LP Gas, May 2015

months of 2014 Availability volumes and price were all unknowns at that time When your job as a propane retailer is to supply propane to customers those three unknowns made it very challenging at times Weingart says But Salem Propane was able to keep all of its customers with enough propane to get through the shortage of 2014 The same challenges The winter of 2014 15 created similar challenges for retailers in certain regions According to Mathesons Bertelsen Midwest and Northeast retailers encountered some of the same issues they faced the winter before Extremely cold temperatures put the Northeast in turmoil he says and a Canadian rail strike hampered service along the East Coast Put these together and Bertelsen says retailers would have been wise to plan ahead You better have a very solid supply plan in place that has contingency options A B C and even an option D for different pickup points he says in a late February interview Were going into what Ive been told are ratable allocations for the month of March I have never heard of that in my 35 years Thats going to squeeze the market As March allocations went into effect Bertelsen expected those who appropriately planned with suppliers to fare best The folks who do not plan and do not build allocation are sending their units and trucks to other points he says And those points are often a state or more away So those March developments served to Bertelsen as yet another example of why a good supplier relationship is essential Transparency with suppliers has particularly helped Matheson these last few years he adds Weve gone to tank monitoring at our storage facilities Bertelsen says Then we open that dashboard up to our supplier They have access to see what is in our supply at any time That has been extremely helpful Propane Concepts Koloroutis who offers supply related advice to retailers says one factor above all is most meaningful to suppliers contract performance Suppliers want retailers as customers who continuously deliver If youre a marketer who buys from a supplier then you need to perform especially in the months when that supplier really needs you to in the allocation earning period Koloroutis says You will establish a great relationship with that supplier and they will value you greatly When you value them in tough times you can believe youre going to get preferential treatment he adds Your call is going to be the first one answered and they are going to reciprocate what you do for them Thats a really critical piece in the relationship Retailers who dont have strong connections with suppliers can always rely on brokers Koloroutis says A broker in a lot of cases can become the supply management team for a small retailer he says Look at Ferrellgas they have Ferrell North America their own supply group that manages their supply If youre a momand pop retailer with one to five locations you cant hire a big supply team So using a broker can sometimes fill that gap LPG We expect suppliers to invest millions of dollars to take care of us but then there are customers who leave them for a cent Lynn Sheets Key Cooperative Retailers who value their suppliers most will have their phone calls answered ISTOCK COM ACILO WINTER OF 2014 15 THE CHALLENGES THE SOLUTIONS Supply planning resource Looking for helpful information on propane supply planning The National Propane Gas Association published a 16 page report last year with recommendations for marketers and state associations Visit www npga org NPGASupplyRecommendations School is in session Lets work together to educate your local district on the benefits of propane autogas www LPGasmagazine com May 2015 LPGas 35