Inside Drew’s Perspective: A Letter from the President

DrewDear Readers,

Summer in full swing brings driving season and the busiest time of year for your business.  The timing of positive retail fuel margin trends during the past 4 weeks is helpful to the bottom line, but those inside margins are equally as important during a time when family full vehicles are stocking up on snacks along their trips.  We turn our attention this month towards optimizing snacks, beverages and fuel inventories and margins.

Be on the lookout for our weekly blog.  Learn about ways to increase profits with mix n’ match programs and customer loyalty incentives, and optimize the snack category with item level inventory management and computer assisted ordering.  Discover new ways to improve labor efficiencies, while limiting shrink with real time inventory data.

Coming your way next month will be our next issue of The Perspective, Pinnacle’s comprehensive publication filled with the latest Pinnacle updates and industry news.  In that issue will be a focus towards the challenges and opportunities with tobacco inventories, and ways Pinnacle clients have adapted to tight profit margins in this category to maintain and improve the bottom line.

If your company hasn’t registered for Pinnacle Summit 2016 yet, be sure to follow the links within.  Have a great July!

Drew Mize
Pinnacle Corp, President

Pinnacle completes integration with Wayne Fusion for ExxonMobil

Arlington, Texas – Pinnacle Corporation (Pinnacle) announced today the completion of its Palm POS integration and roll out of the new ExxonMobil payment host via the Wayne Fusion fuel controller.

The delivery of this project between Pinnacle, ExxonMobil and Wayne Fueling Systems provides Pinnacle’s Palm POS clients with a forecourt system interface to manage their devices and process electronic payments through the Wayne Fusion 6000 controller at ExxonMobil branded locations.

“Pinnacle Palm POS has supported payment processing for ExxonMobil branded retailers since 2003”, said Denise Lewis, Pinnacle POS and Payments Product Manager.  “We are pleased to continue support for ExxonMobil as they have migrated to a Wayne Fusion solution.”

Support for every major oil payment network within the US remains Pinnacle’s strategy for Palm POS.  Whether for ExxonMobil-only branded convenience store retailers or for multi-branded retailers looking for a single POS solution that will support all of their various brands, Pinnacle recognizes the importance of providing options so retailers are free to choose the best point of sale to meet their business needs.

About Pinnacle

The Pinnacle Corporation (www.pinncorp.com) is a leader in the automation technology industry, focusing on the rapidly evolving convenience store and petroleum industries. Pinnacle delivers products that automate the broad spectrum of convenience store operations and supply chain management of fuel operations. Nationwide, Pinnacle’s products and services are used daily in thousands of convenience outlets to automate and improve their store operations and by fuel marketers to increase their efficiency in the complex management of fuel delivery.

Davinscroft, Inc. To Utilize Pinnacle for Fuel Management

Durham, NC – Davinscroft, Inc. is utilizing  Pinnacle Corp. technology to manage fuel inventories with Pinnacle’s Fuel Smart platform.

Davinscroft  (www.davinscroft.com) is a market maker in refined products, including gasoline, distillates, asphalt and various unfinished intermediate streams in the U.S. Gulf Coast and New York Harbor markets. The Company is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina with operations centered in Houston, Texas.

Davinscroft markets gasoline, distillates (diesel), and other unfinished refined products by accepting product at the Gulf of Mexico, shipping on the Colonial Pipeline, and selling at the New York harbor or other terminals.  Davinscroft is expanding its enterprise with entry into the fuel supplier market.

The Fuel Smart component provides up to the minute data on fuel inventories across all terminals.  Davinscroft plans to use the technology to manage large Bills of Lading and mitigate its tax reporting risk.

About Pinnacle

The Pinnacle Corporation (www.pinncorp.com) is a leader in the automation technology industry, focusing on the rapidly evolving convenience store and petroleum industries. Pinnacle delivers products that automate the broad spectrum of convenience store operations and supply chain management of fuel operations. Nationwide, Pinnacle’s products and services are used daily in thousands of convenience outlets to automate and improve their store operations and by fuel marketers to increase their efficiency in the complex management of fuel delivery.

Contact Information

Adam Mitchell
Marketing Manager
The Pinnacle Corporation
1-817-795-5555 ext. 258
amitchell@ec2-3-137-192-69.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com

Inside Drew’s Perspective: A Letter from the President

DrewDear Readers,

Welcome to the June edition of Inside Perspective, our monthly client newsletter to keep you in-the-know on industry events, trends, and Pinnacle updates.

This month we turn our focus towards our annual client conference, Pinnacle Summit, now just over 4 months away.  I look forward to our 2016 Master of Ceremonies, Butch Egan from Western Oil, kicking off this year’s event and leading us through a jam-packed two and a half days of education, training, networking, and, a bit of fun.

For our clients, there is certainly no greater return on so little an investment than Pinnacle Summit.  This event offers an unmatched opportunity for you to get education and training on the best use of your Pinnacle business solutions, interact with peers, visit with our staff and key partners, and perhaps most important, gain insights into industry trends and how best to leverage Pinnacle solutions to capitalize on those trends.  The majority of sessions are led by clients; where you will learn from our best users and take away real information and actions to apply to your business.  I firmly believe there exists a causal correlation between clients that repeatedly attend Pinnacle Summit every year and their level of satisfaction and success with Pinnacle solutions. Sign your team up today before early-bird registration ends for increased savings.

As always, thank you for your continued business and confidence in Pinnacle to help make your business better.

Drew Mize
Pinnacle Corp, President

Is tobacco still profitable for the c-store retailer?

Tobacco Blog ImageMaking money with tobacco sales has never been harder. Retailers are caught in the tug-of-war between dwindling demand for traditional products, complex rebate processes, ever increasing flavor options and varieties, and the explosion of vapor/e-cigarette merchandise. This volatile landscape can often translate to an overabundance of inventory gathering dust on your shelves and taking up space for more valuable product.

How does a convenience store retailer successfully navigate this new terrain? Some in the industry would advocate abandonment- CVS and Costco have already discontinued their support of tobacco products- and suggest businesses move toward food service, niche merchandising options, specialty wine and craft beer and more. They point to a shrinking demographic, harsh taxes and restrictions, and an increasingly negative public perception as a reason to divest of tobacco in favor of new and emerging trends.

These suggestions may be useful for long-term forecasting and development, but what about right now? While the industry promotes moving into food service; which requires substantial investment, manpower and development; that doesn’t fix the tobacco problem- it only shifts the focus. How does a convenience store retailer make the most of an existing product category that often is the reason for a consumer’s visit- and often a visit that translates into many additional purchases and increased store loyalty?

This month, we will showcase clients in the industry who have faced the same hurdles and how they overcame, and thrived, in this increasingly difficult atmosphere. We will highlight solutions and opportunities- from item-level-inventory versus category management to scan data and computer-assisted ordering- and how they’ve helped retailers turn problem inventories into profit superstars.

SkimDefend Mobile App Released – Will Guard Against Pump Fraud

MaySkimDefend logo 25, 2016

ARLINGTON, TX – Pinnacle Corporation (Pinnacle), the leader in software solutions for the convenience store industry, announces the release of its new SkimDefend mobile app, available for Apple and Android devices. Built on Pinnacle’s Mobile Platform, the SkimDefend app combats tampering and fraud by tracking in-store and forecourt devices with smartphone usability.

In concert with the NACS WeCare program, SkimDefend was developed to provide retailers a way to audit fuel dispenser security labels for condition, viability and integrity. This daily operation alerts the user to internal and external skimming devices, cameras and other malware.

Pinnacle’s Mobile Platform, in addition to SkimDefend, is the foundation for the Pinnacle Mobile Consumer Rewards app and our Corporate Module. This platform provides retailers a single solution to manage their multiple apps- while allowing registered users to define corporate branding standards such as graphics and color settings. Pinnacle’s hosted Platform can provide an entirely branded mobile app configuration and management tool solution for retailers- no major start up costs or additional effort required.

“Pinnacle is pleased to bring the strength of its mobile platform to the NACS WeCare program by introducing the SkimDefend mobile app, providing retailers a powerful tool to help mitigate the risks of skimming devices,” said Melissa Hadley, Pinnacle’s director of product management. “Our mobile platform enables us to rapidly develop and deploy both consumer facing and internal [corporate] facing apps for convenience store operators, and SkimDefend was a natural extension of our strategy. We are excited about the extension possibilities for this app going forward.”

Melissa Fox Hadley To Receive Top Women in Convenience Award

headshot_melissaJersey City, N.J. – The Pinnacle Corporation’s (Pinnacle) Director of Product Management, Melissa Fox Hadley will be honored later this year in the third annual Convenience Store News Top Women in Convenience awards program.

The Top Women in Convenience program recognizes a diverse array of women in the convenience retail industry, including leaders, mentors and role models. Honorees are chosen based on nominations from their peers that illustrate a candidate’s innovative corporate initiatives, extraordinary financial and strategic accomplishments, astute problem-solving acumen, exceptional performance and selfless charitable participation, among other attributes that go above and beyond the call of duty.

This year’s judging was conducted by Convenience Store News in conjunction with the Network of Executive Women (NEW) and the 2016 Top Women in Convenience Advisory Board, which includes all five 2015 Women of the Year honorees.

Hadley is being recognized in the senior-level leader category, comprised of retailers, suppliers and wholesaler executives who have executed strategy and transformed their business in a positive manner.

Hadley joined Pinnacle in 1996 and has contributed in multiple areas, including retail solutions product manager responsible for retail back office and home office solutions, along with foodservice inventory management, handheld, and workforce management. As the Director of Product Management, Hadley is responsible for strategic and tactical product management planning and execution for all solutions offered to the retail convenience store and petroleum market.

D&C Transportation Adopts Fuel Smart System for Petroleum Management

Orleans, VT – D&C Transportation successfully closed their first fiscal period using Pinnacle’s Fuel Smart solution. Fuel Smart serves the petroleum marketer industry’s inventory, order entry and financial needs.

D&C Transportation (www.dandctransportation.com) is a premier wholesale fuel transport and trucking company that has been servicing New England since 1974, servicing Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York.  They specialize in bulk fuel delivery and transport, dump truck services, heavy equipment hauling, site development, and tank and equipment services.

D&C Transportation began using the software product at the beginning of the April financial cycle, six weeks from initial deployment. Fuel Smart facilitated the processing of bills of lading, supplier invoice reconciliation, inventory balancing and tax reporting.  D&C Transportation’s Brandi Parker observed the time spent entering tax information was reduced from two days to ten minutes.

D&C has realized additional time efficiencies with balancing accounts receivable, running customer statements, and posting recurring invoices as a result of the Fuel Smart adoption.

About Pinnacle

The Pinnacle Corporation (www.pinncorp.com) is a leader in the automation technology industry, focusing on the rapidly evolving convenience store and petroleum industries. Pinnacle delivers products that automate the broad spectrum of convenience store operations and supply chain management of fuel operations. Nationwide, Pinnacle’s products and services are used daily in thousands of convenience outlets to automate and improve their store operations and by fuel marketers to increase their efficiency in the complex management of fuel delivery.

 

Contact Information

Adam Mitchell
Marketing Manager
The Pinnacle Corporation
1-817-795-5555 ext. 258
amitchell@ec2-3-137-192-69.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com