Germany’s ‘Fuel Station Of The Year’ Supported By Panasonic’s ESL Solution
team energie, the operator of an extensive fuel station network, has been recognised for its Peelwatt station, in northern Germany. Panasonic supplied the Electronic Shelf Label solution.
Panasonic Connect Europe customer, team energie, has been awarded the prestigious “Fuel Station of the Year” in the “Bistro” category for its Peelwatt station in northern Germany. The title is awarded every two years by the trade magazine Tankstelle in cooperation with the Federal Association of Independent Petrol Stations (bft) and the Purchasing Association of Independent Petrol Stations (eft), representing around 3000 fuel stations across Germany.
Each nominated fuel station was reviewed by a jury of industry experts. They considered service innovation, environmental commitment, the product range, friendliness and quality of advice of the employees. The award was presented in an official ceremony with 1000 guests at the evening gala of the Tankstellenmesse Essen, on the 14th of June. The head of team energie’s category management, Arnd Luther, accepting the award, summarised the reasoning for the win: “A great team performance by petrol station staff, team Petrol Station Business Unit and all service providers and suppliers involved.”
Convincing package – from service to pricing
The station’s store and the integrated bistro stood out for a number of reasons. In the store, customers are greeted by an LED-lit checkout zone and the local Flensburg skyline on the canopy above the entire counter area of the checkout and bistro. These regional touches personalise the shopping experience and run throughout the building.
The customer experience is further enhanced with Panasonic’s Electronic Shelf Labelling (ESL) solution. The Panasonic ESL solution provides a wireless connection to a centralised Point of Sale (POS) system to automatically update the price displays in store – enabling innovative marketing campaigns to drive sales, reducing pricing errors and saving staff time. The store also benefits from digital signage elements on the shelf gondola heads and the checkouts, as well as the eye-catching touchscreen showing the changing monthly shop offers. A new in-store module also highlights the latest and trending products.
“For the ‘Bistro’, it’s the service levels, as well as the cleanliness and the tidiness of the environment that matters,” explains Arnd Luther, head of category management at the fuel station provider. The customer experience was key to winning the award and was evaluated in a secret shopping test.
Jens-Michael Pohl, Head of Engineering at Panasonic Connect Europe, said that the ESL solution contributed to winning the award in two ways: “ESLs save time. Saving employee time gives them more flexibility and freedom to speak to and care about their customers’ needs. Secondly, the ESL solution helps to easily organise and maintain stock levels, even if management is not there 24/7.”
The Peelwatt fuel station was digitalised in one day. The station has more than 800 ESLs, mostly 2.2., but also 2.6 and 4.2 inch size labels.
For more information about the first fuel station Panasonic equipped for team energie, visit: https://oc.connect.panasonic.com/nz/en/case-studies/full-throttle-petrol-station-team-energie
