Tag: Tank Monitoring Technology

Building a Thriving Small Propane Business with Limited Resources

Running a small propane business can be challenging, especially when resources are limited. However, with careful planning, smart investments, and efficient operations, it’s possible to build a successful business that meets the needs of your community. Here’s how to make the most of what you have and grow your propane business efficiently. Prioritizing Smart Investments… Continue reading Building a Thriving Small Propane Business with Limited Resources

Running a small propane business can be challenging, especially when resources are limited. However, with careful planning, smart investments, and efficient operations, it’s possible to build a successful business that meets the needs of your community. Here’s how to make the most of what you have and grow your propane business efficiently.

Prioritizing Smart Investments
When resources are tight, every dollar counts. It’s essential to prioritize investments that will have the most significant impact on your business. Focus on tools and equipment that can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance customer service.

Investing in automated systems, like route optimization software or tank monitoring technology, can help streamline operations and reduce waste. These tools can minimize fuel costs, improve delivery schedules, and ensure that you’re providing reliable service without overextending your budget.

Focusing on Customer Relationships
In a small propane business, strong customer relationships are key to success. Providing personalized service and maintaining close ties with your customers can set you apart from larger competitors. Make it a priority to understand your customers’ needs and deliver on your promises.

Make it a goal to offer flexible payment plans, timely deliveries, and responsive customer support. Word-of-mouth referrals are powerful in small communities, so positive customer experiences can lead to new business without the need for expensive marketing campaigns.

Managing Costs Effectively
Efficient cost management is critical for small businesses with limited resources. Regularly review your expenses to identify areas where you can cut costs without sacrificing quality or service. This might include negotiating better deals with suppliers, reducing unnecessary inventory, or finding more affordable insurance options.

Keep an eye on energy costs as well, as propane businesses often require significant fuel use. Consider energy-efficient vehicles or equipment, and explore ways to reduce fuel consumption during deliveries.

Leveraging Local Partnerships
Building partnerships with other local businesses can provide mutual benefits and help stretch your resources further. Collaborate with local contractors, farmers, or other small businesses to offer bundled services or discounts. These partnerships can increase your visibility and help you reach new customers while sharing marketing and operational costs.

Staying Adaptable and Open to Change
The propane industry, like any other, is subject to change. Regulations, technology, and market demands can shift, sometimes unexpectedly. To thrive with limited resources, it’s important to stay adaptable and open to new ideas.

Be willing to adjust your business model, explore new service offerings, or adopt new technologies that can make your operations more efficient. Keeping an open mind and staying informed about industry trends will help you stay ahead of the curve and make the most of your resources.

Building an efficient propane business with limited resources requires strategic planning, wise investments, and a strong focus on customer relationships. By managing costs, leveraging local partnerships, and staying adaptable, you can create a thriving business that meets the needs of your community while operating within your means.

Tank Monitoring: A Win-Win for Fuel Companies and Customers

For companies that deliver heating oil and propane to homes and businesses, optimizing logistics is key to improving efficiency and profitability. At the same time, customers expect reliable fuel supply without the inconvenience and potential hazards of runouts or overfills. Tank monitoring technology offers a solution that benefits both fuel marketers and their customers. By… Continue reading Tank Monitoring: A Win-Win for Fuel Companies and Customers

For companies that deliver heating oil and propane to homes and businesses, optimizing logistics is key to improving efficiency and profitability. At the same time, customers expect reliable fuel supply without the inconvenience and potential hazards of runouts or overfills.

Tank monitoring technology offers a solution that benefits both fuel marketers and their customers. By providing real-time data on fuel levels in storage tanks, monitors enable a more proactive, streamlined, and customer-friendly delivery process.

According to Gray, Gray & Gray’s 2023 Energy & Propane Survey, more than 72% of propane dealers offer tank monitoring to their customers (at an average per tank fee of $54.32) and just over 36% of heating oil dealers offer the same service (at an average fee of $26.53).

How Tank Monitors Work
A tank monitor is installed on an above or below-ground fuel storage tank. Using wireless technology, it transmits data on remaining fuel volume to a centralized dashboard that the delivery company can access. Additional data points may include:

• Low level alerts when the fuel drops below a minimum threshold
• Estimated days until empty based on usage rates
• Precise GPS location of the tank
• Ambient and fuel temperature
• Available space in the tank (ullage)
• Any technical issues with the monitor itself

Having this information continuously updated and accessible allows fuel providers to know the current status of every monitored tank across their customer base at a glance. Customers can also access their tank data through a dedicated mobile app.

Benefits for Fuel Delivery Companies
The insights gleaned from tank monitors help fuel marketers plan and execute deliveries far more efficiently. Traditionally, scheduling has relied on rough estimates, seasonal factors, and reactively responding to will-call customers. This leads to suboptimal routing as well as costly runouts and emergency deliveries.

With monitors in place, providers can be proactive rather than reactive. Hard data on fuel levels and consumption rates allows them to anticipate when tanks need to be refilled and schedule deliveries at optimal times. Dispatchers can group tanks that are ready for refills based on proximity, ensuring value fills that minimize miles driven while maximizing volume delivered.

The result is dramatically streamlined routing and logistics, leading to higher earnings that are used as the benchmark to determine enterprise value for the business such as:

• Fewer miles driven overall: Optimal routing that is supported by more accurate tank measurement creates more efficient delivery routes, resulting in less wear-and-tear on delivery trucks and drivers. Less wear and tear means less vehicle expenses which in turn increases profitability.

• More gallons delivered per mile, with more efficient drop sizes: A more accurate picture of how much fuel a customer truly needs leads to more timely deliveries and fewer “top-offs.”

• Reduced labor costs, including fewer dispatchers: The more customers you can place on monitors, the better able you will be to allow monitor data to dictate routing, rather than having a dispatcher or delivery manager manually generate routes for the day.

• Improved customer retention: A customer whose tank is monitored is a “stickier” customer who is more likely to become an automatic customer (worth much more than a will-call customer when valuing a business), with virtually no runouts or emergency deliveries marring their experience.

• Higher resale value: Fuel companies that implement tank monitoring often see increased value to their business – the more tanks monitored, the more attractive the company becomes to buyers, particularly in larger operations.

Fuel marketers who have adopted this technology report savings of up to 30% in operational costs by reducing the number of deliveries, optimizing routes, and improving the overall efficiency of their delivery operations, with acceptance ranging from 25% to 90% of their customer base. These savings on operating costs drop to the bottom line.

Benefits for Customers
For fuel customers, the main advantages of tank monitoring are convenience, reliability, and peace of mind. Even the most diligent customer may forget to check tank levels or could be caught off guard by unexpectedly high usage during a cold snap.

With a monitored tank, that burden is lifted. Low level alerts notify both the customer and the delivery company when it’s time for a refill, greatly reducing the risk of a runout. Customers can go about their lives with confidence their fuel supply will be maintained.

For customers who normally need to check their tanks manually, the mobile app provides an easy way to track their fuel 24/7. No more trudging through the snow or into a dank cellar to read a gauge. And if they’re going to be away from home for an extended period of time, they can travel worry-free knowing the app will alert them and their fuel company if levels get too low.

Tank monitors also solve challenges for customers with tanks that are not easily accessible or frequently checked. Wireless monitoring is ideal for remote and secondary residences, agricultural operations, construction sites, and the like.

By reliably preventing runouts, providing a better customer experience and fostering two-way communication, tank monitoring helps fuel marketers strengthen customer relationships and loyalty over the long run. It’s a sticky service that greatly improves retention.

The Future of Fuel Delivery
As fuel delivery becomes a technology-driven business, tank monitoring is increasingly a must-have capability for companies that want to remain competitive and continue growing. Forward-thinking fuel marketers are already connecting the dots between the granular data provided by tank monitors and back-office functions. For example, they are integrating accurate forecasts of when tanks will be ready for delivery into purchasing and inventory decisions.

Down the road, there is potential to augment monitoring with analytics, AI, and machine learning to extract even more value from the data. The endgame is a fully automated, optimized, and dynamic fuel delivery ecosystem.

Even at the basic level, tank monitoring creates a win-win dynamic between the fuel provider and their customer. The question really boils down to this… Which companies will seize the opportunity to streamline their operations, create a better customer experience, and boost their bottom line?

ABOUT OTODATA

Otodata has been a key player in the tank monitoring industry for over ten years. Otodata’s goal has always been to produce a monitor with very low cost of ownership — making large scale implementation affordable for all fuel resellers. Otodata is proud to say they design, develop, manufacture, and sell their award-winning tank monitors, management software, and mobile app to businesses worldwide. All Otodata monitors provide precise, extremely reliable data, carry industry-leading warranties, and are compatible with all read-ready dial equipped tanks. To learn more about this innovative and forward-thinking company, visit the Otodata Website today.

Otodata Canada
1212 Louvain Ouest
Montreal, Quebec, H4N 1G5, Canada

Customer Support:
(844) 763-3344,
info@otodata.com

Expanding Services in Propane Delivery

Innovative Ways to Diversify Your Propane Business In an increasingly competitive market, diversifying services is critical to sustaining and growing a propane delivery business. This strategic move can enhance revenue streams and strengthen customer loyalty and market position. Below, we explore several avenues for diversification that can complement your core propane delivery services. Propane Appliance… Continue reading Expanding Services in Propane Delivery

Innovative Ways to Diversify Your Propane Business
In an increasingly competitive market, diversifying services is critical to sustaining and growing a propane delivery business. This strategic move can enhance revenue streams and strengthen customer loyalty and market position. Below, we explore several avenues for diversification that can complement your core propane delivery services.

Propane Appliance Sales and Installation
Expand your offerings to propane-powered appliances such as heaters, stoves, fireplaces, and grills. Providing installation and maintenance services for these appliances can add significant value for your customers and create additional revenue.

Tank Monitoring Services
Implementing tank monitoring technology for customers allows for optimizing delivery schedules based on actual usage patterns. This service enhances customer convenience, improves delivery efficiency, and can be offered as a subscription for a steady income.

Energy Consulting
Offer consulting services to help customers optimize their energy usage and reduce costs. This could involve energy audits, recommendations for energy-efficient appliances, and advice on integrating renewable energy sources with propane systems.

HVAC Services
Broadening your services to include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) maintenance and repair can attract a broader customer base. Given the complementary nature of HVAC and propane services, this diversification can leverage your expertise and customer relationships.

Renewable Propane
As the industry moves toward greater sustainability, offering renewable propane can position your company as a leader in eco-friendly energy solutions. Educating customers on the benefits of renewable propane and providing it as an alternative can meet the growing demand for green energy options.

Outdoor Living Solutions
Capitalize on the popularity of outdoor living by offering propane-powered patio heaters, fire pits, and outdoor lighting solutions. This segment allows for creative package offerings and caters to residential customers looking to enhance their outdoor spaces.

Safety Training Workshops
Host safety workshops for customers, focusing on the proper handling and storage of propane, emergency preparedness, and the safe operation of propane appliances. These workshops can reinforce customer trust and demonstrate your commitment to safety.

Bulk Sales and Industrial Contracts
Explore opportunities in bulk propane sales for commercial and industrial clients. Offering tailored contracts can secure large-volume sales and provide a stable revenue base. Industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and fleet operations offer potential growth areas.

Loyalty Programs
Develop a loyalty program that rewards customers for repeat business, referrals, or purchasing multiple services. Such programs can enhance customer retention and encourage the uptake of additional services.

E-commerce Platform
Create an e-commerce platform for customers to easily order propane, schedule deliveries, and purchase related products and services. This digital expansion can improve the customer experience and open up new marketing channels.

Strategic Growth Through Diversification
Diversifying the services offered by your propane delivery business requires careful planning and execution but offers a pathway to enhanced competitiveness and growth. By aligning new services with your business strengths and customer needs, you can build a more resilient and dynamic business ready to meet the challenges of a changing energy market.