Change: You can count on it, and it should be added to the other two things you can count on—death and taxes.
Reflecting back more than two decades since the founding of our company, the convenience/petroleum industry and the software industry that has developed to serve it have experienced tremendous change. I’m thinking of this time period because prior to then, technology spending in the industry was pretty limited. Since then, however, technology has become a considerable budget item for convenience and petroleum operators.
So go back with me a moment and think late ’80s: C-store operators were burdened with very labor-intensive and manual processes. Software companies leveraged the evolving power and decreasing costs of technology to deliver automation solutions that enabled our clients to improve efficiencies and reduce errors, thereby saving them time and money.
Jenny Bullard, CIO of Flash Foods, Waycross, Ga., and recent inductee into the Conexxus Technology Hall of Fame, reviewed the technology changes of this same period, and there have been a considerable number: manual daily paperwork, paper credit-card receipt reconciliation, centralized pricebooks, “electronic” and touch-screen POS systems, pay at the pump, efficient store-to-office data communications, hand-held devices for inventory and receiving, DVR monitoring, signature capture, PCI and the beginnings of “big data” concepts.
The Next Level
Fast forward to 2014, and consider just a few of the more recent and current initiatives of our industry that will demand even more technology innovation: loyalty marketing, mobile payments, digital couponing and digital currencies, EMV, data security and protection of consumer information, point-of-purchase suggestive selling, just-in-time fuel delivery, expanded data networks, and electronic wallets of all sizes and shapes.
Successfully addressing these new initiatives will require a solid technology foundation in place within your organization.
We have found that one size does not fit all when it comes to our clients’ priorities as they consider technology automation projects. Every company is unique, and while some are just beginning to embrace automation with something such as scanning or maintaining a pricebook, others are leveraging automation in more sophisticated ways in receiving, inventory management, item-level inventory and computer-assisted ordering. Others are taking it to the next level by focusing on consumer behavior and better understanding their customer with data analytics and loyalty offerings.
Manage by Exception
What once was a competitive advantage back in the early ’90s (paperwork automation) has become a basic requirement to do business and doesn’t necessarily offer a competitive edge in today’s marketplace. We have found, however, that our clients having the most success seem to do more than just automate—they manage by exception and build systems that can be easily modified as their business changes. In today’s world of way more data than you could possibly comb through, management by exception enables our clients to focus on the outliers, aggressively review the situation to determine the cause and move quickly toward remediation.
One thing is certain: Business will continue to change and evolve due to competitive pressures and compliance standards. I’m confident that our business and that of our clients with both look quite different two decades from now. What used to be about automation continues to become more about action, and action requires having accurate, timely and relevant information with which you can make better and faster business decisions.
Look to build and acquire technology solutions that deliver the most flexibility and control to leverage technology and market opportunities. Seek out agile, willing business partners who will collaborate with you to jointly become both more efficient and more proactive as your business evolves. We cannot do anything about death or taxes, but we can help manage change.
And what change will be next for us? Uber delivering convenience items?
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.