An Embarrassment of Riches
Phil Baratz provides his insights from a 5-year collaboration with fuel distributors, showcasing significant improvements in operational efficiency and cost management through data-driven strategies.
Your Financial Roadmap in 3 Steps
Have you been disappointed in recent years with your cash flow or profitability as you have been forced to deal with warm winters, greater regulation, stubborn inflation, and high interest rates? Or maybe you really want more stability with year-over year results, regardless of the weather or economy. If you’ve been wracking your brain trying to find ways to turn things around...
Mastering Summer Deliveries
Have we grown so accustomed to profiting only in the winter that we accept controllable losses during the summer? Our experts review some steps to help you prevent seasonal losses and boost profits.
Stop thinking Macro – Start thinking Micro
In our industry, we often rely on averages: Average annual HDDs, gallons per delivery, time spent on service calls, etc. Sure, it's convenient but we should be asking if using averages makes things easier; “I would rather remember one number for the number of stops made per hour than look at every stop.” Interestingly, all those averages are derived from individual data points... Could focusing on the micro-level make us more efficient without overwhelming us with too many numbers?
The Power of Pricing Programs
The days of continually raising prices to maintain profits are long gone; survival in today's cutthroat market demands streamlined operations and competitive pricing models. Keeping customers can be as simple as offering the RIGHT pricing program...
Do I Really Need All These Trucks?
When you look out into the yard during the summer, what do you see? Trucks, lots of trucks. Some are out making deliveries, but the rest are there just sitting there, waiting. Trucks are the backbone of your business, and you wouldn’t survive without them BUT do you really need all of your trucks?
PCE: What Is It and How Does it Affect Your Interest Rates?
Did you know that the Federal Reserve (Fed) does not use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to track inflation? The Fed prefers to track a much less familiar index known as Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE). PCE measures the change in consumer spending on the actual goods and services that households are currently purchasing. PCE considers substitutions made by households and is more flexible.
Why Business Intelligence is Your Key to Operational Success
Imagine what you could achieve if you could easily combine all the information that is available about your operations and your customers. Business Intelligence (BI) is the solution that makes this a reality. It collects and analyzes data from various sources, transforming it into valuable insights that can drive your business forward. There are numerous reasons why businesses invest in Business Intelligence. Let's explore five of them...
Optimizing Delivery Efficiency
In the world of heating fuel distribution, efficiency is paramount. Today's heating fuel dealers face the day-to-day challenge of ensuring timely, dependable, and cost-effective deliveries to their customers. Optimizing delivery operations not only enhances customer satisfaction but also streamlines business processes and positively affects your bottom line. To help get you started, our team has put together a few strategies you can implement to optimize delivery efficiency (and profits).
Are You Eligible to Reduce Your Interest Expense?
In his recent article, featured in the January issue of Fuel Oil News, Rashaan Baskerville discusses how a current interest phenomenon may provide you with a rare opportunity to significantly reduce your interest expenses.