Ingram Fuels Breaks Delivery Records with Cargas Energy
Ingram Fuels, Inc. has been a family-owned, full-service heating oil company since it was founded in 1960. In addition to selling heating oil, gasoline, diesel fuels, propane, kerosene, and coal, the business provides 24-hour emergency repair service, too. Ingram Fuels serves homeowners, farmers, and commercial customers in Centre and Clinton Counties in Pennsylvania. The company also owns and runs six convenience stores, located northeast of State College, PA, called Ingram’s Market.
The Challenge: Manual Process and Pilot Error
Ingram Fuels had been using a software program made for fuel dealers for approximately ten years but began to outgrow it.
“It could no longer provide the reports or tracking capabilities we needed for all the services and programs we offered,” explained Stacey Ingram, the company’s office manager. “All of our slips were handwritten and manually entered into the system, which was very time-consuming for everyone.”
Because everything was done by hand, the environment was ripe for mistakes. Ingram shared there was always the risk of errors due to difficulties reading employees’ handwriting.
Company Profile
Headquarters
Howard, Pennsylvania
Year Founded
1960
Services
Residential Fuel Oil Delivery
Commercial Fueling
24-hour Emergency Repair Service
“Human error always left Ingram Fuels open to the possibility that fuel deliveries could go to the wrong location, billing errors, and even an incorrect number of gallons delivered if penmanship on the ticket wasn’t legible.”
The manual effort of taking and fulfilling orders coupled with the need to be extra vigilant about detecting potential mistakes required a great deal of time and made it difficult to keep accurate, up-to-date records during the busy winter season.
The Solution: Cargas Energy Software
Ingram Fuels’ management team realized they needed a user-friendly program that could give them more computerized streamlined capabilities and tracking flexibility.
According to Ingram, “We were looking for an automated system that would allow each secretary to create a delivery order and send it directly to the driver electronically. We needed a system that would also keep us up to date when deliveries were completed. Other features on our “must have list” included a way to schedule annual cleanings and maintenance check-ups and track the location of our trucks and service vans.”
The Ingram Fuels team saw a demo of Cargas Energy software at a tradeshow in May, 2015 and immediately saw the possibilities.
“It had the flexibility we were looking for, and we loved that it would interface with our current truck meters,” said Ingram. “We were pleased to know that Cargas would provide training for our team, and we were impressed with the level of customer support offered.”
“The investment in Cargas has been a great asset to our company and its future.”
Results
After implementing the Cargas Energy solution’s Mobile Delivery and Mobile Service modules in September 2015, Ingram Fuels gained the flexibility it needed to run its business more efficiently and effectively.
“The software brought us into the 21st century with its interface options,” shared Ingram.
“All of our drivers are more productive because they no longer need to handwrite delivery slips or call the office for directions or special delivery instructions,” she explained. “Eliminating manual paperwork has helped the office personnel, too, because we no longer have to handwrite the delivery information and call the driver.”
With all aspects of the order process done electronically, the office staff can take calls faster. Ingram said that because of the Cargas Energy software, her company was able to deliver a record number of orders last winter.
“We would not have been able to accomplish as much with our old system.”
She also shared that because customer information is easily accessible through the Cargas software, the office can process orders faster, without having to ask as many questions while on the customer call.
“The address and directions are there; the credit card information is there; the tank information is there; and the account balance is on the main screen—and that’s just a sampling of the readily available data that makes the process much easier than before,” said Ingram.
Reflections on the Cargas Experience
According to Ingram, they expected a bumpy road when transitioning from their former software to the Cargas solution because “change is painful even when the end result will be favorable.”
“Although we met some challenges along the way, the Cargas team stuck in there every step of the implementation and made sure our requests were met.”
She said that because Ingram Fuels’ company setup has unique requirements compared to other companies, it has been valuable to have Cargas’s support team available to assist when questions or issues arise.