Change is the only constant in life, and it comes in many forms. Fierce competition and evolving consumer expectations are just two examples forcing change in the convenience store industry today, but the important question is, how can retailers keep up? Technology. Fully utilizing technology allows retailers to easily adapt to change, embrace it and succeed.
Efficiency: Do more with less
The most basic advantage with technology is efficiency—doing more with less. This equates to more profit with less cost and less time investment. It means tedious tasks like data gathering for shift reports, scan data submissions or audits can be done quickly, automatically and accurately. Spending less time on error-prone manual tasks that threaten profit margins means more time and money to dedicate to the next great idea, like the latest grab-and-go items or curbside delivery.
Visibility: A clear and accurate picture
If a retailer wants to move forward with a new idea, they need to have an accurate picture of where they are now. Are there underperforming products that should be reviewed? Should some products be transferred from a store where they are not selling to one where they are? How is a new endeavor performing every step of the way?
Reporting can give a clear snapshot of a business, right down to the details of product’s performance. It can even recognize overall trends and the need for change, and that’s important in an industry defined by it.
Mike Lipton of Lipton Energy/LiptonMart Stores in Massachusetts and Vermont explained that for his stores, technology has “…helped eliminate slow moving products, which can then be replaced with better moving products. It cuts the dead wood out immediately.”
Real-time snapshots help retailers make the right changes with less risk. Try a new product and watch it closely with automatically run and emailed reports and alerts to warn of low inventory on successful items or slow sales on poor performers. Unlike a manual process, these reports are timely and accurate, and lead to informed decisions.
Charles Roe of Gaubert Oil/GoBears Stores in Louisiana said that what helped for his stores was “how quickly we can make decisions and take those changes to market. That’s where you need to be accurate. Reporting allows us to make those decisions in a timely manner.”
The tech-ready advantage
If a retailer wants to truly embrace change and take on more business, new products and services, it is a clear advantage to be tech-ready. This means deploying technology that maximizes current efficiencies and puts stores and retailers in a position to do more. With a tech-ready mindset, a team is comfortable taking on the latest products and services. With an efficient back office and home office solution already in use, new endeavors become an exciting new project, rather than a scary, painful undertaking.
Embrace change
Technology helps retailers move faster with efficiency and visibility into their operations and readiness to take advantage of opportunities. It means they can face change with wide open eyes and arms.
Don’t just accept change. Embrace it.
ADD Systems provides software solutions to the convenience and petroleum distribution industries. View their entire conversation with Mike Lipton of Lipton Energy/LiptonMart Stores and Charles Roe of Gaubert Oil/GoBears Stores and learn more about their solutions here.
This post is sponsored by ADD Systems