Customers needing parts… new system don’t work, what ever are we to do? For the next 4-6 weeks, I can recall sending my men into the warehouse to pull a part from the brand new shelf, write it up by hand and then take it to downtown Jackson’s UPS store to ship it out. It was not a fun time. One of the real ‘burners’ was that the head of P-C sent out a nice little letter to our dealers about the situation – did he accept responsibility for too little testing? Nope. The letter told everyone that there was a deteriorating situation in Memphis that caused an earlier than expected start date for the new warehouse. Problem was, this was a bogus deflection because Memphis had been working off of Jackson’s time table- not the other way around. It was just one of many side-steps by the ‘new guys in charge’.
The real problem was that there had simply not been enough system testing to ensure that it would work properly. It took an untold amount of man hours with extra systems engineers working almost around the clock, to finally begin to see some daylight at the end of the tunnel. In my opinion much, if not all of this could have been avoided by the easy fix of hiring the most experienced person to manage the new warehouse, but the personal bias curse, prevented that…and we suffered for it.
In the grand scope of things, the people who were trying to move out of the 80’s, skip the learning curve of the 90’s, and jump right into the 00’s of paperless warehouse management systems were way in over their head, but they had too much pride to admit it. They had neither the education, nor experience, to pull this off. Case in point: early on, my guys and I detected a trend in the warehouse management team - they thought the ‘system’ was god. By that I mean all of the computer-generated instructions were followed…even when they made no logical sense.
Check this out- at that time there were 23 or 24 Factory Service Branches and once a week, the warehouse would pack up a 4x4x4 export box with all of the parts they had ordered and ship it out. OK, so along comes the new system, a bunch of new Delta parts and you must remember the difference in the 2 companies: Porter-Cable = portable power tools, Delta = stationary woodworking machines.
Stay tuned next week for the continuing adventure…
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
_______________________________________________________________
Any views or opinions presented in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this newspaper. Neither the author, nor this newspaper, accepts any liability for the content of this article, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Column #54 - Technology must be controlled.
Installment number 6 of our continuing saga of how Pentair killed their cash cows that were Delta and Porter-Cable.
In 1999, before the ‘merger’, I was told that P-C was still writing incoming inventory receipts on index cards. Their VP of Distribution was very ‘old school’ to say the least. OK, so on the Delta side. We had a Warehouse Manager who turned himself into a ‘tech-geek’. He got educated and brought Delta into the 90’s with a WMS that, in 1999, was ONE piece of paper away from being a ‘paperless’ WMS. The only thing left was the actual shipper that got pinned to each skid on the loading dock. That was it.
OK, so the die had been cast. The decision was made that when the ‘merger’ occurred, a brand new state-of-the-art, 500,000sq.ft. warehouse would be built in Jackson. This new warehouse would be a year 2000-ready warehouse. In other words, it would BE paperless. Great. Grand idea. Now, Mr. VP of Porter-Cable Distribution (who had been placed in charge of that part of the ‘merger’- remember that bias?) has an opportunity to utilize the expertise of the Delta Warehouse Manager, who knows this stuff like the back of his hand…right? Not so fast. Back in the early 80’s, the Delta WM had worked for the P-C VP as one of his warehouse supervisors (the P-C VP was Rockwell’s Distribution manager at the time - over Memphis operations).
So, the P-C VP decided to lowball the Delta WM and ‘offer’ him a make-do job. Naturally, the Delta WM said ‘no thanks’…and the result of that decision did more to make the next few months a complete disaster than most anything else that was done.
So, they were going to ‘merge’ Porter-Cable, who was still using a 1980’s style warehouse management “system” (and yes, writing inventory down on index cards was a ‘system’. Albeit a very outdated one) with Delta, who was once piece of paper from having a paperless warehouse management system...and they were going to do it without the expertise of the Delta manager who got Delta to that point. OK, here we go. New warehouse is built and staffed with folks who were great using the ‘80’s style system…but practically clueless about what they were getting into. They moved all the product into the new warehouse and…then…the…system…wouldn’t…work.
There had been very little - read: next to none – trial testing of the system and it wouldn’t ship anything. This was what met us when we got to Jackson on Feb 1, 2000. But we still had customers who needed parts to keep their machines running.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
_______________________________________________________________
Any views or opinions presented in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this newspaper. Neither the author, nor this newspaper, accepts any liability for the content of this article, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.
In 1999, before the ‘merger’, I was told that P-C was still writing incoming inventory receipts on index cards. Their VP of Distribution was very ‘old school’ to say the least. OK, so on the Delta side. We had a Warehouse Manager who turned himself into a ‘tech-geek’. He got educated and brought Delta into the 90’s with a WMS that, in 1999, was ONE piece of paper away from being a ‘paperless’ WMS. The only thing left was the actual shipper that got pinned to each skid on the loading dock. That was it.
OK, so the die had been cast. The decision was made that when the ‘merger’ occurred, a brand new state-of-the-art, 500,000sq.ft. warehouse would be built in Jackson. This new warehouse would be a year 2000-ready warehouse. In other words, it would BE paperless. Great. Grand idea. Now, Mr. VP of Porter-Cable Distribution (who had been placed in charge of that part of the ‘merger’- remember that bias?) has an opportunity to utilize the expertise of the Delta Warehouse Manager, who knows this stuff like the back of his hand…right? Not so fast. Back in the early 80’s, the Delta WM had worked for the P-C VP as one of his warehouse supervisors (the P-C VP was Rockwell’s Distribution manager at the time - over Memphis operations).
So, the P-C VP decided to lowball the Delta WM and ‘offer’ him a make-do job. Naturally, the Delta WM said ‘no thanks’…and the result of that decision did more to make the next few months a complete disaster than most anything else that was done.
So, they were going to ‘merge’ Porter-Cable, who was still using a 1980’s style warehouse management “system” (and yes, writing inventory down on index cards was a ‘system’. Albeit a very outdated one) with Delta, who was once piece of paper from having a paperless warehouse management system...and they were going to do it without the expertise of the Delta manager who got Delta to that point. OK, here we go. New warehouse is built and staffed with folks who were great using the ‘80’s style system…but practically clueless about what they were getting into. They moved all the product into the new warehouse and…then…the…system…wouldn’t…work.
There had been very little - read: next to none – trial testing of the system and it wouldn’t ship anything. This was what met us when we got to Jackson on Feb 1, 2000. But we still had customers who needed parts to keep their machines running.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
_______________________________________________________________
Any views or opinions presented in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this newspaper. Neither the author, nor this newspaper, accepts any liability for the content of this article, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Column #53 - The Continuing Delta Downfall
If I’m right this article will come out right in front of Valentine’s Day weekend,…well, it IS on the next Monday anyway, so I just MUST wish my lovely wife a Happy Valentine’s Day. My dear Celia, God knew I needed you and I thank Him for sending you along…and for that girl with the ‘two cats in a tow sack’… I love you babydoll.
Ok, back to the story…The HR VP of Porter-Cable and a few other folks came to Memphis and made some ‘offers’. After the dust settled, 15 people, out of 125, transferred to Jackson. 5 of those were me and my department. The other 10 were 2 Reconditioning Mechanics, their Supervisor and 7 call center ladies. If you’ve been keeping up, that means that the Call Center Manager (no call center= no manager), the Service Operations Manager, the Distribution Center Manager, the Warehouse Manager and the Technical Service Manager didn’t relocate. That was a huge hit to the heart of Delta. Now, about the Technical Service Manager job, that was my boss. He ultimately decided not to ‘merge’ and I got his job...sort of. Yes, I got promoted - as a Technical Support Manager - and I reported to the Porter-Cable Technical Service Manager. I must say that my new boss turned out to be a great guy. He and I developed a great friendship and he taught me a lot about things I didn’t know…and I did the same for him. We’re both mechanical geeks, so it worked out very well. So far, it was the best career move I have ever made.
Alright, so, out of over 250 Delta people, a grand total of 23 people were ‘merged’ into the new Pentair Tools Group…and they expected it to make even more money, and grow, and grow, and grow…. Nope. Didn’t happen.
That good ole’ ‘personal bias’ kicked in on a key area and it blew up in their face. Remember the Delta Warehouse Manager that didn’t relocate? Here’s the backstory. In 1999, Porter-Cable and Delta were making good money and the decision to consolidate was made. Now, don’t get me wrong, “Some” consolidation did make sense. Since both businesses sold to the same sort of customer, merging accounts payable, finance, maybe even HR and some sales functions kinda made sense. But there was a HUGE culture difference between Delta and P-C and no one seemed to be able to manage that. When Delta had a need or problem, our tendency was to leverage technology and use it to work smarter. On the other hand, in the same situation, P-C just hired more people. Technology was not at the forefront of their operation, therefore, they had been ‘left behind’ on a lot of new systems…in particular, their Warehouse Management System (WMS).
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
Ok, back to the story…The HR VP of Porter-Cable and a few other folks came to Memphis and made some ‘offers’. After the dust settled, 15 people, out of 125, transferred to Jackson. 5 of those were me and my department. The other 10 were 2 Reconditioning Mechanics, their Supervisor and 7 call center ladies. If you’ve been keeping up, that means that the Call Center Manager (no call center= no manager), the Service Operations Manager, the Distribution Center Manager, the Warehouse Manager and the Technical Service Manager didn’t relocate. That was a huge hit to the heart of Delta. Now, about the Technical Service Manager job, that was my boss. He ultimately decided not to ‘merge’ and I got his job...sort of. Yes, I got promoted - as a Technical Support Manager - and I reported to the Porter-Cable Technical Service Manager. I must say that my new boss turned out to be a great guy. He and I developed a great friendship and he taught me a lot about things I didn’t know…and I did the same for him. We’re both mechanical geeks, so it worked out very well. So far, it was the best career move I have ever made.
Alright, so, out of over 250 Delta people, a grand total of 23 people were ‘merged’ into the new Pentair Tools Group…and they expected it to make even more money, and grow, and grow, and grow…. Nope. Didn’t happen.
That good ole’ ‘personal bias’ kicked in on a key area and it blew up in their face. Remember the Delta Warehouse Manager that didn’t relocate? Here’s the backstory. In 1999, Porter-Cable and Delta were making good money and the decision to consolidate was made. Now, don’t get me wrong, “Some” consolidation did make sense. Since both businesses sold to the same sort of customer, merging accounts payable, finance, maybe even HR and some sales functions kinda made sense. But there was a HUGE culture difference between Delta and P-C and no one seemed to be able to manage that. When Delta had a need or problem, our tendency was to leverage technology and use it to work smarter. On the other hand, in the same situation, P-C just hired more people. Technology was not at the forefront of their operation, therefore, they had been ‘left behind’ on a lot of new systems…in particular, their Warehouse Management System (WMS).
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Column #52 - Cut Out the Heart and the Body Dies.
So, eight people from Pittsburgh decided to relocate to Jackson. There were six salesmen and their Director, and one Risk Management person. The Memphis team didn’t fair much better. We had about 125 people working at the Memphis Distribution Center. Now, one could not reasonably expect that forklift drivers, order pullers and phone operators would be asked to transfer, but we also had the Service Operations Manager, Technical Service Manager, Call Center Manager, the Director of Distribution and the Warehouse Manager in house.
If Pittsburgh was the ‘brain center’ of Delta, Memphis was its ‘heart’. When someone called Delta’s Toll-Free number, they got Memphis. No matter if they wanted to complain, order a shop full of parts or just find out when an old tool was made- Memphis got the call. This was by design. Back in 1983-84, when the shake-up was going on and the Rockwell Stationary Tool Div. was struggling to find its identity, and then Delta got created, it was decided that having one toll-free phone number, for Service, would be the best thing for our customers. So, the legendary number 1-800-223-7278 was created (just as a side note, and we could never find out if it was intentional but it probably was…that number spelled out is 1-800-BAD-PART). This 800# connected directly into our call center and it had been doing that for the better part of 16 years by the time 2000 rolled around. To say that Delta had created a customer service ‘diamond’ would be an understatement. Our 800 line was staffed with people who knew their stuff. We had many multi-decade employees on hand who really cared about the customer on the other end of the phone. On top of that, we had the Technical Service Dept. backing them up. By 1999’s ‘merger’ announcement, I was the ‘acting Supervisor’ and had had 3 other guys with me.
Remember what I said about personal bias showing up in some of the decisions at the time? Here’s a good example: One of the first decisions about Memphis was…to close the 800 call center. The number wouldn’t be disconnected but the incoming call would now be routed to the nearest Porter-Cable (soon to be billed as “Porter-Cable/Delta”) Service Center. Someone’s expectation was that people whose expertise was in the portable electric power tool market would suddenly be able to handle all types of questions and service concerns relating to stationary machinery. It didn’t turn out quite as planned- but that’s a story for another day- let’s get back to the Memphis staff and what happened with them.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
_______________________________________________________________
Any views or opinions presented in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this newspaper. Neither the author, nor this newspaper, accepts any liability for the content of this article, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.
If Pittsburgh was the ‘brain center’ of Delta, Memphis was its ‘heart’. When someone called Delta’s Toll-Free number, they got Memphis. No matter if they wanted to complain, order a shop full of parts or just find out when an old tool was made- Memphis got the call. This was by design. Back in 1983-84, when the shake-up was going on and the Rockwell Stationary Tool Div. was struggling to find its identity, and then Delta got created, it was decided that having one toll-free phone number, for Service, would be the best thing for our customers. So, the legendary number 1-800-223-7278 was created (just as a side note, and we could never find out if it was intentional but it probably was…that number spelled out is 1-800-BAD-PART). This 800# connected directly into our call center and it had been doing that for the better part of 16 years by the time 2000 rolled around. To say that Delta had created a customer service ‘diamond’ would be an understatement. Our 800 line was staffed with people who knew their stuff. We had many multi-decade employees on hand who really cared about the customer on the other end of the phone. On top of that, we had the Technical Service Dept. backing them up. By 1999’s ‘merger’ announcement, I was the ‘acting Supervisor’ and had had 3 other guys with me.
Remember what I said about personal bias showing up in some of the decisions at the time? Here’s a good example: One of the first decisions about Memphis was…to close the 800 call center. The number wouldn’t be disconnected but the incoming call would now be routed to the nearest Porter-Cable (soon to be billed as “Porter-Cable/Delta”) Service Center. Someone’s expectation was that people whose expertise was in the portable electric power tool market would suddenly be able to handle all types of questions and service concerns relating to stationary machinery. It didn’t turn out quite as planned- but that’s a story for another day- let’s get back to the Memphis staff and what happened with them.
Send your questions or comments to:
Toolsmartz@bellsouth.net and we’ll see what we can do to help you.
_______________________________________________________________
Any views or opinions presented in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this newspaper. Neither the author, nor this newspaper, accepts any liability for the content of this article, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.
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