BREAKING NEWS

NEXT-GENERATION BAR CODE SYSTEM UNVEILED TODAY

At the EPC Symposium, a conference being held in Chicago starting today, September 15, a development team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will unveil a system they say will be able to track virtually every piece of merchandise in the country. The EPC Network (electronic product code) goes beyond the abilities of the standard 12-digit bar code, which has been in place since the 1970s. The MIT team boasts that the EPC, with its 96-bit format, "can assign a unique serial number to every grain of rice on the planet," different from bar codes that only identify groups of products. Under development at MIT for five years, the researchers think a one-of-a-kind product code could help reduce theft and counterfeit goods as well as juggle inventory more effectively.

AutoID, a new arm of the Uniform Code Council, the nonprofit that administers the bar code, plans to pick up where MIT's group leaves off, assigning codes, ironing out technical standards, managing intellectual property rights, publishing specifications, and providing user support and training. Wal-Mart is expected to hold a meeting in November with representatives from its top 100 suppliers at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas to present its plan for setting up an EPC system for tracking shipments to its distribution centers. The company has asked suppliers to begin attaching RFID tags to their shipments to Wal-Mart by 2005. However, experts say widespread use will be slowed until the price creeps downward from more than a nickel per EPC tag to fractions of a penny.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

Ben Glisan Jr., the former treasurer of Enron pleaded guilty last Wednesday to conspiring to commit fraud, the first admission that transactions were knowingly constructed in ways that violated accounting rules and allowed the company to exaggerate its earnings performance, by as much as $1 B.

In other news last week, Richard Grasso, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, gave up $48 M in benefits owed to him by the NYSE. The board's compensation committee only recently learned that Grasso's pay was considerably higher than that of executives at financial services companies, and that his pension benefits were almost six times the size of theirs. Some were shocked that an official whose duties include regulating Wall Street firms would have been granted so much money by a board that included top officials of investment banking firms.

Or maybe you've seen these situations: A salesperson low-balls a price, knowing the customer's needs won't be met and they'll have to return for more. A customer asks for a second (read fictitious) invoice to pad an account or make reports look better. Another customer asks that a distributor falsify paperwork to show the product was shipped to a branch in a state that won't levy sales tax.

Is an easy dollar worth a tarnished image? Material handling distributors answer that question in the Fall issue of The MHEDA Journal as they take on Ethics in the Material Handling Industry. Does a Tough Economy make it harder to do the right thing? You may be surprised at the answers. The MHEDA Journal, mailed and online at www.mheda.org on October 15.

INDUSTRY BEAT
(what people are talking about)

New Owner at Storage & Office Systems (Jeffersonville IN) • Mark Baxter purchased some assets of Storage & Office Systems, Inc. from previous owner Ron Frazier, including the company name. Baxter is president of the company and Frazier will continue to represent the company in a sales and consulting role.

Roura Names New President (Clinton Township, MI) • Curtis Harrison was appointed to the position of president and CEO of Roura Iron Works, replacing Lawrence Quinn, who retired on August 31 after 33 years of service with the company. Quinn was president and CEO since 1986, and will continue as member and chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to joining Roura, Harrison served in several executive positions in manufacturing, engineering and purchasing at General Motors Corporation. Most recently, he was senior advisor to New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota.

Denis Halloran

Halloran Joins Western Carolina Forklift (Greensboro, NC) • Denis Halloran joined Western Carolina Forklift as vice president of sales. Halloran is a 37-year veteran of the material handling industry, having worked most recently at Carolina Material Handling Services in Columbia, SC.

A.C.T. Adds Distribution Center (Aurora, IL) • In order to insure prompt delivery and tighter turn around time, A.C.T. Metal Deck Supply opened its sixth distribution center in Kansas City, MO. Other centers are located in Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Knoxville, and Greensboro, NC.

Anderson Joins Company (Billings, MT) • Brent Anderson is the new service manager at Anderson Forklift, where he will manage the shop activities of Anderson Forklift and its sister company, Anderson Service, Inc., which specializes in sales and service of truck equipment, aerial buckets and cranes. Prior to joining the company, Anderson served for 10 years as service manager for a wholesale supplier of agriculture and irrigation equipment.

Tania Mitchell

Mitchell Adds Service to Borroughs (Kalamazoo, MI) • Tania Mitchell joined the customer service department of Borroughs Corporation, where she will be responsible for the support of industrial distributors, dealers and representatives. Prior to this move, Mitchell worked for six years in Borroughs' manufacturing department in a number of areas, including serving as group leader on the clip line.

WLT Adds Sales Staff (Brookfield WI) • Brett King joined Wisconsin Lift Truck as a sales representative responsible for sales and rentals of Gehl skid steer loaders and other construction-related products.

SALES SUCCESS STORY

E-MAILS ACROSS THE OCEAN STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIP

We've all heard the phrases, "relations sell" and "people buy from people," and we know they're pretty accurate for our industry. Recently, Scott Lift Truck of Elk Grove Village, IL, found out that it also takes a little s'il vous plaît and merci to make a sale. Comprenez-vous?

Scott Lift Truck was pre-qualified to bid for the lease renewal at Air France Cargo located at O'Hare International Airport. Three potential suppliers were allowed 45 minutes each to meet with the general manager at O'Hare, as well as the two corporate buyers from Paris, France.

After the customary business card swap, Scott Lift Truck's General Manager Loren Swakow and Sales Manager Scott Swakow were allowed a few minutes to discuss their company and how it would benefit Air France to choose them. Yet the two buyers were primarily interested in the monthly cost per unit. This was discussed at length and used up most of the available time allotted. Discussion required the use of general terms due to the language barriers. Although the buyers spoke some English, they were definitely more comfortable speaking French. It was determined by the general manager that the three vendors and their particular brand of lift trucks could equally perform for the customer. There was no way to differentiate the companies in such a short period of time, yet that was the customer's preferred way to expedite the leasing of a new fleet of trucks. The decision would be made in Paris the following week.

Upon returning to the office, Loren Swakow decided to send an e-mail to the Paris buyers thanking them for their time and telling them Scott Lift Truck was looking forward to a mutually beneficial partnership. Realizing they were more comfortable in their own language, Loren contacted fellow MHEDA member Gary Bang at LPM. Loren remembered that Gary spoke French and wanted to have his e-mail translated into French prior to sending. Gary responded via e-mail, which was then pasted to the outgoing e-mail from Scott Lift Truck. Scott Lift Truck wanted to develop any type of discourse with the potential customer. Time differences and language barriers needed to be overcome. They were not willing to let the deal hinge on price only.

The next morning Loren found a return e-mail from the Paris buyer thanking Scott Lift Truck for their time. Thankfully, the e-mail was in English. There was also a minor question about the proposed lease. Scott Swakow responded with ways to accommodate their request. An electronic dialog ensued via e-mail. Delivery schedules were discussed, lease papers were negotiated, and slowly, Scott Swakow was able to build a relationship with the buyer. Albeit long distance, he knew that any relationship could put their name at the forefront.

Voilà! The following week, Scott Lift Truck was awarded an order for nine Komatsu FG25T-12 lift trucks.

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