Dive Brief:
- Hutchinson Oil, parent company of the Hutch’s c-store chain, has partnered with diagnostics firm Warren Rogers to handle its fuel management processes, according to an emailed press release.
- Huch’s will use Warren Rogers fuelWRAp system, using real-time data and analytics to track where the company’s fuel is and catch potential problems as it moves through the system, from delivery to customer fueling.
- The partnership “will bring higher levels of automation and efficiency to our company,” which should help keep prices lower for consumers, said Kurtis Hutchinson, vice president of fuels at Hutchinson Oil, in the press release.
Dive Insight:
These updates, which bring more data and efficiency to Hutch’s operations, are part of what experts expect to be a broader trend in the c-store space in 2024. As retailers deal with the combination of price-sensitive customers and still-high prices, efficiency will become more and more important.
With fuelWRAp the company can not only keep track of its stock of fuel, but can also cut down the amount of time staff has to spend on monitoring or on catching and addressing problems like pumps that aren’t working or water in the fuel. The information is all available in a centralized online platform.
“Warren Rogers and fuelWRAp will help us to gain the increased ability to monitor forecourt and wet-stock activity at our locations, in real-time,” said Hutchinson. “The fuelWRAp real-time system will help us to continue to improve efficiency across our sites in the areas of compliance and forecourt maintenance.”
Elk City, Oklahoma-based Hutchinson Oil has 21 c-stores and travel centers in Oklahoma and Kansas. The company also has car washes and fuel distribution.
Middletown, Rhode Island-based Warren Rogers monitors the performance of over 250,000 dispensing points and over 2 billion gallons in fuel throughput.
