BREAKING NEWS

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE: BEING ONLINE AFFECTS YOUR BOTTOM LINE

You don't have to be tech savvy to understand the benefits of e-commerce, but technology is more than just having a good website. The latest information on e-commerce, released last week, offers some tips for MHEDA members.

E-Commerce Trends: Last week the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that retail sales over the Internet grew by 25.9% in 1Q 2003 compared to 1Q 2002, rising to $11.9 billion. BusinessWeek reports that networked business-to-business transactions now stand at $2.4 trillion per year, with U.S. consumer e-commerce expected to reach $95 billion for all of 2003. E-commerce currently constitutes about 1.5% of overall retail sales and is expected to grow.

Update Your Website: Be sure not to neglect your company's website during your spring cleaning. Web experts in a recent Industry Week article note the following important points for maintaining your website:

• Be sure your content is up to date.
• Update old contact information.
• Eliminate broken internal and external links.
• Improve navigation, usability and accessibility. Use the "two-click" rule: Users should be able to find the content they need in two clicks. If your site is too difficult to navigate, they may look elsewhere.

Instant Messaging: Analysts predict that by 2006 Instant Messaging (IM) will overtake e-mail as the primary communication tool at work. IM, also known as "pinging" for the sound the program makes when a message is received, is a free, downloadable program that allows users to communicate instantly with one another via conversation windows that pop up on the computer screen. Hazards, however, include employees using the technology for personal conversations rather than business-related communication and the fact that IM can carry viruses. Since it's largely an unauthorized software tool, businesses can't monitor it. But software companies are looking to address such concerns by offering enhanced IM programs to businesses for a fee.

Cutting Edge: A recent analysis of readers of The MHEDA Connection shows that the newsletter is read in seven different nations and territories: Canada, Ecuador, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United Arab Emirates and the United States. Technology can help you get the information you need more quickly, and that helps your customers, your business and your bottom line. MHEDA helps with its use of online surveys and educational webinars to gather and disseminate information. Check it out at www.mheda.org.

The Honeymoon Is Over: In 1998, Congress passed a moratorium on the collection of new taxes on e-commerce entities, the rationale being that the online industry needed a helping hand vs. the burden navigating the complexities of 7,000 state and local sales taxing districts. The moratorium expires November 1, 2003, and a heated debate is taking place about states' rights to tax all goods and services sold online.

While brick and mortar retailers have always collected sales tax where required, catalog companies and other firms which ship across state lines collect sales tax in only those states where they have "nexus," or a substantial presence. However, the meaning of "nexus" has never been clearly defined, subjecting it to interpretation. Generally speaking, if a company has legal status, premises, inventory or other assets in the state, it has nexus. If it merely has a salesperson who lives in the state and travels to other states within a sales territory, this generally does not constitute nexus, unless the salesperson maintains inventory in his home, repairs equipment, or performs other related services. Likewise, a computer which houses a website does not, in and of itself, constitute nexus.

With billion dollar deficit budgets and the loss of several billion dollars in sales tax revenues due to online retailing, states are taking a very close look at website nexus. Online retailers in the material handling industry would be wise to begin implementing a sales tax process within their online checkout procedures for all states they have nexus in.
(This section is excerpted from "Revisiting the Online Sales Tax" by Scott Ehrnschwender. Read his full report in the July issue of The MHEDA Journal, mailed to members and online July 15.)

INDUSTRY BEAT
(what people are talking about)

Interlake Honors Top Dealers (Naperville, IL) • Interlake Material Handling honored 29 distributors who generated over $1M in 2002 revenues. Among them were the following 18 MHEDA Members: Advanced Handling Systems (Cincinnati, OH), Aloi Material Handling (Rochester, NY), Bastian Material Handling (Indianapolis, IN), Bernie's Equipment Co. (Holmen, WI), Conveyor Handling Co. (Elkridge, MD), Florida Lift Systems (Tampa, FL), Fred Hill and Son Co. (Philadelphia, PA), Index Industries (Huntington Beach, CA), Industrial Storage Systems (Boise, ID), Malin Integrated Handling Solutions & Design (Addison, TX), Material Handling Services (Carol Stream, IL), North West Handling Systems (Renton, WA), OKI Systems (Cincinnati, OH), Peach State Integrated Technologies (Norcross, GA), Shannon Corp. (Grand Prairie, TX), Siggins Co. (North Kansas City, MO), Storage Equipment, Inc. (Plymouth, MN), and Welch Equipment (Denver, CO).

Daryle Ogburne

Advanced Equipment Company Names VP (Charlotte, NC) • Daryle Ogburne was promoted to VP of sales for AEC. Ogburne has been a top producer in sales with AEC for 24 years. Says President Larry Abernathy, "Daryle's skills, knowledge and attitude will be a great asset to AEC's future."

A.J. Jersey Honored (South Plainfield, NJ) • A.J. Jersey was named Crown Credit's Dealer of the Year for the third year in a row for producing $3.8 million in leasing of forklifts. A.J. Jersey also promoted Susan Janisch to assistant sales manager. Janisch is a 22-year veteran of the company, most recently serving as sales coordinator for forklifts.

Michael R. Mayer

Changes at Santana (Arlington Heights, IL) • Michael R. Mayer was promoted to director of sales and marketing for Santana Equipment Trading Co. Mayer joined the company in 2002 as a salesperson. Santana recently moved its offices to a different floor in the current building, tripling its office space.

Whitaker Joins AHS (Cincinnati, OH) • Advanced Handling Systems hired Randy Whitaker as a project manager. Whitaker previously served as a manager for The Gap and will provide perspective from his experience in the retail industry. Whitaker's position is one of several created in the last year as Advanced Handling Systems began a 3 to 5 year plan to strengthen its organization, accommodate recent growth, and provide more customer service.

Starling Joins Storage Solutions (Knoxville, TN) • Debby Starling joined Storage Solutions, Inc. as office manager. Starling previously worked with the William S. Trimble Co. in Knoxville, TN.

Scott Riffett

Riffett Named Sales Rep (Brenham, TX) • Scott Riffett joined Engineered Storage Solutions as an outside sales representative covering Houston, Austin and San Antonio, TX. Riffett previously managed a customer services group for a manufacturer of industrial implementation equipment.

Nissan Names Top Suppliers (Marengo, IL) • Nissan Forklift Corporation of North America named Solideal Tire its Supplier of the Year for the second consecutive year. Solideal achieved a perfect score with rankings in five areas including 100% on-time delivery, zero number of corrective actions needed, warranty liability of zero, and defects of zero parts per million. Also receiving 2002 Outstanding Supplier Awards were Cascade Kenhar and H.O. Bostrom.

Bill Miller with his wife Rose at his retirement party. Bill and Rose met in Germany while Bill served in the Army. They raised seven children.

Miller Retires (Columbus, OH) • Hy-Tek Material Handling announced the retirement of Bill Miller, former president and partner of Hy-Tek and long-time industry leader and friend. He began his career at Hy-Tek in 1967 as a service manager, eventually becoming used truck and rental manager, then general manager, then vice president of operations in 1989. He served as Hy-Tek's president from 1990-1996. "Bill Miller helped build this company even before we became the original partners back in 1989," notes Sam Grooms, president and partner of Hy-Tek. "Even when he semi-retired after his presidency here, he was still our number one salesperson of lift trucks, selling a 137-truck fleet in a single deal (one of many) in 1998. Bill has always been an inspiration to our employees at Hy-Tek." Miller plans to devote his time and attention to two farms he owns in Ohio, as well as doing a lot of hunting.

Jim Orenga

Orenga Named Dealer of Merit (Bedford, OH) • The name of a Yale Materials Handling Corp. 2002 Dealer of Merit was misspelled in the May 23 edition of The MHEDA Connection. Jim Orenga, president of Ohio Materials Handling, has been a Yale Dealer of Excellence or Dealer of Merit every year since the program began, and Orenga says among the keys are relying on good managers and keeping his employees happy and motivated. But it is Orenga himself who sets the tone for the rest of the company. "I've been in this business for 36 years," he says, "and I'm just as passionate about it as I was the day I started." MHEDA congratulates Jim Orenga and his employees on their achievement.

SALES SUCCESS STORY

WELLS EQUIPMENT REVIVES SHUNNED PRODUCT

According to Tom Wells, president of Wells Equipment Company (Federal Way, WA), vacuum lift tubes suffered an undeserved bad reputation for 30 years. "A lot of them were misapplied, and people stopped buying them." When Wells Equipment teamed up with Anver Corporation, things began to change.

An Anver vacuum lift tube simplifies moving boxes from conveyor to pallet.

Following up on leads, Wells regularly contacted companies with applications that require repetitive lifting of bags or boxes weighing up to 250 pounds. That's how he found Rose City Printing in Portland, OR, a perfect candidate. Employees were moving by hand corrugated boxes weighing between 40 to 60 pounds from a conveyor to a nearby pallet, experiencing back stress and neck pain in the process.

After discussing the application over the phone, Wells spent an entire day at the jobsite demonstrating how the product gripped and lifted loads. "I love seeing the smiles of the people who actually use it. It's an amazing product that not many people know about."

That fact may be changing. Today, Wells says the tubes are experiencing a resurrection, brought on by a sprinkling of companies across the country like his that are applying the product correctly and promoting it to customers. The best proof of its renewed success? "People come back and buy more," says Wells. The sale of the Anver VT120-2.5-D7 vacuum lift tube system amounted to $8,090.

MHEDA NEWS

Meet MHEDA in Miami!
If you were in San Antonio for Convention, you can win a FREE 2004 Convention registration. We want to know what you thought of the Convention program and how we may improve for next year. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey by clicking here, and you will be entered into a drawing for a FREE registration for the 2004 Convention & Manufacturers' Fair, which will take place May 1-5 at Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. The winner will be announced in the July 1 issue of The MHEDA Connection. If you have any questions, please call the MHEDA office at 847-680-3500. Good luck!

If you did not go to Convention, spend a night in Miami, compliments of MHEDA. We missed you in San Antonio! Let us know your thoughts about Convention and how we can improve it. Look for a survey especially for you in the June 15 issue of The MHEDA Connection. Complete the survey and you will be entered into a drawing for a FREE night at Loews Miami Beach Hotel, valid during MHEDA's 2004 Annual Convention. If you would like to share your thoughts, please call MHEDA at 847-680-3500.

DiSC Questionnaires Due June 6 • The DiSC Survey is a FREE financial survey that MHEDA sponsors to benefit all distributor members in order to provide valuable guidelines for analyzing profitability among material handling companies. The results are based on income statements, balance sheets and operating data provided by you. Participants receive an Industry Report, your Personal Profit Improvement Profile and a Profit Toolkit. The Profit Planning Group will treat your data confidentially. Click here to download a questionnaire. If you have any questions, call the MHEDA office at 847-680-3500.

  The MHEDA Connection is distributed on the 1st and 15th of each month to all MHEDA members. As the official
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  neither the Association nor the publisher of The MHEDA Connection, Data Key Communications, LLC, is
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