One part of the onboarding process is to identify decision-makers in various areas of responsibility, so technicians know, for instance, who can quickly authorize repairs. Toyota Forklift dealer Southern States Toyotalift, for one, has a formal “onboarding” process for new customers, according to David Bailey, the company’s president. Make sure the dealer knows who the “go tos” are. A walk-through of your facility and “meet and greet” with important contacts facilitates decisions and makes for efficient on-site work. With complete information about what you want to achieve and why, an account manager can bring in specialists in areas like high-velocity warehouse applications and automation, an approach Weidmann compares with a medical internist/specialist model. “We have a plethora of services and solutions, so it’s very difficult for any one account manager to have a full understanding of every type of application and product or solution,” Weidmann notes. Articulating your objectives also gives you a “common language” as you work together, he explains.Īnother benefit of defining your goals is that it allows the dealer to bring in the right expertise early on. The dealer can then help you develop a set of metrics to “measure what success would look like”-for example, moving so many pallets per hour, per operator. Define your operational goals. With a clear, detailed picture of your operational goals, the dealer can be certain the solution offered will achieve the improvements you’re looking for, Cella says. “The earlier we can be involved, the better we can understand the customer’s challenges,” says John Ventre, vice president of product support at Equipment Depot, which represents parent company Mitsubishi Logisnext America’s Cat lift trucks, Mitsubishi forklift trucks, and Jungheinrich and UniCarriers forklift brands. “If we are involved at the concept and approval phase, we understand more about the application and may adjust equipment we suggest.” That additional leadtime also helps the dealer meet expectations under tight timelines. Invite them in early. Including the dealer at the planning stage of a material handling project can help ensure a “best fit” solution. Here are 10 practical steps they recommend that will help you achieve a mutually beneficial, long-term partnership that produces great results. No matter how dedicated to service they may be, though, forklift dealers can’t deliver optimal results without the customer’s active support and participation.
And that fleet operator, he adds, will be a loyal customer for years to come. That’s because the company’s objective is to protect its long-term health, which aligns with doing the right thing for its customers, suppliers, and employees. The switch cost the local service branch over $200,000 in net income annually, but it was the right thing to do, Wieland says. After a lengthy effort, account managers convinced the customer that leasing with full maintenance services would greatly reduce costs and inefficiencies. He cites the example of one customer who had been renting over 100 pieces of equipment on a monthly basis. That means helping customers improve efficiency and reduce their total cost of ownership-even if it proves costly for the dealer in the short term. “What we bring to the customer is a sense of stewardship,” says John Wieland, CEO and principal owner of MH Equipment, a Hyster and Yale dealer.
Or, as Jerry Weidmann, president of Wolter Inc., puts it: “What we really sell are solutions to meet the productivity needs of our customers.” Indeed, Wolter refers to its array of material handling, automation, fleet management, financing, and power products and services as its “productivity toolbox.”įorklift dealers believe they have a responsibility to work in their customers’ best interests. Chris Cella, president of Heubel Shaw, an authorized Raymond Solutions and Support Center, for example, describes his company as “business partners who can provide everything a customer needs to not only keep a facility running smoothly, but also to ensure that facility and operations are optimized for efficiency.” Instead, they take a more holistic approach. Today’s dealers also sell, lease, rent, and service other types of material handling equipment, from conveyors and chargers to racking and robots, to name just a few.īut as the forklift dealers we spoke with for this article took pains to emphasize, they don’t think of their business as being solely about equipment. If you think of a forklift dealership as simply a place to buy, lease, or rent a lift truck-and maybe get it fixed when something isn’t working right-then you are missing out.
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