In the past it was a place to buy
petrol cans, tax disk holders and air fresheners (if you were
lucky). However as today’s consumers pull onto the forecourt,
they expect a 24-hour, one-stop-shop where they can buy petrol,
newspapers, a hot or cold snack, groceries and even a bottle
of wine. As petrol forecourt retailing has become synonymous
with convenience retailing, the most successful independent
businesses are those which have adapted to the change, investing
in merchandise, in-store design and IT systems.
Silvey, in Bristol, is typical of this new breed. Eight years
ago, the company (which is primarily a fuel distributor, supplying
a range of petrol, diesel and heating oils) decided to develop
the existing petrol filling station next to the M32 motorway,
one of the main trunk roads into Bristol. Since opening in 1999,
the Shell-branded service station has become one of the busiest
in the City. With 16 pumps and a 2500ft2 Londis-branded convenience
store attached, it attracts around 2,500 customers daily, with
most cars pulling onto the forecourt during the weekday rush
hours. Silvey’s Forecourt Manager, Arthur Chadwick, also
reports that 35% of customers who buy fuel, will also buy something
from the convenience store.
Having moved into the convenience business, Silvey faced constant
competition from other stores within the sector such as Spar
and Alldays, as well as supermarkets. To prosper it needed to
be able to offer its customers an efficient, reliable service,
as well as the kind of product promotions and offers they expected.
Unfortunately, the company’s existing IT system lacked
the functionality required for promotions and reporting, as
well as being quite labour intensive because information about
sales and stock levels was not readily available.
To overcome this, Silvey invested in a front and back office
solution from Exeter-based convenience and forecourt specialists,
Arciris. At the point of sale, Arciris’ Iridium software
integrates the pump controller and sales till into Epson’s
touchscreen Intelligent Register (IR) with its built-in printer,
customer display and Magnetic Stripe Reader, helping to save
valuable counter space for merchandising. The easy-to-follow
touchscreen menus mean that Silvey can specify how staff record
sales. For instance, hot buttons have been allocated to newspapers
and magazines, ensuring that sales within this category can
be properly reported and analysed rather than given an all-purpose
‘dump code’.
Overall, the IR has given Silvey a platform it can rely upon,
according to Arthur Chadwick: “We have had the Epson terminals
for two and a half years and during that time they have given
us no problems.”
In the back office, meanwhile Prism has dramatically reduced
the amount of time and effort required for day-to-day administration.
Arciris worked with Londis to develop a more efficient two way
electronic ordering system which minimises paperwork, and enables
Silvey to learn about group promotions each week (and pass them
on to the customer). The more efficient ordering system, combined
with more reliable reporting, brings other benefits too, such
as allowing Silvey to maintain minimum stock levels, keep product
costs up-to-date so that profit margins can be maintained and
ensure promotions such as multi-buys can be easily sold and
accounted for.
“Overall, the solution is 100%
better than before,” concluded Arthur Chadwick. “Realistically
it has probably freed-up one full time member of staff, allowing
us to focus on managing and developing the rest of the business.”
For further information contact Tim Lamb, Arciris Tel: 01392
449532 Email:tim.lamb@arciris.co.uk.
Arciris is now part of Torex Retail PLC. For more information, please visit www.torexretail.com
