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.
With consumption falling, governmental intervention increasing, and competition becoming wiser and nimbler, it appears the only true lever for a fuel distributor to keep their margins is by increasing prices. However, higher prices don’t help with the silent killer of profits in a world where others are managing those risks. How high will you be able to take prices to offset inefficiencies that are only getting worse? How long will it be till your customers wonder why the competition is cheaper?
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...
While tank monitors aren’t new, they are indispensable tools that can revolutionize the way businesses operate. Tank monitors don’t just monitor tanks, they empower fuel delivery businesses to become more efficient, so they are able to do more with less. Explore five key benefits of incorporating tank monitors into your system.
As operating costs continue to rise, efficiency becomes paramount to maintaining profits. Many fuel marketers are turning to their data to identify metrics and devise plans for improvement. Here are some simple points to consider...
How do we retain customers? Start by looking closely at your most loyal customers and see what they have in common. As we’ve studied over 500,000 customers from over 150 dealers, we’ll give you a hint: The most loyal customers are the ones on Price Cap Programs! Wondering how you can introduce this powerful tool to your customer base or how it’s offered, hedged and tracked? Read more...
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).
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.
How do you describe a year that began with one of the warmest winters in recent history and ends with OPEC+ members signing off on an admittedly vague plan to phase out fossil fuels at COP28? My answer is… it was better than the prior two years! We are completing a year of relative normalcy…
Keeping customers warm through the winter is the most important part of your business. So, it’s no surprise that deliveries are the largest component of your expenses. When you dig into ways to cut down on those expenses in many cases it comes down to making larger and (therefore) fewer deliveries. However, simply targeting larger deliveries may or may not be optimal and as such may not decrease but actually increase delivery costs! How do you define an Optimal Delivery?
