2000: Another good year
By Industrial Distribution Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 3/1/2000
While some material handling professionals are anticipating a slowdown in the third and fourth quarters, the overall outlook is for another good year. That trend will follow the strong growth the industry saw in 1998 and 1999."I think 2000 is going to be another banner year," says Tim Hilton, president of Carolina Handling, LLC and president of the Material Handling Distributors Assn. "There may be a slowdown in the second half of the year, but it won't have a significant effect."
Other distributors and manufacturers agree. Kevin Risch, marketing manager for Material Handling Services, a Carol Stream, Ill.-based distributor, says his company looks forward to a good 2000, as well. While challenges exist -- like the need to develop an e-commerce strategy and the ongoing struggle to find good employees -- Risch says business opportunities abound for material handling distributors. He points to the "dotcom" companies, who are struggling to find the most effective ways to store and ship their products, as one example.
"They need someone like us to go in and show them how to, one, save time, two, improve their safety, and three, decrease their cost per square foot," says Risch, adding that being in the Midwest helps, as it is a hub for distribution of all kinds. "I really don't see a slowdown, especially with e-commerce."
But e-commerce could cause headaches for some companies in the year ahead. Sal Aliotta, president of caster manufacturer Darnell-Rose, says that e-commerce is "the thing that is going to change everything" in the industry. His firm, for one, is working hard to develop its e-commerce strategy, which he says will include his distribution network.
"We're looking to take the billboard-style Web site we started with and move towards more of an e-commerce site," says Aliotta. "The question is, how does our traditional channel fit into all of this?
"We're going to involve our distributors in anything we do," Aliotta continues. "We'd be misguided if we tried to eliminate our traditional channels of distribution. The Amazon.com concept doesn't work in our industry."
While Darnell-Rose's strategy is still in the works, Aliotta says it will include giving distributors special access to the site so they can, in turn, access a range of end-user information.
While he doubts that many manufacturers will eliminate distribution with the advent of the Internet, Aliotta says distributors still need to be prepared to take an active role in cyberspace.
"I can say this," Aliotta says. "Our distributors will have to -- if they want to participate with us, as we hope they do -- take an active role in working with us on our Web site."
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