The ability to evolve and change can strengthen a business and contribute to long-term success. Within the truckstop and travel plaza industry, shifts in consumer behavior coupled with increasing competition are driving the need for operators to explore and adopt new service offerings in order to stay competitive.
“You have to clarify how the future is going to be different than the past and how your team can make the future a reality,” said Darren Schulte, vice president of membership at NATSO.
Recently, Dollar General added fuel, Purple has started offering home delivery of fuel in certain areas and big box retailers are offering grab-and-go food.
“We need to get into other people’s business because they are getting into ours all of the time,” Schulte said. “We are truckstops, but we have to be thinking of how we get to other pieces of the business,” Schulte said. “We have to use what we have and the weapon we have is fuel. We have to figure out ways to maximize that.”
Don Quinn, president of Sapp Bros., said change has always been necessary for success. “We have understood the opportunity that comes with change,” he said...