In September 2022, I was able to attend the Gasworld CO2 Summit in Chicago to learn about some of the challenges faced by distributors: from CO2 shortages, the need to find alternative sources, ongoing driver shortages, rising product and delivery costs, to new applications of CO2.
I’d like to talk about 6 TIMS® Software features our people developed for distributors to help address some of these challenges. These software capabilities are designed to unify, automate, and streamline your bulk gas business. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
#1 – Instead of managing bulk tanks and activities in multiple systems or spreadsheets, we developed an application called TIMS Bulk Gas Manager to manage tank information, forecasting options, usage rates, historical delivery and fill transactions, and the ability to create orders.
TIMS Bulk Gas Manager helps your operations team identify which tanks to fill and how much to fill based upon a forecasted resupply date. Once you’ve reviewed the tanks to refill, TIMS makes it easy to create resupply orders. Just one click and you’re done. No more guessing which tanks to fill or how much to fill.
Click here to read more about our Bulk Gas Manager application >>
#2 – To increase the accuracy of tank forecasting, we integrated data streams from a variety of telemetry providers. These devices send tank readings to each bulk tank record maintained in TIMS to increase forecasting accuracy.
Learn more about our telemetry partners >>
#3 – Ok, so you’ve identified which tanks to fill and created the resupply orders. Now it’s time to route and optimize each bulk truck. For that function, we developed a powerful routing application called TIMS Scheduler that’s used to route and optimize deliveries. For advanced logistical needs, we offer an integration with the Omnitracs Roadnet Anywhere solution.
#4 – Did you know you can use a smartphone to make bulk gas deliveries? TIMS Delivery is the most advanced delivery application on the market today. TIMS Scheduler automatically syncs orders with each registered device to provide real-time updates on truck location and delivery status. TIMS Scheduler also enables your dispatchers to make changes to routes or dispatch new orders while drivers are out on the road.
For drivers, TIMS Delivery provides directions and delivery instructions and makes recording the product delivered simple and straightforward. It also captures important information such as miles driven and service time for each delivery which can be used to help justify higher delivery fees or service charges with the customer.
TIMS Delivery calculates the complete order totals including gas price, taxes, fees, and delivery charges so that a complete invoice can be automatically emailed to the customer.
Learn more about TIMS Delivery and our other mobile applications >>
#5 – TIMS auto selection is a great way to eliminate manual labor costs by utilizing automated invoicing and e-payments. Your delivery drivers can also process the entire transaction with a credit card at the point of delivery to streamline the invoicing and collection process even more.
And last, but not least, #6 – TIMS captures a wealth of data about tanks and delivery transactions. This data is then transformed into meaningful business intelligence to help you find the answers to a myriad of business questions. For example, are you filling tanks too soon? Delivering too frequently? Experiencing runouts? Needing to swap tank sizes based upon fill activity? Or, maybe you need to measure drive time, service time, miles driven, or deliveries by truck to identify logistical inefficiencies. You’ll discover that TIMS provides a wealth of data to help you analyze your bulk operations to answer these questions and more.
Well, there you have it… 6 TIMS features designed to unify, streamline, and automate your bulk gas business. As you can see, it’s a complete solution, and 100% TIMS Software.
BONUS FEATURE – In addition to software, our US-based team of bulk gas experts is ready to support you every step of the way. Though 24/7 phone and email support, video conference calls and in-person site visits, our people will make sure you get the most out of these applications.
Be sure to look for our Sales team at an upcoming tradeshow or conference. We'll be happy to show you TIMS Software in action and everything it can do to give you a competitive advantage in the industry.
Last updated: October 3, 2022