Teeing for the Zone

June 30th, 2011

Recently, I had the pleasure of working as a marshal at the U.S. Open Golf Tournament held at Congressional Country Club near Washington, DC. I worked the tournament for 4 days and was really struck by the intense deliberation, thought and scrutiny that each golfer – with their caddies – put into every shot. Together, they study the yardage, the wind and the way the ball is lying in the grass, all while assessing the player’s strengths and weaknesses to be able to make the best shot possible.

It resonated with me because it’s similar to the approach that professional systems integrators take with their clients in our material handling world. Each client priority is scrutinized with their unique data reviewed to find the optimum solution for them. All of the clients’ strengths and weaknesses are assessed to determine the most efficient method to implement each change. The engineers and projects managers all collaborate to create a plan for execution and then the hard work begins. We “swing” and work together to make sure the full value is received by each customer to capture the anticipated return on investment.

Robert Giberson
Principal
PeakLogix
14409 Justice Rd
Midlothian, VA 23113
P: 804.302.1504
C: 804.337.2045
F: 804.794.6515
www.PeakLogix.com

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Service calls can lead to decreased productivity and profits.

June 23rd, 2011

Thinking about it from our customer’s point of view, service calls really are expensive interruptions. This has made me start to consider how I can help by being proactive for my clients. Planning in advance for service, parts, audits, etc. will enable our customers to be more profitable in the end.

Service calls not only cost our clients the actual time and material costs but most importantly the costs of being down unexpectedly. Include with that – the expedited freight charges, overtime or premium pay for after-hours calls, employees standing around scratching their heads because warehouse equipment is down – and you have really taken a bite out of bottom line profits.

So you ask, how can we prevent this from happening? By being proactive whenever we can. It is really important to take this into consideration with the busy retail season quickly approaching.

Training, preventative maintenance, and even a simple equipment audit can increase equipment/system life and dependability. Many of these proactive tasks can be performed by in-house personnel with a little guidance and training.

Sorry, its time for me to run, the service line is ringing…….

John Garrett
Service Manager
PeakLogix
14409 Justice Rd
Midlothian, VA 23113
P: 804.302.1512 F: 804.794.6515
24/7 Service Hotline 866.850.8559
www.PeakLogix.com

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PeakLogix is mentioned in “Hanover Habitales” – the Hanover Habitat for Humanity newsletter.

June 8th, 2011

Hanover Habitales

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The Value of an Integrator

June 7th, 2011

Why use an integrator instead of going direct to a manufacturer? Won’t I pay a lot more working through a “middleman”?

While there are times when it makes sense to go direct to a manufacturer of material handling or storage equipment, generally you’re better off working with an integrator. Here’s how an integrator can provide value that a manufacturer simply can’t do:

• A manufacturer can only offer their solution, not necessarily the best solution for you. Any material handling or storage problem can be solved a number of ways, each way providing a different return on investment. To obtain the best return on your particular project, you need someone who can show you the various alternatives. If you go to a Voice Logistics provider to improve your piece-picking operation, guess what solution they will recommend? Yep, voice-directed picking. But what if the nuances of your operation suggest a better ROI from another technology such as Pick-to-Light?

• Manufacturers don’t have the sales forces to provide personal service. Sure, if you have a “hot” project, manufacturers will put their salespeople on a plane. But once that project is complete, they won’t be able or interested to help you improve other aspects of your operation that can’t be solved with more of their product. Time to go back to the internet to sort through the next batch of companies to help solve your next problem.

• Integrators have a history of working with various manufacturers. Rather than you trying to figure out which manufacturers are financially sound, provide good product(s), provide good service, etc., you can leverage an integrator’s knowledge of the marketplace. Since the integrator is ultimately responsible for the design and implementation of any project, it’s in their best interest to have reputable organizations behind them.

So, in the end, you may pay much less working with an integrator. The value of an integrator is in having someone working alongside you to design and implement solutions that provide the highest return for your company.

Ron Turkaly
Director of Engineering
PeakLogix
14409 Justice Rd
Midlothian, VA 23113
P: 804.302.1506 F: 804.794.6515
www.PeakLogix.com

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