Member-only story
Logistics of the Fuel Industry
An example of a distribution channel
In 2006, I had travel plans to Ukraine a few months later. I needed a job between now and then to occupy time and help keep my bank balance more on the positive side. So I hired on as a gas pump jockey at a local gasoline station. There were several life lessons with this short-term job.
It was interesting watching the gasoline price change. Our nearest competitor was only 50 meters down the street. This was a modern gasoline/convenience station. My station was from the 1970s that focused mostly on gasoline sales.
Every morning, we had to phone our logistical engineer to give some basic statistics. I would bark into a prerecorded menu: gas station ID, previous day’s sales volumes, and the competitor’s price. Then I hung up. We got that price by looking out the window and at the competitor’s station.
Then, maybe once or twice a week, the logistical engineer would call us to raise or lower the price. We minimum wage workers needed only change the price sign and make small adjustments at the pumps.
Here’s how the prices affected our sales volume:
1. If our price was the same as our main competitor, we sold a certain volume of gasoline.
