Browse SG’s Complete Article Library
Margins Up, Backlog Down: The Dual Story of 2025 General Contractors
2025 was a strong year for general contractors in a Study Group, with meaningful improvements across virtually every profitability metric. Here is a look at how these firms performed as a group, where they excelled,...
2025 Petroleum Verticals: Who Won, Who Slipped, and Why It Matters
The 2025 Study Groups petroleum marketing financial results are in the books. Below we look at how four distinct business models performed against one another and the national average. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) tells...
How Digital Experience Is Redefining Branded Dealer Relationships
In today’s competitive fuel distribution market, branded dealers expect more than reliable supply and competitive pricing; they expect frictionless access to information. For suppliers, that shift is significant. The companies that make it easiest for...
Setting Your New Credit Manager Up for Success
Hiring or promoting an internal candidate into the credit manager role is a critical step in strengthening your company’s financial health. To ensure they thrive in their role, it’s essential to establish clear, concise processes...
From AI Assistant to Agentic Commerce: What Convenience Retailers Need to Know
By Shyam Rao, Founder and CEO, Tote.ai If you read my last article in this newsletter, you walked away with a framework for evaluating AI claims in convenience retail. Five questions to ask vendors. Ways...
When Fuel Markets Move at War Speed
The call comes before most traders have finished their first coffee. Overnight, a drone strike on an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf hits the news. By the time U.S. futures markets open, Brent crude...
Enable Your Team to Perform Even When They’re Slammed: 5 Strategies to Stay Consistent Under Pressure
By David J. McClaskey, President, and Billy Schaefer, Vice-President If you lead a convenience store or manage fuel delivery operations, you know the feeling. Your best team member just called out sick, a delivery is...
The Store Is the Message
By John McCauley, Partner and Director of Brand Design, Paragon Solutions Two independent data sets landed on the same day recently, and together they tell a story that every convenience retailer should be paying attention...
Across the Board, Here’s What SG Members Are Talking About
After every Study Groups meeting, participants are asked to reflect on where they found the most value during the two or more days spent together. Across groups of 8–15 industry peers, the feedback has been...
The 15% Solution: How Writing Processes to 100% Transforms Revenue and Operations
You walk into a convenience store at 7:00 AM, needing coffee before a critical meeting. The team member is stocking shelves, doesn’t look up, and offers no greeting. You wait. And wait. Now imagine the...
Why AI at the Point-of-Sale Matters for Fuel and Convenience Retail
By Shyam Rao, Founder and CEO, Tote.ai If you’ve been in fuel and convenience retail long enough, you know the technology powering most stores hasn’t fundamentally changed in decades. Point-of-sale (POS) systems still operate largely...
Spotting Trouble Early: Managing a Declining Customer Account
When a reliable customer’s payment habits begin to slip, it is a signal you can’t afford to ignore. A variety of factors — new ownership, management changes, divorce, loss of a key customer or broader...