Data is at the heart of everything we do at ADD Systems. Within our products, there is an ecosystem of data shared between them that helps businesses operate more efficiently and profitably. Data becomes even more valuable when it can be used not just among ADD products, but also customer trading partners. This is where process automation becomes an invaluable tool.
The term “eCommerce” refers to the exchange of goods and services electronically, whether that be business-to-business or business-to-consumer. It also encompasses data exchanged electronically to support those sales. eCommerce in the ADD world can be used for many transactions within both the fuel and c-store industries.
“eCommerce is the process by which we automate information, incoming and outgoing,” Mandy Hagans, an ADD Systems eCommerce Specialist, said. “The processes might involve cost information, fuel transactions, invoicing, and statements. It can be data between an ADD client and their vendor partners or suppliers, as well as data flowing on to customers.”
Automation with eCommerce for the C-Store and Fuel Industries
The efficiency that comes with eCommerce is equally valuable for both c-store and fuel businesses. Both industries are data-rich, and both have tasks that can be better served by automation, so team members can perform other tasks that help advance the company. Hagans provided two respective examples in which fuel and c-store companies can use eCommerce:
“An example for fuel wholesalers is fuel cost. The cost is received from the supplier. eCommerce will get that file and translate it into the proper format, and then load it into ADD’s software. There, it gets used in several different ways, like invoicing and quotes,” she said.
“One example for convenience stores is pricebook changes,” she said. “If the cost of a box of candy went from 48 cents to 60 cents, then that data is picked up by eCommerce automation from their grocery supplier, translated, and sent to ADD’s eStore. eStore will load the new cost, and send the new retail to each of their convenience stores for accurate scanning at the point of sale.”
While these are just two examples of what can be automated, there are many other functions that can be performed, including:
| Inbound | Outbound | Degree Days | Cardlock Statements |
| Cardlock Transactions & Cost | Prices |
| Credit Card Settlements | Customer Invoices |
| Product Cost | Invoices – Lubricant Buybacks |
| Product Prices | Invoices – Lubricant Rebates |
| Bills of Lading (BOLs) | DTN – Invoices |
| Vendor Invoices | DTN – Prenotes |
| Hauler Freight Invoices | DTN – Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs) |
| eStore Pricebook | C-Store Scan Data |
| eStore items | Loyalty Rewards |
| Loyalty Rewards | C-Store Wholesale Orders |
How Inbound and Outbound Transactions Work
While these processes can help automate operations, this only becomes possible through smart software performing many important tasks in the background. ADD Systems is able to create a blueprint or map that translates data from one format to another to seamlessly pull it in or out of ADD software, whether it be ADD Energy E360/E3, ADD eStore, or Atlas Reporting. Built-in schedulers allow companies to perform inbound and outbound tasks unattended, so they can focus on things that require critical thinking rather than monotonous tasks.
Hagans broke down the steps of the inbound and outbound processes this way:
“In the inbound process, you have to have a trading partner or a customer who’s willing to send you a set of data,” Hagans said. “That data is retrieved and brought to the eCommerce server, where it is automatically translated and sent for processing in E360, E3, eStore, or Atlas.”
“In the outbound process, the export is initiated by our ADD Systems products,” Hagans said. “E360, E3, eStore, or Atlas create the export data. It’s then translated and sent out to the trading partner in the format needed.
Why is Process Automation for Me?
There are many small ways that automation through eCommerce can help your business, but perhaps its two biggest strengths are efficiency and the elimination of errors. These, in turn, free up team members to focus on tasks that improve the customer experience as well as analytical work to be more strategic.
“What eCommerce allows you to do is instead of processing, you move to analyzing. You get to better understand your numbers,” Hagans said. “It moves you to the analysis side, the exception side, instead of an employee coming in at 8 am and picking up a report and keying it in.”
Hagans explained how having automated data helps eliminate human error. Rather than focusing on entering row after row of data, team members can concentrate on customer experience and business analytics. It also improves cash flow. No more tediously sending out invoices. eCommerce does the heavy lifting for you by sending out invoices quickly. ADD Systems has experience with a number of different eCommerce partners in the industries we serve, making this a great opportunity to implement today.
Lastly, Process Automation through eCommerce can be crafted to your needs. We understand that every business is unique and has specific parameters that need to be met to operate at full speed. We want to help you make your business operate at maximum efficiency, and automated data exchange can help make that a reality. What manual tasks are slowing you down? There is no idea too big or too small.
“Over the years, we have created several automation tasks at our customers’ request that I don’t know we would have ever dreamt of doing,” Hagans said. “But they asked for it, and we did it.”
If you’d like to learn more about automating your processes, contact us at sales@addsys.com or call 1-800-922-0972.
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