Productivity, Profit, & Technology
How They Are Connected To Each Other
Software vendors parade through your office on a regular basis promising that their product will increase Efficiency and help you Optimize your business. These hollow buzz words are more prominent in our industry than ever before, permeating every conversation that involves an IT purchase. They are rattled off by sales reps as if Efficiency and Optimization were “things” that came in the box with your software or a feature you can turn on with a mouse click.
But have you ever challenged them to tell you HOW their application will deliver Efficiency and Optimization? Better yet, if you asked them to really define these terms, could they even do it in an intelligent manner? If not, it’s probably time to talk to a new software company.
Efficiency is nothing more than the concept of preventing waste. Optimization is simply doing things as well as possible. When viewed in this basic context, the words ring empty, kind of like the rhetoric from a presidential candidate.
What we are really talking about is Productivity. Technology helps you do things efficiently and allows you to optimize business processes, all in an effort to improve workforce Productivity. Productivity is important because it is the primary driver of value and growth for your fuel company over the long run. The more you can do with less resources and time, the happier your employees and customer will be…and the higher your profits.
Productivity gains, however, have a shelf life. Our industry’s legacy business model and dated software systems from a bygone era are no longer effective at delivering progressive improvements. The evidence is everywhere. Walk into many dealers even today and you will still see the traditional scrum of noise, CSRs running down the hall to talk to service, dispatchers wondering how their fleet is doing using only a two way radio. The vast business solution innovations of the past 20 years seem to have passed many fuel dealers by.
This failure to adopt new technology is proving to be a profit killer in terms of lost Productivity because old systems literally cannot keep pace with emerging operational pressures.
Anyone who believes that it is cheaper and easier to “do nothing” with outdated software that “still works fine” is making a costly error in judgment.
Many things contribute to poor Productivity. Learn to identify and address them:
Great technology, especially backoffice software, is the key to maximizing the Productivity of your workforce. Here is how that happens.
1.WORK TOGETHER EVEN WHEN YOU’RE APART
Collaboration is essential to business even when team members are not working in the same building. Mobile Computing for delivery and service allows office and field personnel to communicate in real time. A true web based software application provides access to your system from any device anywhere. This breaks down the silos, makes your employees more productive, and improves the customer experience.
2. PROVIDE ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Endless hours can be wasted searching through your backoffice system for information about customers or business performance. Investing in a solution that allows everyone on your staff to easily access actionable data pays for itself quickly over time. Delivery drivers have up to date information about customers, service techs can be more productive by having full access to work order details and history, and CSRs know exactly what is happening in the field in any given moment. No more running down the hall or screaming over a two way radio.
3. GIVE ON-THE-GO EMPLOYEES “ANYTIME/ANYWHERE” ACCESS
Make sure your field employees (to include traveling managers and key staffers) are provided with mobile devices and the ability to connect to your backoffice system over any internet connection. Seamlessly taking the business on the road ensures that no one misses an important event, people stay connected, and your customers benefit from a consistent level of professionalism.
4. IMPROVE EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION
Aging software systems can frustrate your employees and annoy your customers. Employees are confused by the unfamiliar look and feel, it takes too long to learn, and it is designed around outdated processes. In some cases, employees will decide to quit because of how slow adoption of proven technology reflects on your organization. To ensure that employees are productive and satisfied, your business needs a modern intuitive system that is easy to use and reliable.
