Contributing Editor Toby Gooley is a writer and editor specializing in supply chain, logistics, and material handling, and a lecturer at MIT's Center for Transportation & Logistics. She previously was Senior Editor at DC VELOCITY and Editor of DCV's sister publication, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly. Prior to joining AGiLE Business Media in 2007, she spent 20 years at Logistics Management magazine as Managing Editor and Senior Editor covering international trade and transportation. Prior to that she was an export traffic manager for 10 years. She holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University.
Every lift truck manufacturer relies on a network of dealers to represent its interests in specific regions of the country. As you might expect, the dealers' "bread and butter" is equipment sales, leasing, rental, and maintenance. But lift truck dealers today are no longer simply providers of equipment—far from it, in fact.
Just ask Mike Romano, president and CEO of Addison, Ill.-based Associated. Associated is a Raymond dealer, but providing lift truck equipment and related parts and services is just one facet of its mission. The 53-year-old company has refashioned itself as a provider of integrated supply chain solutions that include fleet optimization and labor management programs, as well as systems consulting, design, implementation, and integration, Romano says. As part of that strategy, Associated recently acquired Peach State Integrated Technologies, a company that offers consulting services and automated material handling solutions.
Associated exemplifies an evolving trend in the industry: In addition to supplying lift trucks and related services, dealers are expanding to become equipment and facility designers and integrators. If you think about it, it's really not that much of a stretch. While they may have begun as experts in one area, that doesn't preclude them from becoming knowledgeable about other areas of the distribution center. In today's business environment, moreover, it is really not enough to simply sell and service equipment. Vendors have to understand how their products fit into the entire operation and how all aspects of the facility interact. From there, it's a natural step to assisting customers with the entire facility or operation.
Not every lift truck dealer can—or should—offer every product or service for every customer. But many provide a surprising array of services and solutions—some of which have nothing to do with lift trucks. Here's a brief look at some of the value-added services they provide.
THE EXPECTED ...
Some of the value-added services and solutions lift truck dealers offer will come as no surprise. Fleet management services, for instance, have been a mainstay for years. If a customer desires, dealers can essentially take over the day-to-day management and operation of the fleet. They also work with customers to measure and analyze lift truck utilization rates, maintenance requirements and costs, operating costs per hour, and many other performance factors. The objective is to identify the optimal fleet size and make-up for a customer's operation, notes Jim Mozer, senior vice president, Crown Equipment Corp. Crown recently moved its InfoLink fleet management system to the cloud, so that the company and its dealers will host customers' forklift fleet and operator management data for them.
Fleet management software (usually provided by the lift truck manufacturer) generates a variety of reports dealers can use to make recommendations to their customers. Just one of many examples is Fleet Track, a Web-based fleet management tool that provides Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America (MCFA) dealers and customers with a comprehensive view of their fleets. Users can view planned maintenance services and all related invoices, generate reports across a number of parameters, analyze spending over a variety of date ranges, and track individual equipment spending and hours, says Devin TePastte, parts marketing supervisor for Rapidparts Inc., a subsidiary of MCFA. (For more examples of fleet management software—along with advice on how to take full advantage of its capabilities—see "Six ways to get more from your fleet management software".)
Many dealers also provide and support wireless asset tracking and management systems, which are available from independent vendors as well as from some lift truck makers. Yale's dealers, for example, can install and monitor the company's Yale Vision wireless asset management system, which provides a tiered offering of wireless monitoring, access, and verifications, says Bill Pfleger, president of Yale Distribution. With basic monitoring, lift truck operations can track such information as hour meter readings, cost of operations, periodic maintenance, fault codes, impacts, operator training, parking brake and seat belt violations, and speed alerts, he explains.
OSHA-compliant operator training is a value-add area where dealers excel. Classes may be offered at the dealer's premises or, if the class and fleet are large enough, at the customer's facility. Classes aren't necessarily just for lift trucks, though. One example: ProLift Industrial Equipment, a Toyota dealer headquartered in Louisville, Ky., also offers safety training for users of aerial lifts and skid-steer equipment as well as for pedestrians working around forklifts. Dealers may also offer "train-the-trainer" courses, which are designed to teach fleet and safety managers how to set up and maintain their own compliance programs. This is complex stuff: The instructor training course offered by Dallas-based Sunbelt Industrial Trucks, a dealer that represents Komatsu, Nissan, TCM, Big Joe, and Flexi, covers 18 separate subjects. Some dealers, such as Crown Equipment's dealer network, also offer lift truck technician training for their customers.
There are a host of other lift truck-specific "extras" offered by dealers. These vary from one dealer to another, but some examples include labor management programs, fleet insurance, tire-usage analysis, and educational seminars, videos, and webcasts.
... AND THE UNEXPECTED
All those value-added services might not sound surprising, since they directly relate to lift trucks. But many dealers have also ventured deep into nontraditional territory. Essentially, lift truck dealers say, if it has to do with warehousing, they can help.
Some large dealers specify, sell, and support complementary material handling products, such as racking, shelving, battery handling equipment, conveyors, carousels, pick-to-light systems, floor cleaning equipment and supplies, and automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS). Those that do so usually have a specialized sales staff and typically employ material handling engineers. They will also bring in outside experts when needed. ProLift Industrial Equipment, for example, offers automation services for equipment like automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and AS/RS. For such assignments, the company partners with a qualified systems integrator and a software vendor as needed. "We can bring subject experts to the customer," says Chris Frazee, ProLift's vice president, sales.
ProLift has also ventured off the beaten path when it comes to the products it offers. A relatively new and fast-growing area for the dealer is energy products, including energy-efficient fans, lighting, high-speed doors, and air curtains. "We hired an engineer to focus on energy products," Frazee says. "Often, we are selling to an engineering department, so it's helpful to address their technical concerns."
You might not think of turning to a lift truck dealer for facility layout and systems design, but it's becoming increasingly common for them to provide these services. All of the lift truck manufacturers we spoke with said some or all of their dealers offer facility design services and consulting, and that they have appropriate expertise in-house. As the Associated-Peach State merger suggests, this represents a big growth area for large, multifaceted dealers.
The lift truck business is built on relationships, so this type of assignment frequently grows out of an existing relationship, Frazee says. A customer that plans to renovate a warehouse or DC or build a new one may prefer to work with a dealer that is already familiar with its business and can develop an integrated solution that incorporates storage, automation, and lift trucks, he observes.
WHAT'S IN IT FOR THEM—AND YOU?
Why do so many lift truck dealers choose to offer "nontraditional" products and services? Certainly, it helps them expand their business if they can bid on the entire project, not just the forklift purchase, says Crown Equipment's Mozer. But it also strengthens the relationship dealers have with their customers, reinforcing the dealers' role as "trusted advisers," he adds.
Nontraditional "extras" are a natural outgrowth of the lift truck dealers' culture of service, says Yale's Pfleger. "Our dealers do more than just sell 'iron.' They provide additional value to the customer, and we feel customers appreciate that and want to continue to do business with lift truck brands and dealers that provide value and move their business forward," he says. Furthermore, this commitment to service sets dealers apart from the competition that may just provide the product.
Associated's Romano views the question from an evolutionary standpoint. "Throughout the years, our customers' needs have continuously evolved, which has required us to search for unique solutions," he says. Many customers view the purchase of lift trucks and related products as a tactical—rather than a strategic—decision, a change in perception that has contributed to the commoditization of the lift truck industry, he continues. "Therefore, in order to remain a valued partner in our customer's supply chain, we had to enhance our approach to the market and provide our customers with long-term strategic solutions that will help them operate at a high efficiency level."
What about the customers? How do they benefit from purchasing nontraditional products from a lift truck dealer, as opposed to a traditional vendor or consultant? "Having a one-source provider helps ensure that everything works well together without negatively impacting productivity levels and warehouse flow," Mozer says. "We can tell customers, based on their operations, what forklifts would work best in their environment. ... We can also work with customers to figure out the best layout and racking and shelving systems to install. It's about ensuring the customer gets the maximum efficiency and performance possible with the fleet and the facility they have."
Ultimately, says MCFA's Devin TePastte, it's about reliability and trust over the long term. "A customer's decision to purchase a forklift extends beyond how well a piece of equipment initially fits into a fleet," he says. "Customers want to know that dealers will assist them long past their initial purchase with proactive and technology-driven solutions to benefit their entire material handling operations."
Senior Editor David Maloney contributed to this article.
Progress in generative AI (GenAI) is poised to impact business procurement processes through advancements in three areas—agentic reasoning, multimodality, and AI agents—according to Gartner Inc.
Those functions will redefine how procurement operates and significantly impact the agendas of chief procurement officers (CPOs). And 72% of procurement leaders are already prioritizing the integration of GenAI into their strategies, thus highlighting the recognition of its potential to drive significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, Gartner found in a survey conducted in July, 2024, with 258 global respondents.
Gartner defined the new functions as follows:
Agentic reasoning in GenAI allows for advanced decision-making processes that mimic human-like cognition. This capability will enable procurement functions to leverage GenAI to analyze complex scenarios and make informed decisions with greater accuracy and speed.
Multimodality refers to the ability of GenAI to process and integrate multiple forms of data, such as text, images, and audio. This will make GenAI more intuitively consumable to users and enhance procurement's ability to gather and analyze diverse information sources, leading to more comprehensive insights and better-informed strategies.
AI agents are autonomous systems that can perform tasks and make decisions on behalf of human operators. In procurement, these agents will automate procurement tasks and activities, freeing up human resources to focus on strategic initiatives, complex problem-solving and edge cases.
As CPOs look to maximize the value of GenAI in procurement, the study recommended three starting points: double down on data governance, develop and incorporate privacy standards into contracts, and increase procurement thresholds.
“These advancements will usher procurement into an era where the distance between ideas, insights, and actions will shorten rapidly,” Ryan Polk, senior director analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Procurement leaders who build their foundation now through a focus on data quality, privacy and risk management have the potential to reap new levels of productivity and strategic value from the technology."
Businesses are cautiously optimistic as peak holiday shipping season draws near, with many anticipating year-over-year sales increases as they continue to battle challenging supply chain conditions.
That’s according to the DHL 2024 Peak Season Shipping Survey, released today by express shipping service provider DHL Express U.S. The company surveyed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to gauge their holiday business outlook compared to last year and found that a mix of optimism and “strategic caution” prevail ahead of this year’s peak.
Nearly half (48%) of the SMEs surveyed said they expect higher holiday sales compared to 2023, while 44% said they expect sales to remain on par with last year, and just 8% said they foresee a decline. Respondents said the main challenges to hitting those goals are supply chain problems (35%), inflation and fluctuating consumer demand (34%), staffing (16%), and inventory challenges (14%).
But respondents said they have strategies in place to tackle those issues. Many said they began preparing for holiday season earlier this year—with 45% saying they started planning in Q2 or earlier, up from 39% last year. Other strategies include expanding into international markets (35%) and leveraging holiday discounts (32%).
Sixty percent of respondents said they will prioritize personalized customer service as a way to enhance customer interactions and loyalty this year. Still others said they will invest in enhanced web and mobile experiences (23%) and eco-friendly practices (13%) to draw customers this holiday season.
That challenge is one of the reasons that fewer shoppers overall are satisfied with their shopping experiences lately, Lincolnshire, Illinois-based Zebra said in its “17th Annual Global Shopper Study.”th Annual Global Shopper Study.” While 85% of shoppers last year were satisfied with both the in-store and online experiences, only 81% in 2024 are satisfied with the in-store experience and just 79% with online shopping.
In response, most retailers (78%) say they are investing in technology tools that can help both frontline workers and those watching operations from behind the scenes to minimize theft and loss, Zebra said.
Just 38% of retailers currently use AI-based prescriptive analytics for loss prevention, but a much larger 50% say they plan to use it in the next 1-3 years. That was followed by self-checkout cameras and sensors (45%), computer vision (46%), and RFID tags and readers (42%) that are planned for use within the next three years, specifically for loss prevention.
Those strategies could help improve the brick and mortar shopping experience, since 78% of shoppers say it’s annoying when products are locked up or secured within cases. Adding to that frustration is that it’s hard to find an associate while shopping in stores these days, according to 70% of consumers. In response, some just walk out; one in five shoppers has left a store without getting what they needed because a retail associate wasn’t available to help, an increase over the past two years.
The survey also identified additional frustrations faced by retailers and associates:
challenges with offering easy options for click-and-collect or returns, despite high shopper demand for them
the struggle to confirm current inventory and pricing
lingering labor shortages and increasing loss incidents, even as shoppers return to stores
“Many retailers are laying the groundwork to build a modern store experience,” Matt Guiste, Global Retail Technology Strategist, Zebra Technologies, said in a release. “They are investing in mobile and intelligent automation technologies to help inform operational decisions and enable associates to do the things that keep shoppers happy.”
The survey was administered online by Azure Knowledge Corporation and included 4,200 adult shoppers (age 18+), decision-makers, and associates, who replied to questions about the topics of shopper experience, device and technology usage, and delivery and fulfillment in store and online.
An eight-year veteran of the Georgia company, Hakala will begin his new role on January 1, when the current CEO, Tero Peltomäki, will retire after a long and noteworthy career, continuing as a member of the board of directors, Cimcorp said.
According to Hakala, automation is an inevitable course in Cimcorp’s core sectors, and the company’s end-to-end capabilities will be crucial for clients’ success. In the past, both the tire and grocery retail industries have automated individual machines and parts of their operations. In recent years, automation has spread throughout the facilities, as companies want to be able to see their entire operation with one look, utilize analytics, optimize processes, and lead with data.
“Cimcorp has always grown by starting small in the new business segments. We’ve created one solution first, and as we’ve gained more knowledge of our clients’ challenges, we have been able to expand,” Hakala said in a release. “In every phase, we aim to bring our experience to the table and even challenge the client’s initial perspective. We are interested in what our client does and how it could be done better and more efficiently.”
Although many shoppers will
return to physical stores this holiday season, online shopping remains a driving force behind peak-season shipping challenges, especially when it comes to the last mile. Consumers still want fast, free shipping if they can get it—without any delays or disruptions to their holiday deliveries.
One disruptor that gets a lot of headlines this time of year is package theft—committed by so-called “porch pirates.” These are thieves who snatch parcels from front stairs, side porches, and driveways in neighborhoods across the country. The problem adds up to billions of dollars in stolen merchandise each year—not to mention headaches for shippers, parcel delivery companies, and, of course, consumers.
Given the scope of the problem, it’s no wonder online shoppers are worried about it—especially during holiday season. In its annual report on package theft trends, released in October, the
security-focused research and product review firm Security.org found that:
17% of Americans had a package stolen in the past three months, with the typical stolen parcel worth about $50. Some 44% said they’d had a package taken at some point in their life.
Package thieves poached more than $8 billion in merchandise over the past year.
18% of adults said they’d had a package stolen that contained a gift for someone else.
Ahead of the holiday season, 88% of adults said they were worried about theft of online purchases, with more than a quarter saying they were “extremely” or “very” concerned.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are some low-tech steps consumers can take to help guard against porch piracy along with some high-tech logistics-focused innovations in the pipeline that can protect deliveries in the last mile. First, some common-sense advice on avoiding package theft from the Security.org research:
Install a doorbell camera, which is a relatively low-cost deterrent.
Bring packages inside promptly or arrange to have them delivered to a secure location if no one will be at home.
Consider using click-and-collect options when possible.
If the retailer allows you to specify delivery-time windows, consider doing so to avoid having packages sit outside for extended periods.
These steps may sound basic, but they are by no means a given: Fewer than half of Americans consider the timing of deliveries, less than a third have a doorbell camera, and nearly one-fifth take no precautions to prevent package theft, according to the research.
Tech vendors are stepping up to help. One example is
Arrive AI, which develops smart mailboxes for last-mile delivery and pickup. The company says its Mailbox-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform will revolutionize the last mile by building a network of parcel-storage boxes that can be accessed by people, drones, or robots. In a nutshell: Packages are placed into a weatherproof box via drone, robot, driverless carrier, or traditional delivery method—and no one other than the rightful owner can access it.
Although the platform is still in development, the company already offers solutions for business clients looking to secure high-value deliveries and sensitive shipments. The health-care industry is one example: Arrive AI offers secure drone delivery of medical supplies, prescriptions, lab samples, and the like to hospitals and other health-care facilities. The platform provides real-time tracking, chain-of-custody controls, and theft-prevention features. Arrive is conducting short-term deployments between logistics companies and health-care partners now, according to a company spokesperson.
The MaaS solution has a pretty high cool factor. And the common-sense best practices just seem like solid advice. Maybe combining both is the key to a more secure last mile—during peak shipping season and throughout the year as well.