Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

outbound

Contrarian approach can be most direct path to success

When everybody else was hunkered down for the recession, Blackman Plumbing embarked on a two-year spending spree. It's not as crazy as it might sound.

It has often been noted here that while the contrarian approach to business entails many risks, it is sometimes the clearest path to success. The way companies responded to the Great Recession is a case in point.

As the global economy plunged over the figurative cliff in September 2008, many businesses hunkered down in survival mode, cutting spending, hoarding cash, and generally keeping their heads down. That strategy met with mixed results. While some weathered the storm and are now regaining their footing, others weren't so lucky. The more they slashed costs, the worse things got, eventually forcing them to shut down altogether.


Not everyone ran for cover when the storm hit, however. A few contrarians decided to brave the elements and treat the downturn as a business opportunity. While others throttled back on investment, these companies did just the opposite. They invested aggressively in facilities, systems, and equipment to ensure they'd be well-positioned for growth when the economic winds inevitably shifted. One such company is Blackman Plumbing Supplies in Bayport, N.Y.

During 2009, in the teeth of the recession, Blackman, a wholesale plumbing distributor serving the New York metro area, embarked on a bold two-year investment initiative. In the first year alone, it upgraded its enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, relocated its distribution operations to a building with double the capacity of the previous site, and installed a new warehouse management system (WMS).

That was three major projects in one year—a lot to tackle in boom times, and all the more impressive given the chaos taking place in the market. But the plumbing supplier never looked back. "Without change there would be no progress," said Dave Connelly, Blackman's director of purchasing, in a press release detailing the initiative.

And Blackman wasn't done yet. As the calendar turned to 2010, the company marched forward with further investments. In addition to completing the largest acquisition in its 89-year history, Blackman revamped its delivery fleet operations and installed a new transportation management system (TMS).

As a result, the company today has both the technologies and processes in place to meet even its most aggressive customer service goals, says René Jones of Burbank, Calif.-based Total Logistics Solutions Inc., a firm Blackman engaged to help guide it through the transition. Material is received and put away within 48 hours of delivery by the vendor. Orders are now picked with radio-frequency devices. And with the system's command center, the movement of every order can be tracked throughout the facility in real time. On top of that, every delivery truck is monitored through a GPS system so the customer knows exactly when its order will arrive.

As for what all this means for Blackman's competitive position in the market, consider the following: The DC's error rate is less than 5 percent in an industry where the standard is more than double that. Blackman's order fill rate exceeds 97 percent (the industry average is between 94 and 97 percent). And the company can now tell customers with full confidence that if they place an order by 5 p.m., they'll have their supplies by 7 a.m. the next day.

What will 2011 hold for Blackman? Instead of coasting on its achievements, the supplier plans to continue on its course of improvements. "Just because the year changed doesn't mean it's time to stop progressing forward," said Stephen Davanzo, the company distribution center manager, in the press release. "One more year means a new set of challenges that must be overcome!"

Spoken like a businessperson with no fear of swimming upstream in turbulent waters.

The Latest

More Stories

Trucking industry experiences record-high congestion costs

Trucking industry experiences record-high congestion costs

Congestion on U.S. highways is costing the trucking industry big, according to research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), released today.

The group found that traffic congestion on U.S. highways added $108.8 billion in costs to the trucking industry in 2022, a record high. The information comes from ATRI’s Cost of Congestion study, which is part of the organization’s ongoing highway performance measurement research.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

From pingpong diplomacy to supply chain diplomacy?

There’s a photo from 1971 that John Kent, professor of supply chain management at the University of Arkansas, likes to show. It’s of a shaggy-haired 18-year-old named Glenn Cowan grinning at three-time world table tennis champion Zhuang Zedong, while holding a silk tapestry Zhuang had just given him. Cowan was a member of the U.S. table tennis team who participated in the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan. Story has it that one morning, he overslept and missed his bus to the tournament and had to hitch a ride with the Chinese national team and met and connected with Zhuang.

Cowan and Zhuang’s interaction led to an invitation for the U.S. team to visit China. At the time, the two countries were just beginning to emerge from a 20-year period of decidedly frosty relations, strict travel bans, and trade restrictions. The highly publicized trip signaled a willingness on both sides to renew relations and launched the term “pingpong diplomacy.”

Keep ReadingShow less
forklift driving through warehouse

Hyster-Yale to expand domestic manufacturing

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling today announced its plans to fulfill the domestic manufacturing requirements of the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act for certain portions of its lineup of forklift trucks and container handling equipment.

That means the Greenville, North Carolina-based company now plans to expand its existing American manufacturing with a targeted set of high-capacity models, including electric options, that align with the needs of infrastructure projects subject to BABA requirements. The company’s plans include determining the optimal production location in the United States, strategically expanding sourcing agreements to meet local material requirements, and further developing electric power options for high-capacity equipment.

Keep ReadingShow less
map of truck routes in US

California moves a step closer to requiring EV sales only by 2035

Federal regulators today gave California a green light to tackle the remaining steps to finalize its plan to gradually shift new car sales in the state by 2035 to only zero-emissions models — meaning battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid cars — known as the Advanced Clean Cars II Rule.

In a separate move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also gave its approval for the state to advance its Heavy-Duty Omnibus Rule, which is crafted to significantly reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from new heavy-duty, diesel-powered trucks.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshots for starboard trade software

Canadian startup gains $5.5 million for AI-based global trade platform

A Canadian startup that provides AI-powered logistics solutions has gained $5.5 million in seed funding to support its concept of creating a digital platform for global trade, according to Toronto-based Starboard.

The round was led by Eclipse, with participation from previous backers Garuda Ventures and Everywhere Ventures. The firm says it will use its new backing to expand its engineering team in Toronto and accelerate its AI-driven product development to simplify supply chain complexities.

Keep ReadingShow less