Archive for the ‘G.Sokolis Posts’ Category
By Joan Gottlieb - April 19th, 2010
No matter if you are an individual preparing your annual income tax returns or employers filing their quarterly returns, taxes are a requirement and can be complex and difficult.
This difficult task may require some to hire a professional to ensure the job gets done correctly and accurately.
Sokolis Group are not tax professionals. Nonetheless, the fuel audit process preformed by Sokolis Group for our clients has resulted in a vendor refund in the amount of $3,940 due to improperly billed county taxes.
Sokolis Group is a team of professionals dedicated to ensure our clients are receiving the best possible fuel price in today’s market.
Sokolis Group offers fuel consulting, vendor management, accurate analysis of your current fuel suppliers invoices and will put in place fuel vendors who are the best fit for your fleet management organization.
Do you have an in-house team of dedicated individuals overseeing your fuel purchases ensuring the best possible price?
Sokolis Group can help you achieve fuel savings, call one of our fleet fuel specialists today at 267-482-6155 or www.sokolisgroup.com.
Tags: diesel fuel, fleet fuel, fleet fueling, free fuel audit, fuel consulting, Fuel Management, Sokoils Group
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By Glen Sokolis - April 9th, 2010
In fleet fueling there are many ways your employees can steal fuel from you. Most companies truly believe, it can’t happen to me. There theory is we have someone that spot checks that information sometimes. Our drivers make good money they would never risk losing their jobs. Why would anyone want to steal from us, we take care of our employees. When it comes to fleet fuel the fuel is liquid cash when it comes to stealing. Everyone would like to believe they know their employees well enough to think that person won’t steal but it happens.
Below is an article from the Baltimore Sun. The article is in black print, comments from the Sokolis Group are in red print.
Theft of city fuel admitted
Public works driver resold more than 100,000 gallons of diesel
By Robbie Whelan Baltimore Sun reporter
April 1, 2010
A former Baltimore public works employee has pleaded guilty to stealing more than 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the city and reselling it as part of a scheme that went unnoticed for a year and a half. (I can assure you that if they had a good fuel inventory control process in place this would have been caught within 2 months)
Maurice Boone, 45, was found out Jan. 5, 2009, by a Baltimore County police officer who saw Boone filling several 250-gallon storage tanks with city-purchased diesel at a warehouse on Sparrows Point Road. The officer observed Boone while investigating a car-theft ring.
According to court records, Boone told police and an investigator from the city inspector general’s office that the plot had been going on since 2007. The tractor-trailer operator would fill a city tanker from a pump at a landfill on Quarantine Road; make several rounds filling city vehicles as part of his job, then sell the remaining fuel for $1 a gallon to an associate named Jimmy, who would leave money for him at the warehouse rendezvous point. The associate was identified in court documents as James Wright, who is a co-defendant in the case. (At this point in time diesel fuel was selling for over $4.00 a gallon at retail locations. I believe they were selling the fuel for more like $2.00 a gallon.)
Boone pleaded guilty Monday and will receive a suspended eight-year sentence and five years’ probation, records show. He must also pay the city $187,000 in restitution, but Baltimore Circuit Judge Lynn K. Stewart delayed sentencing until July, a month after Wright’s scheduled trial. (The Sokolis Group has nothing against Mr. Boone except you won’t find us hiring him what we are confused about is 100,000 gallons at even $2.00 a gallon is over $200,000. The average price per gallon of fuel over this time period had to be close to $3.00.)
Boone’s lawyer, Marc Minkove, said his client – who was fired from his city job in March 2009 – will testify against Wright “if he’s summoned.”
A charging document pegs the total amount of diesel that Boone stole at 101,305.4 gallons, but public works officials said they weren’t sure of the precise number. A spokesperson for the state’s attorney’s office said that the losses may have totaled as much as $1 million, but that prosecutors were unable to document the extent of the theft because of insufficient paperwork. (If public works officials don’t know what the amount is as stated they don’t, it is much higher than 101,305.4. How did they come up with the 101,305.4? They say the extent may have been close to $1 million so even at $3.00 a gallon for diesel fuel like we said above that would be a theft of at least 333,333 gallons. As a fuel management company, we would believe that number of 333,333 is more like the real number of fleet fuel stolen. As a fuel manager someone should have had some fuel inventory records to catch this amount of fleet fuel leaving the fuel tanks.)
“From our end, we never knew how much fuel the guy was actually stealing,” said Robert Murrow, a DPW spokesman.
Murrow added that fuel prices were rising, so the agency did not notice the high cost of diesel invoices being charged to its office. (Sokolis Group agrees fleet fuel prices were rising but that has nothing to do with your fuel inventory and fuel management. Fuel inventory is just like any other inventory, goods come in and goods go out. If you have 500 gallons of fleet fuel delivered, you need to know which vehicles your fleet fuel went. If it only comes out to 450 gallons of fleet fuel and you don’t have 50 gallons of fuel still left in the fuel tank, you have a problem. The fleet fuel pricing going higher is a matter of fuel auditing to make sure you paid the correct fuel price for what you bought. Most fuel managers at companies since that job is just part of many jobs don’t do a very good job at it because they don’t have access to the proper data to be able to understand the fuel market trends.)
Diesel hit a historic high of $4.76 per gallon the week of July 14, 2008, before dropping to $2.01 six months later, according to Department of Energy statistics.
The City should be ashamed of this. When there are fuel management companies out there that can manage all of your fleet fuel buying, fuel auditing, and fleet fuel pricing and checking for a whole lot less than $1 million dollars. For a couple of thousand dollars of month they could have been well service in fuel management by Sokolis Group or some other fleet fuel management company. Who knows who else is or was stealing fleet fuel from them? They don’t track their fuel inventory, so it could be millions of gallons of diesel fuel that has been stolen. Maybe before Boone started to steal fleet fuel from them there was someone else that told Boone how to do it. Do you have someone stealing fleet fuel from you? Are you sure? Do you have solid fuel inventory records? How about the prices of fleet fuel are you paying what you should be or are your fuel prices higher than they should be? Do you know?
Tags: diesel fuel, fleet fuel, fleet fueling, free fuel audit, fuel analysis, fuel audit, fuel card, Fuel Management, fuel planning, Sokoils Group
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By Glen Sokolis - April 7th, 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised its vehicle testing procedures in 2006 to help better reflect how people really drive in current conditions. The way you drive any vehicle affects how much fleet fuel you use, if you didn’t know. These new testing methods – whose results took effect with the 2008 model year – include factors such as high speeds, quick accelerations, air conditioning use and driving in cold temperatures. All of these items done incorrectly will cause your fuel management program havoc.
These revisions to EPA mileage estimates came after extensive real-world fuel economy testing by groups such as Consumers Union found that ratings were inaccurate, sometimes significantly. The old testing on fuel economy and fuel usage was taken place in ideal conditions in a simulated driving and not on the real street. Consumer Reports notes, however, that today’s mileage ratings are “more realistic”, although some drivers may notice they get a tad fewer miles per gallon than they may have anticipated. Still, noted Consumer Reports’ editor, the numbers are more accurate than they were previously.
Today’s EPA tests are designed to reflect typical driving conditions and driver behavior, but several factors can affect your own vehicle’s miles per gallon (MPG), including how and where you drive, the condition and maintenance of your vehicle, variations in the fleet fuel you buy, engine break-in and more. To be sure, the EPA ratings absolutely are a useful tool for comparing the fleet fuel economies of different vehicles, but do keep in mind they may not accurately predict the average MPG that you in particular will get every single day. Each day has different driving conditions for each driver, leading to different results in your fuel program.
Where to go for data
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offers on its Web site a helpful list of mileage ratings for just about all of today’s vehicles. Visit: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm. On the site you can do side-by-side comparisons of vehicle EPA mileage ratings, and narrow your search by car class, vehicle manufacturer, and MPG. No, they don’t really have anything for truck fleets because now we are throwing a lot more into the mix with loads and other variables. These tips will still help your fuel management program and certainly help your fleet fueling.
10 tips
The DOE’s Web site also offers the following tips to help you get maximum fleet fuel efficiency out of your vehicle.
- By resisting the urge to drive aggressively (e.g., speeding, rapid acceleration and braking), you can lower your gas or diesel mileage by an impressive 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. That will help all fleet fuel programs.
- While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed, mileage per gallon usually decreases rapidly at speeds of more than 60 mph. Notes the DOE, “You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas that costs $2.67 per gallon.”
- Don’t keep unnecessary items in your vehicle or on your roof rack. This is especially true of heavy items. Here’s why: An extra 100 pounds in your car or on your roof rack could reduce your MPG by 2 to 5 percent. This is especially important if you drive a small car, because the reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle’s weight. Heavy loads on your roof rack also will reduce the aerodynamic capability of your car. Whenever possible, use your vehicle’s interior cargo space. This is the truck with truck fleets too. The heavier the load the fewer miles per gallon you are going to get in your fleet fueling program.
- Don’t idle too long. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas when idling than do vehicles with smaller engines, note DOE officials. This has become commonplace in the trucking world since diesel fuel prices went over $3.50 a gallon a couple of years ago. As a fuel consulting company, we have seen some companies go back to their old habits of letting idling happen. This is not good for your fleet fueling program, the environment increasing more CO2 into the air and your company’s bottom line.
- Using cruise control and your overdrive gears also saves gas and diesel fuel, as well as reduces wear on your engine.
- Combining your errands into one trip can save both time and gas. Several short trips started when your engine is cold may use twice as much fuel as a longer, multipurpose trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. Proper routing of truck fleets can save a company over 25% on its fleet fuel and maybe more. As a fuel consulting company we have seen many companies that don’t properly route or control where their drivers go.
- Tuning you engine according to the specifications outlined in your owner’s manual can increase gas mileage by an average of 4 percent.
- Keep your tires properly inflated and aligned, thereby increasing mileage up to 3 percent. This also reduces your fleet fuel cost.
- Routinely check and replace your filters. Clogged air and fuel filters can decrease your diesel fuel and gas mileage by up to 10 percent. Seems simple and logical but some companies think by delaying routine maintenance they are saving money. They might be saving money in one pocket but it’s going right out their fleet fueling pocket.
- Driving in cold weather will reduce your gas and diesel mileage. It will also cost you more money in your diesel fuel trucks because of having to add fuel additive to your tank. Ah, unfortunately this one you can’t control… unless you move to a warmer climate.
The key to making all fleet fuel programs successful is making sure everyone with your company is on the same page. Layout the ground rules on every area that you want to see happen. Make sure everyone understands the rules and what the results will mean to your company. Include in their buying fleet fuel at the truck stops or locations that you have determined to be in your fuel network. As a company you will always be able to get a better deal if you buy more than one of something from any supplier. The same hold truck in fleet fuel, send your drivers to the same spot. Call a fuel consultant like Sokolis Group to help you negotiate the best deals for you and create win/win situation with the fuel vendors you are buying.
If you follow these keys your fuel management program will be successful and your company will be spending less money on fleet fuel. Good luck.
Sokolis Group is a fuel management company that helps companies reduce their fuel spend by reviewing, analyzing, auditing, negotiating and creating fleet fuel programs that create value and success from their clients. got fuel? We have fleet fueling solutions for you! www.sokolisgroup.com or 267-482-6155.
Tags: diesel fuel, fleet fuel, fleet fueling, free fuel audit, fuel analysis, fuel consulting, Fuel Management, fuel planning, fuel; fuel audit; goals; pricing errors; fuel pricing; save money, Sokoils Group
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By Conor Proud - March 18th, 2010
Most companies today if not all have credit cards. Most trucking companies need a way to pay for their fleet fuel. That’s not different than the rest of the fuel buying world, except it’s usually a lot more quantity. How a lot of them do this is by using a fleet fuel card. This is a good start to helping you buy and manage your fuel, but after that there are precautions you should take. I’d like to give you a few pointers or tips on how you should use your fleet fuel card:
- Control fleet spending while monitoring use
- Set a daily limit for your drivers and monitor transactions. This will cut unnecessary costs and eliminate any fraud. If you have a large fleet you might need a fuel management company such as us to help with looking at thousands of transactions a month or year.
- Opportunities for savings
- When buying a lot of anything you will usually get better pricing. If you talk to the right people (Sokolis Group for example) you can get discounted pricing on your fuel purchases. Sometimes you might need to limit your fuel vendors to a few rather than a lot.
- Saving time
- If you’re using a fleet card always pay at the pump. This is much quicker which eliminates wasted time and gets them back on the road where they’re making your company money.
- Work as a team
- If everyone is on the same page your plan will be more successful. It doesn’t hurt to have more than one set of eyes looking over your fuel purchases. Fuel is one of your biggest expenses if not biggest when you’re a truck company. Having a third party such as the Sokolis Group do everything from monitoring your transactions for fraud, better pricing, and an outside opinion to help your business lower bottom line costs.
Tags: fleet fuel, fuel card, fuel purchases, Sokoils Group
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By Glen Sokolis - February 17th, 2010
When your desk is disorganized and cluttered, it can be difficult to focus on your work. The same holds true for your fleet fueling program. Do you have any fuel deals, do you know what they are? Do yourself a favor and clean it up, your desk that is. Do yourself a bigger favor and hire Sokolis Group to help you with your fuel management program. It will make sure that you are getting the discounts and deals your company deserves.
When cleaning that old desk again, file away documents you want to archive and trash or recycle documents you no longer need, especially if you have copies saved on your computer. These files could be fleet fuel deals that were offered to you but didn’t have time to put it in place or maybe just got over looked because of the increasing amount of work that gets put on that desk.
As you complete projects, get in the habit of immediately saving or discarding documents. Ask people in our fuel management office, I am good at that sometimes, I throw things away before I am complete. Thank goodness everyone knows to never give me the only copy. Use a disinfectant spray or wipes to clean your desk, especially if you spend your lunch breaks there.
For your fuel consulting program, make sure you audit all of your fuel invoices especially if you want to make sure you don’t have theft or your fleet fuel supplier isn’t overcharging you.
Get that desk clean and put extra dollars in your company’s bottom line with our fuel management, Sokolis Group, 267-482-6155, www.SokolisGroup.com
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By Joan Gottlieb - January 21st, 2010
What is the cost to fuel your fleet? PPG times gallons? Many fleet owners only consider fuel cost in this equation.
If your drivers are fueling at retail, additional factors should be considered.
How much TIME did it take to fuel at a retail station? What is the wage factor for this unproductive time, is it a 2 manned vehicle, travel time and out of route miles to name a few.
Traveling to a retail station and the time that is taken to fuel therefore can be quite considerable. Have you ever timed how long the whole process takes to fleet fuel.
An alternative fuel savings method to fueling your fleet would be to sign on a mobile fleet fueling supplier. Consider the convenience of having your vehicles fueled up each day ready to make deliveries. Other benefits include no out of route miles searching for a retail station to accommodate large vehicles, reduced liability by not having such large vehicles navigate small retail sites, drivers time is more productive. One last important fact to consider, unlike retail fuel, mobile fuel costs are negotiated; consistent and stable.
Sokolis Group can help you improve the fueling process for your company, recommend and negotiate with a mobile fuel supplier, and reduce fuel costs.
Call today; speak with one of our fuel experts on ways to improve and save on your fleet fuel costs.
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Tags: fleet fuel, fleet fueling, Fuel Management, Sokoils Group
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By Kelly Quigley - January 19th, 2010
Toward the end of 2009 the Senate had its last few sessions and decided to focus its energy on Health Care Reform and neglected to address the extension of the Biodiesel tax credit, which expired on January 1st. Failure to extend the credit would not only effect the production of the clean burning fuel but would also lose near 23,000 ‘green’ jobs. Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative fuel. Produced domestically and from renewable sources, biodiesel can be blended with petroleum to create a blended fuel (biodiesel.org). The Biodiesel Tax Credit had previously offered a $1 tax credit per gallon sold. With the IEA predicating that 2010 will be the year to date with the most oil demand all the cleaner fuels out there need that helping hand to get on their feet and grow as an industry. The tax credit would keep creating the incentive for fleets all over to consider blending with biodiesel if not going greener. Fuel management consultants keep a watchful eye on the affairs of oil and biodiesel. Without modifications biodiesel can be blended up to 20% and still keeps that old diesel engine running. Even through cold winters, biodiesel can be blended with diesel that already has its mixture of cold weather additives. While the Senate still debates an almost obvious issue, let Sokolis Group help your fuel management program whether it has biodiesel in its future or not.
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Tags: diesel fuel, Fuel Management, Sokoils Group
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By Laura Owens - January 18th, 2010
Just like anything else in our lives fueling up our vehicles becomes routine. We go to the same gas station, pump the same gas and continue on with our lives without even thinking about it. What if you stopped and thought about the price of fuel or if there are lower priced gas stations in the area you could be fueling up at? Well here at the Sokolis Group we do that for you. One of the many services we provide our fleet fuel clients is to reduce their fuel costs by directing them to the lowest priced station in the areas which they are already traveling. Sokolis Group’s fuel consultant team does extensive research to find the lowest price fleet fuel along the routes our fleet clients take. Sokolis Group also negotiates discounted fuel prices for our fleet fuel clients with the merchants they purchase large quantities of gallons. One of our goals here is to help your fleet company cut fleet fuel cost and increase fleet fuel efficiency, so if you like saving money check out the Sokolis Group at www.sokolisgroup.com and contact us today!
Tags: fleet fuel, Fuel Management
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By Conor Proud - January 15th, 2010
During the third quarter of 2009 405 fleets failed. An astonishing 14,135 tractors were taken off the road. I repeat 14,135 trucks were taken off the road. That’s an improvement from the previous years third quarter. Considering prices for fleet fuel were at an extreme level that isn’t saying much.
Fleets failing can be for a number of reasons. It could be due to the industry that company is in, the state of the economy, high fleet fuel prices, or the demand of freight. Whatever the reason is many of them can be from poor fuel management. Believe it or not, but many trucking companies aren’t watching their fleet fueling purchases as close as they should be. They set it and forget it. That is not how the oil industry works. Prices of fleet fuel are constantly changing, and you need someone watching on a daily basis doing fuel audits of your fleet fuel purchases to ensure you’re getting the best possible fuel price. If you don’t watch your fleet fuel vendors they might take advantage and increase their margins day by day.
Here’s a perfect example. A fleet that Sokolis Group manages buys a lot of diesel fuel. They have sites all over the country and we have negotiated deals with those fleet fueling vendors. Just last month by doing our daily fuel audits of their fleet fuel, we found an overcharge of $748.04. We contacted the fuel vendor and immediately received a credit in that amount for our customer. This happens every month. If someone was not watching their fleet fuel purchases they would be spending more money for fuel then they need to be.
Not every company will succeed in their business, and that’s something that every business owner risks when he starts it. However, the more attention and effort you put in will increase your chances of succeeding. Sokolis Group helps tons of fleets across the country save money on their fuel management. We have a great fuel management team, and we enjoy saving money for our clients buying fleet fuel. Don’t let your fleet fail. Try our fuel management services and see where you could be getting charged to much.
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Tags: diesel fuel, fleet fuel, Fuel Management, Sokoils Group
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By Lisa Hermann - January 13th, 2010
In case you don’t fuel up with diesel fuel, let me tell you the surge in the less-refined fuel’s prices have nearly mirrored gasoline’s recent rise. In just the last month, prices have jumped by more than 14%, to average $2.61 per gallon.
Even scarier, prices have risen while diesel fuel demand has dropped. The country is calling for 17% less diesel fuel, yet the markets continue to add to the price.
Soaring prices would not be so bad if demand was rising and companies could make up the hit to their margins, but demand is far from what it was just a year ago. In fact, according to the American Trucking Association, trucking demand has dropped by about 13% from this time last year.
Rising costs and less revenues is a textbook recipe for disaster. So team up with Sokolis Group and lets work together for a great 2010!!
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Tags: diesel fuel, Sokoils Group
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