Rhoads Energy Achieves Real-Time Visibility with Cargas Energy
Taking the Leap with Cargas Energy
Rhoads Energy, founded in 1917 out of the back of a train car, is one of the largest family-owned and operated businesses based in Quarryville, PA. While serving the fuel oil needs of central Pennsylvania, the company has also expanded into commercial fueling, all forms of heating, and cooling systems. Rhoads Energy cares about its employees and its local community, cultivating a positive company culture and giving back by donating to local charities. Its employees are passionate about the company’s mission, and provide the best possible service to their customers.
Company Profile
Headquarters
Quarryville, Pennsylvania
Year Founded
1917
Services
Residential Fuel Oil Delivery
Commercial Fueling
All Forms of Heating
Cooling Systems
Buffering…
In 2008, Rhoads used a wide range of energy solutions to run its business. Their delivery system being noticeably cumbersome and out-of-date, they decided to find a new solution that offered mobile options. The first solution they tried, previous to Cargas Energy, was a nightmare: implementation was incredibly inefficient and ineffective. The first truck outfitted with the software was stranded at the loading yard waiting to “receive” deliveries, bringing the entire fleet to a standstill.
As Amy Stackhouse, the current Delivery Operations Manager at Rhoads Energy recalls, “The software company was on site for two weeks, but we still couldn’t get any of the trucks off the property; the mobile delivery component still wasn’t working.”
These struggles, combined with difficulties in creating reports due to their systems’ lack of integration, left Rhoads with little visibility into their drivers’ and deliveries’ overall success.
Faced with these problems, Rhoads Energy decided it was time to overhaul its entire energy solution, replacing it with a single, less cumbersome system. They wanted the solution to be able to grow with the company, as several expansions were in the works, without any losses in efficiency.
A Real-Time Solution
As Rhoads was searching for a new system, Saul Cohen from Cargas reached out to them about a new solution their company was developing. While Cargas at the time was only breaking into the energy industry, their past record with their business software solutions was impressive enough for Rhoads to consider them as an option. They were also considering a local solution, after costly travels to acquire other softwares, and Cargas was only 15 minutes away from Rhoads’ headquarters. So, after evaluating all these factors, Rhoads Energy became one of the first customers of the product known today as Cargas Energy.
Implementation began that August, and unlike the disaster earlier that year, the rollout was a much smoother process. On go-live day, trucks were leaving the loading yard within two hours, receiving dispatches through Cargas Energy’s mobile delivery application. Rhoads was also impressed by Cargas Energy’s other features, such as customer management.
“All of our CSRs use Cargas,” said Luke Senkowski, the current Director of Operations at Rhoads Energy.“You can look at all their deliveries, service work; any of our employees can handle customer questions and concerns on the spot.”
“They started from scratch and wanted to listen to customers. Cargas gets feedback from us [their customers] continuously, and over the past 10 years they have improved minor things to major things that companies have suggested.” —Luke Senkowski, Director of Operations
10 Years of Success
In the 10 years since their implementation, Rhoads Energy acquired seven companies, creating a six-fold increase in the size of the company. Despite this massive expansion, Rhoads still relies on Cargas Energy to manage its business. The seamless integration between locations provided by Cargas’ web platform helps Rhoads keep track of its multiple locations and businesses throughout its range of operations. While the company did suffer some growing pains with the software, Cargas’ support staff was always there to resolve the issue and guide Rhoads towards best practices.
Cargas Energy has grown as a product over those years as well, something Senkowski ties to the company’s success.
“They started from scratch and wanted to listen to customers. Cargas gets feedback from us [their customers] continuously, and over the past 10 years they have improved minor things to major things that companies have suggested.”
One example is the routing system: responding to feedback from its customers about issues with their route builder, Cargas switched over from MapPoint to ALK as its mapping partner, creating a noticeable improvement in the quality and efficiency of the tool. Rhoads considers Cargas a good partner for its dedication to improving its system and listening to feedback, rather than trying to get as much out of a stagnant system as they can. This built-to-last company culture is a key factor in Rhoads’ relationship with Cargas: they often consult with the same team that implemented the software 10 years ago.