships with a set of predefined best practice roles and privilege sets to provide built-in system security.
With Variable Volume Targets, Fuel Managers can now set volume targets based on month of year and day of week. Version 3.3 can look at past date ranges and show historical variances across months and days of the week, providing insight into typical traffic flow differences throughout the week and year. These variances allow the Fuel Manager to better understand realistic volume performance targets at each location.
by John Keller | Jul 29, 2010 | Fuel Pricing Technology, Industry News
In their latest “This Week In Petroleum” report, the US Energy Information Administration provides an interesting summary of the potential use of algae cultivation as an alternative fuel source. Algae has many attributes that make it potentially attractive as a future source of commercially produced fuel.
One of the most attractive aspects of algae as a fuel source is its high productivity. It would take 62.5 million acres of soybeans (an area approximately the size of Wyoming) to produce the same 3 billion gallons of oil that could be produced from only 2.5 million acres of algae (an area approximately 70 percent the size of Connecticut). Three billion gallons of biodiesel represent about 8 percent of all the diesel fuel used for on-road transportation in the United States in 2008.
Algae also has a much higher energy production rate than corn. Algae cultivation can produce 32 tons per acre resulting in 162 – 486 gigajoules of energy per acre, depending on cultivation techniques. Corn produces 8 tons per acre resulting in only 36 – 72 gigajoules of energy per acre.
And with algae, there is no competition between food production and fuel.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory reports Honolulu, Phoenix and Denver as US cities who could theoretically be top producers of algal fuel.
Algae has the attention of the US Federal government, large energy companies, and venture capitalists who continue to fund demonstration projects and research into developing algae-based biofuels for commercial application. Current estimates of the production cost of algal oil range from $4 – $40 per gallon, depending on the type of cultivation system used. So while production of fuels from algae have been demonstrated, more research is needed before commercial scaling is realistic. But with all the research money being poured into this field, perhaps in the not-too-distant future we’ll have algae farms throughout the US contributing to our fuel source.
Sources: US EIA “This Week In Petroleum”; National Renewable Energy Laboratory “The Promises and Challenges of Algal-Derived Biofuels”
by John Keller | Jun 14, 2010 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Management Solutions, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Technology
This weekend I decided to fill up my car at the local c-store down the street. The advertised fuel price was $2.59, a few cents higher than the store a mile away, but since I was in a hurry, I figured it was worth the time saved. Plus I knew I’d get the $.03 per gallon grocery store reward discount. I entered in my phone number and zip code at the pump, and noticed the price per gallon dropped to $2.52. I eagerly filled my tank, recognizing what a good deal I was getting, and wondering if maybe I was taking advantage of a system breakdown. When I was finished, I drove past the other pumps to see what price they were set to. Sure enough, all the pumps were $.04 less than the advertised price on the sign, and with my $.03 per gallon rewards discount, that explained the $2.52.
It occurred to me how much more business the store could be generating if they brought their price signs in line with their pumps, and let everyone know they had the best fuel prices in town. Or if they chose to, they could raise their pump prices to accurately reflect the advertised price on the sign.
Thankfully, with electronic sign and fuel pricing software solutions from Skyline Products, these scenarios are easily avoided. PriceAdvantage fuel pricing software makes it easy to price your electronic price signs in line with your pumps and POS systems. Whether you’re using VeriFone, Radiant, or Gilbarco POS systems, it’s easy to make sure they stay in synch with your fuel price signs and pumps. And that’s the way to make the most of your fuel pricing strategy.
by John Keller | May 26, 2010 | Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Technology, Industry News, PriceAdvantage
In the 5/26/2010 edition of the CSP Daily News, the NACStech Roundup report includes a summary of what Skyline Products is doing with the PriceAdvantage fuel pricing software. It describes how c-stores who upgrade hardware for PCI compliance get the additional benefit of fuel price management to the sign and POS.
“Skyline Products, Colorado Springs, Colo: Increasing, electronic capability at the c-store is allowing Skyline the ability to integrate and execute fuel pricing strategies, according to company officials. Aaron McHugh, division director, said PCI deadlines have forced many to upgrade registers and wide-area networks, which allows for the functionality necessary to better control and execute pricing changes.”
For years Skyline has touted the ability to hang fuel price signs off the VeriFone POS system, and allow the POS to change fuel prices at the sign. Now in 2010 Skyline’s PriceAdvantage fuel pricing software application provides the additional benefit of allowing the Fuel Manager to change fuel prices from headquarters, down to the VeriFone Sapphire POS, and out to the sign. Once the price is changed at the sign, confirmation is provided back to the PriceAdvantage fuel price software at headquarters, with a time/date stamp alerting the Fuel Manager when exactly the prices were changed at the sign and across the system. This closed loop integration has already improved speed to the street at customers such as Fikes (CEFCO convenience stores) based in Temple, TX.
by John Keller | May 4, 2010 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Technology, PriceAdvantage
PriceAdvantage 3.2, the latest fuels pricing solution from Skyline Products is now available. This latest release includes key new features based on customer request.
PriceAdvantage adds the Gilbarco Passport to its list of supported POS integrations. Other already supported POS systems include Radiant and VeriFone. All PriceAdvantage POS integrations allow fuel price managers to directly post prices to the street from headquarters. Each POS integration enables a fully integrated price change process which saves time at all levels, creating a more streamlined operation, and maintaining more control.
PriceAdvantage 3.2 adds real-time sign intelligence, giving technicians more insight into exactly what is going with signs at the store level. Sign issues can be brought to attention more quickly allowing them to be resolved before they become a problem.
Version 3.2 also adds support for PDI Enterprise imports. Now fuel managers can see daily, up-to-date PDI Enterprise information on volume and cost. It is this insight from PDI Enterprise that allows fuel managers to make the best price optimization decisions.
by John Keller | Apr 14, 2010 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Technology, Industry News, PriceAdvantage, Retail Fuel Margins
Skyline Products announced today that they have launched a new separate division to focus solely on their patent-pending PriceAdvantage™ software that is literally changing the way the convenience store industry manages fuel pricing.
The industry has taken notice. “Customers like Sheetz, Royal Farms, Fikes Wholesale, Spinx and others are faster, more efficient, fully automated way to run their fuel business,” says Aaron McHugh, who is leading the charge for the new PriceAdvantage software division.
Sheetz saw $141,000 cost savings, Fikes Wholesale, Spinx and Rutter’s are now controlling price changes from headquarters to their pumps, POS and electronic signs. “With the tactical elements fully automated, our customers can better focus on their strategy,” says McHugh. The return on investment for PriceAdvantage is often less than 12 months making this one of the most effective and efficient tools in the industry.
Seven years ago, this long-time hardware and software company saw an opportunity to dramatically increase their customers’ fuel profits by providing fuel managers with critical competitive information, making it simple and quick to implement price changes. PriceAdvantage puts the optimal price at the fuel manager’s fingertips and allows them to command every price change from headquarters. This maximizes fuel profitability by guaranteeing that the right price is the price is posted.
Greg Stadjuhar, Skyline Vice President of Sales says, “With our long time involvement in the petroleum industry, we recognized an opportunity to leverage the ingenuity and success we’d experienced with command and control software in the transportation industry for the last twenty years. It became clear very quickly that we had the right formula. Almost immediately, PriceAdvantage became a tremendous success for Skyline and our customers.”
Skyline has been so successful with PriceAdvantage they are launching a new division dedicated solely to its continued development and success. “The market has been in need of this for a while. If we can put a man on the moon, why do fuel price managers still have to manually hunt down competitive and market data, and call every store for a price change?” says McHugh. “We’ve solved that problem, and we are the only company doing it. The time is right, the market is ready, and we are delivering.”
Underscoring their commitment, they have hired software industry veterans to help implement a strong infrastructure and accelerate their success. Joining McHugh’s team are John Keller and Quentin Goin, each bringing more than 13 years of business-to-business software industry experience.
Sr. Product Manager, John Keller, says, “This is an exciting and compelling opportunity for me. I thrive on taking customer and market input, and helping create a solution that they don’t know how they ever lived without. Skyline’s PriceAdvantage software began something that will allow us to literally revolutionize the way fuel prices are managed. This is only the beginning of an industry-wide shift and we are on the forefront making it happen.”
A perfect compliment to Keller’s skills, Quentin Goin, Sales and Implementation Engineer, works side-by-side with customers and implements a configured PriceAdvantage solution to match their needs. Passionate about his work, an animated Goin says, “I have been helping customers solve problems with technology since 1997, and I have never seen such a rapid and considerable return on investment as Skyline customers get with PriceAdvantage.”
Says McHugh, “Skyline’s innovation and commitment to solving these problems is driving expansion and growth even in a tough economy. The contribution of these two accomplished software industry experts has already increased the speed at which we are delivering high quality solutions to our customers.”
