ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and CSX LLC have entered a multi-year agreement to enhance the entire suite of the NACS State of the Industry (SOI) research initiatives.
The agreement provides NACS with proprietary database software for data input, validation, processing, transmission and storage for its SOI research efforts that are critical for industry benchmarking and advocacy. Under terms of the agreement, only NACS will have access to the NACS database information, continuing to ensure participant confidentiality [image-nocss] that has been a hallmark ofthe group'sindustry data collection since the first SOI was produced in 1971.
The agreement also will facilitate new ways of analyzing data provided to NACS by its members. This enhanced information will be used by NACS during its annual SOI Summit in Partnership with CSP meeting, as well as in the annual State of the Industry (SOI) report and in a new product slated for 2006 that will report certain key metrics on a quarterly basis.
I'm absolutely delighted that we were able to come to an agreement with CSX to utilize their database software for use in collecting and analyzing our SOI data, said NACS President and CEO Hank Armour. This agreement brings the best of both organizations to the table for the benefit of the entire convenience store industry. CSX's software and services combined with NACS' brand and reputation for credible industry data will allow us to meet the industry's increasing demand for quality data, he said.
We are pleased that NACS selected the CSX software, said Gene Gerke, a partner in CSX. The leading-edge monthly benchmarking applications we have developed for our subscribers will greatly benefit NACS and NACS' members.
In addition to NACS' ability to utilize the tool for the purposes of creating SOI research reports and presentations, NACS members who provide data to the SOI effort will also be able to electronically, via a password system, view their data against the overall NACS database.
This is another significant benefit for NACS data providers and one example of how the NACS/CSX agreement will benefit retailers. Moreover, the tool's ability to quickly input and analyze quarterly data will also be a benefit that NACS members will have access to early next year, added Armour.
The first glimpse of the benefits for the industry of this new agreement will occur at the 2006 NACS SOI Summit in Partnership with CSP, set for April 4-6 in Chicago.
NACS is an international trade association representing more than 2,200 retail and 1,800 supplier members. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 138,200 stores across the country, posted $394 billion in total sales in 2004, with $262 billion in motor fuels sales.
CSX, a Columbia, Mo.-based limited liability corporation, provides online software and database tools through paid subscriber services to convenience and petroleum retailers. CSX has led the development of sophisticated interactive benchmarking tools for the industry.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.