Looking for a mutually beneficial long-term cooperative relationship? Five dealers on the other side of the ocean explained how to achieve this goal. By compiling the article by Toby Gooley, a reporter of American technology media "DC velocity" (Gooley is a writer and editor who specializes in supply chain, logistics and material handling, and a lecturer in the transportation and logistics center of Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Although the national conditions are different, the essence of material handling in internal logistics is the same, which is only for reference of domestic peers!
If you think a forklift dealer is just a place to buy, rent or rent forklifts and may repair them when there are problems, you miss it. Today's dealers also sell, rent, rent and serve other types of material handling equipment, from conveyors, chargers, shelves and robots;
However, as we have repeatedly stressed for forklift dealers, they do not think their business is only about equipment. Instead, they took a more comprehensive approach. For example, Chris cella, President of heubel Shaw, an authorized forklift solution and support center in Raymond, described his company as "a business partner who can provide everything customers need, not only to maintain the smooth operation of the equipment, but also to ensure the optimized efficiency of [its] operation."
Or, as Jerry weidmann, President of Wolter, said. "What we really sell is solutions that meet the productivity needs of our customers.". In fact, Wolter calls its range of material handling, automation, fleet management, financing and power products and services its "productivity toolbox".
Forklift dealers believe that they have the responsibility to work for the best interests of customers. "What we bring to our customers is a sense of management," said John Wieland, CEO and principal owner of MH equipment, a forklift dealer at Hester and Yale This means helping customers improve efficiency and reduce their total cost of ownership - even if it proves expensive for dealers in the short term. He cited an example of a customer who rented more than 100 devices a month. After a long time of efforts, the account manager persuaded the customer that the lease with comprehensive maintenance service would greatly reduce costs and inefficiency. Wieland said that this shift caused the local service sector to lose more than $200000 in net income per year, but it was the right approach. This is because the company's goal is to protect its long-term health, which is consistent with doing the right thing for its customers, suppliers and employees. He added that the operators of the fleet would be loyal customers in the coming years.
However, no matter how much they focus on service, forklift dealers cannot provide the best results without the active support and participation of customers. Here are 10 practical steps they recommend that will help you achieve a mutually beneficial long-term partnership with great results.
(1) Invite them to participate as soon as possible; Involving dealers in the planning phase of material handling projects helps to ensure a "best fit" solution. "The sooner we get involved, the better we understand our customers' challenges." John ventre, vice president of product support at Equipment Depot, said the company represented the cat forklift, Mitsubishi forklift, JUNGHEINRICH and unicarriers forklift brands of its parent company Mitsubishi logisnext America. "If we are involved in the concept and approval stage, we will have a better understanding of the application and may adjust the equipment we propose." This extra preparation time also helps dealers meet expectations in an urgent time.
(2) Determine your operational objectives; With a clear and detailed understanding of your operational objectives, dealers can be sure that the solutions they offer will achieve the improvements you are looking for, cella said,. Then, the dealer can help you develop a set of indicators to "measure what success looks like" - for example, each operator moves so many pallets per hour. Clarifying your goals can also give you a "common language" when working together, he explained.
Another benefit of defining your goal is that it allows dealers to introduce the right expertise at an early stage. "We have a large number of services and solutions, so it is difficult for any account manager to fully understand each type of application and product or solution," Weidman pointed out. With complete information about what you want to achieve and why, account managers can bring in experts in areas such as high-speed warehouse applications and automation. Weidmann compares this approach to the medical intern / expert model.
(3) Ensure that dealers know who is "go TOS"; Visit your forklift asset owner and "meet and greet" key contacts to help make decisions and make field work efficient. Toyota forklift dealer southern states Toyota has a formal "induction" process for new customers, according to David Bailey, President of the company. Part of the onboarding process is to identify decision makers in each area of responsibility, so technicians know, for example, who can quickly authorize maintenance. Through the visit, they can see where they should park the forklift and where they should work, thus eliminating uncertainty and wasted time.
(4) Committed to the construction of safety culture; Cella said that when customers create and maintain a safety culture, backed by continuous training and education, it is beneficial for everyone. He said that ensuring the correct use of equipment and adhering to a "strict and regular" maintenance plan can improve the safety of end users and dealer technicians.
According to ventre's experience, "providing a remote area for our technicians to work on the customer's site so that they can safely avoid traffic flow" is one of the most important ways for customers to help. And when it comes to security, don't ask them to compromise. "The safety of employees is my responsibility. If one of our technicians feels that they are not working in a safe environment, they will be told to stop working and leave the customer's place," ventre said
(5) Open and regular sharing of information; In order to design the best solution for you, the dealer needs to fully understand the scope of your requirements and topics such as your material flow, handled products and operation restrictions. Regular communication is beneficial even if there is no large project.
Wieland advocates regular meetings with key customers. Without "regular and meaningful dialogue, small things will become big things," he said. Making time for honest and open discussions can provide better services to fleet owners, because "small things are small things, and we are all rowing in the same direction."
(6) Provide accurate and up-to-date information; Before any forklift project is carried out, a fleet study must be carried out and the way and time of cargo movement must be mapped. The goal, says weidmann of Wolter, is to "take a comprehensive look at equipment and material flows, including how they are combined". However, in many companies, the data required for this analysis is not easy to obtain, which makes the work of dealers more difficult and time-consuming. In this case, Wolter uses techniques such as heuristic models to supplement the existing information to develop traffic research. He said that although these studies are not accurate, they "provide insight and the ability to talk about overall traffic" and provide a baseline for future data collection.
Accurate and up-to-date information will also help dealers repair more effectively and economically. For example, southern states Toyota customers can use a mobile app to scan QR codes and send emails and photos to immediately report problems. "This helps us make sure we have the right parts before they appear, or get an order for parts immediately," Bailey said A telematics system that collects data and creates performance and maintenance reports is of great help; More importantly, their prices have fallen and are now affordable for medium-sized teams.
(7) Thinking beyond forklift; Customers often rely heavily on equipment proposals that "commercialize or marginalize material handling decisions," Bailey said, but this can be counterproductive if safety, overall productivity, process efficiency and long-term goals are not considered. "You can get all the equipment in the world, but if your process is not the best, you won't see the benefits," he said
He suggested that all these factors should be considered in addition to the price of equipment and labor. Bailey told the customer that material handling should be regarded as an iceberg. "Can we go underwater with you to see all the other factors that should affect your decision? Observing all the variables will also enable the dealer to find what he calls" hidden profitability loopholes ".
(8) Have an open mind; Dealers agree that customers who do some research online and think they have covered all the possibilities may leave a lot of money on the table. One reason is that they may not fully understand new equipment options, material handling methods or technologies. In addition, dealers have experience with a wide range of customers and applications, so they may know cost-effective solutions that customers have not considered or read, ventre pointed out.
Similarly, making decisions based on "the way we've always been" doesn't help either side. For example, instead of replacing existing equipment with the same product, consider whether your business parameters have changed and whether the elevator you needed 10 years ago is still what you need today, veland suggests.
Cella of heubel Shaw agrees: "it's ideal if the customer is open-minded and understands that there may be more than one way to solve the problem in some cases."
(9) Recognize that when the dealer says "no", there is a good reason; Sometimes, dealers feel they have to refuse customer requests. For example, when such requests -- for example, using a device in a non designed way -- endanger safety. In another case, the dealer is required to provide products or services that are not suitable for the application, or the required solution cannot provide the results desired by the customer. In this case, ventre of Equipment Depot said, "we propose an alternative solution that will provide the required results". Although this has been successful in most cases, he said, "sometimes we have to go away". The same is true for customers who require unrealistic delivery time and the dealer can't meet it. "Bailey said," our business is based on integrity; We cannot accept requests that we know we cannot fulfil. “
In a few cases, dealers will feel compelled to "abandon customers". This may happen when their requirements have been unrealistic, said Welland of MH equipment. The dealer said, "it's not reasonable for you to spend a lot of time on every small thing, but if you don't spend a lot of time on a forklift, he doesn't want to pay for it."
(10) Provide constructive feedback; Whether the feedback is positive or negative, forklift dealers want to hear it. Cella said: "If there is anything worth paying attention to, please share it and let us know how we can help. And specify what your expected results are. Our goal is to help customers achieve their own goals, so the more information they can provide, the better the results will be. We are just dissatisfied with the development of things, not the kind that can make dealers and customers Feedback from customers working together to reach a mutually agreed solution. "
The dealer wants you to complete the "how are we doing?" Investigation. Ventre points out that his company's general manager and executive team use these survey feedback to guide decisions on how to better serve customers. Moreover, this is not necessarily constructive criticism. Survey is also a good way for dealers to understand the excellent service of employees.
Strive for gold medal
The key to achieving and maintaining a mutually beneficial long-term partnership is frank communication and open information sharing, and regular meetings to review the team's performance data and project milestones. "For some of our most loyal customers, this has always been a huge relationship building project, which needs to be paid enough attention." Ventre said.
Weidmann believes that if the relationship is based on trust and openness, the result will be a fair solution for both sides. "The best relationship between customers and solution providers looks more like a partnership than a customer / supplier relationship." He observed. "As Michael Jordan said, 'talent wins the game, but teamwork and wisdom win the championship'."
