Column Archives - Material Handling Wholesaler

Kardex has launched the enhanced StoreX Calculator

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:00:31 +0000

Delivering unmatched transparency for AutoStore planning and expansion Kardex Solutions has announced the launch of the newly enhanced StoreX Calculator in partnership with iAutomate. This significant evolution of the StoreX digital planning tool sets a new benchmark for transparency, performance insight, and lifecycle planning in the ASRS market. The newly launched StoreX Calculator builds on the original StoreX Calculator with iAutomate by extending its capabilities from initial system design into long-term optimization and expansion, addressing one of the most common realities in warehouse automation: growth that outpaces original expectations. Kardex’s StoreX Calculator digital planning tool is designed to help users evaluate, plan, and justify new system integration, as well as existing system expansions using real operational data. While many automation solutions are treated as fixed installations, Kardex approaches AutoStore as a continuously evolving system. AutoStore systems are inherently modular, and industry experience shows that a significant percentage of customers expand their systems within 12 to 36 months. Expansion is often driven by faster-than-expected throughput growth, SKU proliferation, the addition of new fulfillment channels such as e-commerce and store replenishment, or the consolidation of logistics networks into high-density nodes. The StoreX Calculator is designed specifically to bring clarity and precision to both initial system build, as well as system expansion planning that is unmatched in the ASRS space. The enhanced tool allows operators to model multiple growth scenarios and understand how changes to grid size, robot count, ports, and supporting infrastructure impact system footprint, project timelines, and overall investment. Outputs include clear, structured reports that estimate expansion costs, implementation speed, and execution phases—helping teams align internally and build financially sound business cases. “AutoStore systems are not static assets—they’re designed to evolve as businesses grow,” said Fred Fox Jr., President of Kardex Solutions Americas. “With the newly enhanced StoreX Calculator, Kardex is giving customers the same level of data-driven clarity for expansion decisions that they expect when designing a new system. It removes uncertainty around cost and timing, enabling smarter planning and faster, lower-risk scaling, and reflects our commitment to continuously evolving our solutions so customers can extract maximum performance, throughput, and value over the life of their system.” A defining strength of Kardex’s StoreX Calculator is its focus on radical transparency. Historically, AutoStore expansion planning has often relied on high-level estimates and limited visibility into cost and timing. StoreX replaces that ambiguity with scenario-based modeling that reflects real operational inputs, clearly distinguishing between overall project duration and on-site implementation windows, and showing how expansions can be executed while keeping operations largely live. “Kardex and iAutomate share a common goal: helping customers make informed decisions based on data, not guesswork,” said Christoph Buchmann, Founder and Managing Director of iAutomate. “The new functionality of StoreX gives AutoStore users unprecedented visibility into how their systems can scale—what it will take, how long it will take, and what value it will deliver. That level of insight is a game changer for how businesses plan automation growth long-term.” The launch of the enhanced StoreX Calculator underscores a broader industry shift toward brownfield optimization and incremental automation, as companies look to maximize existing assets rather than pursue costly greenfield projects. By combining expansion modeling, comparative scenario analysis, and executive-ready reporting, the Kardex StoreX Calculator supports this shift with practical, data-backed insight. The tool reinforces Kardex’s role as a trusted, long-term AutoStore partner, supporting customers from initial concept through ongoing optimization, expansion, and performance enhancement.

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In pursuit of safety

Thu, 18 May 2023 23:00:52 +0000

Safety in the workplace is a goal offering numerous benefits. From aiding in worker retention and meeting standards to ensuring the best for employees, safety is one of the keys to an organization’s success. New designs making an impact One company that has been bringing its safety technology to the industry in recent years is seeing some positive results. HeroWear designs exosuits that aid workers in performing demanding movements at work, according to the business website. “It was born out of a research project at Vanderbilt University,” said Mark Harris, co-founder, and chief executive officer of HeroWear. Dr. Karl Zelik, a biomechanical engineer, had experienced back pain from lifting two small children, according to Harris. “He thought, ‘Could I design something that would take the load off my back and wear every day?” said Harris, who said the concept led to several years of research and development at Vanderbilt. Harris said as the project grew from the research phase, it was introduced to companies and interest was strong. The idea formed of providing a solution to a major industry problem, namely, back pain and injuries. A prototype was launched and HeroWear was formed, announcing the HeroWear Apex. The exosuit is a flexible 3-pound suit that takes 75 pounds of strain off a back with every lift, according to the business website. “For some users, it’s actually closer to 125 pounds of back relief,” the site said. The exosuit is designed to support and assist the lower back muscles involved in repetitive lifting and bending activities, according to the website. It provides strength by functioning with a patent-pending on-off switch, the site said. The switch is “activated by a single, easy-to-use switch that can even be operated through personal protective equipment and coveralls,” the website said. HeroWear officials stress that the exosuit can be integrated with other types of safety equipment already in use. “It works fine on a pallet jack or a forklift,” Harris added. “This was important when we designed it.” Today, HeroWear has over 200 customers, according to Harris. Many companies want to test a launch of the product on a subset of workers and then expand use, he said. “Typically, we see companies start out with 10, 20, or 30 units. They will try them out on a number of workers,” said Harris, who said HeroWear works with its customers to ensure the Apex suits are sized per worker. “It’s really important that these fit very well or else you don’t get the biomedical advantage,” said Harris, noting that the exosuits are modular so pieces can be rebuilt for specific workers. The anecdotal reports from users have been positive, according to Harris. “What we hear a lot of after the first week is, ‘I’m going home and I’m not sore anymore. I can play with my kids. I’m not collapsing on the couch,” Harris said. “That’s what gets us really inspired.” The Apex 2, a redesign based on three years of research, was launched in mid-March, according to Harris. When working with a company, he stressed that HeroWear aims to learn more about how the operation functions. The company does recommend starting with more than a single exosuit. “There is a psycho-social aspect to this. You are putting something new on a worker. You need a critical mass of workers, so it becomes somewhat normalized,” said Harris, who said there is better success in a launch when several workers are wearing the exosuit. Having equipment like the HeroWear exosuit on hand can possibly help with employee retention as well, Harris noted. “These are really, really hard jobs. It’s that first few weeks or a couple of months when they realize how hard it is. If you can make the job a little easier, a smoother transition, we suspect that will improve retention,” he said. The bands on the exosuits are replaced every 12 -to-18 months and the textile base has a 4-to-5-year life, according to Harris. The company’s leaders imagine widespread use of the products in the future. “Our long-term vision is everybody has an exosuit in their garage. Like everyone has power tools. Maybe you don’t need it every day, but it’s there,” said Harris, noting that everyone needs to do some amount of lifting and leaning in their daily lives. He added that research shows about 80 percent of the population will experience back pain at some time in their lives. “It’s kind of crazy that we lift things now in the same way as the people who built the pyramids. The physics haven’t changed,” Harris said. “It seems like a pretty big opportunity.” Studying standards For those looking to stay up to date on robotics, Jeff Fryman offers courses through the Association for Advancing Automation, or A3. “I go through an overview of the basic safety requirements from the American national standard, the ANSI / RIA R 15.06,” said Fryman, a safety standards trainer through A3. He said his courses cover risk assessments and task-based methodology consistent with what the standards require. Class attendees are typically safety engineers or mechanical control engineers responsible for designing and implementing robot applications, according to Fryman. He also offers a class that is more in-depth on standard requirements. Fryman teaches both in-person and online. He noted that the international safety standards match up with the national requirements and has had students around the world for the classes. “There’s basically one worldwide robot standard,” Fryman said. “We’re working on the basic industrial robot, not the walking, talking supermarket-greeting robots.” The basic course is offered monthly and collaborative robot safety training is bi-monthly as a webinar on the A3 website at automate.org. For in-house classes, Fryman said he encourages a limit of 30 students in the room to enhance participation. Although the course is geared toward the manufacturers and integrators of the robots, Fryman said he does address the topic of users in the training and the importance the standards have throughout an organization. “If you have robots, you need to know about the standards for robot safety that covers

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The Industry takes Safety seriously

Mon, 20 May 2019 05:00:19 +0000

In the 1960s, some 14,000 U.S. workers were dying on the job every year. A drumbeat was growing among the public to do something about the growing injury and fatality rates on the job, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Speaking in Congress during that decade, Rep. William A. Steiger told of the more than 400,000 Americans killed in workplace accidents and disease in the previous 25 years. “Not only has this resulted in incalculable pain and suffering for workers and their families, but such injuries have cost billions of dollars in lost wages and production,” he said, in an account on the OSHA website. The push by the public and some government leaders resulted in the bill, The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which in turn led to the creation of OSHA, according to the administration. In the years since, efforts to promote safe working conditions have continued. And in the material handling industry, business leaders and workers look for new ways to promote safe working environments. How much progress is being made? What remains to be done? As the technological revolution changes much about daily life, it is also opening doors to the creation of products that make material handling workplaces safer. This month, Material Handling Wholesaler asked those in the industry about the latest safety efforts and products. Here is a look at some of the latest developments: Forklifts OE Attachments is launching a Forklift Safety Device featuring real-time residual load capacity, the company reported. The business, an Arrow Acquisition LLC company, is a manufacturing and distribution firm located in Lenexa, Kansas. It sells exclusively to OEMs, and specializes in the design and production of premium-grade forklift forks and attachments including skid-steers, telehandlers, excavators, backhoes, and tractor loaders. “Our industry is long overdue for a product like this,” said Terry Melvin, CEO of OE Attachments, in a company press release explaining the new device. The business noted OSHA statistics naming forklifts as responsible for one out of every six workplace accidents. Within those figures, human error causes 70 percent of the accidents. Of fatal accidents, 67 percent are due to vehicle tipping, according to OE Attachments. “You can’t look at those stats and ignore them, especially when you know you have the resources to be part of the solution,” Melvin said. The Forklift Safety Device is the result of several years of research and development. It uses a patented series of sensors and cameras providing real-time monitoring and residual load capacity via a touchscreen monitor installed inside the forklift cab, the company release said. The device also gives auditory and visual alerts at all mast heights and positions whenever a safety hazard is imminent, the company said. It offers monitoring and response to external dynamic factors including acceleration speed, ground slope, mast tilt, load center, and more. In short, the company says the device removes guesswork from operations. OE Attachments debuted the new device at this year’s ProMat in Chicago. Ahead of the debut, Brandon Tietz said the company was anticipating a flood of requests for information about the product. “This is actually something that is way overdue,” said Tietz, marketing and communications content strategist for Arrow Acquisition, in a phone interview with Material Handling Wholesaler. He said interested parties had already been contacting the company about the product, which had been tested with a handful of companies ahead of the roll out. Related to forklift speed, Safety Systems & Controls recently unveiled nomad, a battery powered RF transmitter, to its Pace-One Zone Speed Control product line. The nomad creates a temporary mobile reduced speed zone for forklifts and other mobile equipment, according to the company. “If there is an accident, a spill, a slick spot on the floor, inventory being counted, someone up in an aerial platform, if there is anything going on in an area where people or other equipment usually are not, nomad broadcasts a signal that automatically reduces all travel speeds around the area of interest on all Pace-One ZSC equipped vehicles thus creating a safer work space,” the company said, in an email to Material Handling Wholesaler. Static electricity builds up in non-marking forklift tires can also cause risks. During a full shift of high-speed travel and heavy loads, forklifts can store static charges up to 50,000 volts, a major safety hazard, according to Camso. “Indeed, static electricity generated with non-marking tires is stored rather than dissipated, making shocks, sparks, power outages and facility damages ever-present hazards,” a statement from the company said. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a non-marking anti-static technology (NMAS), a device that takes the form of “a telltale black dot on the face of the tread that allows static electricity to dissipate,” a release from the company said. The device is made of “highly conductive black rubber” and is connected from the steel band to the tread face, acting as a plug and dissipating accumulated electricity on every rotation, the company statement said. Gates and lifts In the area of safety gates, the company Mezzanine Safeti-Gates, Inc. recently launched new methods for safety gate power operation, as well as sensors and technologies that can be used for the gates to communicate with fork trucks and AGVs, according to the company, which designs and manufacturers safety gates for elevated work platforms in distributions centers, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. “We can also integrate our safety gates with technologies to report back into the overall supply chain software to understand what areas have been recently stocked or may be ready to be reloaded,” a release from the company statement said. In recent months, Mezzanine Safeti-Gates launched two new standards safety gates for loading docks that can be configured in a number of ways. Meanwhile, Custom Equipment LLC, recently introduced the new PA-1030 push-around lift as “a safer and more productive alternative to ladders and scaffolding,” according to the business. The lift allows users to manually maneuver into place and hydraulically raise and lower to

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Why do some Persist and some Quit? Because…

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 06:00:27 +0000

Is there a best way to follow-up? No. Why do people quit too soon? Big question. Why do you quit too soon? Bigger question. Have you ever read Think and Grow Rich? Biggest question. Reason? Think and Grow Rich (written by Napoleon Hill 78 years ago) has an entire chapter on persistence that provides real insight as to the characteristics of what makes some stick at it until they win, while others stop either just after they start, or stop just before they are about to taste victory. Rather than be so presumptuous as to paraphrase the great Napoleon Hill, I am going to give you the EXACT words of the master (now in the public domain). Here are some excerpts (and insights) on persistence quoted exactly as they were written seven decades ago, and still applicable in your sales process today. Persistence is a state of mind; therefore, it can be cultivated. Like all states of mind, persistence is based upon definite causes, among them these: Definiteness of purpose. Knowing what one wants is the first and, perhaps, the most important step toward the development of persistence. A strong motive forces one to surmount many difficulties. Desire. It is comparatively easy to acquire and to maintain persistence in pursuing the object of intense desire. Self-reliance. Belief in one’s ability to carry out a plan encourages one to follow the plan through with persistence. (Self-reliance can be developed through the principle described in the chapter on autosuggestion). Definiteness of plans. Organized plans, even though they may be weak and entirely impractical, encourage persistence. Accurate knowledge. Knowing that one’s plans are sound, based upon experience or observation, encourages persistence; “guessing” instead of “knowing” destroys persistence. Cooperation. Sympathy, understanding, and harmonious cooperation with others tend to develop persistence. Will-power. The habit of concentrating one’s thoughts upon the building of plans for the attainment of a definiteness of purpose leads to persistence. Habit. Persistence is the direct result of habit. The mind absorbs and becomes a part of the daily experience upon which it feeds. Fear, the worst of all enemies, can be effectively cured by forced repetition of acts of courage. Everyone who has seen active service in war knows this. How to Develop Persistence. There are four simple steps which lead to the habit of persistence, They call for no great amount of intelligence, no particular amount of education, and but little time or effort. The necessary steps are: 1. A definite purpose backed by burning desire for its fulfillment. 2. A definite plan, expressed in continuous action. 3. A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences, including negative suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances. 4. A friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose. These four steps are essential for success in all walks of life. The entire purpose of the principles of the (Think and Grow Rich) philosophy is to enable one to take these four steps as a matter of habit. Now I will grant you that some people will have read this and spit the word “Hokey” at the end. Reason? It’s too simple and does not have an immediate “how to” answer attached to it. The secret of persistence is not an “answer,” it’s a “realization.” And if you read the above and didn’t “get it.” You will get beat by someone who did. The Napoleon Hill philosophy of persistence is strong, yet soft. The only omission from the strategy is that it leaves out “what” to persist with. Let me give you that answer in a word — value. Something more than you calling to imply, “I’m calling about the money, is it ready yet? Can I come over and pick it up now?” Want a few value ideas? Here are four. You may not like them. They require work. 1. Get your prospect a sales lead or give them a referral. 2. Give your prospect an idea how to serve his customers better. 3. Give your prospect a list of things he or she can do to improve morale, productivity, absenteeism, or profit. 4. Get your prospect some free publicity or social media exposure. Help them win. Get the idea? See the work? Make your persistence pay dividends for the customer. Now look past the work to the victory. If you can see clear to victory, then the secret of persistence is at last yours. And add to that the final wisdom of Hill: What you need to develop persistence is will-power and desire. In other words, how bad do you want it? And how far are you willing to go to get it? Unless the answer is all the way, you will not persist, you will give up. Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, and The Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude. His real-world ideas and content are also available as online courses at www.GitomerLearningAcademy.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or email Jeffrey at editorial@mhwmag.com.

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The surprising secret behind amazing hires

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 06:00:14 +0000

Are you hiring top talent with the right degrees and experience, but something still seems to be missing? Imagine the capability of taking it a step further, beyond the candidate’s credentials and measuring if they’re truly capable of handling the position you are hiring for. Focusing more on the competencies of a candidate, rather than credentials, will allow you to do just that. It’s reported that 31% of organizations have yet to define the essential leadership competencies needed for leaders at all levels to achieve business goals. And of those who have defined leadership competencies, just 8% have automated competency management, according to Brandon Hall Group’s 2016 Talent Management Study. Defining Competency-Based Hiring Competency is simply the ability to do something successfully or efficiently. The term core competency was originally introduced in 1990 by the Harvard Business Review to describe the management concept of corporations possessing specialized expertise in a specific area. The concept of core competencies was quickly adopted by many corporations to communicate what they did “best” and to leverage the competitive advantages of their brands. Core competencies are grouped in two ways: Skills, knowledge and technical qualifications Behavioral characteristics, personality attributes and individual aptitudes Competency-based hiring starts by identifying a full range of competencies required for success in a position and then gauging each candidate’s demonstration of those traits. A candidate’s competencies can be measured from when they respond to a job posting, to their interviewing and onboarding process, to performance reviews. Hiring Accuracy Competency-based recruiting can serve a number of purposes, allowing a company to achieve the desired performance in their hired candidates. Competency-based hiring provides a clear understanding for the recruiters as well as the candidates about the requirements of an open position. This process leads to a more standardized selection process because the same standards are used to evaluate all of the candidates applying for the same position. There are also fewer hiring mistakes with this recruitment process. It helps prevent recruiters from evaluating candidates based on characteristics that might not relate to the job itself or position they’re interviewing for. With little to no hiring errors, it improves the accuracy in assessing a candidate’s traits needed for the job. Competency-Based Interviews Competency-based interviews are more systematic, with the questions targeting more of a specific skill or competency. Candidates are also asked questions relating to their behavior in certain circumstances and asked to back up their answers with solid examples. The hiring managers dig further into the provided examples by asking for specific explanations about the candidate’s skills or behavior. For example, the interviewers might want to test how a candidate can deal with stress. First, they would ask the candidate how they generally handle stress, then ask to provide an example of a situation where they worked under pressure or stress. There are a number of different interview questions that a candidate can be asked, depending on the competency. Adaptability, compliance, communication (verbal, listening and written), conflict management, creativity and innovation, decisiveness, flexibility and independence are just a few competency topics interview questions are formed around. Example Interview Questions: Give us an example of when you took responsibility for delivering expected outcomes, giving credit to other teams and individuals where appropriate. Tell us about a situation when you failed to communicate appropriately. How do you respond to customer feedback? What is the biggest risk that you’ve taken? How did you handle that process? Tell us about a decision you made too quickly and got wrong. What made you take that decision? A competency-based hiring process requires a company to invest a lot of time and effort, but the work pays off in the end because it enables the hiring decisions to be more appropriate and sophisticated. After a candidate is hired, core competencies continue to be useful in setting goals and positioning new hires for success. Ensure an exceptional candidate experience every time! See how we can help you increase employee engagement and retention.

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Why are my new hires under-performing?

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 18:00:58 +0000

Potential does not guarantee performance. How many times have we seen it in sports? A top draft pick who never pans out. The offspring or sibling of an athletic superstar who displays the same physical gifts but somehow bombs out. Sports drafting is not a perfect analog to staffing, but it suffices to make a point: You can’t assume that an applicant who displays high potential will automatically turn in a top performance on the job. Just as some sports team managers may have unrealistic expectations that an athlete’s pedigree alone will lead to success, some hiring managers might think, “I screened my applicants thoroughly and chose the one whose strengths and performance drivers best align with the job. My work is done.” Don’t misunderstand the message: Hiring based on intrinsic potential is and always will be a critical part of making a successful hire. But that’s not the end of making a successful hire, it’s just the beginning. Real success comes from employee engagement, and onboarding is the engine that drives engagement. By being engaged, we mean that people are performing work that aligns with their strengths and motivators, that they feel empowered, and that their work feels meaningful. If you’re willing to consider that onboarding is the path from good hire to good team member, ask yourself these important questions about your onboarding process: Do you and your applicant/new hire have the same understanding of the role? Ideally, you are keeping your job descriptions up to date and reflective of what applicants can expect once in position. In your final interviews, avoid sugar coating the job and underselling the responsibilities you would personally find unappealing. For example, if you’re a people person who finds detail work to be a necessary evil, but you’re filling a role that calls for extended task focus and a willingness to work with minimal interaction, don’t try to downplay the aspects of the position that you might find dull. Realistic expectations and a clear understanding from the outset (i.e., honesty) will set the stage for new-hire engagement. If you are doing the right thing and looking at applicants based on intrinsic motivations and performance drivers, you would have screened out everyone who lacks patience with repetition and details. Once you’ve found the right person, make sure he or she understands how his or her responsibilities fit into the overall strategy and why those activities are important and valued. It should go without saying that the person who understands the role best should be the one making the hiring decision. This is not something to delegate to an HR assistant. Are you training and integrating new hires based on their intrinsic strengths and limitations? People don’t all learn the same way or respond the same way to on-the-job stimuli. Some are more comfortable adapting to new systems and processes. Some are more comfortable speaking up when they don’t understand something. Some respond better to self-paced training while others value hands-on demonstration. Since you are aware of the new hire’s strengths and motivators (again, ideally), you should be able to customize the training effort accordingly. The ultimate goal is to maximize potential, and a recent hire who feels empowered and effective will also feel engaged. Engagement unlocks potential. Do you have a mentor program? A mentor program offers multiple benefits. One, it helps the new hire become integrated into the culture of the company. It’s not easy to embrace the social norms in a new work environment, like when moving from a hierarchical culture to a more collegial one, for example. Even reserved people who prefer limited interaction don’t want to be seen as outcasts. A mentor can “show the ropes” to accelerate integration. The mentor also benefits from feeling valued and trusted by the organization, and both mentor and new hire gain a sense that the company is invested in them as individuals. Which, of course, further drives engagement. It also takes some of the development burden off of you. Because, let’s be honest, you’re reading this post and thinking, “When am I going to have time for all these onboarding activities?” Are you setting worthwhile and realistic goals? There’s a reason managers and staff members roll their eyes at some of the recommendations in articles like this one. It’s because employee-development programs that start out with good intentions often become rote or are executed mindlessly and, in the end, fail to benefit the employee or the manager. It’s up to you, whether you’re a hiring manager or an HR professional invested in the onboarding process, to take an active approach to new-hire development. Consider these important components to goal setting: 1) Goals should be relevant to the job, and the recent hire must be afforded the opportunity to achieve them. That is, provide the time, tools, and resources to achieve the goals, just as you provide a workstation, a computer, and a business objective. 2) Goals should come with deadlines and clear measures of success. Falling short of goals should be viewed not as a failure but as a developmental opportunity. People who are made to feel like disappointments tend to become disengaged from their work. Remember that when coaching, just as when selecting and training, each employee has his or her own strengths, motivations, and inhibitors. Some respond to a blunt challenge, while others might prefer a supportive, “we can do this together” type of message. The “corporate ladder” may be somewhat mythological at many companies, since more and more organizations are flattening their structures, and, realistically, most people are better as individual contributors than as leaders. But the learning and skill-acquisition ladder is as real—and engaging—as you make it. About Caliper – For nearly half a century, Caliper has been helping companies achieve peak performance by advising them on hiring the right people, managing individuals most effectively and developing productive teams. The accuracy, objectivity and depth of our consulting approach enable us to provide solutions that work for over

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How many of you ever had a course in listening skills?

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 18:00:29 +0000

“How to listen” lessons were never offered as part of any formal education. It’s amazing… the skills we need the most are never taught in school. We watch Netflix, listen to podcasts, and put our favorite songs on shuffle. We can quote the episode the next day, or sing the songs word for word. But if your spouse or child says something, you say, “What?” or “I didn’t hear you.” How often do you ask someone to repeat what they said? How often do you hear, “You weren’t listening to a word I said.” The two biggest impediments to listening are: I often have an opinion (of you or what you’re going to say) before I begin listening. I often have made up my mind before I begin listening, or before I hear the full story. The two important rules of effective listening must be observed in this order or you will not be an effective listener: Listen with the intent to understand. Listen with the intent to respond. Think about the way you listen. Are you listening with one ear or two? (Half–listening means doing something while someone else is talking.) Are you doing something else when someone is speaking? Do you have your mind on something else when someone is speaking? Do you fake listening so you can get in your comments? Are you waiting for a pause to get in your response? At some point you stop listening. When does that occur? After you have formulated your response. After you have been turned off by the speaker. When you decide to interrupt someone to say something. When the person speaking isn’t saying anything you want to hear. Here are 14 guidelines to observe that will maximize your listening skills, increase your productivity, reduce errors, gain customer satisfaction and help you make more sales: Don’t interrupt. (But…but…but) Ask questions. Then be quiet. Concentrate on really listening. Prejudice will distort what you hear. Listen without prejudging. Use eye contact and listening noises (um, gee, I see, oh) to show the other person you’re listening. Don’t jump to the answer before you hear the ENTIRE situation. Listen for purpose, details, and conclusions. Active listening involves interpreting. Interpret quietly. Listen to what is not said. Implied is often more important than spoken. Think between sentences. Digest what is said (and not said) before engaging your mouth. Ask questions to be sure you understood what was said or meant. Ask questions to be sure the speaker said all he/she wanted to say. Demonstrate you are listening by taking action. If you’re thinking during speaking, think solution. Don’t embellish the problem. What causes people not to listen? Sometimes people are afraid to hear what is about to be said so they block it out. Don’t be afraid to listen. Sometimes you take the other person for granted – spouse, parent, child. Sometimes you’re mentally preoccupied with other things. Sometimes you’re just rude. Sometimes the person grates on you, so you don’t listen. Sometimes you have other things on your mind. Sometimes you know the person speaking, and have prejudged them. Sometimes you don’t respect the other person and block the listening process. Sometimes you think you already know what is about to be said. Sometimes you think you know it all… or is that all the time? There are many secrets to becoming a good listener, but the one that simplifies them all is: Just Shut–up! Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, and The Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude. His real-world ideas and content are also available as online courses at www.GitomerLearningAcademy.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or email Jeffrey at editorial@mhwmag.com.

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The Internet—Friend or foe in material handling

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 18:00:27 +0000

The internet and the technological revolution – the shift these changes have brought to the workplace is unmistakable and unavoidable. From sales and shipping, to operations, to communications both internal and external, technological tools have infiltrated nearly all aspects of the material handling industry. This month, Material Handling Wholesaler asked some of our readers how these tools are playing out within their individual businesses. Is the internet proving useful or challenging? How has it enhanced or changed the industry? Is it friend or foe? Generally, it is the former, according to several leading material handling businesses. But the opportunities the internet offers go hand-in-hand with heightened customer expectations and demands on business performance. And some long-standing business practices, like personal service, still maintain an important place in the industry. Sales and supply chain At TEKLYNX International, Doug Niemeyer said the web and ability to deliver online has completely flipped the company’s shipping method. “We now deliver 90 percent of our software to customers electronically, compared to years ago when 95 percent of orders were shipped via mail,” he wrote, in an email. Niemeyer is general manager for the company in North, Central and South America. TEKLYNX bills itself as “the world’s leading barcode and RFID labeling software developer and solutions provider. In a phone interview with Material Handling Wholesaler from the company’s Glendale, Wis. office, Niemeyer said Teklynx made a concerted effort back in 2009 to shift to electronic sales. “In the last five years, it has accelerated. It has really gone from 30 percent (of online deliveries) to where we’re at today,” he said, noting that the online sales effort went hand-in-hand with a company initiative to pursue some lean initiatives.” The capability to ship electronically has increased the reach of the company, allowing it to ship to deliver software anywhere in the world and within minutes, according to Niemeyer. The challenge within the online shift, Niemeyer said, is that the online accessibility to the company’s software allows for downloading products without training. “The end user experience is often diminished in this situation,” he wrote. The company encourages end users to purchase directly from Teklynx or from a “value-added reseller” to ensure they receive the training needed. Niemeyer said he understands the “do it yourself” mentality many have in today’s environment, but said the system training is specifically designed to make the transition seamless. “We’re not trying to make it difficult,” he said. TEKLYNX software is currently installed at over 750,000 companies, and e-commerce is a growing part of the business of those customers as well, pushing the need for agile and responsive supply chains, according to Niemeyer. “As a supply chain technology provider, this has created a ripple effect for our products as we look to provide scalable, highly responsive software solutions to support our customers’ increased need for greater supply chain visibility and speed to market,” he wrote. But security remains a question. “How secure are things people are communicating and doing?” Niemeyer said. Others say outside of sales that key points of contact are gleaned online. At US Integrated Battery Systems LLC, company CEO David Sterrett said about 30 percent of sales occur online but estimated 80 percent of the company’s leads and contacts and jobs are now found via internet tools. Communication At Direct Recruiters Inc., Cherie Shepard said staff spends most of the day on the internet and phone. “We are always looking for information about industry trends, companies that are growing or changing and movers and shakers in the market,” she said. Still, Shepard, director of packaging, material handling and food processing, said there “nothing is better” than having human interaction. “Above and beyond emailing and phone calling, we feel in-person meetings, whether at trade shows or client visits, is the most effective way to truly get to know the people we work with,” she wrote. “To this end, the internet is a fantastic tool but it is only one tool in a large toolbox.” Sterrett, at US Integrated Battery Systems, a manufacturer of “advanced intelligent energy storage products,” according to its website, agreed. After an initial view or request for information, the next steps are very important, he said, adding that sometimes those steps include face-to-face or phone-to-phone consultations. Staff still need to know logistics, shipping costs, and other pertinent information, he said. But customer expectations, particularly online, have increased, said Lisa Brink, marketing director for Riekes Equipment, in an email. “They expect that we will not only know them, but that we personalize their experience,” she said, noting that expectations for an increasingly social experience online have also risen. “Customers want more communication and to see reviews and recommendations. With the use of apps like Facebook and Yelp customers can easily socialize buying decisions and they expect to get quick responses directly from customer service when an issue arises,” Brink said. Niemeyer agreed. “The Internet has also expanded the ways in which we offer support to customers,” he said, noting the company provides live customer support via a contact center, while an online support provides 24-hour a day, 7-day a week support, year round. He added that being “highly responsive is ultimately the king” in the internet-driven business world. The goal at Riekes, which is “a premier provider of material handling solutions and authorized Yale forklift dealer” according to its website, is to be “100 percent customer centric” and to create a seamless experience interacting with the company, according to Brink. “The last statistic I saw was that there is $62 billion lost each year because of poor customer service,” said Brink, who noted that the “2020 Walker Report” predicts that by 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as “the key brand differentiator.” “We need to be ready for that,” she said. The demands for speed are one of the challenges of this online environment, however. “Immediate is no longer fast enough,” said Brink, who said clients and customers want their material handling partners to be proactive “not only

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Four Measurable Objectives

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 18:00:23 +0000

A few weeks of the new year are already behind us. For many dealerships across the country, January marks more than the start of the calendar year. It can also signify the beginning of the fiscal year. Forecasts from last fall now show up as targets on our financial statement. All of the new initiatives, programs and best laid plans we devised to meet those goals should now be in the implementation stage. As exciting as it is to have new goals in place, sometimes the real challenge is in finding meaningful assessment tools to keep us accountable not only to the results, but also to the processes we use to achieve these goals. I used to have a manager that lived by the mantra: “I don’t care HOW you get there…. just GET there!” I always considered that dangerous territory. Guiding principles are important, because they give you the proper platform for meaningful long term and sustainable performance. In many organizations, the guiding principles are even MORE important than the periodic goals. In February of 1905, a Chicago attorney named Paul Harris started a civic organization that over the ensuing 114 years would link groups of business leaders, and challenge them to make positive, lasting and significant changes not only in this country, but around the world. Rotary International was a key element in the fight to eliminate polio. They routinely raise funds to provide clean water, support education, and grow local economies in order to make them self-sufficient. All of the good that Rotary International does around the world could have never been accomplished without a set of guiding principles. Early Rotarians were well aware that without a code of ethics, their hard work could fall victim to individual agendas, political infighting, greed, and corruption. In 1932 Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor created what would come to be known as the 4-Way test. All Rotarians would embrace and apply this code to not only the goals of Rotary, but also to their business conduct and interpersonal relationships. The Rotary 4-Way Test Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? One look at the success and longevity of Rotary International will tell you that these guiding principles actually work. This code of ethics is applicable across the entire spectrum of our society. It is non-partisan, non-sectarian, and engenders equality. The 4-Way test works well for a civic organization like Rotary. My point in discussing the 4-Way Test is to demonstrate the power of a “code of conduct”. Our goal should be to create our OWN unique code of conduct to govern our corporate behaviors that will help us achieve our goals. In my search for a similar list of principals that could be applied to a dealer organization, a colleague recently shared what he instituted in his own company to govern his processes. I have found these four objectives to be easily measurable, and completely applicable to our business model, and I highly recommend them. These are the four measurable objectives: Objective One – Customer Service The final verdict of our success lies in the purview of the customer. Sadly, the pursuit of profitability can many times be undertaken at the EXPENSE of the customer. Rarely do we purposely consider if our practices are customer-centric. Customer service is not easily defined, but if you pay attention, it’s easy to spot when customers start to feel that you don’t have THEIR best interest as YOUR primary goal. Every customer-contact process you have, should be regularly assessed for personal engagement, appropriate tone, consistent messaging, and customer satisfaction. If your process does not PROMOTE customer service, it needs to be altered, or replaced. This may require you to adjust your goals, and that’s OK. I would rather be less aggressive on goal setting and actually KEEP the customer. Objective Two – Understanding No matter what business you are in, everyone seems to say the same thing. “We need better communication”! I hear this everywhere. In investigating the root cause of poor communication, I am convinced that the problem is not a LACK of actual communication. Look at the devices we carry! We have more access to communication now then we have ever had in the history of mankind. Remember the pre-internet, pre-cellphone days? I remember carrying a pager on my belt and having to find a pay phone if I wanted to communicate. Now I have voice mail, email, texts, photos and social media. All of which is available for SIRI to stream directly into my ear via Bluetooth. My observations lead me to conclude that the problem has nothing to do with communication. The problem is actually a lack of UNDERSTANDING. Understanding is the goal of communication, but with the overload of messaging and the pace of business, understanding actually gets lost in the noise. In my Industry Onboarding webinars, I spend some time discussing this topic. I encourage new hires to practice “active listening”, as a tool to increase understanding. If you are unfamiliar with active listening, it is a method that uses a “listen – then – confirm” process. It uses the catch-phrase: “So, what I hear you saying is….” Using this technique, especially when customer expectations are involved, insures that things are not only communicated, but readily understood. Active listening should have 3 goals. That both parties understand the data of the message That both parties understand the urgency of the message That both parties understand their role in any activity connected with the message. If everyone in your organization used this method when communicating, customers would seldom if ever feel neglected. Objective Three – Efficiency In our business, efficiency can be assessed in multiple ways. Here are the questions that I like to ask. “How many people have to touch the process to get it completed?” This is pretty simple, but remember that cutting participants out of the process could affect

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Plan the work for 2019 and…

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 18:00:08 +0000

You know the next line which is THEN WORK THE PLAN. It is a proven fact. If you follow the plan you set for yourself, you have a better than average chance of reaching them. Sounds reasonable, does it not? It is reasonable if you focus on the proper plan and have the resources, which include systems, processes and personnel to execute the plan. I guess you would start the planning process assessing your markets, cost of products, cost of personnel as well as the needs of current and potential customers. And you can throw in the expected economy you will be working in, taking into account the trade wars as well as the cost of financing. Next, I would consider two or three scenarios changing the variables around depending what you feel the market will be like in 2019. Each scenario could require minor or major changes to each of your major revenue silos, forcing management to select which areas to focus on to manage profits and cash flow. In short, you will be required to examine every part of your business with a goal of prioritizing each revenue stream to maximize profits and cash flow to meet the goals for the scenario under examination. The data you needed to complete your analysis can be found in various industry journals, at conventions, OEM meetings and discussions with other leaders in your industry. A perfect example of this are the 20 groups many lift truck dealers attend with 10-15 of their peers, where they can discuss what each expects for 2019 and why. But once all the data is in and documented YOUR MANAGEMENT TEAM has to make the final call for 2019 on which scenario to plan for. In the past we have discussed the benefit of an outside Board to assist with these decisions. Getting input from CEO’s working in other or similar industries can offer additional perspectives to the discussion. If your Board members manage successful companies it pays to listen to what they have to say about your plan for 2019. Now we get to the important part. It is fun to sit around and kick ideas around, but somehow that does not mean the results are guaranteed. Unless you document your plan and options therein, and also assign execution to individual management team members with regular meetings to see how the process in flowing, you may wind up at the end of the year just where you started. And let’s not forget that ACCOUNTABILITY is a core part of this plan and process. Accountability to: Implement the written plan Document new systems and procedures. Educate employees about the new plan of attack Update job descriptions along with accountability profiles Update technology as necessary. Outline methods to measure performance Change the plan as necessary throughout the year. Each revenue silo will go through this process. New and used sales, short and long-term rentals, parts, service, all other. Each having a different role depending on what scenario you selected for the year. Many companies find that isolating your management team for a day or two is the best way to get agreement on a plan of attack, decide on the goals for each revenue silo and finally get the plan documented. Invite the management team, employees with expertise in areas under discussion, trusted advisers and outsiders with skills not available internally. Not only is management trying to pick a direction to work in for the coming year but also looking for ways to innovate new ways of doing business because all managers know that business as we know it is changing on a daily basis. For example, think about this example as an area of concern for the future. I pick up one of the financial newsletters I read, and the headline is “FOLLOW AMAZON INTO A NEW RETAIL BOOM FOR TRIPLE DIGIT GAINS. The report is from Jeff Yastine’s Total Wealth Adviser, which I consider to be an above average financial publication, with the main point for the current issue being that e-commence is driving the need for more and bigger warehouses. Getting further into the issue to find out who I should be “following for triple digit gains” and lo and behold it is none other than Hyster-Yale Material Handling (HY) because of their focus on delivering all the tools that warehouse operators need to make them as efficient as possible. They will do this by disrupting the industry by 1. Switching to fuel cells and getting out of the battery business and 2. developing dual mode lift trucks that can be operated with or without a driver. Both programs are sure to reduce warehouse operating costs with short cost recovery periods, thus driving HY profits to new highs. Can you imagine what took place in these planning meetings? Must have been interesting since they were discussing the disruption of their own business and diverting capital to do it. But when you stop and think about it using batteries is costly and space consuming, and if you could eliminate most of the costs and use the space for profit producing units they may be on to something. And with the new warehouse systems being installed the use of driver-less lift trucks will fit right in. Time will tell. So just from reading the HY article I would have to stop and think about the future use of batteries, as well as how to keep the large warehouse customers you currently service. That should take you a day or two to plan around. There are obviously many, many issues and programs to discuss in terms both growing your profits and cash flow (notice I didn’t mention sales) which if you don’t consider could leave your company in a bind. Get your 2019 plan in place pronto. Garry Bartecki is a CPA MBA with GB Financial Services LLC. E-mail editorial@mhwmag.com to contact Garry.

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Organizational Culture vs. Organizational Climate

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 06:00:40 +0000

Creating a sustainable work environment where employees feel engaged, loyal, and satisfied should be the goal of every organization. After all, if people dislike their workplace, they’re going to be unproductive at best and perhaps even quit, taking their skills and knowledge with them and leaving you with the high cost of finding replacements. It should be well known by now that the long and involved process of recruiting, interviewing, selecting, and training ends up being rather expensive. It also brings the unpleasant side effect of lost production, not just because no one is doing the work once performed by the employee who left, but also because the new hire is drawing labor resources away from other tasks. In the hope of improving engagement and productivity through talent alignment and development, many conversations have been had, presentations and seminars delivered, and literal and digital ink spilled. Throughout this discourse, the terms organizational culture and organizational climate get thrown around a lot, often interchangeably. However, they’re not the same thing, and the difference is important. Organizational culture is your identity as a company. It’s your values and the norms that have arisen organically over time. A traditional bank, for example, is by necessity a structured environment, as the banking industry is heavily regulated by well-established laws. Banking is an old industry, which suggests the culture has had a long time to develop and is firmly ensconced. It follows that you’d probably find a culture where people are expected to follow proper channels and defer to the chain of command; where being too “entrepreneurial” in your methods and practices (i.e., making it up as you go) would be frowned upon; and where staff members present a calm, courteous face to the customer so as to convey trust and reliability. On the other hand, a tech start-up is likely to be more collaborative and unstructured. Disruptive conflict and ideas might be welcome. Everyone from the company president to the newest intern may communicate laterally and casually. Every organization is different, and while these examples might seem like they’re taken from a TV show representation rather than real life, if you’ve had jobs in more than two industries, you know first-hand that cultural norms vary widely from one industry to the next. Organizational climate deals with how people are experiencing the work environment at any given moment. What is it like to work there and to operate in that culture? How are business conditions and management decisions and actions affecting the general mood? When you consider the collective experience of all the talent in the organization, you’re evaluating climate. Revenue swings, for example, can affect climate without changing the culture. If you work for a freight-transport company built around a culture of process and efficiency, and then revenue drops, you’d probably double down on improving processes and efficiencies; you’re not likely to abandon them. At the same time, employees might feel resentful or despondent that their bonuses were cancelled and a couple of their friends were laid off. The culture stayed the same, but the climate changed. Another way of looking at it: When people aren’t going to fit the culture, it’s usually obvious right from the interview. They might not get a job offer in the first place, and, even if they do, they are unlikely to stick around long because they will feel like outcasts or be miserable. If the climate is troubled, people who do fit the culture and would ordinarily be engaged and satisfied may become unproductive or quit. This distinction is important because problems with culture and problems with climate are resolved with different solutions. Problems of organizational culture arise when the existing culture is detrimental to achieving business goals or realizing the organization’s ideal state. For example, a tech company where the culture is collegial, collaborative, and academic—and where people who exhibit aggressive, autonomous, or competitive behaviors are marginalized—may be an engaging place for easygoing managers and low-key product engineers to work. However, the tech world is highly competitive and disruptive. This organization could find itself falling behind in its industry niche as edgier, leaner, more venturesome start-ups hit the scene. Perhaps it would be time to change the culture. In this scenario, the company may consider a People Analytics solution to identify the talent gaps and spot high-potential employees as candidates for more responsibility and development. Furthermore, they could use pre-employment assessment tools to select outside applicants who demonstrate a motivation to innovate, drive change, and provide more demanding leadership. Problems of organizational climate arise when you’re not paying attention. At companies that seem relatively healthy, management tends to chug along and maintain the status quo. However, many organizations are vulnerable to slowly escalating problems because they aren’t tuned in to the daily experience out on the shop floor, in the field, or at the corporate office. It could be a problem with communication and messaging, general dissatisfaction with leadership decision making, or structural/procedural flaws that are fomenting frustration and harming engagement and satisfaction. Somehow, a malaise is settling over the organization, and declines in productivity, employee retention, and market share will probably follow. It’s a good idea for business leaders to keep a finger on the pulse of the organization, so to speak, and not allow themselves to be blindsided. Employee surveys are a good way to get a broad sense of staff members’ prevailing thoughts, and survey results can serve as a springboard for programs around improved transparency, greater collaboration, better alignment of talent, or greater potential to address business concerns. By taking steps to ensure a positive culture and a healthy climate, management can both move the company forward and perform the preventative maintenance needed to maximize business results. About Caliper – For nearly half a century, Caliper has been helping companies achieve peak performance by advising them on hiring the right people, managing individuals most effectively and developing productive teams. The accuracy, objectivity and depth of our consulting approach enable us to provide solutions that work for over 25,000 companies. To find out more about how Caliper can

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Vendor Management Part 2

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 06:00:22 +0000

Happy New Year! I trust that the turning of the calendar portends hope and success for all of you. We have challenges and opportunities in store for all of us in 2019. My personal “resolution” is to do all I can to improve industry value and dealer profitability in the coming year. If I can help you do that, please let me know. In the December issue article, we investigated managing the OEM- dealer relationship. This month we will dive into ideas on how to improve our relationships the wider range of suppliers who are not necessarily OEM’s, but still represent significant partnerships that are necessary for us to craft meaningful solutions for customers. I wrote an article on building strategic partnerships in early 2018. In that article, I explored these relationships from the standpoint of responding to customer needs that may not be within your core competency as a dealer. There are businesses you want to be in and those that are easier and more financially palatable to outsource. Having qualified, skilled partners means that you can serve multiple customer needs without having to be “all things to all people”. There is however another way to leverage your supplier relationships for mutual gain. Doing so can be part of an annual initiative to pare down your vendor base, increase your buying power, and better manage overall dealer parts inventory. This initiative addresses what can be one of the stickiest issues in the dealership, but it’s an issue that if not addressed head on, will continue to worsen, especially in dealerships with multiple branch locations. Reducing or consolidating supplier channels should be a goal in every dealer organization. The width and depth of the vendor base in most dealerships is always surprising to me, even when I was running my own dealership. Just look the number of checks to be signed every month! Its staggering! The associated costs are also significant. Consider how many individual tasks, and individual employees are involved in the process of purchasing anything in the dealership. Issuing the PO Receiving the product and logging it into inventory Tracking the packing slip Reconciling packing slips to invoices Verifying correct pricing for both products and freight charges Sending the verified invoice to payables Processing payables Issuing checks Signing checks Mailing checks Filing the paid invoices I’m sure some of this has been streamlined in recent years with the advent of more sophisticated software, but it still represents significant cost, and the opportunity for errors is only exacerbated by the sheet number of individual invoices to be processed. The only way to improve efficiency in this process is to find ways to consolidate purchases using fewer vendors. Easy to say… not so easy to do. From 2004 to 2016, I ran the aftermarket division for a multi-branch dealership. Early on in this position, the importance of streamlining the vendor base was evident to me. I wanted desperately to use our buying power, and the only way to do that was to consolidate our purchases and use fewer vendors. The minute I would try and select a single vendor that could service all of our locations at a price point that actually leveraged our buying power, the branch store “phantom vendors “would appear. When questioned, there was always a special reason why the chosen vendor wasn’t good enough for the branch. The excuses were generally dubious. I attributed much of the resistance to long standing personal friendships between branch personnel and local suppliers. I’m sure the bruised egos of a parts manager trying to assert his own autonomy equally contributed to this condition. Most of us want our branch store leadership team to be well served, and we want to give them the ability to make independent choices that boost regional efficiency. The struggle over vendor selection however can be prodigious. Some dealerships have tried to deal with this problem by centralizing their purchasing at the headquarters location. Doing this only further alienates branch parts managers, and infuriates the service managers who were convinced (and rightly so) that the main store location doesn’t understand the unique needs of the branch operations. By the way, wherever I have seen this tried, it’s been a monumental failure. Dealer principals are quick to see the savings they can enjoy by not having branch parts personnel, and the control they will have over vendor selection and pricing. What they often do NOT see are the voluminous errors and frustrations that are created due to the lack of urgency, and miscommunication normally inherent with this practice. Road technicians, service managers, and most of all CUSTOMERS are routinely irritated by the lack of support. No matter how much technology aids in this process, I have not yet seen a place where this is instituted and embraced wholeheartedly by either crew, or client. A better way to go about controlling and reducing the vendor base is by initiating a collaborative effort targeted at a selected number of vendor items. In order to move the needle on gaining purchasing efficiency, it will be necessary to first determine what products represent the lion’s share of the purchasing dollars spent (on non-OEM items). This initiative will be manageable if it is pointed at the top 10 to 20 products that you purchase from outside suppliers. Your list of vendor items may include: Battery and chargers Attachments Tires Forks Fluids and Lubricants Hardware Hydraulic Hose and Fittings Uniform Suppliers Stakeholders are key to this process. In order for it to be effective the committee chosen to make the decisions must consist of people who are directly affected by the choices. You may in fact have DIFFERENT committees for differing product categories. For instance, you may only have parts management on the committee for purchasing lubricants and hardware, while you may want to include service managers and techs when selecting a uniform supplier. The goal of the exercise is to get ALL of the needs on the table (especially from the

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2019 Tax Planning-Not paying attention can cost you

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 06:00:05 +0000

Just sat through another well-done presentation about the TAX CUTS and JOBS ACT (TCJA), and as I made some notes for this article concluded that Congress drafted this bill to pick on equipment dealers. As you know I have been after you to get a handle on the TCJA months ago to give you time to understand it and get maximum benefit from the changes. I HOPE YOU DID THAT BECAUSE THIS TAX BILL IS REALLY COMPLICATED AND REQUIRES YOUR FULL ATTENTION AS WELL AS A TAX EXPERT WHO NOT ONLY KNOWS THE BILL, BUT ALSO WAYS TO MINIMIZE YOUR TAX BILL IN 2018 AND 2019. So, to get you started in the right direction I am going to point you to a podcast I listened to this morning because it really did a great job explaining the bill (using examples) and providing direction of how to deal with these complex provisions. After reviewing the podcast, you are still going be confused but at least you will know what issues to zero in on that need discussion and guidance. Go to CONTRACTORMD.ORG where the program is listed under “webinars” in upper right corner. Contractor MD is a new venture I started to aid contractors using a group of industry experts I know that really know their business. I won’t get into the details because if you are interested you can review the website and see what I am talking about. Who knows, maybe we need one just like it for the material handling industry. Pay attention to the discussion about the different tax calculations required for C-Corps and S-Corps. This is probably the most complex section in the bill because that 21% C-Corp rate looks real attractive compared to the 37% individual rate you would pay on income received from a pass-through entity. Even though you appear to have a material difference in C vs flow-through entities tax rates there is a complex tax review process required to truly understand if that rate difference is really a factor. The webinar provides a couple of examples comparing the tax bill for each type of entity. Comparing the two is a complex exercise which has you estimating business income, w-2 income and other factors. In fact, you may find yourself changing up how much you get paid and how much you take as a distribution to get the results you are looking for. Wow won’t that be fun! I have come across multiple articles stating that you are better off with your flow-through status because of the double tax exposure you get from a C-Corp. These articles also note that a taxpayer receiving a K1 from a flow-through entity and using the new standard deduction and filing a joint return would have to have an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $402000 to pay tax at the 21% rate. If they were able to use the full 20% QBI deduction the AGI would have to be $808000 before being taxed at the 21% rate. Also consider that C-corps are taxed on what is left in the Company. Compensation and rents give back all the marginal tax rate savings. In addition, a nondeductible payment such as dividend would be taxed at about 19% for a potential total tax rate of 39.8% compared to the 37% top rate for an owner of a pass-through entity. But in my estimation is the biggest risk you face is a political about face that reverses the new tax rates to where we were before TCAJ was passed. I would give that scenario a 75% chance of happening if Democrats take control of both houses of congress. Let’s spend a few minutes on Bonus Depreciation. It changed to allow a 100% deduction for both new and used equipment. You can no longer generate an operating loss carryback but can carryover any tax losses created, with the losses able to offset business income from other sources. Many people now ask why we still have the Section 179 write off and why would they use it if Bonus is available. The fact of the matter is that 179 is still useful because it applies to certain assets that Bonus cannot be applied to. So, the rule of thumb would be to use Bonus first and then 179 if you must, keeping in mind that 179 cannot create a NOL. But even if you use Bonus Depreciation and generate a loss carryover, be aware that a NOL can only offset 80% of taxable income with NO. Carryovers, however, are carried forward indefinitely. One also must pay attention to Book/Tax differences generated by deprecating your fixed assets over 5-10 years when they have already been 100% deducted for tax purposes. It is easy to forget that the “tax deductions” on your Balance Sheet may not available to reduce taxable income. And of course, Congress also must play with your interest expense deduction. Interest expense is subject to a disallowance of a deduction of net interest expense in excess of 30% of the business adjusted taxable income. So, it is limited to the sum of (1) business interest income (2) 30% of adjusted taxable income and (3) the floor plan financing interest for the taxable year. The good news is that adjusted taxable income is basically your EBITDA number, which is a materially larger amount than taxable income. If average gross revenues for the prior three years are less than $25 million you are exempt from this rule. Entertainment expenses are not deductible as they were before TCJA. Neither are reimbursed expenses paid to employees. Better clean up your entertainment expense accounts to make sure what you have in there is deductible. Cash Basis accounting is available to firms generating less than $25 million in gross sales. Doable —yes. Practical —maybe. Basically, only a one-year deferral. And let us not forget the latest major tax headache…..WAYFAIR. If you are selling parts or equipment into states where you think you have no nexus….think again.

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Value is the King of Sales, and the Queen of Service

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 06:00:04 +0000

Value is perhaps the most elusive word in sales. Everyone will tell you how important it is, very few can tell you what it is. I’ve already gone on ad nauseam about my distaste for the words “added value.” I recommend you leave them out of your sales lexicon forever. “Added value” has an evil twin: “value add.” Neither of which can be defined in terms of what the customer actually benefits or profits from. Added value is usually some minor service or hard-to-define extra that the customer already expects, or takes for granted anyway. Things like: same-day shipping online ordering parts in stock 24-hour service Those are not VALUE – those are A GIVEN. Those elements are expected. They are NOT incentive to buy – rather they’re just part of your business offering. In order for you to understand the word “value” as it relates to your ability to making a sale, put the word “perceived” in front of it. If you think it’s valuable, and your customer doesn’t perceive it to be valuable, it ain’t value. Your customer is looking to increase THEIR sales, THEIR customer loyalty, THEIR employee loyalty, THEIR productivity, THEIR morale, THEIR profit, and to have no problems. Are those the values you bring to the table? No? Why not? Those are the value elements that any customer would consider worthy of the word. Your little add-on services are more of a bonus than a value. And don’t just bring them one time – consistency is the key. My secret for delivering weekly value to my customers is this column. And throw in my weekly ezine, Sales Caffeine on top of that. Two weekly value messages. Throw in four tweets a day, that’s 22 value messages a week. Add LinkedIn, blog, Facebook, and a YouTube video, and it’s a value firestorm. The value is missing from the MISSION. Most companies have a meaningless mission statement that was created by a marketing department. It’s all about being number one, exceeding customer expectations, and building shareholder value. Barf. What’s your real mission? Is it different from your mission statement? Where’s the value to the customer? Isn’t that the real mission? What you need is a value proposition and a value statement that explains fully: how you help others how they win how you serve in terms of the customer how that leads to loyal customers and referrals. And a mission statement that matches it. A value proposition states what you do in terms of how a customer benefits. For example: You might say, “we provide 4-hour service response.” A “value proposition” way of stating the same thing is, “when equipment is broken or needs repair, production stops. That’s why we instituted 4-hour or less service response. That way there is minimal loss of productivity and job profitability.” Same words, stated in terms of how the customer wins. Value is important to a prospective customer for three reasons: It differentiates you from the competition. It gives the customer understandable reasons to purchase. It gives the customer the peace of mind they need to move forward. To buy. Value is important to an existing customer for three reasons: It builds real relationship. One based on value. It makes reorders more automatic and less bid driven. It eliminates competition. Most competitors thrive on “saving a customer money.” NOTE: Customers don’t want to save money as much as they want to produce more and make more profit. At the end of any sales transaction, or when an existing customer has a need, that’s when “perception of value” plays its heaviest role. If the customer perceives a difference in you, and perceives a reassuring value in terms of how he wins, the sale is yours. If not, the sale goes to the person with the lowest price. Lowest price always means lowest profit. The more you become proficient at stating value in terms of the customer, the more it will be perceived as value by the customer. The more you put value in terms of how they win, how they profit, and how they produce, the more it will be perceived as true value, or real value. And in the end, the value that you receive back will be the order. That’s value. Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, and The Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude. His real-world ideas and content are also available as online courses at www.GitomerLearningAcademy.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or email Jeffrey at editorial@mhwmag.com.

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Pioneer Dock Equipment a market-driven company for 40 years

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 06:00:04 +0000

For four decades at Pioneer Dock Equipment, success has been created through both reliable products and a knowledgeable staff. The Spring Hill, Tenn.-based business is a manufacturer and distributor of a wide range of dock loading equipment. Its products are offered by material handling, industrial door and forklift distributors across the U.S., Mexico and Canada, according to its website. The company got its start manufacturing dock levelers, initially targeting large truck lines around the country. Several years later, in the late 1980s, Dan Jones said the company moved into hydraulic pit levelers as well. Today, Pioneer tends to specialize in serving small, independent companies as customers, according to Jones, vice president of sales and marketing. Pioneer has customers all over the U.S. and has a global footprint as well. Jones said the company takes pride in the longevity of its products. “We tend to keep our sales invoices and information longer than most companies. Our products last longer than most,” said Jones, describing how one of his tech employees recently received a call from a customer looking for a part on a product that had been built in 1991. The company prides itself on the long tenure of its employees as well. “We have a lot of knowledge and very little personnel turnover,” said Jones, who said the average number of years for employees is over 15. Jones, who has been at the company for over 30 years, said he looks for employees who fit a certain profile. “I look for people who are detail-oriented and have a servant mentality. People who like to help others,” he said. Pioneer has three locations in addition to its Spring Hill headquarters, handling various aspects of the operation. Jones said company leaders have looked at larger, consolidated locations, but after drawing a map of where current employees live in relation to the business locations, decided against such a move in order to remain accessible to the staff. “We’ve very attentive to the fact that it is our employees that really make the company,” Jones said. The company focus is market-driven, and willing to change when needed, according to Jones, who added that there is a business-wide approach of trusting its employees. 2018 proved a good year for Pioneer, which started its 2019 fiscal year in October. “The tax cuts helped a tremendous amount. Things are going well,” said Jones, who said the majority of dealers that responded to Pioneer’s annual survey reported growth in 2018 and expected growth in 2019. In the months ahead, Jones said tariffs may present a challenge, but added that Pioneer’s customers generally understand that steel prices will be rising. Another challenge is the way in which technology is changing the landscape. Jones said one of the ways the company is keeping up with this shift is in the release of the Smart Plus line of dock equipment, all equipped with touch screen control panels. “As we develop that, the future is just open,” said Jones, noting how the technology allows problems to be identified early on. Going forward, Jones said Pioneer will continue to create quality products, and to provide the expertise customers have come to rely on. “It’s a fantastic company. I’m proud to be part of it,” he said. Eileen Schmidt is a freelance writer and journalist based in the Greater Milwaukee area. She has written for print and online publications for the past 12 years. Email editorial@MHWmag.com or visit eileenmozinskischmidt.wordpress.com to contact Eileen. If your company would like to be featured, email editorial@MHWmag.com

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Where do you draw the line with customer satisfaction?

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 05:00:00 +0000

By Andrea Belk Olson, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik If you’ve ever worked the front lines – where you’re directly dealing with customers – you know that sometimes, a customer can’t be satisfied. It’s always a challenge dealing with a difficult customer, but many times, companies have hard and fast rules for how to engage with customers, leaving employees in the position of facing anger, frustration, yelling, and sometimes rage. Is it essential to ensure every customer is satisfied? I would assume that most people would argue, “No.” Customer engagement structures – specifically scripts, processes, and protocols – are designed to streamline problem-solving and keep the customer happy, right? I’d argue, “No, they don’t”. Think about any time where you’ve spoken with a salesperson, customer service person or even technical support. Within minutes, or even seconds, it’s usually clear whether you’re speaking to someone that is truly knowledgeable, has decision making power, and truly has your interests and needs in mind. Compare that to speaking to an individual that is bound to a script, where they take you through an often unnecessary protocol, simply because it’s the “company’s process”. Of course, you’d get frustrated – it wastes your time, and often requires you to repeat the same information or data over-and-over again ad nauseam. Companies can argue that the process delivers consistency and better responsiveness, but it’s actually designed to: – Keep customers in a slower decision-making process, to create the opportunity to wear you down and sell you ancillary products and services. It’s a very typical technique used in selling cars – using time as a tool to draw out the process and wear you down. – Protect the company from losing money or legal action. Simply put, if processes are standardized, they can ensure each box is “checked” to avoid any grey areas settling a dispute, as well as having proof to back up the company’s position on an issue. – Reduce company costs and expenses. If a company utilizes an automated system to filter customer support calls prior to connecting them with an agent, it reduces company costs including salaries, training, and benefits expenses. In short, many customer service, sales, and support functions are not designed to serve the customer, but rather serve the company. It’s very reasonable for a company to believe you can’t satisfy every customer. Companies should be aware of who are their truly challenging customers, and consider whether they want to continue to do business with them. If that relationship between the company and customer is toxic, sometimes it’s best to cut off that relationship. However, if the company is not tooled up to truly listen to, engage, and serve customers, they will have many more unsatisfied customers than happy ones. Or simply many that choose not to complain. The bottom line is many companies don’t have issues with mitigating and managing customer satisfaction, but actually themselves create unhappy and dissatisfied customers, due to their internal processes, procedures, and often lack of employee training and support. So the question isn’t so much of whether you should try to satisfy all of your customers, but if you are creating the dissatisfaction yourself.

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Where do you draw the line with customer satisfaction?

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 05:00:00 +0000

The post Where do you draw the line with customer satisfaction? appeared first on Material Handling Wholesaler.

Delta-Q Technologies releases 85V and 120V industrial lithium battery chargers

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 08:00:24 +0000

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To stock or not to stock, that is the question

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:57:10 +0000

In the aftermarket business, profitability can be affected by a host of factors – the competitive marketplace, rising costs for wages and benefits, warranty recovery, costs of training, cost of rolling stock, fuel and van repair costs… Some of these factors are controllable, and some are not. One item however that is fully under our control is how much inventory we have on hand. The goal of inventory management, is to have enough inventory on hand to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction, while not having so much that it has a negative effect on cash flow, and interest expenses. This is many times a delicate line to walk. Inventory not properly managed can make the difference between a profit and a loss. There are always “rules of thumb” when it comes to inventory. Depending on your market and the type of machinery you are selling, conventional wisdom says that you should have between four and six turns per year on your entire inventory value. I have also heard that most dealers will not stock a part until they have built a history of at least three to four purchases in the preceding 12-month time frame. Are these the right standards to adhere to? I think that to arrive at the right formula, we need to consider more than just a turn ratio. Consideration 1 – Equipment sales history and finding the sweet spot Replacement parts are just that…replacements. That means that the existing population of the parts on the machines in the field first have to fail in order to sell the replacement parts. If you analyze equipment sales data correctly, you can many times give yourself a bit of a preview as to your upcoming needs. In many dealerships the sales department and the parts department operate in two different universes. It never occurs to parts managers to leverage the data on an aging equipment population from the dealerships own records. This is a fairly easy process. The first 12-24 months that a machine is in service, very little goes wrong. The unit is usually under warranty, and its need for parts will be limited to mostly fluid maintenance and filters. The original factory installed parts on a machine really don’t start to fail and need replacement until after the second year of service. This need only increases from year three through year seven. After the 7th year, the machine is nearing the end of its economic lifespan, and usually finds a second life in a lower usage, used equipment application. It will keep consuming parts after the 7th year…but usually at a much lower rate. This attached chart shows the percentage of total replacement parts needed every year over a useful life of 10 years. You can see that most of the parts replacements were needed between year three and year seven. The area highlighted in the box above represents what I call the “Sweet Spot” in regards to marketing, stocking and selling aftermarket parts. I am often astonished at the way dealers seem to think that the parts business happens all by itself. If we are going to be serious about any sales opportunity, we need to set out a battle plan. The first step in the plan is to identify your targets! The units that your sales department sold three to seven years ago represent your target audience. Now we can go about stocking our shelf, and our service vans with a mix of parts that actually have the best chance to turn. Consideration 2 – OEM incentives Your OEM supplier has their own set of goals and objectives that compel them to offer certain incentives. Some of these are positive incentives (the carrot), and some of these are negative (the stick). OEM’s regularly tie parts discounts to the dealership meeting certain pre-determined parts purchase goals. Some OEM’s add incentive by adjusting whole goods equipment discounts based on your participation in purchasing their parts. Whether the OEM is using the carrot or the stick, it’s important to consider these incentives when formulating your purchasing plans. For instance, you may be purchasing your consumables like lubricants and antifreeze from a local supplier who provides you with a good price and premium service. These items are also available from the OEM. Over a year’s time your dealership’s total purchases of these items could be significant. The main reason many dealers never consider purchasing these items from the OEM is that using a local source they think that they can make a better deal. Really? Do the math. If the purchase volume of OEM motor oil helps you to meet you parts purchase goals, and it results in an extra 1% discount on ALL of your OEM purchases, perhaps you aren’t getting such a good deal after all. Even if you had to raise your price on oil by 10% to maintain your margins, what customer is going to leave you for that? Few if any. Consideration 3 – Manpower costs The process of purchasing parts consists of the following tasks: Running the reports, and assessing the needs Determining quantities for volume purchase discounts Issuing a purchase order – and proofreading Entering the data on the OEM website Obtaining and filing an acknowledgement Unpacking the ordered parts Verifying the quantities Changing part numbers that may have been superseded Stocking the shelf Obtaining the invoice Verifying the price of all line items Closing out the PO Sending the invoice and packing slip to payables Issuing payment These tasks take what, many times, seems like an inordinate amount of time to complete, and they involve multiple people within your department. It may be wise to consider that when your employees are performing these tasks, what they are not doing is answering your phones, serving customers over the counter, or being of service to your technicians. Placing two or more short stock orders a week may seem like a great way to manage tighter inventories, but what efficiencies are we sacrificing

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