Last month in Hollywood, California, the Gravitate team attended the invitation-only SIGMA Annual Conference 2022, an event that stands out in the fuel industry for its exclusivity and high-quality networking and educational opportunities. Each year at SIGMA, top-level decision-makers in the fuel marketing space come together with fuel buyers, transportation companies, vendors, and business partners to learn, discuss trends, share ideas, and build relationships.

During our time at SIGMA, here are the main takeaways that stood out as important in understanding the current state of the fuel marketing industry.

1. Volatility is the new normal.

For a while, we’ve been talking about severe shortages of truck drivers and workers in general. Throughout 2022, this trend continued. Additionally, world events, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, have accelerated market volatility and supply chain constraints.

What this means for customers is that the right software has even more value and is more critical than ever—it can help fuel companies take advantage of these market dynamics and identify ways to become even more efficient and profitable.

2. Customers are open to new software.

As a result of inherent challenges associated with labor shortages, we found that fuel companies are eager to share their business challenges and learn how industry partners can help them solve their problems and discover opportunities for optimization. Many companies have specific new functionalities in mind that they are looking for from software vendors.

For example, price volatility has led wholesale refined products companies to focus on real-time sales. On the buying side, companies understand that they need to be more dynamic in their buying processes to take advantage of volatility.

3. Software vendors are open to working with each other.

For software vendors, the previously prevailing sentiment that we’re always in competition with each other for customers is fading away. Instead, software vendors are now working together to support each other and mutually enhance our offerings to better serve customers and increase our value to the industry. In fact, about one-quarter of the meetings our team attended at SIGMA involved other software vendors. Potential partners include pricing services, ERP systems, and data security providers.

4. Educational opportunities were incredibly high quality.

As evidenced by the high attendance levels at seminars, SIGMA shines in offering interesting, informative, and engaging educational content.

As an example of the strong quality of the seminars, Gravitate co-founder Mike Scharf presented at a SIGMA learning session alongside Paulette Hosick of Huck’s Convenience Stores about how to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to create a dynamic and modern supply and logistics organization and thrive despite market volatility. The presentation emphasized all the new available technologies—from AI to open-source tools—and how the market has created a need for using technology in a different way to automate, make better supply decisions, and address business challenges.

5. Everyone is optimistic about the future.

Compared to the start of the year and the spring SIGMA conference when there was a lot of market uncertainty and concerns about world events, the mood at the latest SIGMA conference was decidedly more optimistic. As a result of market volatility and supply constraints, many SIGMA attendees actually had a pretty good year.

6. But it’s not always sunny in Southern California.

Despite everything the Beach Boys told us, it does rain in Southern California. Like it did the entire time we were at SIGMA. So much for beaches, warmth, and sunshine—it was wet and in the mid-50s for the duration of our trip.

All was not lost, though. We still got to see the Hollywood sights and enjoy a meal at the legendary Frank & Musso’s.

Did you attend SIGMA this year? Share your experience with us here.