Give the customer a reason to visit your energy station

Each week brings a fresh perspective on where our industry is heading. The predictions are endless, from the game-changing potential of solid-state batteries to the emergence of new fuels that could replace petrol and the role of HVO as a temporary fix. But when we speak with retailers, the message is consistent: ”We need to figure out how to serve everyone.”

Last-mile delivery is now moving to alternative fuels, trucks are going electric, and your standard everyday EV customer is calculating their kilometres to understand where they can go without running out of juice.

So, they are looking for a reason to visit you – let’s give them one.

Dedicated EV charging spaces paired with frictionless payments

Access to home charging or installing a personal charger is a luxury not available to everyone. Moreover, purchasing a brand-new car remains out of reach for many. Fast charging will be essential, and the few chargers available in supermarket parking lots won’t be enough.

At Cloudics, we believe that the future of energy stations lies in providing dedicated areas equipped with high-speed chargers, comfortable convenience zones, and additional parking spaces, all thoughtfully positioned alongside traditional refuelling stations to meet diverse customer needs and encourage engagement with other profit areas.

Link services to create profit-generating opportunities

On its own, EV charging often results in losses. However, when you link it with a range of other services, you create profit opportunities. You might think you’ve already experimented with this by offering food and beverages, only to find drivers in their cars, glued to Netflix.

The problem isn’t the idea—it’s the execution.

When using a third-party charger managed by an external CPO app, it probably wasn’t fully integrated into your business. Chargers could be located inconveniently far from your store, or the overall customer journey might not provide enough reasons for them to engage with your additional value-added services.

Dedicated spaces require dedicated payment options

To deliver a nearly perfect experience, retailers must provide multiple payment methods aligning with various customer journeys and preferences.

The challenge? Each customer has a unique journey. The key to driving profitability is connecting services on a single platform, enabling control over the customer experience. This is why a connected retail infrastructure is essential—one that offers flexible payment options and allows customers to switch seamlessly between them.

Meeting the needs of modern customer journeys

Picture a customer approaching an EV charging hub or highway energy station. Maybe they’re seeking a drive-in experience, complete with an app-ordered meal. Or perhaps they’re just looking for a quick charge and need an easy credit card payment via the eOPT.

For those in a hurry, the option to skip the line at a self-service checkout or grab a quick coffee, whether through a subscription or as a loyalty reward, can make all the difference.

The focus isn’t on technology but on meeting the needs of every customer journey with the highest level of service. At its core, these are just the tools that enable us to gain deep insights into customer preferences and behaviours.

The question is how to ensure operations are open and adaptive enough to serve everyone effectively?

Cloudics – Opening up the future

The Cloudics platform is designed with the entire retail experience in mind, covering everything from multi-fuel energy stations to shopping, unlocking a world of possibilities.

Today, you can integrate a wide range of services, transforming your energy station into a convenient hub for your community.

These services include everything from mobile-based trailer rentals and smart locker gas-bottle exchanges to food ordering and subscriptions.

With Cloudics, you can deliver frictionless shopping, convert non-IoT devices into mobile-enabled assets, automate on-site accommodation for long-distance drivers, and much more.

Here’s why you should be concerned about QR codes

QR codes are fiddly, need the right light, and can be damaged easily. QR payments on pumps or chargers seem like a good thing until someone gets bored while fuelling or charging and thinks it is funny to peel them off.

Transforming Fuel Stations into Energy Hubs with Cloudics

While big energy retailers can afford to trial and error new innovations and shifts to business operations, small and medium retailers struggle to make ends meet with changing fuel margin dynamics in an ever-changing world. Cloudics aims to resolve those challenges without investing in new on-site technology.

The Cloudics platform enables retailers to turn out-of-date fuel stations into holistic energy hubs at a pace of their choosing.

By integrating operations across self-service convenience, EV charging, fuelling, and car wash services into a central cloud-based platform, retailers can select how they wish to adapt their business to changing demands.

Thanks to Cloudics, we can convert legacy equipment into cloud-driven IoT devices. This means your customer reach and upsell options grow exponentially, but it also prolongs the lifespan of legacy equipment.

At Uniti Expo 2024 in Hall 5, Booth D61, we are excited to demonstrate how our software and hardware solutions contribute to a connected energy station ecosystem.

Central to energy stations, convenience retail demands reliable 24/7 operations

A lot has been said about frictionless technologies for hopping, and whilst retailers are looking at ways to simplify this business and relieve staffing issues, we are all aware of the news around just-walkout technologies and their failures.

Cloudics shopping is going back to the root of the problem to help enable unmanned operations or 24/7 operations during off-peak hours.

Our frictionless entry/exit solution is already in use today, but rather than using the expense and unproven AI technologies to track sales, we leverage self-checkout or mobile scan and pay.

In addition, with our new radar-based security, we can track customer behaviour in-store and warn retailers to check camera systems for spurious behaviour.

World-first established Cloud FCC

Our innovative cloud-based forecourt controller already empowers fuel retailers to effortlessly connect station equipment and devices to the cloud.

It has been in use for over five years and is still going strong. With the constant addition of new dispensers, our solution is ready to go for markets worldwide, and we are now entering new markets in Asia.

With Cloudics FCC, all the forecourt equipment (dispensers, wetstock, price displays, car wash—all become IoT devices) can be managed from the cloud, enabling instant access to control and manage all your station devices remotely without being on-site.

Cloud-based Forecourt Controller reduces operational costs by a huge margin, centralising control and management of the forecourt in a way that cannot be achieved with a physical device. It also simplifies fuel bunkering, keeping a real-time view of B2B tanks and containers at non-public locations.

Charging into the future

In response to the growing demand for electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, we proudly present our newly developed eOPT specifically for EV charging.

It has been integrated with our all-in-one mobile payment app and a versatile Charging Station Management System (CSMS) supporting over 30 charger manufacturers.

Cloudics platform for EV charging is a low-cost way to quickly fulfil payment regulations for the EU and bring additional services to the OPT, such as car washes, parking, vacuum cleaners, vending machines and more.

Read more about Cloudics for EV charging here.

All-in-one mobile app

Whilst many retailers have invested in an app over the past decade, it is now becoming increasingly clear that just like a POS solution, customer apps require investment and planning.

The Cloudics app consolidates all aspects of the energy retail experience, from EV charging and frictionless entry to fueling, subscription-based services, shopping, food, engaging gamification features, and so much more.

Come talk to us about how you can use the app to surprise and delight your customers, driving increased revenue and converting fuel-only customers to loyal shoppers.

About Cloudics

Cloudics stands at the forefront, driving innovation as the energy landscape shifts. Our focus is ensuring retailers are ready for the next generation of fuel and convenience retail, no matter which direction the industry goes.

At Uniti Expo 2024, we will be unveiling current and latest innovations, with the goal of transforming fuel stations into comprehensive energy hubs, without the huge expense of equipment upgrades.

Global reach and borderless possibilities

Our journey spans over 26 years, during which we have achieved significant milestones, including deploying our platform and solutions across multiple regions such as Canada, the Baltics, the EU, and Georgia.

With over 550 stations operating on our platform and more than 200,000 users worldwide, our global footprint is a testament to our expertise and the trust placed in us by our partners.

We invite you to experience the future of fuel retail firsthand at Uniti Expo 2024, Hall 5, Booth D61.

Let’s embark on this journey towards a more efficient, sustainable, and consumer-friendly energy landscape.

Cloudics team is on the road to NACS 2023

In around two weeks, the Cloudics team is on the road again, and this time it’s big one. NACS 2023 in Atlanta offers to be the biggest convenience retail focused event in the world, and Cloudics will be there on stand.

Authentic experience in fuel retail: it all starts with one word

Much has been said about late Millennials and Gen Z, but the retail world has coined a phrase for what these young adults want; an authentic experience. But what does that mean for fuel retailers?

Seamless synergy: Cloudics integration with Eco Movement

Cloudics management and payment platform for EV charging and energy stations has been successfully integrated with the Eco Movement data platform for a more convenient charging experience.

Cloudics white-label platform Rezzo in partnership with RL Energies, launches in the Canadian EV market

May 2023 marks a milestone for Cloudics & Rezzo collaboration. Phase 1 deployment of the RL Energies charging network in Quebec, Canada, has been completed. A 12-month journey of hard work has paid off, and 20 EV chargers across RL Energies and Belzile energy stations have been set up, with 10 of them being ultra-fast (160kW) and other 10 fast 50kW charging points.

Cloudics is attending ReFuelForum Europe 2023

ReFuelEurope by OpenRoom is a high-energy networking and industry collaboration event.

It is a gathering consisting of pre-arranged one-on-ones, informal networking and lively debates led by key figures in the industry. The event aims to give a 360-degree overview of what’s needed to take your business forward in the fuel industry.

We are happy to announce that Cloudics International Sales Director, Gary Szendielarz, will represent our company and provide unique insights into our cloud-based platform.

Here are some thought-provoking ideas you hadn’t probably considered when evaluating Cloudics as a business platform.

Cloudics at EuroShop 2023 – Get Ready for the Future of Frictionless Shopping! 

Are you ready for the future of shopping? Join us at EuroShop 2023, where we will be introducing our revolutionary shopping technologies.

Come and experience the ultimate frictionless shopping, see how we turn any store into an unmanned hub, how Cloudics’ pre-ordering feature works and how you can offer subscription-based services.

Visit our booth at Hall 5/D48 and learn more about how you can get started with Cloudics.