Merridale fuel management is now widely recognised as the benchmark for product quality and excellent after sales support. A proud boast, which has remained a driving force for the company’s management.
As well as repeat orders and upgrades from existing customers, Merridale’s reputation for longevity and high build standards, has resulted in many positive referrals to new customers. For further customer stories see www.fuelmanagement.co.uk
“Product development is underwritten by our business strength,” explains sales director, Stephen Hannan.
“This has been shown by the success of the Merridale FuelWorks web reporting system, which has been a customer-led development, designed to provide the most convenient way to manage fuel usage, fuel stocks and vehicle performance.
“For multi-depot fleets, FuelWorks enables all the fuelling points to be managed from a single platform that is continuously updated. Staff can be utilised more efficiently, since maintenance and responsibility for the delivery of management reports has now shifted to the web service provider.
“As with any new technology, there will be openings for new competitors to enter the market. Despite this, Merridale has successfully improved its position with the development of FuelWorks, whilst continuing to support its existing FuelFX software, enabling the company to offer both web-based as well as a ‘client based’ option.
“An important incentive for suppliers is that web based services are subscription based, which encourages continuity and customer loyalty. Merridale’s reputation for high quality dispenser pumps, fuel monitoring and wet-stock management components has also further strengthened its position.
“Clearly the credibility of the customer service depends on the quality and reliability of the dispensing systems,” says Stephen Hannan.
“It is these qualities which have enabled the business to continue to grow its customer base. Turnover for 2016 has exceeded ￡2Million and this is significantly up on the previous year. Most importantly, the company is achieving increased profitability by securing sustainable margins.”
Additional staff have been recruited to strengthen customer support. Merridale has also implemented formal systems to ensure compliance with the latest industry standards. This applies also to the qualifications required for work on customer premises such as the ‘Safe Contractor’ accreditation.
Merridale’s claim to be an industry leader is underwritten by on-going product development. Carbon footprint analysis has been a standard feature for over a decade.
Merridale still leads in tank management systems, enabling online status reports and additional security, such as sudden drop alerts. The company also leads with the integration of data from third party servers to increase the automation of data acquisition for the vehicle mileage reading.
“There will be more to report during 2017 and we expect to be making headlines with some exciting product developments at the forthcoming Commercial Vehicle Show in April.”
