by John Keller | Jun 15, 2015 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Technology, Fuel Software
CrossAmerica Partners announced today the acquisition of One Stop, a chain of 41 company owned c-stores based in West Virginia. Read more about the announcement published in Convenience Store News here.
In December 2014, the partnership of CrossAmerica Partners and CST Brands announced the acquisition of the 22 store chain Landmark Stores operating in San Antonio and Austin, as well as the 64 store chain Erickson Oil Products, Inc. operating in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and South Dakota. In November of last year, the partnership of CST Brands and CrossAmerica Partners closed the acquisition of Nice N Easy, a 77 store chain in central New York state.
The announcement today marks the fourth chain of c-stores acquired by CrossAmerica Partners, now a wholly owned subsidiary of CST Brands.
CST Brands selected PriceAdvantage for their fuel pricing system in 2011, back when they were under the Valero umbrella. The field Operations folks at CST Brands have found the PriceAdvantage mobile component to be one of their most helpful applications.
by John Keller | Jun 5, 2015 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Technology, Fuel Software, PriceAdvantage
Earlier this week we had the pleasure of hosting one of our customers to our corporate headquarters. If this were a standard sales and management update it would not stand out as being anything particularly special. But this meeting was different because we took the time to introduce our customer visitors to the PriceAdvantage development team.
We have never believed it makes sense to take our software development offshore, no matter how much it may seem to be cost effective when you run the numbers. Software development agility that can quickly respond to the changing demands of the market and customer base can only be achieved when the folks building the software are co-located with the product management, sales and marketing groups.
And this week we could see the benefits in person when one of our customer fuel managers who uses PriceAdvantage every day shook the hand of each of our developers, looked each one in the eye, and said thank you. Our development team could hear directly from one of our customers that what they build matters and is appreciated. That meeting will make a lasting impact because when our development team builds new features, they will be able to think back and see in their mind’s eye the person for whom they’re writing code. And when our customer upgrades to the latest PriceAdvantage version, they’ll be able to remember that our development team is not far away, taking to heart their ongoing product needs.
My mantra has always been that customer collaboration creates lifelong customers by creating partnerships. This week we saw this partner relationship in person.
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 31, 2015 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Industry News
According to the NACS Online article here, the number of diesel vehicle sales is up 13% across the country. Sales of diesel cars and SUV’s are up 13.5%.
Idaho, Montana and Nevada have the highest percentage of diesel vehicles on their roads. But the highest increase in diesel registrations came in California and Massachusetts, where increases in both states are over 20%.
According to the IHS Automotive to the Diesel Technology Forum, there are now 7.4 million diesel cars and SUVs on U.S. roads, out of a total vehicle count of approximately 250 million. That is an increase of 47.6% since 2010.
What does this mean from a fuel price management perspective? It’s important to analyze year over year Diesel volumes and consider whether or not, and in which location, to add Diesel to your product portfolio. It could be that Diesel becomes a strategic product and location differentiator.
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 | Mar 16, 2015 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management, Fuel Pricing Technology, Fuel Software, Industry News
The PriceAdvantage team would like to extend a warm welcome to E-Z Mart as our latest customer and partner. The PriceAdvantage solution at E-Z Mart includes out-of-the-box integrations with PDI and the VeriFone Sapphire POS.
“We wanted greater speed and control over our fuel pricing,” said Liff Luthringer, vice president of petroleum operations for E-Z Mart. “We chose PriceAdvantage because it allows us to push instant price changes from the store support center and more efficiently manage and analyze the data used in pricing decisions. More time is now available for analyzing the hard pricing decisions and finding ways to improve the performance of our fuel business.” E-Z Mart tested PriceAdvantage software at a few stores, Luthringer added, and “ran the numbers. We know that PriceAdvantage will make us faster and more competitive, and we are confident it will make us more profitable.” More information about the PriceAdvantage solution at E-Z Mart can be found here.
E-Z Mart is ranked number 34 on the Convenience Store and Fuel News Top 101 (link here) with 300 stores. Convenience Store News featured E-Z Mart as a cover story in their August 2014 issue, the online version of which is at this link.
by John Keller | Mar 14, 2015 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal today, the International Energy Agency announced Friday that US oil output was “surprisingly strong” in February, rapidly filling all available storage tanks. The agency said that US supply continues to “defy expectations”.
The reason is this: while independent shale-oil producers have slashed their planned 2015 spending on drilling by $50 billion year over year, they are increasing production on their best oil fields. Total US crude oil production again hit a high for the week ending March 6, reaching 9.4 million barrels a day.
And now many of these oil producers are adopting a new strategy that allows them to store oil in the ground, wait for the market price to rise again, and then quickly flood the market again. They simply drill the wells, which accounts for roughly 40% of the cost of the well’s total price, and then cap it until the right time when they can justify the remaining 60% investment to bring the oil to market. Plus many of these companies are betting that when it is time to produce from these capped wells, the services cost will be lower. This US oil under ground provides that much more storage beyond what is in the tanks above ground.
Add all this together and we see a scenario where it’s unlikely to have dramatically increasing oil prices anytime in the near future.
by John Keller | Feb 20, 2015 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to the Wall Street Journal today, we have an ongoing debate as to whether or not oil prices have hit rock bottom.
On one hand, we have seen the price of crude increase recently and now oil prices are back up above $50 a barrel. Oil producers in the US are reportedly cutting back on drilling, where the weekly count of rigs drilling for oil has dropped to the lowest level since August 2011, and oil companies have announced plans to lower their future spending. Aramco, the Saudi Arabia owned oil company, has announced they are considering cutting their future spending on production and exploration by up to 25%.
On the other hand, the US Energy Information Administration just announced that oil inventories increased by 7.7 million barrels in the week ending February 13. Their report said the US is on track to hit a 42 year high this month. Here we have an indication that output is not yet cutting back. And we’re in the middle of the annual February – March cycle where demand is at its lowest. In other words, oil supply continues to outweigh demand. Certainly it appears that in the near term, production will continue to keep us in an oversupply situation.
The ongoing US refinery strikes are three weeks old now, without any impact on gasoline prices. Refineries are hurt by roughly 200,000 barrels a day by the strike, and that amounts to a little over 1% of the daily US consumption which is 19 million barrels a day.
What does that mean from a fuel price management perspective? We’re seeing the traditional upward trend of springtime wholesale prices, along with upward trending retail fuel prices, and downward trending retail fuel margins. Gasoline futures also continue to rise. What remains to be seen is whether or not fuel volume demand repeats the strong numbers seen at the end of 2014. Retail fuel pricing competition remains strong, and the business is not for the weary. Retail fuel pricing software like PriceAdvantage is the way to the competitive edge.
