Dan Belanger

Businesses are always looking for ways to reduce expenses in order to maintain sustainable service levels and profits. But are you looking in the right place? Maybe not.

Here are some methods and reminders to increase income and reduce expenses without dramatic business changes…

Try allocating your staff in the most effective fashion and build on their knowledge base. Ok. So payroll costs are a substantial expense of doing business – I get it. It’s been like that for decades. However, placing focus on minimizing payroll often times will come back to haunt you. You lose the good ones for the benefit of your competitor. Take great care in simply adjusting payroll.

For example, if your warehouse operating expense is high, and your income/sales are eroding, consider finding someone in the warehouse that would do a great job in customer service or sales and try them in those areas. Then income may increase while your warehouse expense decreases.

Yes I know … sales operating expense would increase but we’re talking ideas here. Maybe sales income increases four times more than the sales operating expense does. I’m simply saying don’t just take the easy way out. It’s bad for business.

Review your in-house employee mix. I’ve seen companies that have three people in the finance department and one in customer service. Remember that the customer often cares more about what they see rather than the back room activities.

Your current customers will always be one of the best ways to increase income and minimize expenses. Contact them on a regular basis and ensure they are pleased with the results of working with you. Ask them how you can help them succeed; don’t just sell to them. Do this with online surveys, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings. Provide training programs for them. Ask them what is most memorable about doing business with you. Customer referrals are gold.

Ask your vendors what you can do to help them. You may find that what you do today has a negative impact on timely delivery of product, and that the vendor is apprehensive about telling you because they fear losing your business.

Contact your vendors and discuss what they can do for you. Setting expectations of your vendors is good business. Monitor the success of those expectations. Keep in contact with all of your suppliers.

Review both your technical (software) and procedural systems. Take action and make adjustments where necessary. Use technology to your advantage. Estimates reveal that a company only uses 30% of their software capabilities and they only use those features that relate to specific job duties. Get some training in the features of the software and be sure to keep up on the new releases. You only know what you know.

Spend some time where the work actually takes place. Ask questions of those doing the work. Discuss what could be done to help them do their job more efficiently. You’ll be surprised what you find out.

Keep your second major asset – inventory mix and levels where they should be. Keep your inventory accurate. Work your entire line of credit and not just the top. Be sure and process warranty and returns on a timely basis. We’re talking major interest charges and lost opportunity costs here. Oh, and EVERY storage facility should have some type of bin location system.

Do a noteworthy job managing your third major asset – your facilities. No doubt if your facility is unorganized, it will certainly have a negative impact on timely and accurate shipments. Unorganized facilities impact damaged product levels, safety goals, and overtime hours.

Well the list goes on and on, and not one of these ideas need involve staff reductions and you just might enjoy a positive impact on your sales and expense. Take ownership of what goes on in your business. Drop me a note or call if you would like to discuss.

Wishing you a successful 2012!

Dan Belanger is the President of Beltech Group. He is experienced in all aspects of running a profitable business. He works with manufacturers, distributors, and service groups in both the public and private sectors. Helping companies to solve those unique business problems, Dan helps move them to the next level. Dan is an advocate of the yes you can attitude and is known as an idea man. 

For more information, call 702-785-7331 or contact him by e-mail at dan@beltechgroupinc.com. Also visit his website at www.beltechgroupinc.com.

The textbook definition of a QR Code is “A two-dimensional bar code created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994.

The “QR” is derived from “Quick Response.” A type of Matrix or Two Dimensional bar-code. Rather than use a linear or laser type reader you use an imager – like the camera of an iPhone or a bar-code scanner that will scan linear and also has an imager.

My definition? Another existing technology that will solve many business problems. There are several QR code versions all of which allow varying amounts of information. The size of the QR code has little impact. In fact, if you have a QR code displayed on a screen during a presentation, it’s likely that someone in the audience could use their iPhone or AnDroid to take a photo of the code and if they have the app on their phone then action could be taken concerning the contents of the code. It’s very common to imbed a url in the QR code which directs you to a website.

Now I really don’t care who developed the code or the specifics of how it’s constructed, but I do care about what it can do for us in both our personal and business lives. Being able to look past the technology, and imagine the use, is the key to using it to the fullest.

Hey linear bar-codes .. you’d better look out! QR codes could ultimatley replace you!

QR CODES: A CASE IN POINT The Case: A company servicing the Oil and Gas industry has a substantial vehicle fleet worth tens of thousands of dollars. They use a robust web hosted software solution to manage the maintenance and other information regarding each of the fleet assets. The fleet being mobile, they struggle to keep timely and accurate maintenance schedules and physical locations of each asset. They also find it difficult to gain a mobile-in the field view of any given asset. When vehicles are not in the field they are not generating new business or income. The Solution: QR codes were placed on each vehicle. Fleet managers capture the code on an iPhone, iPad, or other imaging device and they are taken directly to that asset in their software solution. This can be done not only at their facility but anywhere they have phone coverage – like in a corn field. Information can then be viewed or updated regarding that asset. In fact we also placed the QR code on a key chain so if you have the keys to any vehicle you can also access that assets information. The Benefits: Vehicles no longer sit unused. Timely updates of where the vehicles are, the maintenance history, and what the vehicles are doing is now updated visible in the system. Asset number entry is now accurate resulting in credible historical data. Management and staff are now able to focus on income generating and customer care events. The result? You guessed it … PROFIT!

Dan Belanger

So my guess is that right now there are a number of businesses that have heard of RFID tags and either don’t fully understand the possibilities or believe it is to expensive or complex to implement.

Well let’s bring clarity to the very foundation of the technology. Most automated data processing techniques; such as scanning UPC codes, or capturing QR codes require “line of sight.” This means that you must see the code and be close enough to capture the code in order to use the codes value. You initiate the conversation. Not true with RFID.

Radio Frequency Identification or RFID as it’s called does not require line of sight. Remember when you tried to get that $200 leather jacket out of the store and the buzzer went off? Think RFID. RFID tags can talk to you without you knowing a conversation needs to take place.

Now if you open your mind you should be able to see the possibilities. Product in Ocean containers, product hidden from view, product that is walking out the door or “on the move”, and the list goes on and on.

Case in point …

The Problem:

A company located in Louisiana, involved in servicing the Oil and Natural Gas industry. This company uses a product out in the field that could have a purchase price from $500 – $15,000 and has a lifecycle of over a year if maintained well. They have over 250 of these items. So they REALLY want and need to control/track these items.

The challenge being that due to weather and other environmental concerns, it is difficult at best to “tag” the items. In addition, multiple units are packed on a trailer to be transported back and forth from the work sites and if there were some identification present, a human would not see it.

The Solution:

The assets are constructed of a poly material. So we used a plastic seal gun to seal the RFID tags in the walls of the asset. The tags are hidden from view, and are not impacted by water, heat, humidity, or any other damaging environment. You can drive over the tags and they’ll keep on performing. 

The Benefit:

Now they have full visibility as to the location of each asset. Entry errors into their software have been eliminated. Efficiencies and cost control have greatly improved. That huge investment in assets is  protected. The net result? PROFIT!

As a possibility thinker, I can tell you the applications of RFID technologies are everywhere. Truth is that Little Bo Peep should have placed RFID tags in those sheep!

Dan Belanger

“Possibility and Yes you Can Thinker”

Dan Belanger

You know the drill. The owner of the business says: “Gosh, we paid all that money for training and I can’t see what it has done for us. Never again!” Consider the thoughts below and perhaps they will ease your pain.

Start at the top. Executive management must make it clear that they support education. It never hurts for an executive to attend some of the sessions with their respective staff. Demonstrate that you have a genuine interest in their success.

Identify how your audience learns. Some people like graphics; such as pie charts and the like, some like lots of text; so they can highlight points of interest, and some like visual; like pictures. Some like humor and some are more serious and some like example based; “show me” rather than place me in a classroom environment. Some like an instructor that uses a lot of non-verbal communication such as facial expressions and the like. The important fact is that we are people and not clones.

There must be a tangible reason for training and the audience needs to fully understand this. Many people will attend educational sessions with the “My boss told me I had to be here” or “Why am I here? attitude. Let them know the why and the potential results.

Document what the employee will accomplish and work with them to ensure the improvements actually take place. Before attending the training program, the employee should document what they hope to take away from the session and you should help them with this. Then when the session is over, you need to meet with the person and review the results. Then the two of you should set objectives and as part of their performance review (I call it their success review), be sure and refer to the plans you made. Sorry, but you MUST take an interest.

Acknowledge that education should be given in manageable segments.Don’t expect a person to retain all the material presented in an eight hour session. Make the sessions smaller and let those in attendance absorb and put into practice the information presented. When I attend a conference, my objective is to walk away with three essential ideas that I can begin to implement when I return to work. 

Allow your employee base to continue to attend webinars and other training programs. Abe Lincoln once said “If I had 8 hours to fell a tree, I’d spend 7 sharpening my axe.” On average a person must hear new information three times (some say seven) before it registers in their mind for immediate recollection. We all have varying levels and methods of learning and remembering. Training and Education are a never ending process and even though it takes them away from the work the long term benefit should be remarkable. 

Vary the type of training you provide. Mix it up between classroom and where the work actually takes place. Train one-on-one and train in small and larger groups. 

Have your staff work at other jobs in the company. Allow them to experience first hand how the quality of their work impacts their team members and the customer. Gosh, why not let the pick and pack group sit in the customer service rep’s chair for a day. That will wake them up.

Dan Belanger

That darn Microwave oven. Seems we all expect instant gratification ever since the microwave came to be. Well I guess fast food restaurants have not helped either. Thank goodness for bank lines.

Clearly, these are days when we all expect answers and results in an instant and we have a low tolerance for error – or inaccurate events.

When developing your database field formats, keep in mind that even though speed is of the essence, accuracy must be first and foremost. 

Fundamental Database Structure Techniques ..

• Finding Product- The format of your product descriptions are so very important as they can impact your Class, Category, and Commodity Codes. While we used to rely on a part/sku/item number to find things we are now in a very visual environment. Create your descriptions from left to right – making the left most value most generic and the rightmost value the least generic and separate the values with some delimiter – I like the comma. For example: BREAD,WHEAT,24-OZ,AUNT MILLIES. When you sort by description all the BREAD items will sort together and when you search the product you are after, that product should be displayed in a more timely fashion. 
• Units of Measure- Keep you units of measure to a standard of 2 or 3 positions. Keep the number of U/M’s small. For example: EA for Each, PC for Piece or use EA for Piece, LB or LBS for Pounds, BX or BOX for Box, GAL or GL for Gallon.
• Upper Case – Am I Yelling? - Unlike in an Email, using all upper case for certain database values is not interpreted as yelling. Keep your customer, vendor, units of measure, product names, and other values in uppercase. Why? because then there’s no question as to whether it should it be upper or lower case. Ever seen this? “Whole Wheat bread” or “24-oz”. Database structures like a lot of “structure”.
• Class; Category; Commodity - Be sure you establish some type of example when setting these fields. In our BREAD example, you might call the Commodity “Bakery Products” and the Category “Breads”. Either way grouping products will go a long ways towards finding product in an accurate and efficient fashion.
• Part/SKU/Item Numbers - Don’t use SMART part numbers. The part number should be an internal method of finding the product you are after. When’s the last time you visited the grocery store, shopping for bread, and gave them the UPC code? Nope, you probably said “I’d like a loaf of whole wheat bread.” 

Clearly Software Systems vary in their ability to accommodate these techniques, however that should not stop you from making some type of improvement to better serve your customers.  

Every company cares about accuracy and efficiency. If you implement only one of the above best practices at least you’ve taken positive actiontowards making working for and doing business with you a focal point. Heck, it may even put more money in your pocket. 

email Dan at: dan@beltechgroupinc.com

Dan Belanger

Whether you are happy with your performance, or seek improvement, doing the little things with excellence can have a big impact on your bottom line. Automation will not fix everything, and, in fact, can magnify those areas that need improvement. Keep this in mind as you plan to introduce bar code technology into your operation.

Having a clear understanding of how your processes and procedures work from a manual standpoint can be valuable in determining how to structure your software flags and prompts in preparing for bar code technology. How do you rate in the following areas?

Receiving

• Does your receiving clerk keep a receiving log, indicating dock activity for each shipment by date? This log can prove valuable for reference purposes by purchasing, accounting, and in filing claims with carriers and suppliers.
• Before unloading a truck, does your receiving clerk check to make sure that the shipment belongs at your dock? Is the shipment at the right branch location? Is the purchase order number valid? A supplier may send a purchase order to the wrong branch from time to time. The supplier may also send duplicate shipments. A carrier may also deliver transfers and purchase orders to the wrong locations. These are good things to know before you unload the truck and sign for the shipment.
• Does your receiving clerk sign the delivery bill properly? Is the document dated and signed each and every time? Are the number of pieces or pallets indicated on the bill physically verified before the bill is signed for that exact amount? Is any visible or potential concealed damage noted on the bill? Are you taking advantage of STC “said to contain” when the bill indicates a piece count on shrink-wrapped pallets that are difficult to count? In most cases the driver will agree to this practice if he understands that it is your policy that he be involved in the count verification. This gives you the opportunity to file a shortage claim once the pallets are broken down after the drivers’ departure.
• Do the unloaded shipments sit on your dock for hours or days before they are checked in and put away? This practice can lead to damaged product, pilferage, premature usage, and false shortage claims. There is also the potential for additional handling when the dock area is congested.
• Are receiving discrepancies noted clearly by line item on the packing list? Is the packing list signed and dated by the individual checking the shipment in? Too often the purchasing or accounting department has to backtrack to find additional information concerning a receiving discrepancy that was not documented clearly at the time of receipt. Relying on memory after the fact, or even identifying the individual who checked the shipment in can make it difficult to file a successful claim.
• Do you have return goods lying around collecting dust? Do you have a clearly understood procedure for documenting why these items came back to you? Are you disciplined enough to use software codes to track how often customers return product and for what reason? Is someone assigned to process the correct paperwork and send the item back to the supplier for credit?

Material Handling

• Are your aisles free of congestion, allowing forklifts and carts to move about? Often times the aisles become a staging area to make room for the next receipt at the dock. Murphy’s Law will dictate that you pick or put product away in a congested aisle. The additional handling can be costly to your operation, because your team will invariably move that product again and again. The product also becomes more difficult to locate as it is moved from one area to another. The proper approach is to locate the product in a bin location shortly after receipt and check-in.
• Are you preparing for your next receipt ahead of time? Condensing partial pallets within your storage system will insure that you can put product away directly from the dock or staging area, avoiding the congested aisle scenario.
• Are you using bin locations to locate your product? The vast majority of distribution software packages available today utilize bin locations. This allows for immediate, accurate location of products within your showroom and warehouse zones. Many distributors are leery of taking advantage of this tool because of the perceived need to keep vendor lines together. Bin locations in fact, free you to locate product based on sales volume, thereby reducing the number of footsteps required to pick those key items that tend to show up on a majority of orders. We call this velocity movement.
• Can you pass the “Temp Test?” Are you able to bring in a new hire or temporary employee and insure that this individual is productive within 2-3 hours? Utilizing bin locations provides a map for the new recruit to follow. This allows you to look for someone skilled in the area of material handling. Without bin locations, you will need to look for someone whom is experienced within the product lines you carry in order to find the product to fill orders. They will require more hand holding to learn where those different product lines are kept within your four walls.
• Are you cycle counting with any consistency? The majority of cycle count programs will ask that you count a certain number of items per day. Your cycle counter will need to know where those products are located. With challenges like multiple storage or overstock locations, congested aisles, and a warehouse without bin locations, many distributors give up on cycle counting, citing that it is a waste of time.

Safety

• Do you allow your material handlers to ride on the forks of a lift truck through your warehouse? Do they ride up and down on the forks or a pallet in order to pick or put product away? Do you allow them to ride on a pallet jack, propelling it like a scooter throughout your facility? These practices can be very dangerous. Aside from the possible lawsuits stemming from an injury, O.S.H.A. will enjoy a tour of your facility as well. It gets even better for those of you will multiple locations. A reasonably priced safety cage and a focus on safety can provide a simple solution.
• Have you really tested your forklift drivers for competency? Far too many distributors take an individual’s word that they have forklift experience and then wonder why they are experiencing so much product damage and equipment down- time. If you do not have anyone on your staff certified in forklift training, contact your forklift supplier. They will be happy to help, many times at no cost to you.

These are just some of the basics, that when done with excellence, can have a very real, positive impact upon your organization.

Contact Dan at: dan@beltechgroupinc.com

Dan Belanger

When the economy takes a downturn, and markets become more competitive, many businesses look for ways to reduce expenses in order to maintain sustainable service levels and profits. But are you looking in the right place? Maybe not.

Here are some methods to increase income and reduce expenses without dramatic business changes …

Try allocating your staff in the most effective fashion and build on their knowledge base. Ok. So payroll costs are a substantial expense of doing business. It’s been like that for decades. However, placing focus on minimizing payroll often times will come back to haunt you. You lose the good ones for the benefit of your competitor. Take great care in simply adjusting payroll.

For example, if your warehouse operating expense is high, and your income/sales are eroding, consider finding someone in the warehouse that would do a great job in customer service or sales and try them in those areas. Then income may increase while your warehouse expense decreases. Yes I know … cost of sales would increase but we’re talking ideas here. Maybe sales income increases six times more than the cost of sales do. I’m simply saying don’t just take the easy way out. It’s bad for business.

Review your in-house employee mix. I’ve seen companies that have three people in the finance department and one in customer service. Remember that the customer often cares more about what they see rather than the back room activities.

Your customers will always be one of the best ways to increase income and minimize expenses. Contact them on a regular basis and ensure they are pleased with the results of working with you. Ask them how you can help them succeed; don’t just sell to them. Do this with online surveys, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings. Provide training programs for them. Ask them what is most memorable about doing business with you. Customer referrals are gold.

Ask your vendors what you can do to help them. You may find that what you do today has a negative impact on timely delivery of product, and that the vendor is apprehensive about telling you because they fear losing your business.

Contact your vendors and discuss what they can do for you. Setting expectations of your vendors is good business. Monitor the success of those expectations. Keep in contact with all of your suppliers.

Review both your technical (software) and procedural systems. Take action and make adjustments where necessary. Use technology to your advantage. Estimates reveal that a company only uses 30% of their software capabilities and they only use those features that relate to specific job duties. Get some training in the features of the software and be sure to keep up on the new releases. As we say “you only know what you know.”

Spend some time where the work actually takes place. Ask questions of those doing the work. Discuss what could be done to help them do their job more efficiently. You’ll be surprised what you find out.

Keep your second major asset – inventory mix and levels where they should be. Keep your inventory accurate. Work your entire line of credit and not just the top. Be sure and process warranty and returns on a timely basis. We’re talking major interest charges and lost opportunity costs here. Oh, and EVERY storage facility should have some type of bin location system.

Do a noteworthy job managing your third major asset – your facilities. No doubt if your facility is unorganized, it will certainly have a negative impact on timely and accurate shipments. Unorganized facilities impact damaged product levels, safety goals, and overtime hours.

Well the list goes on and on, and not one of these ideas need involve staff reductions and you just might enjoy a positive impact on your sales and expense. Take ownership of what goes on in your business. Drop me a note or call if you would like to discuss.

Wishing you a successful 2011!

Dan Belanger

Dan Belanger

 Oustanding information relating to day-to-day email. Enjoy!

Meet Dan Belanger

Below is a list of things that don’t exist, why they don’t exist, and what exists in their place. Read them at your own peril…

 “It just happened” doesn’t exist. No, it didn’t. Nothing just happens. Things happen because a series of decisions were made by somebody, and that’s what caused things to happen. Do you take responsibility for the consequences of your choices?

Limits don’t exist. For example, when people complain that they’re “not creative.” I don’t buy that. Everyone is creative. The difference is, not everyone knows how to explode the barriers set in place by a lifetime of conditioning to express that creativity. Here’s the reality: As long as you don’t violate the scientific laws of thermodynamics, pretty much anything is possible. Probable? Maybe not, But possible? Absolutely. Are you bound and limited by the thoughts that others have formulated for you?

Luck doesn’t exist. Serendipity is, in fact, a strategy. It’s not an accident. It’s not luck. It’s working hard. It’s putting yourself in the way of success. It’s making the world say yes to you by engaging your Yes Muscle and becoming a more yessable person. It’s increasing the probability of success by making yourself more successable. It’s creating an ongoing, market-wide hunger for you. It’s victory through unwavering vigilance to your vision. It’s being at the right place at the right time by being in a lot of place. How could you become the luckiest person you know?

Mistakes don’t exist. In Steven Mitchell’s Second Book of the Tao, he explains, “There are no mistakes in the universe. What happened is what should have happened; there’s no other possibility. And anyone who understands that everything happens as exactly the right time will be untouched by sorrow and joy.” How would you career be different if you viewed nothing as a mistake?

Good or bad days don’t exist. As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Everything is neutral until painted with the meaning you ascribe to it. Are you having a bad day or a bad attitude?

Competition doesn’t exist. It’s merely a projection of your scarcity mentality. The pie is enormous. You just need the right fork. Change your silverware or change your career. Are you making war on the competition or making love to the customer?

Business Ethics doesn’t exist. In John Maxwell’s “There’s No Such Thing As Business Ethics”, he explains that there’s only one rule when making decisions. The singular idea agreed upon by every major religion in the world. “Do unto others as you’d have them to do you.” I agree with John. Ethics of life and ethics of business are the same. How will you translate your personal values into your professional world?

I found these on Kirsty Dunphy’s website.

dan.btg@gmail.com