What Makes a Fuel ERP Successful? Lessons from BC SMARTFuel

What makes a fuel ERP project successful? Join Chris Henry, BizSpeed CEO, for a candid conversation with Chris Holmes, President at Georgian Solutions and creator of BC SMARTFuel, a Microsoft Business Central solution built for fuel distributors.

As the creator of BC SMARTFuel, Chris Holmes brings practical, real-world experience selecting, implementing, upgrading, and operating ERP systems for fuel, lubricants, and propane distributors.

Whether you’re evaluating Business Central, running your current ERP, planning upgrades, or simply looking for better ways to support your business, this session offers practical insights you can apply to your business long after go-live.

In this session, Chris Holmes and Chris Henry dive into the realities of mid-market ERP projects, specifically for fuel, lubes, and propane companies. This interview covers:

• Business Central in Fuel Distribution: Why it is gaining traction and how BCSMARTFuel is using AI.
• The Ideal ERP Fit: What a successful system looks like for mid-market distributors.
• Success Factors: Key considerations when selecting or improving an ERP to ensure on-time installations and upgrades.
• Field-Tested Lessons: Real-world insights gained from supporting distributors in the field.
• Modern Requirements: What customers are actually asking for in a modern fuel ERP.
• Logistics Integration: Why distributors should also consider purpose-built fuel logistics software alongside their ERP.

• Fuel, lubricant, and propane distributors
• Leadership and operations teams evaluating Business Central
• ERP and logistics teams planning a future system change or upgrade
• Companies trying to get more out of their current ERP
• Distributors looking to understand what makes ERP projects succeed in fuel distribution

Get the direct insights you need to move from evaluation to successful implementation:

• Why is Business Central gaining traction in fuel distribution?
• How is BC SMARTFuel using AI to support operations?
• What does the ideal ERP fit look like for mid-market fuel, lubes, and propane companies?
• What drives successful, on-time installations and upgrades?
• What are the common success factors in mid-market ERP implementations?
• What are customers actually asking for in a modern fuel ERP?
• Why should distributors consider purpose-built logistics software alongside their ERP?

Meet the Speakers and Host

Learn more about our guest speakers and host for this session:

Chris Holmes is the creator of BCSmartFuel, a Microsoft Business Central solution built for fuel distributors. He brings practical, real-world experience selecting, implementing, upgrading, and operating ERP systems for fuel, lubricants, and propane distributors.

Chris Henry is the CEO and Co-Founder of BizSpeed, a logistics software company that helps bulk petroleum and chemical distributors optimize last-mile delivery. He works closely with fleet operators and IT teams to improve routing, dispatch, driver apps, and ERP integrations. Chris is the host of the Best Practices in Petroleum Logistics series, where he interviews industry leaders and shares insights to help distributors operate more efficiently and profitably.

0:00 – Introductions & the evolution of fuel ERP

3:18 – Why modernize? Cloud benefits vs. legacy costs

7:35 – BC SMARTFuel & AI: Automated BOLs, pricing & AP

11:59 – Strategy: Choosing an ERP & timing your transition

17:09 – Implementation roadmap: Data migration & testing

25:50 – Integrations, project timelines & team buy-in

33:06 – Lightning round: Expert advice & future AI agents

37:30 – Outro & closing remarks

Transcript

Review a readable copy of the full transcript for What Makes a Fuel ERP Successful? Lessons from BC SmartFuel.

Learn More

If you’d like to learn more or get a demo, please contact us below.

Learn more about best practices in petroleum logistics through additional panel interviews with industry partners. Catch replays of our previous sessions.