Tank monitoring has traditionally focused on helping distributors improve delivery planning and stock management. Increasingly, however, suppliers are looking at customer-facing apps as a way to strengthen communication, improve retention and simplify the customer experience.
Following a major redesign of its FoxMobile platform alongside the launch of its fourth-generation hardware, Fuel Oil News spoke to FoxInsights’ Senior Product Manager, Gorana Bralo, about how customer expectations are changing and what distributors are now looking for from digital technology
Tank monitoring has traditionally focused on helping distributors improve delivery planning and stock management. Increasingly, however, suppliers are looking at customer-facing apps as a way to strengthen communication, improve retention and simplify the customer experience.
Following a major redesign of its FoxMobile platform alongside the launch of its fourth-generation hardware, Fuel Oil News spoke to FoxInsights’ Senior Product Manager, Gorana Bralo, about how customer expectations are changing and what distributors are now looking for from digital technology.
FoxInsights has launched both new hardware and a redesigned customer app. What prompted the changes?
The new fourth-generation hardware has been designed to optimise both installation and data and introduces practical improvements for both distributors and installers.
An integrated E-Ink display directly on the sensor allows installers or customers to see the current tank level and device status immediately without logging into the app. This enables technicians to verify the first measurement right at the tank and customers can check their level at a glance.
It also includes a built-in tilt sensor that works with the installation process. Rather than relying on indicator lights, installers receive live feedback through the app display with the tilt sensor live view integrated into the setup flow to help position the sensor correctly during installation.
The new hardware required a new installation flow in the app. While updating this, it made sense to deliver a full app redesign especially as we’d already identified areas where the user experience could be improved.
Most customers aren’t used to interacting with monitoring software so we wanted the core information – fill level, consumption history, trends – to be immediately readable. The update also introduces dark mode and a number of smaller interface improvements.
Tank monitoring has traditionally been about helping distributors plan deliveries. Is its role beginning to change?
We have certainly seen changes.
When FoxInsights first entered the market, the primary objective of the monitor was to give distributors better visibility of customers’ tank levels to support delivery planning and improve operational efficiency. Today that remains important, but distributors are increasingly looking at how digital tools can help strengthen customer relationships as well.
Over time we realised the app, that enabled customers to see their data, was an underutilised asset. The customer has it installed. They open it. They trust it. That gives distributors a new opportunity to communicate proactively and offer additional services.
Many customers now expect to be able to check their tank level whenever they choose, rather than waiting until they’re close to empty or making a phone call. That changes the role of the app from simply displaying information to becoming part of the overall customer experience.
Technology is changing to reflect the ability of digital tools to support customer retention, improve communication and encourage repeat business.
Many distributors already communicate with customers by email or text. Why does an app offer something different?
Customers generally open a tank monitoring app because they want to check something that’s immediately relevant to them – their fuel level. It’s a direct touchpoint between distributor and customer. That presents an opportunity to deliver communications where customers are already engaged, rather than competing with many other emails or messages.
Because distributors can brand the app with their own identity, it also helps reinforce the relationship between supplier and customer. FoxInsights provides the underlying technology, but the end user sees the supplier’s logo, colours and contact details so that the brand, and customer relationship remain the distributor’s.
Are you able to share any quantifiable benefits?
While the new devices are only just shipping and the first installs are taking place, our current insights are from our existing partners.
Our data analysis shows that, for one of our UK partners, more than 80% of end customers opened the app at least once a month during the heating season, and over 57% did so every week. It’s a level of regular contact that most distributors will not have had previously.
The contact pays off in loyalty: partners who actively use these touchpoints are reporting high levels of customer retention and reduced churn.
While the figures vary between distributors, we consistently see higher engagement among customers who actively use the app than through more traditional communication channels.
The platform also includes engaging communication tools. How are distributors using these?
There are two main approaches.
The first allows distributors to send straightforward push notifications, such as quick announcements, seasonal reminders or important service updates. These can be sent to all customers or selected groups.
The second enables more targeted campaigns through the app. These use customer data, allowing messages to be tailored according to factors such as tank level or previous purchasing behaviour. Formatted content, images and interactive buttons can all be used to engage targeted recipients with specific offers or messages and monitor responses.
The intention is to help distributors communicate with customers proactively, rather than relying solely on reactive ordering.
Many independent distributors are carefully assessing investment in new technology. What would you say to businesses that remain cautious?
The caution is understandable. Any investment has to demonstrate a clear return.
“Tank monitoring” can sound abstract. The starting point is to focus on the operational challenges you’re trying to solve rather than the technology itself. For many distributors, that’s improving delivery planning by knowing when customers are likely to need fuel before they call you. That changes how you plan routes, how you use your trucks, and how many kilometres your drivers cover.
Our experience is that having reliable tank-level data allows distributors to plan more efficiently. Partners tell us they’ve been able to significantly reduce unplanned or unnecessary deliveries, improve route planning and make better use of vehicles and driver time, reducing fuel costs, driver hours and vehicle wear.
Implementation has also become much simpler than it was a few years ago. Installation is straightforward and the platform is designed for day-to-day operational teams rather than specialist IT staff. For many businesses, the biggest challenge isn’t the technology itself but adapting existing processes to make the most of the information available.
The distributors who’ve been most hesitant have often told us the same thing after going live: the transition was faster than expected, with the value visible within the first delivery cycles.
What have you learnt from working with distributors that you didn’t expect?
One of the biggest lessons has been just how important installation is. When distributors told us their biggest frustration was with inconsistent data they couldn’t explain, in most cases it could be traced back to faulty installations.
That taught us something important: the installation underpins everything that follows. If a device is installed correctly, calibrated properly, positioned well, with the app set up and the end customer onboarded, the data is reliable and everything downstream of that works.
That influenced many of the changes we’ve made in the latest generation and the app update. The integrated display, the tilt sensor guidance, and updated installation process. All of it is about making sure the installation is correct first time because a well-installed device has a low total cost of ownership and delivers value from day one.
We’ve also learnt that many distributors initially focus on the operational benefits, such as delivery planning, before recognising the wider opportunities around customer communication. Once the app becomes part of the customer relationship, businesses often begin looking at new ways of using it alongside their existing marketing and customer service activities.
One of the biggest surprises has been that the technology itself isn’t usually the biggest challenge – it’s helping businesses adapt their existing processes to make the most of the information they’re now receiving.
To us it was a simple “plug and play” – install the devices and start using the data in your processes. But using a digital channel effectively alongside traditional campaigns is a skill that takes time to develop. The technology isn’t the barrier; it’s the shift it creates in internal processes and people can be slow or hesitant to adapt.
As a result, we work closely with our partners through this transition stage. Once fully adopted, it becomes integral to the daily business.
How important is it that installers and office staff understand the technology as well as customers?
It is important, but there’s a difference between understanding technology and feeling you need to become a software specialist. The aim should always be to make technology simple enough that it helps people do their jobs more effectively, without needing to understand everything that underpins that.
For installers, that means clear instructions that help them get the installation right first time. They don’t need to understand the technical principles behind sensor positioning; they simply need feedback that confirms the device is set up correctly. That’s why the integrated display, tilt sensor and updated installation flow in the app have all been designed to achieve this.
The same applies in the office. Dispatchers shouldn’t have to interpret raw sensor data to decide which customers need a delivery, and sales teams shouldn’t have to run analysis to identify customers who may benefit from a conversation.
The technology should present the right information in a way that’s easy to act on – whether that is for logistics, sales, or customer communication.
Looking ahead, how do you see customer-facing technology evolving?
The new hardware addresses today’s requirements, but we see it as one step in a much broader, and ongoing evolution. It will continue to evolve as new opportunities emerge.
On the software and platform side, we see this redesign as a foundation rather than a finished product.
As more distributors make use of telemetry and customer data, the focus will increasingly shift from simply monitoring tank levels to using all the available data to support better operational decisions and stronger customer relationships.
We’ll see greater automation, smarter route planning and more personalised customer communications, with routine tasks and decisions increasingly data-driven. This isn’t to replace people, but to give teams better information so they can spend more time adding value.
Ultimately, successful distributors will be those who combine good technology with good customer service. Telemetry can tell you when a customer is likely to need fuel, but it’s how distributors use that information to improve service and build trust that will make the real difference.
Image credit: iStock
