SkyBitz High Tech Tanks for Data Driven Distributors User Guide
- June 1, 2024
- SkyBitz
Table of Contents
SkyBitz High Tech Tanks for Data-Driven Distributors
Product Specifications
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Product Name : High-Tech Tanks for Data-Driven Distributors
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Features: IoT-Enabled Tank Monitoring, Remote Tank Telemetry, Automated Ordering
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Benefits: Safety and Compliance, Financial Savings, Customer
Service Improvement, Process Management Optimization -
Accuracy: Levels can be measured within one millimeter
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Cost Savings Potential : Up to 48% transportation savings
Product Usage Instructions
Safety and Compliance
Ensure accurate monitoring of tank levels to prevent hazardous spills and maintain compliance with safety regulations.
Financial Savings
Utilize remote tank monitoring systems to optimize delivery schedules and fill rates, reducing fuel and labor costs while improving accuracy.
Customer Service and Process Management
Implement automated ordering based on tank data to prevent runouts, improve customer service, and generate transportation savings.
FAQ
- Q: How accurate are the tank level measurements?
- A: The tank levels can be measured within one millimeter, ensuring precision in monitoring.
- Q: How can distributors benefit from using remote tank telemetry?
- A: Distributors can benefit from improved accuracy in delivery schedules, cost savings, and enhanced customer service through remote tank telemetry.
- Q: Can customers access tank data for transparency?
- A: Yes, centralized monitoring allows distributors to share tank data with customers, ensuring transparency and optimal inventory levels.
Precision is critical in petroleum and lubricant distribution.
With it, distributors avoid costly delivery and safety mistakes. Without it,
runouts shut customer production lines, and close convenience stores, and
hazardous spills and leaks create environmental cleanups. Maintaining the
status quo costs more than you think.
- Besides having runouts, distributors and their customers who rely on guesswork and gut instinct to manage tank levels frequently overorder, overdeliver, and overuse equipment and staff resources.
- For these reasons, more distributors are embracing smart tank technology. Analyst firm Berg Insight anticipates the global remote tank monitoring telemetry market to surpass $51 billion by 2029, nearly doubling its current size.
- In this guide, High-Tech Tanks for Data-Driven Distributors, we detail four ways to move beyond manual work and get the biggest benefits from IoT-enabled tank monitoring systems.
Safety and Compliance
- Tank gauging is a risky business. In five years, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) reported nine fatalities from manual “sticking” and sampling production tanks—all deemed preventable. Driving tanker trucks also has inherent dangers from managing heavy equipment and liquid “surges,” climbing on rigs, and dealing with hazardous materials.
- According to the National Council on Compensation and Insurance (NCCI), a workplace injury claim costs more than $41,000. Civil litigation awards for injuries or death can reach into the millions. With remote tank monitoring, petroleum and lubricant distributors can:
Decrease the chances of serious injuries occurring.
The telemetry hardware captures real-time tank data and uploads the information to a server. The information becomes accessible through a centralized computer hub, eliminating the dangers of manual field management. With better data, distributors can move away from inefficient milk runs and better optimize delivery schedules. The distribution change reduces driver risks by eliminating unnecessary hauls that increase the probability of injury.
Reduce the need to open tanks.
Environmental risk increases every time a petroleum or lubricant tank opens. Emissions, leaks, and spills carry pricey penalties. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that a tank cleanup costs $154,000. If groundwater becomes contaminated, the price tag can exceed $1 million. Constant data collection from tank monitoring systems identifies abnormal consumption to spot leaks. The accuracy of digital tank readings versus manual gauging ensures the correct volume gets delivered to avoid spills and overflows.
Curb fuel theft.
A 1000-gallon tank can be drained in a matter of minutes. A company might not spot the theft until the next manual check, weeks later. Remote monitoring systems are sophisticated enough to spot the problem as it occurs and issue alerts to prompt immediate action.
Financial Savings
- Distributors relying on manually collected data or guesswork deliver when tanks are 45% empty as an industry average. Some estimates show this delivery cycle is up to 35% too frequent. Additional deliveries increase fuel and labor costs while placing unnecessary wear and tear on equipment. The fewer gallons delivered, the higher the cost per gallon for the distributor and customer.
- Managing distribution by fixed schedule also generates additional work—and potential errors—from not dispensing all products loaded for delivery.
- Remote tank monitoring systems make optimal delivery schedules and optimal fill rates possible. The biggest cost savings come from improved accuracy.
- Research shows that “eyeballing” a tank can miscalculate levels by as much as 20%. When a North American leader in bulk liquid handling and storage implemented a wireless tank gauging system, accuracy improved to within one millimeter.
Pairing tank data with an automated ordering process ensures the right amount of product at the correct delivery interval. When distributors transition from the mentality of keeping tanks full to the efficiency of preventing tanks from going empty, they can haul more gallons with less effort and equipment. Inventory carrying costs go down, as does the cost per delivery.
Smart Tanks in Action:
Company Generates $1.8 Million in Monthly Savings
A leading distributor of bulk oils, lubricants, and fuels managed 15,000 tanks
across the United States. The manual work of monitoring each tank’s inventory
while onboarding new customers had staff overhead and delivery costs trending
toward dangerous levels.
The company implemented the SkyBitz SmartTank solution and started delivering
at 80% empty for most tanks to save on operational costs. The technology
provided the accurate status of each tank, allowing the company to optimize
its deliveries. The result was $1.8 million in monthly savings by eliminating
up to two deliveries per tank each month and reducing the dedicated staff
needed to manage the work. The company is now using the data to identify
additional strategies for eliminating unnecessary deliveries and fuel costs.
Customer Service and Process Management
- As the cost of transportation increases, customers are more likely to shop around for distributors. Price matters, but so does superior service and value-added offerings. Remote tank telemetry helps distributors deliver on all three.
- Customers often order based on fuel price while forgetting to factor in delivery costs. Ordering more frequently to capitalize on lower fuel prices may result in a higher price per gallon. Distributors leveraging remote tank monitoring can generate up to 48% transportation savings by delivering based on the tank’s available capacity versus a pre-determined frequency.
- Customers can move away from their manual tank monitoring processes and instead rely on automated ordering through distributors using predetermined fill-level criteria. The data prevents emergency deliveries and runouts that disrupt production. Centralized monitoring also allows distributors to share tank data with customers.
- The transparency creates a set of checks and balances to ensure tanks maintain optimal inventory levels. The data creates an audit trail for fluid monitoring and custody transfers, ensuring invoice accuracy
Fewer gallons delivered result in higher per-gallon delivery costs.
1,000-gallon Tank at 75% Empty (750 Gallons)
= $0.10/gallon freight rate
1,000-Gallon Tank at
40% Empty (400 Gallons)
= $0.1875/gallon freight rate
Smart Tanks in Action:
Global Energy Company Decreases Downtime
With chemicals integral to petroleum production, one of the world’s largest oil field service providers needed to move away from manually gauging its remote storage tanks. The company required round-the-clock precise tank levels, something its field team could not maintain. The energy company implemented the SkyBitz SmartTank system to reduce manhours and touchpoints while improving data reliability. The technology provided the information needed for better forecasting and prevented excess inventory. Early detection alerts reduced runouts and downtime. Money previously allocated toward labor for manual tank monitoring now goes toward infrastructure to support company growth. C-suite executives described the technology solution as “Making our jobs a whole lot easier through better, more accurate monitoring.”
Data-Driven Decision-Making
- Data is the new currency, and remote tank monitoring systems are generating a significant return on investment. What once was guesswork has transitioned to guaranteed information that is critical for operational efficiency and service excellence.
- According to The Distributor Board, excess inventory can cost a distributor 25% annually. IoT-enabled tank monitoring provides real-time information for more accurate forecasting and inventory management. Distributors can significantly cut their carrying costs by identifying the quantity of product needed for each tank within the network. Remote tank monitoring systems also offer insights to help companies plan for the future.
- Predictive analytics can layer historical usage data, growth projections, and production patterns with current tank data to anticipate inventory needs. Pairing remote data with weather patterns and temperature changes can help distributors stay in front of consumption needs to avoid runouts. With price and inventory volatility in the petroleum and lubricant markets, technology-driven tank monitoring provides critical data to proactively navigate market changes.
See More with SkyBitz
Intelligent decisions require intelligent technology. Up the IQ of your tank network with the SkyBitz SmartTank system.
- The platform provides an end-to-end remote tank monitoring solution that provides tank owners and distributors with accurate, real-time data and analytics. The fast and responsive SmartTank portal gives users everything they need, in one dashboard, to proactively manage tank inventories—from anywhere at any time without manually gauging equipment.
- Real-time alerts prevent costly operational errors, such as low inventory and product runouts. Key insights and demand forecasts help users plan orders for multiple locations and centralize purchasing to maximize savings and control.
- SmartTank streamlines the ordering process by auto-calculating quantities and delivery dates based on fill levels, historical usage patterns, and product lead times. The automation enables tank owners and distributors to reliably manage more locations with fewer resources.
- See the SkyBitz SmartTank system in action and discover how this leading-edge technology is transforming tank distribution networks across the globe.
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