▪ Collateral research. Sometimes getting
user feedback requires looking outside the
immediate circle of customers and employees. The Raymond Corp., for example, also
polls material handling consultants and
suppliers of batteries and other collateral
equipment, and sends its researchers to
industry conferences to learn what buyers
are interested in, says Susan Comfort, product manager, marketing, narrow-aisle
products. They don’t just talk to existing
customers, either. “We look at sales [to try
to identify] trends in configurations as well
as lost orders. Why did someone choose a
different path? We try to get to the root of
the situation and learn from it,” she says.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CROWN
says Mike Gallagher, vice president, design.
“It’s not doing surveys or focus groups; it’s
actually living with the user of the product.
Designers and engineers work for a week
or two in their operations to really under-
stand their operational culture and how
they actually work.”
Toyota Material Handling U.S.A.
(TMHU) also relies heavily on field
research to obtain customer feedback. A
year or so after a new model launch, prod-
uct managers and engineers visit cus-
tomers to get their assessment of the new
model’s performance. Then, prior to
launching the next new product, TMHU
visits again to confirm that the previous
survey’s findings are still valid and to iden-
tify any new issues that may have arisen. In
the final step, selected customers test pro-
totype forklifts that were hand-built in
Japan. “We let them use the truck, and we
gather their feedback. It’s a last effort to
weed out any potential issues before the truck rolls down
the production line,” says Martin Boyd, vice president of
product planning and marketing.
YOU ASKED FOR IT, YOU GOT IT!
What kinds of questions do lift truck manufacturers ask users? A few examples
include: What do you like and not like
about this truck? When using the truck, are
there any activities you find to be uncomfortable, unnecessarily complicated, or overly time consuming? What trends
do you see in your business that might require you to han-
CROWN’S WAVE “LIFT TRUCK WITHOUT
FORKS” WAS DESIGNED TO GIVE RETAIL
STOCKROOM WORKERS A SAFER ALTERNATIVE TO CARRYING ITEMS UP AND
DOWN ROLLING LADDERS.
ELECTRIC AC POWERED SWINGMAST
3 WHEEL, REAR WHEEL DRIVEN
VERY NARROW AISLE FORKLIFT
Two capacities - 3,000 lbs. ( 1,363 kg) at 24” (600mm) Load Center
• Triple and Quad Masts with Lift Heights to 26’ ( 7.92M)
LANDOLL CORPORATION
MATERIAL HANDLING PRODUCT DIVISION
1900 North Street · Marysville, KS 66508
WWW.LANDOLL.COM/MHP · 800-428-5655 · mhpsales@landoll.com
