[WRE UPDATE | BUSINESS]
lockdown. When we started using it, no one could see the benefit of it, but as soon as we hit lockdown, that changed to “Wow, where would we be without Teams?” Tat helped us to establish fluid communication within the team. But when I think about teamwork, I also think about how the team really mucked in. Everyone was doing so many different jobs; we were all just doing what we could to keep the business going. Te days of people having strict job titles were over – it was a case of ‘by any means necessary’. And while this was a very difficult time, there were also moments of fun – it brought the team together and that sense of comradeship got us through the many late nights of hard work.
TECHNOLOGY AND PROCEDURES Microsoft Teams wasn’t the only technology that came into its own. Lifting Equipment Store was able to stay trading because we had already converted our phone systems. About four years ago we introduced a digital phone system. It was expensive, but it was very worth it when Covid
came around, because we could simply plug the phones into the ethernet in our homes and we were back to business as usual. Tat, combined with the laptops that everyone had been given, meant that we could all work from home as easily as if we were in the workplace. Another factor that helped us was automation.
Before lockdown we’d started using Microsoft’s Power Automate. Tis is a brilliant platform – it allows you to automate so much around the workplace, and was particularly useful for us in the way that it automated the filing of certificates and order confirmations. We have to certify every single item we sell, and we have to hold a copy and also pass it to the customer. Power Automate simplifies this process by automatically stripping the data from the order and filling out forms. We had also prepared well-documented procedures for all of the working roles around the workplace. Tat really helped to speed up the training process when someone took on a duty that they were unfamiliar with. We could give the documented procedures to anyone taking on a job which meant they could easily get on with it.
KEY LEARNINGS As the UK and the US face more lockdowns, there will be more hurdles to overcome. I do not believe that we are out of the woods yet, so the industry needs to consider the approaches that I’ve outlined above: sort out your technology; find a way to maintain company culture; and be ready to quickly find efficiencies as and when necessary. It was these principles that helped save Lifting Equipment Store.
“Customers are rightly looking to be reassured that the businesses they are buying from not only understand the new series of challenges that they’re facing, but can also help them find the solutions they need. In-depth expertise is fast becoming the thing that will differentiate your company’s offering from its competitors.”
But I also wanted to add another key learning from this whole experience. Now more than ever, in a post-Covid world, the primary factor in the selling and acquisition of materials handling products is quality of service. What buyers are really looking for is someone that
they can trust. Someone whose services aren’t going to suddenly disappear. And they will pay to get that level of certainty and trust. Trust based on good service is incredibly
powerful – Lifting Equipment Store has gained many recommendations from customers after we went the extra mile to help people out of tough situations during lockdown. And we will be focusing heavily on bringing those
high levels of service to our US customers. We will focus on what really matters: great customer service and industry understanding. We will provide unrivalled product information, advice and attention to detail, while showcasing leading manufacturers such as Columbus McKinnon, Tern, Morse and Tandemloc. We know that the stakes are now far higher for staff in the industry. Customers are rightly looking to be reassured that the businesses they are buying from not only understand the new series of challenges that they’re facing, but can also help them find the solutions they need. In-depth expertise is fast becoming the thing that will differentiate your company’s offering from its competitors. Many customers are often purchasing from home without the security and structure that they would previously have had around them in the office, and that means they need much more help. Tis continues to be an incredibly challenging time for our industry, and I believe that only those that can guarantee the highest levels of customer service will survive. y
To learn more, visit
www.liftingequipmentstore.us
WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2020
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