Quantum Newsprint hosted by Bill Sjoblom

WiFi Printers

One of the suggestions for innovation that crossed my desk this week was WiFi printers.  It seems like an interesting idea.  I guess you could save a little bit of time setting it up because you don't have to plug the printer into the laptop and into the wall outlet.  I also understand that electrical outlets are sometimes difficult to find in a backroom. 

It occurred to me that some of you have probably already tried a printer with WiFi.  If you are using one today or used one in the past, can you share your experience?

The Roll Your Own Debate

Even if you are not a smoker you probably have heard about roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette machines manufactured and rented to retailers by a Cincinnati based company.  During 2008, the first year the machine was offered, only 10 of them were in operation.  There are now 1700 machines and a huge controversy has erupted. 

Why?

In 2009 the SCHIP taxes on roll your own tobacco resulted in a 2400% increase from $1.01 per pound to $24.78 per pound.  Meanwhile, pipe tobacco merely doubled from $1.09 to $2.83 per pound.  This resulted in some tobacco manufacturers allegedly labeling RYO tobacco as pipe tobacco - thus avoiding the huge tax increases. 

There is also an effort by some states to classify owners of RYO machines as "manufacturers" so they would then be subject to manufacturing regulations.

What's at stake?

In Pennsylvania a RYO carton of cigarettes from one of these machines using tobacco labeled as "pipe tobacco" might cost $18 a carton.  A carton using cigarette tobacco would cost about $27 and the lowest generic manufactured cigarette is roughly $55.  Since April 2009 it is estimated that the federal treasury has lost more than 1 billion in taxes and expects to lose more than 1 billion in 2012 alone!

Most convenience chains have resisted offering RYO cigarette machines because of the uncertainty of the governments response to this problem.  Some speculate that the government could demand retroactive payment for taxes which could be a huge problem because the tax was never collected from the consumer. 

Have you seen or heard about any of these RYO cigarette machines?  What do you think?

A "Must Read" Article on Item Level

The article "Looking for 3 Million?" in this month's CSP is a must read for all QS people.  It is well written and loaded with facts and examples.  It makes many of the points that we have been making for years:

• Used correctly, ILA's reduce inventory levels.  Flash Foods - a 172 store chain took $3 million out of their inventory.  That's more than $17,000 per location.
• Chains over-report their adoption of ILA.  While surveys regularly report 38-45% of c-store chains using IL inventory, PDI reports that only 5-10% of it's customer base is at true item level. 
• Benefits of item level:
  • Inventory cuts of 10-25%
  • Sales increases of 1-3%
  • Out of stocks cut by 60-90% to less than 1%.  Typical rate is 7% for c-stores.
  • Return rates drop by 66% with more focus on expiration dates
  • Spoilage reduction of 30-50%
  • Elimination of markup and markdown tracking
  • Reduced register adjustments and chance of abuse
  • Electronic auto reordering
• Challenges of item level:
  • More complicated auditing or counting process
  • The need for a detail-oriented culture
  • Vendors unable to give timely invoices electronically
  • Operational "buy-in"
  • Time sensitive data entry that if not done can throw off reports, invoices and orders

 The article also makes the point that adopting IL is not an easy thing and that it is a multi-year process.  The greatest barrier is the "cultural shifts that need to take place".

The result is better decisions. 

A Pretty Exclusive Club

The final year end P&L's came out a couple of weeks ago.  I took a quick glance with only one measure in mind.  Which division's financial results were better in 2011 compared to 2010? 

It's a pretty exclusive club...one that we can all enthusiastically applaud.  Although I have listed the DM here, to get results like this requires a team effort.  The $ improvement is also listed:

• Riverside (Carmen)   +$  9,496
• Cleveland (Jamie)   +$  1,541
• Columbus (Dave)   +$  6,614
• Tupelo (Rob)   +$42,815
• Providence (Ryan)   +$  5,554
• Fredricksburg (George)   +$ 515
• Buffalo (Karla)   +$  7,210
• Miami (Valerie)   +$  4,075
• Bristol (Brandon)   +$24,005
• Toledo (Joe)   +$12,425
• Phoenix (Chris)   +$   7,745
• Brooklyn (Dimitri)   +$  2.396
• Dover (Pam)   +$  5,591
• Louisville (Doug)   +$ 9,339
• Albany (Ron)   +$ 11,618

Congratulations to all of these divisions and each person that worked and sacrificed to make these results possible!

Set Yourself Up for Success

The latest edition of Harvard Business Review has some fascinating articles on Happiness.  In particular I was interested in Positive Intelligence by Shawn Achor.  His offers three ways that we can cultivate our own sense of well-being and set ourselves up to succeed.  In other words, you want to be happier and more successful?  Do this:

DEVELOP NEW HABITS.  You can actually train your brain to be more positive just as you train your muscles at the gym.  Engaging in one brief positive exercise each day for as little as three weeks can have a lasting impact.  Here are five to try:

• Jot down three things you are grateful for.
• Write a positive message to someone in your social network.
• Meditate for two minutes.
• Exercise for 10 minutes.
• Take two minutes to describe in a journal the most meaningful experience of the past 24 hours.

HELP YOUR COWORKERS.  There is a direct correlation between your success (and happiness) and the amount of support you get from your network of friends and co-workers.  But there is an even stronger correlation between happiness and the amount of help you give others!  People who initiate social and business interaction are more successful and more satisfied with their work.

CHANGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH STRESS.  The problem is that people get to stressed-out about being stressed-out.  It is important to remember that stress has an upside as well.  Stress is not an obstacle to growth, it can be the fuel for growth.  Stress is an inevitable part of work.  The next time you are feeling overwhelmed, make a list of all the stresses you are under.  Put them in two groups - the ones you can control and those that you can't.  Choose one stress you can control and some up with a small concrete step you can take to reduce that stress. 

What do you think?  Some of you have probably been doing one or more of these things for a long time.  How does it work for you?

It's a Cell Phone World

Yep, like 'em or hate 'em cell phones have impacted almost every facet of our lives.  They are arguably one of the greatest inventions of our times or a curse!  The reality is that cell phones are like any other tool - they can be used to make our lives better or can be a constant distraction and even a safety issue. 

I want to take a minute to review our cell phone guidelines.

• Your cell phone should be on mute while you are working.  Unless you are expecting an emergency call, you should not answer phone calls or texts while on the job.  It is unprofessional and a distraction.  This includes meetings in your division and the corporate office.
• Don't use your cell phone to make calls or text  or access the internet while you are driving.  Research indicates that you are four times more likely to be involved in an accident if you are using a mobile phone.  Police in some areas are now checking cell phone records when investigating fatal and serious crashes.  If you need to make a call or answer a call while driving, pull off the road to a safe area.
• Avoid unprofessional unavailable messages.  You represent QS and you never know when a client or a QS staff member may need to call you.
• We are not allowed to take pictures in our client's stores without permission of the client.

Just a reminder as we start the new year! 

QS Grows With Par Mar Stores

QS recently added a new account - Par Mar Stores!  This new client has 51 locations in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.  They will be serviced by our Columbus, Pittsburgh and Charleston divisions. Here is an interesting story from their web site about how Par Mar actually got into the c-store business:

Par Mar Stores can trace its roots to Par Mar Oil Company which was established in 1967 as a full line petroleum jobber by Joseph G. Grow of Parkersburg, WV and James L. Hollister of Marietta, Ohio. In search of a name, Mr. Grow and Mr. Hollister decided on Par Mar, Par for Parkersburg, WV and Mar for Marietta, OH.

At the onset Par Mar Oil Company began business with 3 full time employees serving commercial, industrial and consumer accounts with oils, greases, gasoline, diesel fuels, heating oils, and various other petroleum products. Par Mar's initial petroleum affiliation was Amoco Oil Co. which led to the dealer sector of the business. This division grew to service 55 independent dealers with the Amoco Brand.

In 1979, Par Mar opened its first convenience store on Ohio State Rt. 7 South, now Par Mar #7. Mr. James L. Hollister (J.L.) then the president of Par Mar had left town for a few days on a business trip. His oldest son, William C. (Bill) had long tried to convince his father to enter the convenience store/gasoline business. J.L. wanted no part of it and steadfastly refused each and every attempt by Bill to proceed. Bill felt with J.L. out of town the opportunity and timing was right. With a loan of $11,500.00 Bill secured from a local bank, Par Mar Stores was actually born overnight, initially doing business as Par Mar Shop N Save. To J.L.'s shock and surprise upon his return it was too late to turn back, thus the convenience store division began.

A special thanks to Nora for her persistence in marketing to this chain! 

Do You Love Slushies?

What do Play-Doh, super glue, the slinky, Velcro and slush drinks have in common?  They were all invented, more or less, by accident.  Here is some more interesting facts from NACS Magazine about The Slushie Success Story.

How were frozen carbonated beverages first invented?  A broken soda fountain at a Dairy Queen in Coffeyville, Kansas was the catalyst one day in the late 1950's.  The owner transferred his room temperature soft drink bottles to the freezer so he could still serve his customers cold drinks.  Instead he ended up creating slush beverages his customers loved!

• Icee sells 500 million drinks a year
• The first flavor ever sold was Cola
• 7-Eleven has sold more than 6 billion Slurpees since 1965
• The Slurpee capital of the world is Winnipeg in Canada.  In the dead of winter at minus 20 degrees, MACS convenience stores still sells more slushies than they do coffee!
• Icee's top-selling flavors are cherry, blue raspberry and coke

As I Reflect on This Past Year

They used to say that behind every successful man is a good woman.  In today's world it is more accurate to say that behind every successful person are people who provide support, love and understanding.  I know this is true of each person that works for QS. 

Your job is difficult.  You often have to leave early in the morning, leaving your spouse or partner to get the rest of the family started on their day.  Your schedules are variable - you often don't know exactly when you will get home.  This can create problems for your loved ones.  And when you get home, there is often more work to do.  Scheduling, returning phone calls and paperwork cut into your family time. 

I am thankful for each and every person who provides the support, love and understanding that allows QS people to be so committed to their clients and our company. 

I want to share one recent story that has stuck in my mind.  Just before Thanksgiving I announced (I Am Thankful for Ted) that QS would change our waiting period for holiday pay from one year to 90 days.  I received many replies thanking QS for this decision, but here is the one that was most striking to me.  I received this email at 3:19 pm ON THANKSGIVING day:

This is Will from Richmond, Virginia. I must admit, this company is by far the best I've worked for, I'm really impressed so thanks for everything Bill.  Changing a policy the day before a holiday so people will get paid is something you would rarely, if ever, see in today's world.  It doesn't hurt that I'm actually at a hotel in Waynesboro, Virginia because I am helping out another division tomorrow morning and I live a few hours away so this news was especially nice to hear.  Have a good thanksgiving.

Wow.  An email from Will on Thanksgiving day from a hotel 3 hours from his home...THANKING ME!  No, thank you, Will and thanks to all your family and loved ones that put up with you leaving "for work" on Thanksgiving Day.

This is just one example of why I am so thankful for all of your family and friends that support each of you so you can do such a great job for QS.  Thank you!

Growth With United!

I am pleased to announce that QS is now the exclusive provider of audit services to United Refining - Kwik Fill stores!  Part of this new business was serviced by RGIS and part of it is new service to United's Limited sites which are small kiosk locations.  We added 72 new audits per month. 

This additional business resulted in QS opening a new division in Erie, PA and Jon is the new DM!  Welcome, Jon!

This is a good example of how providing great service to current clients can help us grow QS.  United made this decision based on the outstanding service provided by our folks in Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Binghamton. 

A special thanks to each of our United - Kwik Fill service providers!