黑料社区

Article created for the digital issue聽of聽the 黑料社区Foundation鈥檚 magazine.

Innovation is a necessity for survival and growth in business, especially as markets become more competitive and customers鈥� needs and preferences change. Finding new innovative solutions and products can help businesses differentiate themselves from competitors, attract new customers and retain existing ones.

During , five industry providers shared their products and ideas during quick, five-minute presentations modeled after a popular TV show. During the session moderated by , a panel of judges and the audience voted on the products or services they thought would improve the travel center wallet share.

The competition was fierce and there were only a few votes that separated the winners from all of the presenters.

As we gear up for another Tank Talk session in Las Vegas, take a look back at 2024鈥檚 winners with us.

The Judge鈥檚 Selection
Tank Talk judges selected 鈥攁n app for truck drivers that has one million active users. Truck drivers use the app for truck-safe routing, parking information, weigh station statuses, shipping dock insights, and to read ratings and reviews of truck stops.

Truck stop and travel plaza operators can list their location free on the app. The most recent addition to the app is Trucker Path鈥檚 fuel network, which offers discounts to drivers and promotes fueling locations via the app. Plus, drivers can use the app to activate fuel pumps.

鈥淭ruckers enter the access code from the app on the fuel pump and start pumping their fuel. You don鈥檛 have to use mobile devices on your counter. Revenue is sent directly to you daily,鈥� Oliver said, adding that one location saw a 33% increase in business in only 90 days.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the power of having the audience in front of us all the time. We help them find where to eat, where to park and where to fuel. We process the credit cards through our app. We鈥檙e one big customer.鈥�

The Audience鈥檚 Choice
Since the beginning of time, c-store employees have been cleaning with the mop, pulling employees away from other tasks.

鈥淚t can take five hours to clean a 10,000-square-foot space with a mop. In my experience retailers typically allocate an hour per shift towards the cleaning task,鈥� said . 鈥淥ver a year, you鈥檒l have spent nearly 22,000 hours mopping each floor and guess what? It is still dirty.鈥�

is changing that with its floor-scrubbing robot, Cobi.

Cobi can clean 5,000 square feet per hour and is designed to work around customers. 鈥淚t allows you to allocate resources to better tasks,鈥� Dihrkop said, adding that the robots also provide a visual clue of cleanliness that resonates more than a mop bucket.

More Innovations Worth Considering
There other presenters shared their innovations that can help locations improve the customer experience and increase sales.

Monetizing Parking: Truck parking is a critical service truck stops and travel plazas provide to drivers, and some locations are monetizing their truck parking to help cover the costs associated with parking areas. Smarter Park鈥攁 truck parking solution鈥攁llows drivers to reserve and pay for parking without having to come inside.

鈥淒rivers get a notice when their parking is going to run out,鈥� said Anil Jivani with Smarter Park. He added that the app is available for Androids and iPhones and the company plans to roll out more features, including promotions and rewards.

Streamlining Sales: Point-of-sale technology can be complicated, with different profit centers having different point-of-sale devices. 鈥淵ou have to take the information from each of the devices to upload it to a central location, but we can do all of this with one product,鈥� said .

Miller shared information about .

鈥淚t is one POS solution that can handle all of your touchpoints within a travel center or c-store,鈥� he said, adding that the POS technology can also handle multiple fuel types, such as hydrogen and compressed natural gas.

Making Things Bright: is transforming how your customers see, shop and spend by illuminating retail shelves, which entices customers to shop and draws their attention to the products. It also makes the store look cleaner and highlights the packaging that manufacturers have spent billions of dollars creating.

鈥淔rom an ROI perspective, it is the best investment you can make,鈥� said at .

鈥淚t is proven to increase at checkout sales by as much as 15%.鈥� He added that several retailers have also reported that the lighting decreases shrink and increases customer loyalty.

Simplifying Buying: Buying fuel can be like a hornet鈥檚 nest, according to Wade Lowe, co-founder and president of , a downstream fuel procurement and logistics platform. He asked: 鈥淲ho is going to deliver it? Are we using third-party haulers? How are they getting it there?鈥�

To help streamline the fueling buying process, Lowe developed TRUEFILL, which automates the process of getting fuel ordered from the customer, lifted and loaded, delivered and invoiced correctly. The software automates workflows, improves forecasting, and increases efficiency and accuracy.

Learn More
In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, innovation is essential. Visit to learn more about industry suppliers and the services and products they offer.

// This article was created for聽Stop Watch magazine, the magazine of the 黑料社区Foundation.聽The聽黑料社区Foundation聽is the research, education and public outreach subsidiary of NATSO, Inc. The 黑料社区Foundation provides programs and products to strengthen travel plazas鈥� ability to meet the traveling public’s needs through improved operational performance and business planning. Visit聽www.natsofoundation.org聽for more information.聽(Donate to the 黑料社区Foundation here.)