SOLUTIONS

Cargas Energy

Wilson Oil & Propane was introduced to Cargas through Saul Cohen, an energy software sales representative they had worked with in the past, who had gone to work for Cargas Systems. Although, Cargas did not have an energy solution at the time, O’Connell shared that he and others at Wilson felt confident in Cargas’s abilities. After considering three different vendors, Wilson Oil & Propane asked Cargas to develop a custom solution for their fuel operations. The company collaborated with Cargas to create the software that would later become known as “Cargas Energy.”

“One of Cargas’s strengths is that they aren’t afraid to partner with other tech vendors to create integrations that make processes seamless. They focus on what they do best and allow others to do what they do best. Cargas has the agility to adapt to multiple platforms— most other vendors do not have that.”

—David O’Connell, President, Wilson Oil & Propane

RESULTS

Enhanced Delivery Efficiency

According to O’Connell, one of the most significant benefits that Wilson Oil & Propane has gained with Cargas Energy is having seasonal K-factor forecasting built into the software. Prior to the Cargas solution, they were limited to only a “summer” and “winter” model to forecast customer fuel needs. Cargas Energy software uses a formula that more precisely predicts delivery needs during the variable weather conditions in the spring and fall.

“Our other vendor didn’t believe in that method for calculating deliveries,” explained O’Connell. “Having that was crucial for the delivery operations of our business and to maintain customer confidence in our abilities.”

Wilson Oil & Propane also uses tank monitors and a business analytics platform to take their forecasting abilities to the next level.

O’Connell said that the delivery management oversight they have with Cargas Energy has allowed them to increase their gallons delivered per stop—and they currently rank in the top 10 percent within the industry for that metric.

One of the features that Wilson Oil & Propane helped Cargas pioneer (in approximately 2010) was batch loading of customer payments made by credit cards.

“Receiving payments that way wasn’t widely adopted back then in the fuel industry. With our Cargas Energy software, we could import a file out of the credit card processor system and update our customers’ accounts in a mass batch. Prior to that, we had to manually create a transaction in the credit card system and then manually post payment info in our customer accounts,” said O’Connell. “Fast forward to today, the Cargas Energy solution now has a fully automated credit card payment process.”

He also mentioned that Cargas Energy allowed them to email statements to customers. “It sounds so simple, but it was a revolutionary capability back then.”

O’Connell shared, “Looking back at the very beginning, the Cargas Energy core product was very good, and its tried-and-true foundation remains largely intact. That’s a testament to all involved in the process. The solution was not only built for Wilson, but also for the benefit of the whole industry.”

He said that Cargas Energy has developed many enhancements over the years to progress with the companies it serves. From advanced routing and dispatching features to the mobile delivery app and more, the software has adapted to changing industry needs.

“The software has evolved with us as we grew from a heating oil company to one that offers  propane delivery and other products and services. Cargas Energy has never restricted our ability to grow,” said O’Connell.

THE EVOLUTION

Sage Intacct
In 2015, Wilson Oil & Propane implemented the accounting solution Sage Intacct to help streamline its financials.

Prior Accounting Challenge
Wilson Oil & Propane had been using Microsoft Dynamics GP for accounting with the Cargas Energy solution. “It was functional but not user-friendly,” O’Connell described.

Improvements Gained with Sage Intacct
“When Cargas discovered the Sage Intacct product, they introduced us to it,” said O’Connell.

The company’s controller told him that it’s easier to use and more flexible. Also, it costs the company less than what they were paying for Dynamics GP.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM
In 2017, Wilson Oil & Propane also implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM to streamline sales processes and account management. The implementation also included PandaDoc, an online proposal software that is linked directly to the CRM system.

Prior Sales and Customer Service Challenge
O’Connell shared, “I knew we were losing information about and missing future opportunities with people who reached out to us but weren’t ready to do business with us. We needed a way to capture leads and track them so we could determine if our marketing dollars are making the phone ring.”

Also, even though Wilson Oil & Propane’s customer pricing agreement system was online, the process of sending customer agreements involved a good deal of manual effort. “Customer service reps had to type in the customer’s information, generate a contract, print it, and mail it,” explained O’Connell.

Improvements Gained with Dynamics 365 CRM
Using cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM has enabled Wilson Oil & Propane to automate and organize the sales process.

The implementation with PandaDoc allows Wilson Oil & Propane to pull information from its CRM contacts directly into customer agreements, which are then sent electronically.

“With the integration with Dynamics 365 CRM, we’ve cut the time involved to prepare a contract by 75 percent,” O’Connell said.

Moreover, Wilson Oil & Propane employees have one central place to enter, view, and update customer information—and they have access to that information online from anywhere and anytime.

The company is also using Dynamics 365 CRM to nurture leads, track marketing results, onboard new customers, and manage accounts.

With Dynamics 365 CRM, the company is able to track the effectiveness of its marketing efforts and capture lead information, break it down in different ways, and distribute it to the sales team.

“We developed a workflow program so that if nothing happens with a lead after a period of time, it automatically goes into an automated email marketing list,” said O’Connell. “Before Dynamics 365 CRM, we never captured the contact information of ‘tire-kickers.’ Now we track whatever details those people are willing to share so we can follow up with future marketing touches down the road.”

Also, every new Wilson Oil & Propane customer becomes part of the company’s marketing touch program and receives personalized, automated email communications. Examples include a “Welcome email,” providing a summary of the services they’ve signed up for; customer satisfaction surveys; upsell emails that share information about promotions and features such as auto-pay; and important reminders about plan or program expiration dates and other account details.

O’Connell shared that beyond the capabilities and efficiencies the company has gained from the solution, Wilson Oil & Propane values its reciprocal relationship with Cargas.

“Cargas is a reliable, responsive partner dedicated to hearing our input, listening to our feedback, and improving the software to help us grow our business.”