The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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NOV EMBER VOL . 7 6 NO. 1 1 EDI TO R' S NO T E EDITORIAL STAF F Keith Reid P Look hard at the latest and greatest ART OF THE FOCUS THIS MONTH IS ON research and development. We spe- cifically covered a fairly simple piece of engineering by Wilo USA designed primarily to increase logistical efficiency. However, as industries go home heating oil technology has been moving ahead aggressively on all fronts. Perhaps most dramatically, and most obviously, where the performance of heating appliances is concerned the industry has been jumping ahead by leaps and bounds. When the homeowner is considering an upgrade or finds the need to replace a dying furnace or boiler, he or she can meet with a rep- resentative of an industry company and find an oil burning solution that would make an envi- ronmentalist happy or ease the pain of the next tank fill up. This has not been an accident. The primary markets served by oil heat have a strong interest in environmental friendliness and oil prices continue to put pressure on providing the heat with fewer gallons. Of course, the fewer gallons part provides a challenge of its own to the industry. Higher efficiency heating appliances are critical to industry success yet dealers that have been perhaps too fuel heavy in the business model need to look at how to make adjustments that will increase revenue elsewhere. Research and development also works to pro- vide efficiency outside of the customer's home. As the industry gets leaner and tighter, the mar- gin for waste and inefficiency in operations gets smaller as well. That is an area where technology can provide a very useful bang for the buck. Software that allows for delivery opti- mization can provide a notable return on investment. More broadly, keeping up-to- date new trucks and truck equipment not only allows for the incremental advances in technology to increase the physical efficiency of a delivery, but newer equipment will sim- ply be more reliable generating more uptime. The truck that you just simply cannot keep on the road throughout the heating season is not doing you any favors. Where operations are concerned, a range of back-office technologies exist to help simplify the accounting process allowing for a more efficient application of a dealer's headcount. Similarly, an effective use of the Internet can increase customer satisfaction and reduce the need for staff to manage a variety of operational needs relative to scheduling and processing delivery requests and payment. A lot of the bulk plants out there have not been updated in a decade or more. This area of operations can be easy to ignore, but here newer technology allows the dealer to keep better control of stored product and prevent dollars from walking out the door either through honest but untracked discrepancies between deliveries and loading, or environ- mentally damaging and liability inducing leaks, or, unfortunately, theft. Taking advantage of the results of these solution providers' research and development obviously costs money. And the current way things are being done may not scream for an overhaul. But, by and large, the latest genera- tion of solutions is focused like a laser on increasing efficiency and profitability. So take some time, and do some research, and deter- mine just what the latest and greatest can add to the bottom line. l FON Editorial Office 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 847/720-5600 Editor Keith Reid 847/720-5615 kreid@m2media360.com Managing Editor Debra Reschke Schug 847/720-5618 dschug@m2media360.com Columnists Charles Bursey, Sr. John Griffin George Lanthier EXECUTIVE STAF F President/CEO and Group Publisher Marion Minor List Rentals/ Reprints – Cheryl Naughton 678/292-6054 Fax: 360/294-6054 cnaughton@m2media360.com PRODUCT ION Production Manager – Mary Jo Tomei Art Director – Andrew Stamm ADVERTISING SALES East – Dave Campbell, Associate Publisher 413/528-2364 Fax: 413/528-8835 dcampbell@m2media360.com Central & South – Rich Alden 603/899-3010 Fax: 603/899-2343 ralden@m2media360.com West – Ken Jordan 972/540-2122 Fax: 972/540-2127 kjordan@m2media360.com MAIN OF F ICE 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 847/720-5600 • Fax: 847-720-5601 CUSTOMER SERVICE 845/856-2229 • Fax: 845/856-5822 Fuel Oil News P.O. Box 4290, Port Jervis, NJ 12771 M2MEDIA360 Membership applied for 7/1/2010 BEV-AL COMMUNICAT IONS INC. Marion Minor Gerald Winkel President/CEO Director of Finance Joanne Juda-Prainito Mary Jo Tomei 8 NOVEMBER 2011 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com VP Audience Develolpment Production Director