If you are constantly dispatching technicians, fielding urgent tickets, and watching revenue drop every time a site device fails, you are not alone.
One of Canada’s largest fuel and convenience retailers was stuck in that exact cycle with the hardware monitoring its car wash operations.
Frequent failures were forcing shutdowns of a high-margin service, frustrating customers, and creating nonstop pressure on IT and field teams. Instead of continuing to patch a fragile setup, the organization partnered with Compugen to redesign the solution from the ground up.
The result was a simpler, more reliable monitoring platform rolled out across more than 260 locations, reducing service demand, improving uptime, and creating a stronger foundation for future retail innovation.
The Challenge
For this national fuel and convenience retailer, the car wash is one of the most profitable and customer-facing services at each location. But the monitoring hardware behind those operations had become a constant source of trouble.
The previous multi-component setup had one of the highest failure rates in their environment. When devices went offline, car washes had to shut down for safety reasons. Customers were turned away, including monthly pass holders and people who came specifically for a wash. That meant lost revenue, frustrated guests, and extra stress on store staff.
IT teams felt the strain too. The hardware created a steady stream of high-priority support tickets, many requiring urgent after-hours response. With multiple components and complicated connectivity, the solution was difficult to support at scale across hundreds of locations.
The Opportunity
A Compugen-led innovation discussion about point-of-sale hardware opened the door to a more strategic conversation. Instead of continuing to swap out failing devices with similar equipment, the customer had a chance to rethink the design from the ground up.
With more than 260 sites relying on consistent uptime, the timing was right to simplify. The goal was to improve stability, reduce service calls, and put a stronger foundation in place for future retail technology at the store level.
The Solution
Compugen stepped in as a true Technology Ally, guiding the customer from early concept through a national rollout.
Together, the teams selected a single-device monitoring platform that removed many of the weak points in the old setup. The new design eliminated the complex dock and connector system and replaced it with a simple connection model using only power and a standard Ethernet cable. The device was easier to service and no longer needed to be physically secured to the countertop. This improved reliability and made ongoing support much simpler.
Compugen also delivered a fully coordinated, end-to-end program. That included vendor coordination, procurement, imaging, asset tagging, warehousing, logistics planning, and scheduled field deployment. The Compugen Integration Centre completed first-article testing to confirm the standard configuration, then applied images and asset tags to the full fleet before shipping. Devices were staged in batches to match the national rollout schedule, reducing risk and complexity for the retailer’s internal teams.
The Outcome
The results were clear and measurable.
Six weeks after the final device was installed, there had been no support or replacement requests for the new monitoring units. That was a major change from the previous environment, which averaged 11 service events per month. Fewer outages meant more car washes stayed open, customers had a better experience, and store teams faced fewer disruptions.
The simpler design also reduced pressure on field services and IT support teams. With fewer urgent incidents and easier serviceability, the customer now has a more stable and predictable operating model for one of their most important site services.
The Future
This project is now seen as more than a hardware refresh. It has become a model for how the retailer can approach other high-volume, distributed technologies.
By standardizing devices, improving staging and deployment processes, and aligning teams early, the customer is in a stronger position to roll out future initiatives across their national footprint. The new monitoring platform also supports ongoing retail innovation at the site level.
Compugen continues to work alongside the customer as a long-term Technology Ally, helping modernize and refine their retail technology strategy.
The Relationship
From the customer’s point of view, this engagement stood out because Compugen did more than deliver equipment. The team helped define the problem, shape a better approach, and execute a complex national rollout with strong coordination and accountability.
Close collaboration, clear planning, and a one-team approach across procurement, integration, logistics, and field services turned an ongoing operational headache into a milestone success. The customer now sees Compugen as a strategic partner focused on improving reliability, reducing support demand, and helping them realize new possibilities across their retail technology environment.
Ready to improve reliability across your distributed environment?
Talk with a Compugen retail expert to see how a simpler, well-designed approach can reduce service demand, improve uptime, and deliver better experiences by design.
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