20 necsema M2M Turn Resolutions into Action: Enhance Your Operations for 2026 The calendar year has turned, and this always in- vites assessments of what you’d like to do differently than last year. Resolutions can lead to improvement, so it makes sense to look for the ones that will make the biggest impact. Fuel and c-store businesses know how fast things move, which can make it hard to slow down and analyze. Consider focusing on these goals to have a promising 2026: Convenience Store Goals With the many moving parts in a c-store, from thousands of SKUs to hundreds of vendors, and from understanding staffing needs to managing compli- cated foodservice, there are many areas to focus on to improve efficiency and profitability. • Understand Your Business Better with Data: You collect tons of data, but are you using all of it? Reporting tools are available to let you learn from your data and make in- formed decisions for the future. An important step is to ensure that your data is integrated and not siloed. “I prefer an inventory control system that gives me BI (business intelli- gence) reporting and pricebook combined to view my items,” said Ryan Bibeau, IT Expert from Fabian Oil Company. “I expect them to coexist, to see sales trends in specific categories, and drill down and look at trans- actions. I don’t want to go over to another module to pull that information. It should be one pane of glass.” Reporting can also help you make informed, impactful decisions about your pricing. “You don’t think a couple of pricing changes are going to do a lot, but it’s amazing what it can do,” said Michael Lipton, President of Lipton Energy and Lipton Market. “We’ve learned which markets we can go higher in, and which ones we can’t. It helps us stay competitive with some of the bigger c-store franchises.” • Improve Pricebook Management: There is always room for improvement with your pricebook processes. Implementing item-level inventory so you can get true control over your margins makes a big difference. And a centralized pricebook adds even more control and efficiency. “Pricebook management was a difficult task, but now it’s getting easier,” said Lipton. “Now we’re cutting out redundancies and automating what we can.” • Implement Inventory Controls: Reduce out-of-stocks by implementing strong inven- tory controls and vendor management. “If we want to make sure that the stores are turning product well and we have the right things on the shelf, we’ve got to take the inventory control piece out of the store’s hands,” said Bibeau. “I have store managers who man- age their inventory well, but implementing inventory control helps them focus more on customer service than back-office work.” • Execute Effective Promotions: Custom- ers have buying tendencies, and pinpoint- ing these could both help increase sales and create customer deals that keep them coming. “We really started to get into combo deals last fall, combining some beverage and food service items,” said Scott Goodridge, IT Expert from A.E. Robinson, a diversified fuel and c-store company that has 9 store loca- tions in Maine. “It was a really good driver for our customers and delivered some pretty big numbers.” • Harness Foodservice’s Potential: If you don’t have foodservice yet, 2026 may be the year to start. Ingredient tracking and attention to por- tion size are a must for foodservice to control costs and have accurate margins. “I think, honestly, if you look into profitability, you really need to do foodservice, and you need to do it right because that’s one of the few areas in a convenience store where you can really control your margins,” said Goodridge. Wholesale Fuel Goals Wholesalers know that prices fluctuate constantly, requiring swift decision-making. Because you must have precise cost information for all your supply points and provide accurate, timely quotes to attract and retain customers, efficiency is paramount. • Automate as Much as You Can: The wholesale world moves fast, and automation is the key to staying competitive. “Leveraging
