Where else can you get industry expertise ranging from AI innovations and gas prices to what’s trending in the petroleum wholesale market? Watch the free March 2026 Connections Live Quarterly webinar to catch up on the latest news across the fuel and convenience retail industry.
We invited four industry experts to share their insights and answer questions in our first webinar of 2026. Here’s a short recap of what each of them covered.
Introducing PDIQ, the new AI foundation
Jeff Hassman, VP of Brands and Consumer Strategy, shared the latest news on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape and PDI’s strategy for delivering the benefits of AI to its customers.
This AI journey began several years ago as PDI engineers started introducing AI capabilities into products and services for fuel pricing, consumer engagement, and security solutions. Now PDI is announcing PDIQ, an intelligent AI foundation for convenience retail, petroleum wholesale, and other complex industries.
The framework below shows how PDIQ combines these capabilities into a practical, embedded, and scalable AI ecosystem.
Embedded across the PDI solution ecosystem, PDIQ infuses AI capabilities into common industry workflows to help users automate processes and make faster, more confident decisions. In turn, users can quickly create systems of AI agents that inform them about their business in a much more efficient and profitable way.
PDIQ is currently in beta testing with customers, and more details will be revealed during Connections Live 2026 in August.
Wholesale petroleum challenges—and solutions
Focusing on industry-wide petroleum wholesale challenges, Tom Di Mercurio, Senior Vice President & General Manager of ERP and Fuel Supply, noted that wholesalers are operating in an increasingly volatile environment hampered by limited supply chain visibility, complicated logistics, operational inefficiencies, and siloed systems.
Top 5 challenges for Petroleum Wholesalers
1
Supply chain visibility
2
Advanced logistics management
3
Operational inefficiencies
4
Lack of integrated systems
5
Gaps in real-time reporting and analytics
To address those challenges, Tom shared PDI’s strategy to deliver connected intelligence, greater visibility, and customized insights across the supply chain ecosystem and lifecycle. He shared his vision on how PDIQ Insights for Wholesale Operations will help teams proactively leverage their own data to gain real-time analytics and make more informed decisions faster.
PDIQ Insights for Wholesale Operations will feature PDI Enterprise at the core, supported by logistics, pricing, inventory, and compliance. The goal is to use AI to leverage real business data and easy-to-understand dashboards so users can better understand what’s happening and where to take action across their operations.
Latest news for Connections Live 2026
Are you ready for Connections Live 2026 in Texas? Traci Fulmer, Director of Education and Development, highlighted key new enhancements for this year’s event. The first big change is a significant reduction in the base conference rate, with lower price points for both groups and individual attendees.
The second major change is the return of pre-conference Boot Camp sessions held on Sunday. These six-hour immersive hands-on training sessions are designed for a range of skill levels and roles. You can choose from four different sessions when conference registration opens in April.
You can pre-register for Connections Live 2026 now.
To access PDIQ training and other PDI classes, visit PDI University.
GasBuddy fuel update
Patrick De Haan , VP and Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, followed up his recent executive briefing by sharing his views on how fuel prices are being impacted by the conflict in Iran. The spike in gas prices closely mirrors what we witnessed in 2022, and diesel prices have risen to well over $5 per gallon because of the conflict.
The chart below illustrates five years of fuel price trends tracked by GasBuddy, with a noticeable price spike in March 2026.
Given the historically high level of pricing volatility, Patrick highlighted a potential shift in consumer behavior where higher fuel prices could influence discretionary spending. As we saw in 2022, higher prices resulted in fewer gallons but more in-store visits—a trend c-store operators should watch closely.
Another possible trend to watch is the most cost-conscious fuel customers shifting to generic brands and private labels with a lower price point.
As always, be sure to check for the lowest fuel prices on the GasBuddy app. You can find Patrick’s ongoing analysis here or follow him (@gasbuddyguy) on X.