BACK TO BUSINESS AT FORECOURTTECH '21

By Sian Davies

In the last issue of erpecnews I wrote about in-person industry events being back on the agenda, but it wasn’t until attending forecourttech ’21, sponsored by the erpecnews media network, that I realised just how important a handshake, fist bump or elbow tap really is.

For many in the industry, jumping on a plane several times a month is all part of the job.

In my time with erpecnews, I have had the opportunity to visit many of our contributors across Europe and in the US, but my journey to Alicante, on Spain’s east coast, was my first overseas trip since the world reopened, post COVID-19. In a new world of PCR tests and locator forms, I was not deterred and when I arrived at the spacious, opulent lobby of the Asia Gardens Hotel, the chosen venue for the fourth outing of forecourttech, I was pleased that I had made the journey and I looked forward to the following 2 days of intensive business speed dating with associates and friends.?

The five-star hotel is a 40 minute journey from Alicante airport, close enough to be considered convenient, but just far enough away from the ‘delights’ of neighbouring city Benidorm to create a relaxed, networking bubble for delegates with no distractions. As delegates began to filter in throughout the day, you could sense a buzz of excitement to finally be stepping out of the home office and getting back to business. Even before the start of the official programme, networking was in full flow. It was like being back in 2019, except for the masks and the unavoidable conversations about vaccinations.

It was during this pre-conference networking that I caught up with Mark Wohltmann, Director of NACS Global and the forecourttech '21 conference moderator, who had just returned from Chicago where he was attending the annual NACS PEI Convention - another event featured in last month’s publication. The event, he said, had been a great success and despite there being very few international visitors, the US-based consortiums were out in numbers.

forecourttech '21 featured a programme of speakers alongside speed-dating style business meetings. The proven format was enhanced, as you might expect from a technology-focused conference, by an online event platform. The Brella app allowed delegates to match with each other based on similar interests, start conversations and schedule meetings - think of it like Tinder but for business. If you don’t know what Tinder is, you don’t need to.

This year’s event included several new additions including the introduction of panel discussions. These panels, which featured representatives from Tesla and payment specialists ryd, were chaired by Christian Warning, Managing Director of The Retail Marketeers, himself a recent addition to the forecourttech line-up. Christian worked with Shell for 13 years in different retail management functions, including heading up Shell’s billion-dollar non-fuels-retail business in Germany. He also developed Germany’s largest c-store franchise chain outside petrol filling stations, as a senior manager of Deutsche Bahn, the German railways operator.

Christian's partnership with SAB Events Europe who manage forecourttech helped to attract several new faces, particularly from the German market. Another new edition was the forecourttech studio sponsored by BigBrother International. The studio featured speakers in conversation with BigBrother Commercial Director Aart van Rooijen. You can watch the videos on the forecourttech LinkedIn page.

The event kicked off with a presentation from Zdenko Tobek, Lead Business IT Infrastructure Expert at Kuwait Petroleum. Zdenko, an expert in electronic payments, micro payments & real time transactions processing, discussed how Q8 are using technologies to enhance the customer experience.

This segued perfectly into Peter van Nauw, Snr. Director Systems & Payment at Dover Fueling Solutions who explained how the customer experience is at the forefront when they are designing solutions. “Customers are evolving and are demanding an enjoyable, exceptional shopping experience,” he explained. Dover Fueling Solutions are creating a range of products to support this change from self checkout kiosks to the DFS Anthem UX User Experience Platform. “It is not a dispenser, it is a user experience platform,” explained Peter. The dispenser is equipped with a 27” interactive screen. It allows customers to play games, check the latest news and weather and is the perfect promotional tool for retailers.

DFS have also paired up with another wellknown front end operator in the retail fuel marketplace, BigBrother International, to improve their self-service checkouts. Using BigBrother’s camera technology, customers can choose to select their vehicle instead of the pump number when using self-service kiosks to avoid mistakes. In my many encounters during the event, collaborations like this, often appeared to be high on everyone’s agenda.

With consumer expectations changing, the emergence of alternative fuels and the seemingly unstoppable digital revolution, the challenge to embrace everything at the same time is often too large for one company alone. New companies are entering the fuel retail space all the time and Mark Wohltmann’s presentation highlighted the way some operators are adapting to fit in with current industry trends.?

One such happening has seen electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla open lounges for EV customers to wait as their vehicles recharge. “Tesla is not a retail operator or a c-store operator, they are a car manufacturer. The car manufacturer is now getting into hospitality. Is it a threat, opportunity or both?” he questioned. Could we soon see Tesla challenging traditional fuel retailers in this space or is this a chance for collaboration? It seems only time will tell.?

Follow the customer

A customer-centric approach was a common theme throughout the presentations. As Aart van Rooijen, the CEO of Big Brother, so aptly put it: “The customer will determine the future. We should stick to them and focus on their experiences.” In his presentation he acknowledged that the forecourt may at some stage become the backcourt, or at least less of a forecourt than it is now.

Whilst I am not sure that Backcourttech has the same ring to it, the point is that if fuel is no longer the largest part of the equation, how can you remain relevant and retain your customers? Data, Aart explained, is vital in order to understand customer behaviour.

Martine Thijs, Global Strategic Accounts, ICASA echoed this idea stating “Data is the new petrol. We sit on huge amounts of data and we need to do something with that. It’s all about the data that can help you with cost optimisation and making the customer the centre of your universe.”

Harald P?pke said, Senior Product. Manager at Scheidt & Bachmann Fuel Solutions, also spoke about moving from being vehicle-centric to customer-centric. He explained the customer could be broadly separated into two sections, those that require a quick, efficient purchase, for which self-checkout solutions are ideal and those that need a longer stay, like EV drivers, for which food service is vital. “To keep up we need to be flexible, our products and solutions have to be,” he explained.

EV is inevitable

“Nobody is not talking about EV. Electric cars are coming,” explained Elias P?yry Cofounder & CEO at Virta, an electric vehicle charging platform. It was this presentation that really cemented how fast moving the industry is right now. Just 12 months prior, Elias presented at forecourttech Virtual, where he spoke about the golden opportunities EVs presented retailers. Now, the discussion has moved on and it is all about how retailers can monetise both EVs and their drivers.

To put things into perspective two and a half years ago Virta had thousands of stations and 10,000 customers. Now the company has 40,000 stations with 1 million EV drivers. “Everyone has had to update their prognosis.”

Ciaran McNally, Head of Capital Development & Food Strategy at Maxol Group outlined the company’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and explained how they are diversifying parts of the business, making a significant move into the renewable energy sector.

In partnership with Ciaran and Stephen Devine, Maxol Group has set up energy company Bright to simplify the over complicated energy market and make it easier for customers to buy electricity. The move, Ciaran explained, will allow the Group to sell electricity to domestic homes, where EV owners are most likely to recharge their vehicles, as well as green electricity to sites. Maxol are also investing in EV infrastructure.

A vision of the future

With so many changes expected over the coming years, the final presentation of the event came from Robert Onion, Chairman of Circle Brands who provided an exciting visualisation of what we can expect from a future forecourt.

Moving away from fuel dispensers at the fore (backcourttech here we come), Robert’s vision for the future puts the convenience element at it’s heart, driven by the need to meet the changing demands of the customer. He also suggested that the building space could have multiple uses from office space during the work week to a farmers market at the weekends.

To the rear of the building Robert showed click and collect points and drive thru ordering points, meaning customers could easily get what they need without having to leave their vehicle.

After 10 speakers, countless meetings and two delicious networking dinners, it was time to draw the curtain on a successful return of forecourttech. Delegates I spoke to were delighted to be back amongst friends and out there meeting new faces and despite all the changes and challenges over the last 20 months, the high importance placed on industry events like this remains unchanged. If I didn’t see you at forecourttech, I look forward to exchanging fist bumps or elbow taps at another event in the near future.?