Business case: Norgesvask

21 April 2023 | News

St1 launched the Norgesvask service last fall, and since then, over 100 Shell energy stations have offered their customers a new way of keeping their cars clean. We asked Thomas Greet Danielsen, Category Manager at St1 for insights into the digitising project.

Why did you want to digitise your car wash business?

We see the digitalisation of car wash services as a new forward way of running our car wash business. We had been interested in for some years and even ran a pilot several years ago. Since then, the marketplace in Norway has shifted virtually 100% towards the digitalisation of car wash services. It is a core business in Retail for St1, was only natural that we take part in this transition.

For what reasons did you choose Superoperator?

Initially, we were blown away by the opportunities Superoperator were able to offer. We studied the marketplace and competition and talked with several of what we perceived as the best and largest service providers. Superoperator was not only the only service provider to tick all the boxes on our wish list, but they had even more services available for future development on our part. What really set them apart from the rest, was their ability to step up and take a direct role in supporting the development of our Norgesvask service. In addition, they hastily developed acceptance for local third-party payment solution provider we required which they had no prior experience with.

I would definitely recommend Superoperator! – Thomas Greet Danielsen, St1

What is your overall experience with the Superoperator solution so far?

At this point we have just completed the roll our plan at over 100 of our retail sites. The process has been extremely efficient, with fewer hick-ups along the way than what could be expected in such a large project involving several thousand site staff as well. We are very pleased with how Superoperator has assigned a specific support recourse providing St1 with all and any support required along the way. The system itself has been very stable since installation and the number of users is growing steadily day by day.

How have your customers reacted to the digitisation of your car washes?

Overall, the feedback we do get is positive. In all fairness, we get very little feedback. For us this is a “no news is good news” situation, as this shows that we have been able to implement a new car wash solution that just works, and customers are able to handle the solution intuitively – it just works.

In what ways has the digitisation of your car washes affected your business growth? 

It is still early days for us, just recently completing the roll-out. We see that the usage and subscriptions are growing steadily. This is an investment for St1 to remain relevant in the future. The key objective now is to grow the customer base through awareness of our new offer. Thorough planning pre-launch has made it easier for our organisation to adapt to this new way of doing car wash business. We already have several ideas on how to improve further with the great support we get from Superoperator.

How did your employees feel about digitisation?

It’s a new ball game, which requires a shift in mindset – Overall, our staff and retailers are, and have been, eager and optimistic to get this off the ground. We even have dealers taking part on a voluntary basis, proving that this is a great service and an attractive offer for our customers. The most difficult change is getting our people (across our business) to grasp the effects of lower unit margins “today” providing a better overall profit in the longer term.  

What is your favourite part about the Superoperator solution?

This is a personal question, so for me it is a combination of ease of use, being able to run the whole process myself and being able to see availability at any given time through the queue camera via the app.

Would you recommend the Superoperator solution to business acquaintances?

One word – Definitely!

Norgesvask is a car wash developed for Norwegian conditions.

St1 Norge AS is a company owned by St1 Nordic Oy and use the Shell brand under license granted by Shell Brands International AG.