How dealers can manage circulating LPG cylinders: record serial numbers, track cylinders held by customers, reduce losses, handle other brands’ cylinders and those due for inspection, and plan new cylinder purchases.
For a gas dealer, cylinders are the largest circulating asset: each one travels from the warehouse to a customer’s home, back to the filling plant and out to the market again. Loose LPG cylinder management means cylinders gradually go missing, capital is “buried” out in the market and, when demand peaks, there are not enough cylinders. This article suggests how to track cylinders, reduce losses and plan purchases of new cylinders.
Every cylinder has a serial number stamped on the body or neck. Recording serial numbers on the delivery note or in management software shows which cylinder is with which customer and how long it has been out. For large customers such as restaurants, reconcile cylinder numbers every month.
New customers receiving a cylinder for the first time should pay a deposit or sign a cylinder loan agreement. This is the simplest way to get the cylinder back when the customer stops using gas.
Cylinders with your own paint colour, logo and embossing are instantly recognisable as yours and are less likely to be swapped. See ordering private-label LPG cylinders and LPG cylinder powder coating.
Cylinders belonging to other traders that you collect should be set aside and returned under the agreement between the parties; current gas trading regulations do not allow you to keep, or fill without permission, cylinders belonging to other traders.
Keep a list of cylinders approaching their inspection date by serial number so they are sent for inspection on time; cylinders past their inspection date will be refused by the filling plant. See LPG cylinder inspection records.
Empty cylinders still contain gas vapour, so they should be stored upright with the valve closed in a well-ventilated area, keeping full and empty cylinders apart — see storing LPG cylinders safely in a dealer’s warehouse.
Track three figures: the total number of cylinders you own, the number held by customers and the number scrapped each year. When the cylinders in your warehouse are regularly not enough to keep up in peak season, or the share of damaged and out-of-date cylinders is rising, it is time to plan a new batch. Ordering early in batches gives you control over paint colours and price — see what determines LPG cylinder price.
Small dealers can use a logbook or spreadsheet to record serial numbers; once the number of cylinders grows, sales management software with cylinder tracking will save more time.
Set them aside, do not deliver them to customers and take them to an inspection body; cylinders that fail will be scrapped according to regulations.
It depends on your customer base. See the detailed comparison in 12kg vs 45kg LPG cylinders.
Need more 12kg or 45kg cylinders printed with your own brand? Send a request on our quotation page.
Written by the VietnhatGas technical and sales team — a batch manufacturer of LPG cylinders. This content is for reference; regulations and standards may change, so please check the current texts.
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