Smarter Fuel Processing
Everyone knows that you have to sell a large volume of gallons to make money, but many people overlook the fact that it takes an equally large volume of paperwork and data entry to actually process those gallons into cash.
In some companies, a single fuel sale from order to collection can take as many as 25 steps. When you factor in the additional work that is created by problems are caused by human error, your company may actually be losing money on some transactions! Automating — that is, replacing the manual steps with electronic processing — as many manual steps as possible is your best bet to getting more from your staff and your technology investments, while retaining more profits for your business.

Every company has its own unique set of challenges and hurdles to overcome, as well as "quick-win" opportunities which they can take advantage of. But how do you determine which can be your wins? Consider the following as steps in the right direction.

Step one: Get buy-in
Getting buy-in is a critical step. The word "automation" can cause the same heart-stopping reaction as opening the mailbox to find a letter from the IRS. While automation can certainly produce more streamlined operations and staff reduction, in most cases it provides a company with even greater opportunities for staff. By engaging employees, a company can achieve great results.

• "Data entry clerks can become data analysts." Through automation, routine work becomes streamlined so employees are better able to deal with the exceptions. Handling the exceptions sooner and more efficiently adds profit directly back to the company's bottom line.
  
• "Double your business without doubling staff." Automating processes typically allows staff to handle a greater volume of work without additional effort or staff. The company becomes more profitable and this means that employees have more security in their jobs.
  

Step two: Evaluate your needs
The most common manual processes that can be automated include: rack price entry, auto-reconciling supplier invoices to bills of lading, direct import of dealer credit card receipts into accounts receivable, and direct posting of EFT draft notices to accounts payable. Research the impact these processes have on your business and understand the value that change can bring. You'll begin to have a clearer picture of how your company operates and what its most important priorities are.

Start by determining your resident expert for each process and assign them to the project. In their review, they need to consider the implications involved — who, what and how things are done. For example:

Process: Entering rack prices

• Who do rack prices impact? The most obvious answer is the person who enters the prices. But what about the people selling, the person invoicing customers, the person processing the supplier invoice, the person settling the supplier draft notice, the collection person, etc.
  
• • How long does it take to gather and manually enter prices? Is it "start and stop" for hours every day? Does this impact on productivity? Would automating allow these workers to be more productive, reducing overtime and resulting in better performance?
  
• *Who has to wait for prices to be entered before they can even start their job? How long is the wait? What happens when prices are entered late? What if prices are entered incorrectly? Does the company have to credit and re-bill customers? Inefficiency can cause a variety of collection problems.
  

Step three: Explore your options and return on investment
Evaluate the availability of data. If suppliers don't provide formatted data, consider a data management service like DTN, who can provide standardized data for over 125 suppliers.

An interface is typically required to take the data and process it into back-office programs. Many petroleum software providers in the market today are capable of this, though it may require a hardware or software upgrade or purchasing additional modules. What will this cost? Will it require professional training? How long is the implementation process?

Finally, measure the benefits from step two against the costs quoted in step three. In the next article, we'll focus on real-life examples of how automation improves efficiency for marketers.

With more than 20 years of accounting and business process experience in the energy sector, Cathy Duncan, a DTN product manager in wholesaler services, has helped more than 350 marketers integrate prices, invoices, credit cards and EFT draft notices into their backoffice systems — helping companies lower costs, improve operations management and shorten order-to-cash cycles. You can contact Cathy Duncan at Cathy.Duncan@DTN.com or (281) 370-8278. For more information on DTN, please go to www.DTN.com.

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