Graphite Connect’s technology was selected by Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY), the third largest convenience retailer and fifth largest pizza chain in the United States.
The technology offering aligns with Casey’s efforts at digital transformation, as it will assist Graphite’s attempt to streamline its onboarding procedures and relationships with managing suppliers.
“We are in the middle of our own digital transformation and elevating procurement’s impact on our ability to move quickly is a key part of our vision. We’ve been looking for a solution like Graphite Connect. What Graphite offers is a breakthrough in onboarding suppliers and managing supplier data that will help us solve the headaches and disruption of outdated and inaccurate supplier data feeding into critical business systems,” said Jaime Robles, VP of procurement at Casey’s.
Casey’s is a Fortune 500 company with over 2,400 convenience stores. It was founded over five decades ago and has since grown to become the third largest retailer of convenience stores and the fifth largest pizza chain in the United States. The company provides a mix of prepared food, fuel and service at its locations, where guests can get pizza, doughnuts and a wide variety of beverages and snacks.
Graphite Connect is a supplier management platform involved in helping global enterprises and small businesses alike with their procurement processes from onboard to risk management. It possesses a social network that provides a single, secure location to track and manage teams, data and tasks. Graphite offers central hub where both suppliers and buyers can access to all the information required.
“We are committed to eliminating the friction that surrounds supplier onboarding and management. Graphite Connect offers Casey’s a centralized platform that enables faster onboarding, while supporting secure risk management and information sharing throughout the procurement lifecycle. For everybody to be working together on the same platform and all feedback to be integrated with supplier governance and relationship management activities taking place is a huge breakthrough to help procurement operate at the speed of business,” said Conrad Smith, CEO of Graphite.
Casey’s Q1 highlights at a glance:
- Diluted earnings-per-share of $4.09, an increase of 28 per cent from the same period a year ago.
- Inside same-store sales increased 6.3 per cent compared to prior year. Also a margin of 39.8 per cent.
- Total inside gross profit up 8.8 per cent to $504.3 million compared to the prior year.
- Fuel gallons decreased 2.3 per cent on a same-store basis compared to year prior with a fuel margin of 44.7 cents per gallon.
- Total fuel gross profit increased 31.4 per cent to $308.2 million compared to the prior year.
- Same-store operating expense excluding credit card fees were up 2.6 per cent, effected by a 2 per cent reduction in same-store labour hours.
“Casey’s delivered another strong quarter to its shareholders due to strong inside sales and robust fuel margin. Inside same-store sales were driven by prepared food and dispensed beverages, most notably pizza slices, our refreshed breakfast menu, as well as cold dispensed beverages. Alcoholic beverage sales remain strong as our team continues to leverage our approximately 1,500 liquor licenses throughout our store base. The fuel margin environment was especially favorable in the second half of the quarter as wholesale costs declined from record highs. Our differentiated business model enables us to perform well in a variety of economic conditions, and we are confident in our ability to execute on our long-term strategic plan,” said Darren Rebelez, president and CEO.
