DJ Products, Inc.

Changing the way you move materials and equipment
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Surviving and Thriving during Mergers and Acquisitions

February 24, 2010 By: CartPro Category: Business Tips, Future Trends, Material Handling, Productivity Tips, Products, Warehousing, economy

Having to cutback, downsize or merge with a competitor has become the reality for many logistics and storage companies if the want to keep their doors open.  There just currently aren’t enough customers and enough money/product moving around in order to keep every company busy enough to justify, or even allow, them to operate at the level that they had prior to the economic downturn.

Mergers with competitors can pose a whole host of issues in terms of operations; the most obvious would seem to be the personal and computer program interactions.  Adopting a brand new and potentially very different system of daily operations and having to interact with a bunch of new personalities can be a daunting task, but few people view just how much difference their can be in the warehousing and storage aspect and it’s profound affect on the employees involved.

Differences in equipment, inventory control and shipping and receiving practices can be difficult obstacles to overcome.  In order for a newly developed company with employees from two different backgrounds to be successful, some operational changes may be a necessity.  Customers coming from both businesses will need to see accuracy and speed at least comparable, if not improved, to what they were used to in order to feel confident with the new situation.

Increasing speed and accuracy may require upgrade changes in equipment as well as operations.  Outdated, inefficient and unreliable machines could spell doom to a company who is attempting to keep current customers from leaving during a period of transition.  The proper material handling equipment will more than pay for itself in a very short period of time with reduced fuel/energy costs and increased employee productivity; and the capability of delivering goods quickly and accurately will keep customers loyal and could possibly increase your bottom line.

DJ products offers affordable, reliable and easy to use solutions for material handling, the exact type of equipment needed for a warehouse to maintain, or exceed customer expectations during the transition period of a merger.

Teens Searching for Summer Jobs Must Think Outside the Box

May 11, 2009 By: CartPro Category: Manufacturing Industry, Material Handling, Products, Safety and Ergonomics, Warehousing, economy, fulfillment, logistics

If you have a teenager looking for a summer job, you know how grim their prospects are this year. Some employment experts are predicting that this will be the worst summer job market since the 1950s. Jobs usually held by teen-aged workers have been snapped up by laid off, furloughed, out-of-work adults looking for any way to make ends meet until the economy turns around. Tomorrow morning when you pick up your cup of coffee, take a look at the person manning the drive-through. You’re more apt to see a mature face than some fresh-faced high school kid — and the money-hungry collegiate workforce has yet to hit the summer job market. With traditional summer employers cutting back, teens and collegiates will have to think outside the box to earn money for tuition, car parts, clothes and dates this summer.

This is definitely a summer where teens and college students will have to look beyond the mall and local fast food franchises to find employment. It’s time to think outside the box! In years past, employment experts might have suggested that teens look for jobs in manufacturing. Unfortunately, the economic crisis has slowed U.S. manufacturing production, sending home thousands of U.S. workers and glutting the manufacturing workforce. There’s little opportunity in manufacturing this year for unskilled, part-time, summer laborers. But there is potential opportunity in fulfillment, distribution and warehousing, job experts say.

Not only do businesses benefit from cheaper labor when they employ teens and collegiates, but there can be advantages to building early working relationships with tomorrow’s prime workers. Summer jobs provide an opportunity for college students to try out potential careers while giving employers a chance to size up future workers. Many teens and collegiates return to a company summer after summer and eventually seek full-time employment. Savvy employers use these opportunities to pre-train future staff and benefit by gaining educated, top-notch employees ready to hit the ground running as soon as they earn their degree.

Distribution, fulfillment and logistics companies that utilize DJ Products’ highly-adaptable, ergonomically-designed material handling equipment won’t have any trouble giving this summer’s hungry teen workforce an opportunity to grow their work skills. Ergonomically-designed to adjust to the physical size and abilities of any worker, DJ Products equipment can be successfully used by male or female teens and college students without risk of injury. Intuitive controls, superior safety features, adaptable design, and premium construction make DJ Products’ motorized carts and electric tugs easy to use, minimizing training time and maximizing production — the perfect combination for summer workers!Â

Logistics Industry Down But Not Out

May 06, 2009 By: CartPro Category: Future Trends, Material Handling, economy, logistics

Considering the state of the economy, it’s not unexpected that the logistics industry is suffering along with everyone else. According to the recently released Global Contract Logistics 2009 report published by Transport Intelligence, the global contract logistics market grew at a rate of 5% in 2008, half the 10% growth experienced in each of the past few years. Of greatest concern was the noticeable drop in volume during the fourth quarter, generally considered the industry’s peak season.

“This downturn has been felt well into 2009, although there are signs that the fall in volumes may well have bottomed out by the end of the first quarter, the report suggests,” logistics industry analyst Ken Hurst noted in today’s posting on Works Management online.

Increasing, global reach provides the greatest opportunity for future success in the logistics industry, particularly when U.S. markets go stale. Developing markets in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and the Asian Pacific region offer the most opportunity for future growth, according to the Ti report. While the China market has cooled recently, Hurst expects it to rebound, saying, “… with GDP growth still in the high single digits, and a $585 billion stimulus package taking effect, underlying economic activity will continue to drive its [China’s] logistics sector.”

The report predicts five more years of volatile swings in the logistics industry worldwide with significant recovery not predicted until 2011. Rebuilding is expected to be agonizingly slow. According to Hurst’s post, “Ti believes that the market will grow at a compound annual rate of 2.4% between 2009 and 2012.” Stabilization of the industry will depend on the speed with which global sales increase. Until consumer confidence returns and drives up demand for goods, manufacturers and retailers will continue to keep supply costs lean. Because of its position at the tail end of the supply chain, the logistics industry may be one of the final economic sectors to achieve recovery. While contractual relationships will protect some logistics companies from the worst market volatility, “logistics providers will have to work hard at increasing their value proposition to clients if they are to avoid the worst excesses of the recession,” John Manners-Bell, Ti CEO told Hurst.