Tag: economy

Eliminating Overhead the Smart Way

The economy is still lagging far behind what it was a few years ago and though some industries are beginning to see some promise, logistics and third party warehouses are still struggling to stay out of the red.  In order to keep the doors open, many businesses are being forced to find a way to cut overhead because the customers just don’t have money to spend.

Many businesses are moving to smaller facilities, cutting down the inventory they stock and even cutting employees just to lower spending enough to remain profitable.  If you slash inventory, move to a smaller facility or cut employees you could be hurting your company’s ability to provide adequate service, but there is a way that you can spend less money while at the same time improving your ability to serve the customer.

Propane powered equipment may seem like the most convenient and efficient way to move material, but when you calculate the cost of fuel and tally up the frequent maintenance and repair costs you’ll see that quite a bit of your budget is being spent on this equipment that is supposed to be saving your company money.  A much more economic way to move material is with battery operated carts and lifts.

The lifts and carts offered by DJ Products are quiet, efficient and incredibly reliable and the cost of operation is far less than that of a propane powered forklift.  A single employee can easily maneuver around tight spaces with heavy loads of inventory and not ever have to worry about wasting time changing an empty fuel tank – the lifts and carts from DJ can last an entire shift on a single charge.

You don’t need to sacrifice the quality of your service, your capacity to store product or your number of employees to get back into the green – you may be to be able to cut costs and provide better service by running your operation with the right equipment.

A Little Goes a Long Way

When it comes to performing any job, it’s imperative that workers have both the “know how” and the proper equipment to accurately perform every task they encounter.  An employee attempting to figure out how to use a piece of equipment as he goes can result in plenty of wasted time and even put people at risk of injury.

Upgrading every piece of computer and material handling equipment at once could bring about too much of an expense for some distribution centers to bear, but taking small steps to ensure that you have all of the equipment necessary and that all of your employees know how to use it is a big step towards optimal efficiency. 

Having only one big, bulky forklift that is constantly breaking down doesn’t make much sense when you receive and ship out dozens of pallets worth of material per shift.  In the long run, you could save money on operating costs and move more freight if you scrapped the outdated forklift in favor of two smaller battery powered lifts.  Battery powered lifts from DJ Products are designed to be safe and easy for any employee to learn how to operate, which could mean a lot less waiting and a lot more working.

These battery powered lifts and carts from DJ Products can also last an entire shift on a single charge, so there is no time wasted changing fuel tanks and fewer moving parts means that there is less chance for equipment breakdown and a smaller budget required for equipment maintenance.

Streamlining or optimizing can sound like overwhelming processes to undertake, especially for a business trying to survive during these tough economic times, but properly training your employees and providing them with the right equipment may be all that needs to be done to make your operation as efficient as possible.

Downsizing? Can Your Equipment Handle the Move?

Unfortunately many material handling companies and distribution centers are still having trouble making ends meet and this has led to a trend of companies moving into smaller builds to cut expenses.  If your company has a lease coming up for renewal and you are considering the possibility of cutting overhead by moving into a smaller building, ask yourself this –is your equipment reliable enough to conquer the work involved in a move?

If you have issues with outdated material handling equipment that gives you fits because of regular maintenance issues, odds are that your move will be a disaster.  Consider the fact that moving your entire operation will be a labor intensive affair unlike any other.  Moving isn’t just high volume – it’s all volume, you need to get everything: racks, pallets, desks and every last piece of product moved as quickly as possible to the new operation to avoid missed sales and risk being labeled unreliable.  Make no mistake about it – moving is not a job to perform with unreliable equipment.

That’s not all you have to consider either – is there adequate room in your new facility to merit the big, bulky equipment that you are currently running?  If there isn’t than upgrading to smaller, safer and more efficient powered carts like those offered by DJ Products is a very simple decision – just be sure to implement it prior to moving.

You won’t be able to ship or receive product during your move, so it’s absolutely integral to your future success to get the move completed as quickly and efficiently as possible so you can open for business again.  You don’t need any hitches thrown into the process by having a piece of equipment fail at the wrong time.  Upgrading to the best and most reliable material handling equipment prior to the move will ensure that you get into your new facility with as few headaches as possible and that you can resume regular businesses soon as possible upon getting settled in your new building.

“Where do you get off …?” Why DJ Products Talks About Economy, Politics

We cover a lot of ground in the DJ Products’ blog: general material handling news, business and production tips, product specifications and applications, industry trade shows, ergonomics, government regulations, and manufacturing forecasts. To the apparent annoyance of some of our readers, we also discuss the economy and politics.

It’s our view that today’s astute business person is interested in a broad view of the business world, as opposed to a narrow, industry-specific perspective. Because he/she realizes that American business does not exist in a vacuum, the savvy business person is interested in not only what’s in front but what’s coming over the horizon. It’s the economic and political landscape of our country that shapes that future view.

One of the purposes of this blog is to provide a forum for discussing those broader forces that affect U.S. business. If our readers just wanted to learn about DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed carts, tugs and movers, they could visit our website. But we think they want more, and we’re not the only ones. Many industry bloggers stray off their own narrow subjects to address the greater concerns of business. And, like us, they get the occasional reader comment, “Where do you get off ….” talking about the economy or politics or whatever annoys the reader. 

Mike Botta addressed this issue in his March 2 post on the Industrial Equipment News blog. Botta labeled it “Stimulosis Psychosis,” which he defined as “a rare disorder that causes people to temporarily lose touch with today’s economic, political and business realities.” Botta has run into the same issue we have: Blog readers complaining that they prefer to get their economic and political news from other sources. It seems to be a question of bona fides. While we agree that we are not national experts in the field of economics or politics, who better to discuss how the broad concepts bandied about in Washington will actually affect the businesses forced to apply them than the business owners tasked with the job?

An excellent case in point is national ergonomics standards. Ergonomics standards have waxed and waned with Washington’s shifting political winds: in with Clinton, out with Bush, coming in again with Obama. While business owners generally support ergonomic measures because they increase production, lower overall costs and improve worker health and safety, the state of the economy has many worried about the expense of implementation and reporting procedures if the feds get involved.

Politics and the economy are all part and parcel of doing business in America. It’s like Botta, who writes about industrial equipment, says in his blog, “No Industry = No Equipment.” Without a viable U.S. industrial community, material handling firms have no market for their equipment. A healthy industrial community is dependant on a healthy economy and, right now in particular, a healthy economy is dependant on politics.

Business Survival Requires Effort on Multiple Fronts

Survival is the name of the game these days. Savvy companies large and small are tightening up their production and accounting procedures, taking care of their customers and working to expand their customer and product base. As we’ve discussed this week, some companies are improving their market share through consolidation mergers. Last week we talked about the importance of innovation, flexibility and customer service in surviving in today’s highly competitive market. We’ve also discussed the need to broaden your reach by finding new market opportunities for your products and services. The bottom line is survival in a recessionary economy requires businesses to make a constant effort on multiple fronts. Survival requires continuous effort to maintain current excellence and constant innovation to explore and pursue new opportunities.

Through economic highs and lows DJ Products has maintained its standing as a national leader in the manufacture of ergonomically-designed motorized carts and powered cart movers by blending the old with the new. We have always maintained the highest quality production standards in the manufacture of material handling equipment, but we’ve introduced new, innovation, ergonomic designs to material handling that allow our customers to meet future challenges. Early on, DJ Products identified the growing concern about worker health and safety and the growing expense of ignoring musculoskeletal injuries. We predicted the increasing importance of these issues to employers and their workers as well as government and potential customers and worked to design innovative products that would meet growing demand.

Understanding the value of a satisfied customer, DJ Products has provided superior customer service. But we also understand that customer needs change as business changes. Our material handling products are designed with versatility and flexibility in mind so that they’ll be able to perform multiple functions to keep up with the changing demands of our customers. Lift kits and retrofit kits provide even more innovative flexibility to serve our customer’s needs. DJ Products also has the ability to offer our customers engineer-to-order material handling products to meet their specific needs.

DJ Products has been diligent in finding new uses for our ergonomically-designed material handling equipment. CartCaddies that were originally designed for manufacturing environments are now employed regularly in the healthcare, hospitality and retail industries. Our auto pushers are also being used at truck depots, RV sales lots and boat marinas. Working with our customers, DJ Products is constantly searching for and finding new uses and new markets for our innovative products.

Bailout Finally Reaches Small Businesses

Despite the fact that America’s small businesses have created nearly 70% of the new jobs in the past decade, small businesses have been largely ignored in Washington’s bailout frenzy — until now. Finally, small businesses are about to get a much-needed shot in the arm. As part of the federal government’s plan to jump-start the economy, President Obama recently announced plans to give lenders $15 billion to free up resources for small business loans through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, popularly referred to as the Recovery Act. The plan would also cut loan fees and increase the share of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans guaranteed by the federal government.

While the media spotlight has been focused on the rescue of big financial and automotive corporations, small businesses have been struggling to weather the same difficult storm. Decreases in consumer spending and the general unavailability of credit have hurt small business owners in material handling, manufacturing and nearly every sector of the economy. With the banks keeping a tight grip on money to shore up their own bottom lines, credit-worthy small businesses have been denied the loan money they need to survive, much less thrive.

By funneling federal dollars into banks that lend to small businesses the Obama administration hopes to increase their financial stability and encourage these banks to start lending again. New loans could not only help small businesses better meet current obligations but also allow them to take advantage of merger or expansion opportunities that present themselves.  Small businesses are defined by the feds as businesses with fewer than 500 employees. By working through existing financial channels, economic experts say new loan money will be able to reach small businesses faster.

“American small businesses are one of the strongest engines for economic prosperity in the world, and we can’t let this crisis continue to undermine their growth and potential, said acting SBA director Darryl Hairston in a statement released to the media and widely reported.

The Recovery Act will temporarily rescind the SBA loan origination fee which can be as great as 3.75% of the loan. It will also increase the federal guarantee from 85% to 90% of the loan amount. For complete information on the Recovery Act and its impact on small businesses, visit the SBA website.

Business Survival Strategies that Work

This week we’ve been talking about what it will take to survive in today’s challenging economy. We’ve shared marketing ideas from industry experts and our own playbook that have allowed companies to not only survive past economic downturns but thrive in highly competitive markets. The secret to survival in a bear economy is to develop a corporate attitude that is innovative enough to envision new applications for your products, flexible enough to act quickly when a new opportunity presents itself, and customer-oriented enough to anticipate customer needs and respond quickly to customer requests. Our ability to succeed in these areas has made DJ Products a nationwide leader in the innovative design and manufacture of ergonomic motorized carts and powered cart movers.

Through the example of our own company’s experiences, we’d like to demonstrate how businesses can apply the principles of innovation, flexibility and customer service to survive today and position themselves to thrive tomorrow.

Innovation. Innovators in the material handling field, DJ Products realized the value of ergonomic design before it became a popular cause. We realized that ergonomics was likely to become increasingly important as a worker health and safety issue with the power to drastically reduce health care, insurance, disability and workers’ compensation costs. But beyond that, we saw in ergonomics the potential to improve the speed and efficiency of production across a broad range of business environments.

Flexibility. DJ Products has exhibited the flexibility to imagine and develop new markets for products originally designed primarily for industrial settings. The most compact, light-weight versions of our CartCaddy movers are employed daily in health care and hospitality settings. Their small size and easy maneuverability in tight spaces makes them perfect for crowded hospital corridors and hotel hallways. We’ve found applications for our motorized car/truck pushers in the boating industries and recently designed a specialized version for use by auto racing pit crews.

Customer Service. We’re Old School in our belief that customer service must always be our first priority. We pride ourselves on our ability to customize our products to meet specific customer needs. We’re so convinced you’ll like our products, we offer a free trial program before you buy.

Take a page from the DJ Products’ handbook. Companies that emphasize innovation, flexibility and customer service will survive and can even thrive in these challenging economic times.

Tough Economy Expected to Force Industry Consolidation

Consolidation across the American economy is one of the most discussed results of the down-turning economy. While economic gurus aren’t predicting a return to national monopolies, Americans will definitely have fewer choices to make by the time the economy turns the corner in the next year or two. Most industry watchers agree that this across-the-board contraction in U.S. markets will have a positive effect, both for industry and the consumer. Consolidation is expected to force industries in all sectors of the economy to become leaner and more efficient while improving product quality and customer service.

Times have changed since the breakup of the monopolies that controlled the American economy and workplace in the 1800s and early 1900s. It’s been a quarter of a century since the government split apart the Bell Telephone System, America’s last remaining monopoly, and some would say, opened Pandora’s Box. The plethora of phone options and short-lived providers that followed gives credence to the current view that too much competition is not always a good thing. Customers became annoyed by the constantly changing phone rates and service options. Many of the new companies were unable to maintain promised service levels and failed. While there is still healthy competition in the telecommunications industry today, there are fewer big players and each one is stronger. Consumers may have fewer products to choose from, but products are more dependable and reliable. 

The U.S. auto industry is undergoing a similar consolidation. True, if GM can’t stop the bleeding, the Big 3 may become the Big 2 which would be a considerable loss to U.S. industry. But on the plus side, each of America’s auto makers is pruning out the dead wood. Low-profit lines like Hummer and Saturn are on the chopping block. Labor contracts are being renegotiated to more reasonable and sustainable levels. Detroit is finally releasing its grip on “bigger is better” and embracing a fuel-efficient future. When the dust settles, industry experts expect the U.S. auto industry to be leaner, meaner and more competitive with foreign auto makers.

The same healthy consolidation is expected to happen across most sectors of the U.S. economy. Stay tuned Wednesday for more on this subject. 

Consolidation Mergers Can Strengthen U.S. Industry

Consolidation is the new industry watchword. As we discussed in our last post, industry experts expect consolidation to affect every sector of the U.S. economy as we struggle to climb out of the current recession. The good news is that some experts, particularly Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, are now cautiously predicting an end to the recession this year. Echoing a statement he made to Congress last month, Bernanke said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes this week that if the government’s shoring up of the U.S. banking system succeeds, “… we’ll see the recession coming to an end probably this year.”

That doesn’t mean that U.S. business will return to its pre-crash ways. The hard lessons learned during the past year are expected to have a lasting impact on U.S. businesses. Savvy business owners are expected to continue leaner, more-efficient practices adopted during the recession to protect themselves against a still uncertain future. But we’re not out of the woods yet. Consolidation is playing a major role in weeding out weak and under capitalized players and broadening the scope of strong companies. Consolidation mergers could play a significant role in strengthening U.S. industry across the board.

In a March 16, 2009 article posted on SupplyChainDigest online, Materials Handling Editor Cliff Holste says, “SCDigest predicts the automated materials handling industry will soon see rapid consolidation …” Holste reports that a merger between two of the conveyor systems industry’s biggest suppliers is imminent, barring any last minute glitch. It could be the first of many. Holste and SCDigest believe the material handling industry is ripe for consolidation. Contributing factors include:

  • Over-abundance of suppliers in a shrinking market. Even before the recession, Holste reminds us that many industry watchers didn’t believe there was enough business to support all the players profitably. The recession just accelerated what might have been a slower winnowing of the ranks.
  • Consolidation allows companies to increase their product and customer scope while cutting expenses, primarily in personnel cuts across the board. Mergers “can goose profits of the combined companies,” Holste notes, while nearly halving expenses.
  • Well capitalized companies are buying out poorly capitalized ones resulting in stronger firms better able to withstand the economy’s financial roller coaster and provide long-term products and services to their clients. 

Light Glimmers at End of Tunnel

A light is beginning to glimmer at the end of the tunnel. Financial gurus are now predicting that the recession will ease by the end of the year. That’s the prognosis of financial experts assembled by Dow Jones Indexes to assess the effect of President Obama’s stimulus package and the government’s efforts to combat the economic recession.

Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics at Moody’s Ecomony.com, told David Pitt of the Associated Press that he expects the economy to pull out of America’s longest post World War II recession by the end of the year, ending 24 months of trials and tribulations. Experts expect unemployment to peak at 10% by mid year, thanks primarily to the federal $787 billion stimulus package. Without government intervention, Faucher said unemployment increases would have continued throughout 2009, rising to 12% and possibly higher.

“That would take what is now a severe recession and actually turn it into a deep depression,” Faucher told the Associated Press. “We think the fiscal stimulus package is vital in turning around attitudes toward the economy.”

The assembled financial gurus also predicted a mid-year turn around in home sales with a slow rise in prices expected in the last quarter of 2009. While home prices are not expected to return to the inflated values of two years ago, prices will definitely improve from their current record lows. Home prices are currently running at 35% their average value.

As federal programs buy up toxic assets, banks and financial firms will stabilize. Financial experts expect credit to be available again by the third quarter of this year. While credit terms and standards will be tougher than during the feeding frenzy that led to the current collapse, credit will be obtainable by both businesses and consumers.

All of this is good news for struggling American companies and consumers. Of course, given the size of the federal debt it’s taken to stop the bleeding, we’ll be paying for this for years to come. But it is heartening to hear from the specialists that the patient will live.

At DJ Products, we’ve never doubted that America would recover. Sure, we’ve been as concerned as everyone else; but Americans are tough fighters. Sometimes it seems that we’re at our best when we’re cornered. A lot of businesses have had to cut back, lay off and make tough choices during the current crisis. But the worst is nearly over and it’s time to think about the future. As everyone gets back on their feet, we want you to know that you can depend on quality DJ Products’ material handling products and our superior customer service to help you get back in the game.