8/26/2023 0 Comments Petrol stations![]() In summary, the petrol retail and convenience store industry is driving toward digital transformation to survive as the world changes and the business paradigm shifts. Intelligent "digital workflows" driven through APIs will ensure compliance and reduce risk factors in this machine-orchestrated paradigm of the future. ![]() These new smart assets can enable the next petrol retail customer experience while at the same time removing human error to keep the data flow clean and accurate. Whether it is repairing coffee machines, car washes or fuel pumps, AI-powered machines can orchestrate it all. We should be leveraging AI and IoT to keep all these assets maintained in top performance. New tech for the sake of tech is not the focus here. Petrol retail stations will need to focus on areas of digital transformation that will help them manage and maintain those assets so they are always working at their optimal performance. They are very focused on translating "assets" to customer experience (i.e., gas pumps that are not slow, soap dispensers that work in bathrooms, coffee machines that are top-notch, convenience store areas that could rival Starbucks and be used for business meetings). I've had a number of recent meetings with different petrol retailers. There are challenges that accompany this digital transformation. ![]() The goal is to create an automated monitoring fabric that does not require additional humans to make this new paradigm come together. Also, the networks that connect these IoT assets to the cloud should be monitored for availability, performance and security. If the petrol operators are to rely on these new IoT smart assets for improving the customer experience, then the IoT assets themselves should meet KPIs for availability, performance and cybersecurity (cyber hygiene). There are many more AI-enabled IoT devices in the convenience store that concern themselves with food quality and minimizing food waste. At a higher level, sensors in the fuel pumps or even POS systems in the gas station can use predictive AI to detect when the filters in individual pumps need replacing which would drive a “slower” lousy experience for the customer. In my last trip to Europe, I learned of sensors in the gas station bathrooms that detect when the soap dispensers are low. Now we are enabling automation through AI-enabled IoT machine interfaces. In the past, we had the notion of "front-line employees," who touched our customers and were directly related to the customer experience. Smart as in AI-enabled intelligence that is trained to optimize and fine-tune front-line experience orchestration. The new interfaces involved in the front-line intersection of customer interactions should be sensors and displays that are smart. Just like petrol retail, they have a focus on trying to leverage the power of AI and IoT to automate many of their manual operational processes, which can be a barrier to adoption. Other industries, such as global banking, also want to drive a new “customer experience” in their retail outlets. New technology advances in AI and machine learning drive these machine interfaces to be smarter and will push them to improve customer experience. For example, we have the ability now to remove humans from the purchase of fuel and switch to a self-serve model where new machine technology is the primary customer interface. The customer front line is where a new set of smart IoT devices will drive improved customer interaction. We can all recall those petrol convenience stores where the bathrooms were dirty and out of soap, the fuel pumps were slow, and we wished for fresher, healthier food along with fresh, unburned coffee. This is especially true in the vertical market of petrol retail stations, where a transformation of the auto industry is moving away from petrol and toward a new paradigm of electric-powered cars.ĭigital transformation in the petrol retail industry is, in my opinion, a recipe required for business survival because the concept of convenience stores and petrol stations will most likely radically change over the next 10 years. The road that leads to this new age of customer experience requires an automation overhaul for the retail operators, which includes the adoption of AI and IoT innovation. Digital transformation is a change agent that enables a significant opportunity to make improvements in regards to automation and IoT. The front-line evolution of business has always required a hard focus on the quality of the customer experience.
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