Ask the Fuel Expert

Nobody likes hassle. That’s why many fuel-reliant companies made the decision to use on site fuel storage tanks. It made sense. There was the convenience of having the fuel you needed close at hand, no need to drive to a card lock, and access was of course 24/7. What could possibly go wrong? I’ll tell you.

I like a good deal and as a business owner I always try to get the best price from our suppliers, while taking into consideration all of the facts looking beyond just price.

Take fuel for example.

If you are driving a few blocks to save a couple of cents per litre to fill up your car, it makes sense.

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I remember starting my working career as a kid, my employers told me what I was worth. At the time I think it was around a buck or two an hour. As time went on my “working-worth” increased steadily until I became an entrepreneur, then my value grew as a direct proportion to managing costs. So, I had to work smarter, not harder. Today that challenge continues for me, our associates and valuable clients.

How many invoices from suppliers come into your office each month? If you took the time to count them all, I am sure you’d be surprised. Chances are you don’t even see them; it’s likely someone in accounts payable who reconciles all the bills.

If you’re the boss you might sign the cheques or glance at the monthly cash flow statements as a review of where all that money went. But if you’re like most fuel-dependent companies, fuel is your highest expense after labour and when there’s lots of money at stake, mistakes are costly.

Ok, time for an oldie but a goodie…Time is money. How many times have you heard that line? And I did use the word “time” three times in the opening line on purpose, because you guessed it, “time” will be the focus of this offering.

Summer is over. The kids are back in school, vacations are done and with fewer distractions now you can focus on making some improvements to your business.

If you are fuel-reliant this could be the time to find a new supplier. Why? There are a number of reasons. Most companies who upgrade have become tired of the hassles associated with refuelling, like fuel shortages, wasted time and production and all the associated risks.

If you aren’t happy with your current supplier this article will point you in the right direction.

It’s summer and as predictable as bar-b-ques and family vacations gas prices are creeping up. It seems the price at the pump increases with demand and for gas-reliant companies this can be as painful as a sunburn. We asked our resident “Gas Guy”, Bob Van Der Valk about summer gas prices and he gave us some insight.

Bob reports, “In the short term prices will continue to go up another 25 cents per gallon between now and middle of August. After Labor Day prices will ebb down slowly and by Thanksgiving go back down to about where they were last year at the same time.”

We all have that nagging suspicion and we’ve all heard the official explanations. But the answer isn’t just a simple yes. In fact, the causes and the culprits might surprise you.

Fuel theft costs companies hundreds of thousands of dollars. In a recent rash of incidents in Ontario professional fuel thieves drove away with tens of thousands of litres in stolen diesel fuel. The thieves had carefully planned their robberies and were ready with electric pumps, a generator and large plastic fuel tanks. In three separate incidents, their haul is estimated at $18,000, $27,000 and $50,000. Imagine the impact on the businesses affected!

Earth Day 2009 was celebrated on April 22. It was the 39th annual. Did your company have any reason to celebrate the day?

Earth Day was established in 1969 to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. Since then hundreds of thousands of companies and millions of people around the world set aside time to recognize the impact we have on our planet and to pat ourselves on the back for changes we have made to how we treat the environment. So what have you done?