SSCS Was There: NACS 2016

This year it became clearer than ever that this show speaks to the innovator.

The 2016 NACS Show in Atlanta, Georgia lived up to its reputation as the industry’s main event, and if the vastness of the exhibit hall was hard on the legs and feet of attending SSCS representatives, the show’s size served as testimony that the convenience and fuel retailing industry is growing at an unprecedented rate. It’s a microcosm of the industry-at-large, and you really don’t get that anywhere else. It’s also the best place to confirm that the industry is evolving in some interesting and exciting directions.

Part of what makes the industry so intriguing is its global scope. That was on full display at NACS, and there’s no question that some of the most innovative ideas in convenience and fuel retailing come from across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

“The NACS Show speaks to the innovator who is looking ten years down the road and thinking about the steps he or she must take to get there,” states SSCS Vice President of Sales Shawn Herrick. “Other trade shows focus on where the operator wants to go today and what is already in place to make them better right now. NACS is more about exposure to new products and technology—a place where forward-looking business people get to place their hands on new products and technology. “

Though NACS is a source of new leads for SSCS, it is also an opportunity for our team to get face time with prospects and potential partners we haven’t yet had the opportunity to meet in person. “It’s a great chance to take a business relationship to the next level with someone who you’ve only talked to on the phone,” says Chuck Brewer, one of the SSCS representatives that attended the show. “We get discovered by a lot of owner/operators at NACS—the sheer number of new faces walking the aisles makes it ideal for that—but the importance of NACS as a catalyst for moving forward with existing opportunities is without peer.”

SSCS sees NACS as an opportunity to represent our company in the best, most accurate way possible, but almost as important is the fact that we get to re-connect with a great contingency of existing customers. “They come by and share their stores and their appreciation for our team and how we support them,” explains Herrick. “There’s nothing quite like hearing the heartfelt gratitude of a customer that’s been with us, say, 20 years. In a venue that’s full of excitement, that kind of recognition may be the biggest thrill of all.”