Service Station Savings

May 23, 2025

As a service station owner, it can be difficult to generate substantial savings – more so now than ever before – due to geopolitical and economic tensions dictating consumer purchasing power. This means fuel retailers need to look at how they can save – in time, costs, and other operational efficiencies – to ensure external factors have a minimal impact on their bottom line.

Retailers should be focusing their efforts on aiming to improve operational efficiencies and customer satisfaction by investing in connected products and solutions, ones that will enable retailers to effortlessly adapt to changing consumer needs and expectations while making daily tasks simpler.

What are the Long-Term Benefits of Investing in New Dispenser Equipment?

Although sometimes a large upfront investment, new dispenser equipment will ensure retailers are able to provide motorists with the best technology and user experience, to cater and adapt to increasing consumer expectations. Aging dispenser equipment will eventually need to be replaced to avoid breakdowns, as normal equipment wear and tear could lead to dispenser becoming in-operational, resulting in forecourt congestion and queuing.

Our dispensers are engineered for demanding daily use providing long-lasting and reliable quality, which is the best insurance against “out-of-use” equipment. All our dispenser components are specified to last for the expected lifetime of a dispenser in order to achieve reliable and durable operational performance. This is further enhanced by our strong corrosion protection using quality materials and our industry-leading paint technology to achieve C4 corrosion protection. DFS dispensers are also enabled for connectivity, which enables the rapid detection of issues allowing retailers to carry out a prompt fix, minimising site downtime. Due to low total cost of ownership (TCO), retailers can trust they are investing in a dispenser that is built to last.

Can I Save Money If I Only Need to Replace Equipment Parts?

We understand not all retailers are able to invest in new equipment, particularly if only one part of the dispenser needs to be replaced to maintain peak efficiency. Although buying a non-genuine aftermarket part might save costs upfront, the quality of each part can vary dramatically, and they are not regulated or standardised. In addition, they can often damage the core components of a dispenser and void its warranty, leading to increased replacement costs in the future. All DFS genuine aftermarket parts are designed to maintain the operating performance of its products and comply with applicable regulatory business standards, so fuel retailers have optimal site operation, through improved safety, uptime, and serviceability. A larger investment upfront will save costs over the dispenser, or parts, lifetime.

Can I Reduce Maintenance Costs?

You can’t prevent dispenser wear and tear, which from time to time might result in equipment issues, but you can reduce the time such issues impact your customers and your business; therefore, limiting the negative impact to consumer experience, brand reputation, and sales. By investing in RDM by DFS, retailers are investing in a truly connected dispenser, and gaining full control of the equipment on their forecourt. This connected solution can quickly and efficiently resolve equipment issues without dispatching an engineer to site, consequently, averting any delays in your day-to-day operations, and reducing maintenance costs. RDM by DFS can help make service stations more efficient and cost effective while ultimately delivering a reliable, frictionless customer experience.

How Can I Diversify my Revenue Stream?

With service stations no longer being seen as just a refuelling point, many retailers are looking to diversify their revenue streams while simultaneously saving on time and money but remaining efficient. This is where a self-checkout kiosk or order kiosk can provide new opportunities to retailers.

While it might seem difficult to introduce a self-checkout on the forecourt, we have designed a cost-effective solution that fits seamlessly with the in-store experience. The fast-paced nature of the DFS Self-Checkout Kiosk^™ makes the retail experience quicker, giving customers the option of avoiding long queues elsewhere. In fact, the DFS Order Kiosk helps to reduce queues and waiting time by up to 40%!

This type of investment can also lower labour costs due to the need for fewer staff – allowing retailers to redeploy employees to other areas, improving business efficiencies. In addition, the DFS Order Kiosk provides an easy-to-use food ordering process which will reduce queues, and the various media options, which have shown to increase the average basket size, will help grow c-store revenue.

Can I Reduce Labour Costs?

Yes. The DFS Self-checkout Kiosk and DFS Order Kiosk require minimal employee involvement. This means employees can be utilised in other areas to improve business efficiencies. The DFS Order Kiosk can also free up time for staff by at least 21%! Aside from improving employee efficiency, this solution can help monitor and track orders and sales, as it’s fully integrated with Prizma, — Dover Fueling Solutions’^® (DFS) connected mobility and convenience hub.

Prizma makes on-site and remote control easy and enables retailers to optimise the customer experience, which ultimately leads to maximising site profits. The ability to remotely drive updates to a single site or to hundreds of sites simultaneously, through Prizma Cloud Services, provides a significant time saving and ensures sites are always updated with the latest retail items and pricing.

Retailers can also significantly reduce costs and enhance operational efficiencies through digital receipts, as merchants can cut down on expenses related to paper, transportation, and the ongoing maintenance of printer hardware, particularly in outdoor settings. While the cost of receipts may appear minimal on a per-unit basis, the cumulative effect over time—especially when considering high transaction volumes—can result in significant savings.

Integrated payment terminals – such as Tokheim Crypto VGA^® OPT and Crypto VGA^® DIT – make payment faster and easier for customers, without staff being required on site. Certified in accordance with the latest PCI approvals, these solutions incorporate a set of robust, anti-fraud mechanisms to ensure customer payment is constantly secure allowing your station to be successfully unmanned, if required.

How Can I Accurately Track Stock and Save Money on Fuel Loss?

Asset management is key when making savings in both time and money. Trusted solutions that can provide accurate, real-time data in relation to fuel stocks are the cornerstone or long-term savings. DX Wetstock^® is designed to locate and identify instances of fuel loss for fuel retailers and fleet operators. The solution collects and processes real-time data from a variety of sources, so retailers can quickly reconcile any fuel discrepancies down to the gallon or litre, to lower operational costs. This solution also helps retailers to save money through early detection of fuel losses caused by issues such as leaks, fraud, theft, and meter drift.

By combining DX Wetstock with our suite of ATG products and solutions, retailers can centralise site management, obtain precise inventory reconciliation and loss prevention analysis to provide an even higher level of fuel management capabilities and keep a tighter grip on cost savings.

Thanks to the Click & Find Monitoring and Tracking Solution from DFS, retailers can take full control of their fuel distribution, while eliminating the risk of mistreatment and theft during the transportation phase. This comprehensive solution, in conjunction with ProGauge^™ magnetostrictive probe technology, allows retailers to monitor loading and unloading activities and ensure accurate fuel deliveries, while also receiving priority alarms if any abnormalities should occur in transit.

In addition, the Bottomline Supply Chain Optimization Solution is a revolutionary way to optimize the supply chain from depot to tank. Fuelled by smart planning software, this Supply Chain Optimization Solution can save fuel retailers a great deal of money through optimized sourcing, increased truck productivity, better administration, less chance of error, improved customer service, and greater overall visibility.