ic “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 prod-
ucts,” 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 servic-
es. All of the lift truck manufacturers we
spoke with said some or all of their deal-
ers offer facility design services and con-
sulting, and that they have appropriate
expertise in-house. As the Associated-
Peach State merger suggests, this repre-
sents a big growth area for large, multifac-
eted dealers.
The lift truck business is built on
relationships, so this type of assign-
ment frequently grows out of an exist-
ing relationship, Frazee says. A cus-
tomer that plans to renovate a ware-
house 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, automa-
tion, and lift trucks, he observes.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM—
AND YOU?
Why do so many lift truck dealers
choose to offer “nontraditional”
