Material Handling Edge Blog 
 A blog for young professionals in the forklift, conveyor and general material handling industries.  

With the month of September coming to a close, we’re putting the finishing touches on the October issue of MHEDA Edge. The magazine will hit the Web Thursday morning and I implore you all to check it out. With this issue, the bottom line is the bottom line. We’re taking an in-depth look at the financials of a material handling distributorship.

The issue’s title “The Economy: Stepping Back from the Edge” should give you a good idea as to what to expect. Ben Bernanke said the recession is over, but he certainly didn’t say everything was ok. What he suggested is that we’re beginning a slow creep back from the edge. This issue shows how material handling companies can make that journey.

The centerpiece of the magazine is a piece called “The CFO Show.” I sat down with eight different CFO’s from MHEDA member companies to find out what they think Edgers should know about the financials of a material handling business. I think you guys might be surprised by what they say.
The magazine also features articles written by two guest authors, Matt Senecal and Marcel VandenTop. Senecal focuses on how to squeeze more money out of each department in a dealership and VandenTop discusses how to optimize your parts department.

Perhaps my favorite article in this issue is the “Meet A Young Leader” feature where we speak to Brian Schepman, a young assistant CFO at Hy-Tek Material Handling. The profile breaks from tradition and instead of profiling his job responsibilities, it focuses on what it was like for a young person to help navigate his company through the worst financial crisis in a generation.

 At the risk of sounding self-serving, I must say that this is my favorite issue that I’ve ever worked on. I’m hoping you guys will get as much out of it as we put into it. Be sure to stop by www.mhedaedge.org on Thursday to check it out!

I just posted a headline over onwikiMHEDAabout Clark Material Handling Company. Apparently, Republic Bank awarded the company with its “We Care” award for 2009. The award recognizes companies that embody the four elements contained in the CARE acronym:

Community

Activity

Recognition

Enterprise.

The bank said Clark received the award for its philanthropy efforts with organizations including Susan G. Komen, the American Cancer Society, the Martin Luther King Unity Program, the Altrusa Mighty Mom Project and the American Diabetes association. Kudos to Clark for giving back!

Clark is far from the only MHEDA member that gives back to its community. I know that recently Peaklogix raised money for the Race for the Cure. There are also countless other examples of MHEDA  members giving back. I highlighted some of them in an past issue of MHEDA Edge. Check that article out here.

It’s great to see examples of MHEDA member companies giving back. It truly makes me appreciate the industry I’m writing for.

It’s no secret that the economic downturn has wreaked havoc on the material handling industry. Lift truck suppliers are merging, storage & handling companies are selling their assets and distributors are being forced to close their doors. The situation is a no-win for everyone involved. Companies don’t want to shrink—growth is always the goal. Yet, still, they are forced to cut staff and benefits operating under the old “more with less” adage. Of course, employees at these companies are affected too. Some are forced to seek out a new job in the worst market in recent memory. The lucky ones are left to do more work with less support all while wondering if they might be next on the chopping block.

However, it’s not just companies and their employees that are affected by this slump. It hurts the community too. A good example can be found in this article from the Bismarck Tribune in Bismarck, ND. Recently a local Bobcat plant relocated, costing 450 people their jobs. The ripple effect from Bobcat’s departure also carried over into the schools where a local welding education program was left to scramble. Below is an excerpt from the article.

“The effect of the closure of Bobcat’s plant in Bismarck will percolate down to places you wouldn’t necessarily think of – for example, local welding programs.

The loss of Bobcat will affect Bismarck schools – what they pay for steel and other supplies, in the availability of on-the-job experience and the availability of guest instructors.

Bismarck Public Schools and Bismarck State College received discounts on steel from Bobcat, and company employees occasionally taught classes. Bobcat also is a member of the schools’ advisory committees.

For the BPS welding program, the discount on steel added up to about $10,000 annually. The school purchased 24,000 pounds of steel, director Dale Hoerauf said.”

Fortunately, it looks like the welding program will be able to find another partner and the show will go on. Still, it shows the far-reaching effect that the downturn is having on communities. Ben Bernake said the worst is over, I hope he’s right.

Now, to avoid being completely doom and gloom today, I must say that I’ve been proofing the latest issue of The MHEDA Journal and it has me optimistic. The issue features sales success stories—mini case studies about companies that have refused to participate in the recession and continue to make big sales. Be sure to check it out October, 15.

What is a typical MHEDA distributor? I could offer some opinions, but i think taking a look at it from behind the calculator would be much more effective. Fortunately, Al Bates did just that in an article for the upcoming issue of MHEDA Edge. As an end of the week bonus, I’m giving my readers a preview of what that article has to say about what’s “typical.”

Every year, each MHEDA member is invited to take part in a distributor performance benchmarking survey. The results of the survey are compiled by Al Bates of Profit Planning Group and released as the Distributor Performance Benchmarking Survey results. The final report gives information specific to each product line and can be used as a guide for future financial planning.

One of the main things that this report outlines is what the typical MHEDA member company looks like . This year’s financial crisis has impacted that answer. As it stands now, the report defines a typical MHEDA member as follows:

• A typical MHEDA member has net sales of $25,000,000.
• Net profit before taxes for a typical MHEDA member is $500,000—2.0 percent of sales.
• The typical member possesses inventory of $3,180,000 or 28.9 percent of its total asset investment.
• Cash makes up 2.3 percent of a typical MHEDA distributor’s total assets totaling an average of $250,000

There’s been a whole lot of moving and shaking going on in the industry this week. wikiMHEDA has reported on two major changes. One long time exec has stepped down and a young up-and-comer has assumed the reigns of a MHEDA distributorship.

Today, Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc. (THMU) CEO Shankar Basu announced his retirement, effective immediately.

In addition to serving as CEO, Basu served on the TMHU board, held a spot as a director of Toyota Industrial Equipment Mfg., Inc. and was a member of the Material Handling Industry of America’s Roundtable of Industry Leaders.

Basu’s successor will be Brett Wood, a 20-year veteran of the company who has served as president since 2008. Said Wood of today’s news, “Shankar has been a tremendous leader for Toyota. I’m thankful to have worked by his side during my 20-year tenure at Toyota. I will continue to advance Toyota’s leadership position with many of the strategies that he introduced.”

Also, After 36 years as president of Atlantic Coast Toyotalift, Vann Williford has decided to pass the torch to the next generation of leadership. Effective immediately, Jay Williford will assume the role of president.

Vann Williford will remain active in the company as dealer principal, CEO and treasurer. Greg Creed will continue to serve as vice president of sales, marketing and corporate security.

I’m sure a lot of you know about MHEDA’s semi-monthly newsletter, The MHEDA Connection, but for those of you that don’t—here’s the deal. The newsletter is published on the 1^st and 15^th of every month. It’s distributed by e-mail, so you have to sign up to receive it.

While wikiMHEDA is your source for everything happening in the industry,  The Connection is where you can find all of the latest goings-on in the association.

There are 5 main sections to the newsletter

·         New Members – Meet all of the association’s new faces.

·         Breaking News – All of the most late-breaking information regarding the industry and the association

·         Industry Beat – MHEDA member news. Want to find out who got promoted or what company opened a new location, this is your spot.

·         Sales Success Story – A short case study involving a MHEDA Member

·         MHEDA News – Find out all the latest the association has to offer

·         MHEDA U – Keep informed on all of the association’s educational opportunities in this section.

·         Asked and Answered – MHEDA’s best and brightest answer your material handling queries.

·         Spotlight On… – Take an intimate look at one of the association’s many offerings.  

If you want to view this month’s issue, you can visit this page. However, I strongly suggest signing up for automatic delivery. The newsletter is incredibly current and information-packed. You’re going to want to take a look at it.

Greetings everyone! I know most of my loyal readers were probably devastated to read that I would only  be posting two times this week due to the holiday. Fear not! It weighed heavily on my conscience and i decided i would take some time out today to share a little something with you.

I’ve mentioned it before, but the deadline is looming and I don’t want any of you to miss out. The MHEDA Journal Online is sponsoring Flip For MHEDA, a first-of-its-kind competition for MHEDA distributors. The contest is essentially looking for the best and most interesting piece of digital material handling video ever created.

Some topic ideas include: 

• Your favorite installation
• A behind the scenes look at your dealership
• Your best job-site story

With next month marking the start of a new fiscal year, I wanted to do something a little bit different with the October issue of MHEDA Edge. I sent out a survey to eight different material handling CFO’s at MHEDA member companies asking a series of questions. Question topics ranged from their basic job description to advice for handling the current economic situation.

In my opinion, the question that garnered the most interesting responses was “What are three things that you wish your younger employees knew about the financials of running a material handling business?”

The responses were broad and diverse and I’ve decided to preview a few of them with my loyal readers!

“You need to keep it simple. Just because something is complex doesn’t mean it is better. By keeping the financials simple, it allows you to think more openly and allow change.”

“To truly be effective at your job, you have to understand the numbers from a cause-and-effect basis. You have to know how take actions that provide improved results such as lowering costs & expenses.”

“Every single employee impacts the company’s financial results. To that end, everyone must have a firm grasp on the basic financial concepts.”

“A strong balance sheet is equally as important as a strong income statement.”

“Everything matters. From pricing decisions to adding headcount to purchasing supplies, it all counts. All of our decisions have a consequence and effect not only on the individual department but on the company in general”

I’m no expert, but that seems to me to be some pretty sound advice—and there’s plenty more where that came from . Just check out http://www.mhedaedge.org on October 1

This is it for me this week, I’m headed back to Columbus, OH to watch the Buckeyes take on USC. I’ll have a new post up for all of you on Monday!

For those of you who haven’t made it over to www.mhedaedge.org lately (shame on you) there is a new issue of MHEDA Edge available. The theme—Strictly Service. That’s right, we’re taking an in-depth look at the old staple of the material handling dealership—the service department.

The meat of this issue lies in the three On the Job articles. The first one, “Me and My Service Truck” takes an in-depth look at service vehicles, the mobile workstations all service technicians rely on. Also included, is an article on field service automation (FSA) software. FSA software is streamlining service departments by allowing technicians to perform tasks that used to take hours quickly from their laptop computer. Last, but certainly not least, there is an article about servicing conveyors that will teach you how to turn engineered systems repair and maintenance into a lucrative pocket of business.

In honor of the start of College Football season (Go Buckeyes, 1-0!), the Career Track section of the magazine features an article by Larry Johnson on what businesspeople can learn from Alabama coaching legend Bear Bryant.

Be sure to stop by www.mhedaedge.org and check it out. This issue was a blast to write, I hope it’s just as much fun for all of you to read!

So many news outlets these days focus on negative stories that it can become disheartening. That’s why when this came across my desk yesterday, I knew I had to share it with all of you.

Dan MacDonald of M&G materials Handling Company was driving with co-worker Andrew Sunderland  to work when they came across an injured bicyclist lying in the road. Strangely enough, that bicyclist was Andy Blanchard, an employee of local competitor Crellin Handling Equipment. MacDonald and Sunderland immediately pulled over and Sunderland began to administer CPR. After a few tense minutes, Blanchard began to breathe again on his own. Shortly therafter an ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital where he was listed as critical condition. By the end of the day he would be in fair condition, conscious and alert thanks in no small part to the actions of Sunderland.

The Providence Journal has a more in-depth look at the incident here. I suggest taking the time to check it out. Way to go Dan and Andrew!

Also, best wishes to Andy Blanchard for a speedy and full recovery!