"You can't solve today's challenges with yesterday's solutions." That was the message delivered by Doug Bell, manager of information systems for Columbus, Ind.-based Kiel Bros. Inc., who urged retailers to explore the latest technology trends, such as real-time reporting, Internet-based supply-chain management and remote monitoring to develop innovative solutions that will help them compete with their growing list of competitors.

Realizing a sense of urgency to expand their commitment to a new set of technology standards, 20 of the brightest information technology (IT) minds from leading convenience store companies joined representatives from four technology firms serving the convenience store and petroleum marketing industry at the second annual Convenience Store News Technology InForum at the Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, Ariz.

In addition to presentations from CCISTech Inc., Trax Software and Consulting Inc., Visilinx and Optimal Robotics Corp., the conference featured a rigorous mountain bike tour, horseback riding and an old-fashioned cowboy cookout.

Loyalty Solutions
Irving, Texas-based CCISTech is an information technology and service provider offering systems, services, solutions and programs to more than 20,000 petroleum marketers in the United States and Canada.

With CCISTech's fuel driven application, CCISLink, petroleum retailers can deliver dynamic marketing and loyalty programs right at the fuel island that create value and strong returns, said CCISTech's Brandon Logsdon, director of marketing strategy.

CISTech can also provide each customer with an infrastructure to design a custom loyalty program around a proprietary card or participate in its eFuelRewards program.

CCISTech's loyalty programs and solutions enable chains to:

cross-market with other retailers in the community either through a proprietary loyalty program or their own;

dynamically re-price the dispenser to offer per gallon discounts;

draw customers into the store to buy additional products via targeted advertising at the pumps;

print offers and coupons on customer receipts; and

integrate to third-party loyalty programs.

"CCISLink is a powerful application technology enabling the integration and automation of fuel and retail operations," Logsdon said. "It's the most flexible fuel site control and integration tool offered to the marketplace."

The Right Trax
Want to add $8,000 to $12,000 in profit to each store's bottom line in the next 12 months? It's possible, according to Ron Southard, vice president of sales for Trax Software.

"The difference between the profit you have and the profit you could have is shrink," Southard said. "I believe with the right management, stores could get shrink below 1 percent."

Trax software is designed to track retail sales in real-time that provide:

easy-to-read exception reports;

pattern and trend recognition over three, six, nine and 12-week periods; and

Web enabled case management, shrink alerts and closed-circuit TV (CCTV).

Recording data in real-time is crucial to catching internal theft. "Cashier theft stops when they believe they can not steal without getting caught and when they fear the consequences," Southard said.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company said its software creates a proactive interaction between management and cashiers that heightens awareness and establishes an understanding of employee expectations.

"Chains that are using real-time solutions can react to trends in their stores much faster than companies that don't have access to information until the end of the day or even week," Southard said. "It's tough to compete when you're forced to develop strategies without seeing the bigger picture."

Direct Link
A pioneer in integrated multimedia solutions for retailers, the Visilinx Virtual Manager is a feature-rich remote operations management solution that provides comprehensive benefits. Virtual Manager delivers real-time access to store data ? integrated with video and audio ?over a managed intranet directly to corporate executives, security directors and store personnel.

The retail industry has a tough row to hoe, said Jim Cornette, director of retail operations for Dallas-based Visilinx. Low growth potential and profitability, competitive saturation, market fragmentation and labor are just some of the operational issues chains are facing.

"Technology should be used as a strategic weapon to win the war of the marketplace," Cornette said. "Strategic technology projects should improve the company's focus on customers, the store offering and profitability."

The Visilinx Virtual Manager addresses these issues by creating a corporate communications infrastructure that provides:

two-way audio and data communications with c-stores.

real-time point-of-sale (POS) transaction data ? integrated with audio and video;

immediate access to sales data and reports; and

simultaneous multi-location monitoring and interaction.

"Virtual Manager gives retailers an edge," Cornette said. "It presents a more efficient use of management resources and creates value for companies and consumers."

Scanning the Future
Optimal Robotics, a provider of retail self-checkout systems, offers as its principal product the U-Scan automated self-checkout system, which enables shoppers to scan, bag and pay for their purchases with little or no assistance from store personnel. The machines can scan everything from newspapers and coffee cups to packaged goods.

Although self-checkout was introduced in the United States more than a decade ago, convenience store response had been lukewarm until recently because of the high price tag of the once bulky machines.

"With the labor situation as poor as it is, and it's forecasted to get much worse, introducing a self-checkout system to high-volume convenience stores could be the solution the industry is looking for," said Brian Hannan, business development manager for the Montreal-based firm.