Data Flow as Infrastructure: A New Blueprint for Terminal Efficiency
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Introduction - an outdated system
In the fuel distribution industry, data is no longer just a backend concern—it’s the infrastructure that powers every transaction, partnership, and strategic decision. For terminal owners, the ability to manage and share data efficiently is becoming a competitive advantage. Yet, many still rely on outdated systems that create friction, delay onboarding, and ultimately cost them business.
Let’s look at a common scenario.
When Data Doesn’t Flow: The ACME Example
ACME, a large terminal owner, stores and delivers fuel for over 20 different suppliers. A new supplier, AnywhereFuels, approaches ACME, eager to begin operations at their terminals. But there’s a catch: ACME will first need to import and setup AnywhereFuels’ master data, which includes customers, accounts, etc.
Typically, this can be a very manual and time-consuming process, importing spreadsheets, creating translation scripts, then making sure that ACME can send AnywhereFuels the transaction and inventory data back to their ERP.
This seems straight forward, right? ACME simply needs to “translate” the supplier’s unique data, like product codes for example to ACME’s standard product codes. And, they will need to “re-translate” these codes and other unique data back into AnywhereFuel’s standards for their ERP. But it doesn’t stop there. Carriers and customers also need access to this transaction data. Of course, they also use different product codes, so ACME now needs to maintain multiple conversion scripts and integrations.
In this model, errors are bound to happen. When billing their customer, a supplier may discover an issue, and when they do, they need to have the terminal owner do a reconciliation to correct the issue. This takes time and wastes resources, creating a system that is slow, unstable and prone to failure. By the time ACME is finally ready to start onboarding AnywhereFuels, they’ve already lost patience and lost potential revenue.
Eventually, Anywhere Fuels finds another terminal. ACME lost this valuable opportunity to store fuel and process loads, and if you multiply this scenario across dozens of suppliers and carriers, the cost of poor data flow becomes staggering.
This isn’t just ACME’s problem. It’s an industry-wide challenge.
When Data Doesn’t Flow: The ACME Example
For decades, the fuel industry has relied on rigid data standards. These legacy models were designed for a simpler time—when suppliers owned their terminals and controlled the entire supply chain. In that environment, proprietary data formats worked fine.
But today’s reality is different. Suppliers are divesting terminal assets. Terminal owners now manage shared inventories, coordinate with multiple carriers, and serve both branded and non-branded retail locations.
For terminal owners, these standards cannot keep up with the evolving needs of the industry.
Worse, this siloed approach to data limits valuable insights that could otherwise be available, if they were accessible. Modern systems can capture rich data—transaction details, inventory movements, carrier performance—but legacy models restrict what’s recorded. Valuable data is ignored, and opportunities for optimization are lost.
A New Model: Lessons from Healthcare and Finance
Other industries have faced similar challenges and evolved. Healthcare providers, for example, share patient data across insurers, labs, specialists, and home care providers. They use secure, selective access to maintain privacy while enabling efficiency.
Financial institutions do the same. When a customer makes a purchase, data flows across banks, merchants, and processors. The system is resilient, adaptive, and secure.
These industries treat data as a shared asset—accessible based on roles and permissions. The fuel industry can do the same.
The Open Data Flow Model
Imagine a fuel distribution ecosystem where data flows freely—but securely—between suppliers, terminals, carriers, and retailers/wholesalers. Instead of building custom integrations for every partner, terminal owners could tap into shared data streams using APIs and web services.
This model could transform data from a bottleneck into a business enabler. Here’s how it could work:
- Selective Access: Entities access only the data they need, based on security privileges.
- Real-Time Collaboration: Data is updated and shared instantly, reducing delays.
- Reduced Errors: Manual re-entry of data (like BOLs) is eliminated.
- Scalability: Onboarding new suppliers or carriers becomes faster and easier.
Why Terminal Owners Should Care
Terminal owners are no longer just storage providers—they’re brokers, marketers, and logistics coordinators. They manage fuel allocations for multiple suppliers, negotiate exchanges, and coordinate deliveries to a wide range of retail locations.
In this role, data is critical. Without efficient data flow:
- Onboarding takes weeks instead of days.
- Inventory management becomes reactive instead of proactive.
- Carrier coordination suffers, leading to missed deliveries and customer dissatisfaction.
- The fuel supplier’s customer has limited access to data that could improve their business.
- Business insights are limited, making it harder to optimize operations or forecast demand.
- By adopting an open data flow model, terminal owners can:
- Increase Revenue: Faster onboarding means more suppliers and more throughput.
- Improve Efficiency: Automation reduces manual work and errors.
- Enhance Visibility: Real-time data enables better decision-making.
- Strengthen Partnerships: Suppliers and carriers prefer working with terminals that make data easy to access and use.
This model also creates a more resilient and responsive system, where each entity can resolve reconciliation or data issues in real-time.
Technology Enablers
While there is no total solution to this industry problem today, elements of an open data flow model already exist:
- APIs: Allow systems to communicate securely and in real time.
- Web Services: Enable data sharing across platforms and organizations.
- Cloud Platforms: Provide scalable infrastructure for data storage and access.
- Data Governance Tools: Ensure compliance, security, and role-based access.
Toptech Systems is using these technologies today to create a cohesive ecosystem—designed specifically for the fuel industry.
Looking Ahead: What’s Next
In Part 2 of this series, we’ll explore:
- How terminals can begin to implement an open data flow model.
- The potential financial benefits.
- Best practices for transitioning from legacy systems.
- How Toptech’s ecosystem is transforming the terminals they support.
Summary
The fuel distribution industry is evolving—and terminal owners are at the center of this transformation. Legacy data models are holding back growth, efficiency, and profitability.
Toptech Systems has a vision for an open data flow model that has the potential to help terminal owners unlock new opportunities, streamline operations, and become preferred partners in the supply chain.
For more information on Toptech Systems’ ecosystem of solutions, check out our webpage. Contact us, if you’d like to discuss the options available to terminal owners.
Let’s build the future of fuel distribution—together.
Toptech Systems is a proud member of the global IDEX family which is recognized as the premier provider of Fluid and Metering Technologies, Health and Science Technologies, Fire and Safety Products, and Dispensing Equipment.
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