Authored by: Mike Baker
Over the last few years, we’ve noticed a critical change when looking at CO2 spend and supply for retailers such as restaurants, convenience stores, and gas stations: the CO2 invoices for this sector have increased by 15+% on average annually due to additional fees. While this increase may seem small at first, it can quickly become a concern when you think about the financial impact across a full year for an organization.
For franchises, chains, and large organizations with numerous locations, managing bulk CO2 orders isn’t easy. Different suppliers use differing invoice methodologies, which makes it even more difficult for supply chain operators to benchmark and stay on top of their food and beverage CO2 spend.
Here are a few ways CO2 and other bulk gas buyers can better manage and reduce their CO2 spend and associated costs:
Review Bulk CO2 Invoices Regularly and Rigorously
Beverage Gas supply requires many invoices to be sent back and forth. You must ensure you’re being charged what you agreed to. This means checking important line items for accuracy, including CO2 rate, delivery fees, ancillary fees, and more.
To accurately review the invoices, you need to ensure you are familiar with your supplier contract upfront. Ensure that you know the parameters of your agreement, including when you need to notify your supplier if you would like to renew or end your contract, typically at least six months before the actual end date.
Find A Nearby Single Source CO2 Provider
For those organizations that have numerous locations using multiple suppliers with different rates, policies, and contracts, it might be time for a single source CO2 supplier that can deliver bulk CO2 locally and support organizations nationally. This can help to take away operational burdens, eliminate delays, and save money while still delivering the gas you need when you need it. Having a single-source provider, like EspriGas, makes the process of getting the gas you need smooth and seamless.
Conduct Regular Bulk CO2 Usage Reviews
In tandem with reviewing invoices, it’s important that you have a business review on a semi-annual or quarterly basis with those involved in gas supply and management. This helps ensure continued alignment on changing objectives and business needs for your organization.
In addition to the regular business usage reviews, you should also conduct monthly reports for your locations to benchmark bulk CO2 usage, ensuring that stores with similar volumes are aligned. This helps flag any equipment issues or even if a beverage mixture rate might be incorrect.
These three steps should enable today’s organization to help manage bulk CO2 spend effectively. For those looking to begin, we recommend teams start with the first step and continue to review invoices consistently until they are ready to partner with an organization like EspriGas. With a strategic partner like us, teams have better visibility into their gas supply and are better armed to prevent and reduce spend.
To learn more about managing bulk CO2, spend, and our different gas options, contact our experts.
