christopher Harper, Author at DJ Products

Direct-to-Consumer Sales Turn Stores Into Local Warehouses

Facing pressure to match the e-commerce giants, more retailers have begun using brick-and-mortar locations as fulfillment warehouses. With the right adjustments, stores can deliver faster, cheaper shipping than using a remote distribution center.

For warehousers, this ups the ante for efficient and affordable third-party fulfillment services. For retailers, it creates a new need to alter retail space and train employees differently.

Pymnts.com recently examined the direct-to-consumer warehouse trend by looking at how Kohl’s has invested billions of dollars to turn its big box stores into warehouses. It may be just what traditional retail needs to keep up.

Businesses need to invest wisely with a warehouse equipment supplier for the right tools to make brick-and-mortar locations as effective as fulfillment centers. A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed questioned whether retailers are prepared for the challenge.

Challenges for turning a store into a warehouse include:

• Customer shopping replaced by the new labor of employees picking

• Retail employees need different skill sets for warehouse work

• Small storage space can be difficult to maneuver boxes, carts, forklifts

As a warehouse equipment supplier, DJ Products understands the challenges of workers picking items and moving cart loads of boxes and inventory items around tight spaces. Employees face high injury risk when maneuvering loads around corners and carrying heavy packages in and out of the warehouse.

An industrial cart mover can transform your storage room into a high-functioning distribution center. The CartCaddyShorty motorized cart puller, for example, pulls up to 3,000 pounds and can be operated safely by virtually any employee.

Contact DJ Products to speak with our helpful warehouse equipment supplier team today.

Blockchain Technology is Changing the Logistics Market

Blockchain has been called “the new Internet” due to its potential to revolutionize commerce just as significantly as the web did. Created for Bitcoin financial transactions, blockchain technology for logistics holds the key to open new trends for the logistics market.

From improving your record keeping with each warehouse equipment supplier to tracking your goods while they’re out on the truck, your company’s data can do more with blockchain technology.

What Is Blockchain Technology?

If you’ve used peer-to-peer downloading or Bitcoin, you’re familiar with blockchain technology already. Data gets stored across multiple stations rather than one central server. Imagine a single spreadsheet of all your inventory data— and that it can be accessed anywhere, updated in real-time, and stored with heightened security.

Benefits of Blockchain for Logistics

Blockchain makes logistics smoother, cheaper, more agile, and more future-proof. Specifically, just a few of the significant improvements and benefits of blockchain for logistics:

• Share unused space in a warehouse, trailer, or intermodal container

• Optimize truck routes and shipping logistics

• Create an easily accessible, constantly updated database of transactions

• Provide status updates on goods in transit

• Use “smart contracts” to handle transactions without lawyers

• Eliminate errors and missing data from paperwork issues

Logistics Technology Trends

At DJ Products, we keep up with the latest logistics news to help you stay informed. As a warehouse equipment supplier, we also bring you solutions for better warehouse productivity. Our industrial cart movers, trailer tows, truck pushers, and other material handling solutions help your team move at the new speeds made possible by improved logistics.

Congress Pads Bills with Preferential Treatment for Military Sole Source Contractors

Much of the business world is moving toward greater transparency these days. Some clothing retailers even explicitly state their costs per garment while touting their openness. In the defense industry, things don’t work like that. In fact, sole-source contractors for the Department of Defense were just given free rein to sell more to Uncle Sam without providing any cost info for labor or materials.

Funding the military meets with wide agreement, even among members of Congress. As David Dayen of The Intercept recently wrote, the National Defense Authorization Act passes on-time more than any other recurring vote.

Cost data must be provided for competitive contracts as part of the bidding process. For supplies or services with a sole-source contractor, there was previously no need to share cost data for contracts up to $500 million. That just got quintupled up to a $2.5 million limit.

As you can imagine, this means that suppliers who already have a monopoly on their work can now do even more business without transparency.

Smaller contractors have to worry about the cost of DoD contractors’ equipment needs and labor while bidding competitively. One could argue that’s the best thing for taxpayers’ interests and for maintaining a free market.

As Dayen notes in his coverage, this preferential treatment for larger, sole-source contractors takes away focus on minimizing costs for DoD spending. It also lets certain players avoid disclosure to rig the system in their favor.

DJ Products serves DoD contractors’ equipment needs with trailer movers, powered cart movers, and more GSA-approved equipment. Browse our site for solutions that can help your firm stay competitive for DoD contracts.

Communities Focus on Reducing Solid Waste – Can You Help?

How quickly does your dumpster get filled up? Many communities are working to save the environment by focusing on reduction of solid waste. Here are some ways you can join the fight.

Tips to Reduce Solid Waste

1. Throw Fewer Things Away

Common sense dictates that the fewer things you throw away, the less garbage you’ll have. Get into the habit of thinking twice before automatically disposing of an item. Has it really outlived its usefulness? Maybe you can repurpose the item or pass it along to someone else who can put it to use.

2. Be Mindful of Packaging

Earthworks Group, a consulting firm that specializes in sustainability projects, says that packaging comprises approximately one-third of the contents of our country’s landfills.

Even if your business doesn’t actually package products, it uses items that come in packages. Look for suppliers that use minimal packaging made from recycled materials.

3. Promote Recycling

Recycling pays double dividends. It keeps items out of landfills and reduces the need for natural resources.

Some of the more common recycling programs include:

• Curbside recycling containers for widely-used items such as newspapers, glass bottles and aluminum containers

• Community recycling centers or recycling zones

• Composing programs that gather organic waste for mulch or landfill cover

Improve Operations with an Electric Dumpster Pusher

No matter how heavy your dumpster gets, a single employee can move it safely and efficiently using a dumpster pusher from DJ Products. Call 800.686.2651 to learn more about products like our best-selling WasteCaddyLite, which can move loads of up to 2,000 pounds.

What to Know About Dumpster and Trash Fires

According to the National Fire Protection Association, dumpsters and trash rooms are among the primary sites of reported fires. Use these tips for preventing dumpster fires to reduce risk of loss and injury in your workplace.

Keep Hazardous Waste out of Dumpsters

Dumpsters are not a catch-all for any type of waste. Gasoline, oil and other flammable liquids don’t belong in the trash room. This rule also applies to sealed or empty containers and items such as rags that are saturated in chemicals.

Not all hazardous waste is liquid. The Environmental Protection Agency cites ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity and toxicity as the primary characteristics that define hazardous waste. Their website includes detailed information regarding identification and disposal.

Watch for Signs of Spontaneous Combustion

Fires don’t always require an accelerant. Organic waste generates heat as it decomposes, which can result in temperatures sufficient to cause combustion.

Many locales have regulations governing disposal of grass clippings, compost and other dead plant matter. Check with your local community to make sure you’re in compliance.

Always Secure Dumpsters

Unfortunately, dumpsters often attract vandals who cause destruction simply for its own sake. If it’s not possible to store the dumpster in a fenced, locked area, be sure to lock down the dumpster lid.

WasteCaddy: “Like Having Another Employee on Staff”

Fires are only one of the reasons why trash rooms are the most dangerous spot in a workplace. Our popular WasteCaddy reduces injury risk factors such as pushing heavy dumpsters or pinching fingers in the lid.

Visit our website to learn more about the WasteCaddy and other battery-powered tugs, pushers and movers from DJ Products.

The Trouble with Trash!

On Top of Being a Hygiene Issue, Overflowing Trash Can Cause Environmental Repercussions.

If your trash bill was charged by the pound, would you throw away less? Many experts in the field of waste management and waste reduction believe that Americans aren’t very concerned about trash because we typically pay flat fees for trash collection. That, and the fact that few of us encounter landfills in our day-to-day lives. Out of sight, out of mind.

We’ve all heard about the dangers of pollution and hazardous waste going to landfills. Yet it feels like a distant problem.

Proper waste management plays a role in avoiding some of the biggest trash problems facing people and the planet:

• In some cases, landfills leach toxic chemicals into the soil, which ends up polluting our water supply.

• Clogged garbage drains cause disastrous floods.

• Toxic fumes from trash can even pollute the air.

• Countries without modern waste control have higher rates of diseases and illnesses, such as from drinking polluted water or breathing in smoke from burning trash.

• Many developed countries ship toxic waste to foreign countries where it gets disposed of improperly.

• The U.S. spends $200 billion a year related to trash.

Life necessitates trash, but the U.S. waste output far exceeds other developed countries. We all might consider ways to reduce and reuse, and be aware of where our garbage winds up.

At DJ Products, we make the WasteCaddy dumpster mover to make it easier for businesses to handle waste effectively.

Do your employees have to manually push dumpsters around the property or out to a curb for pickup? If so, a dumpster mover makes the process easier, safer, and more efficient. Contact DJ Products for a free demo!

DoD Forms Advisory Panel to Help Firms that Aren’t Typical DoD Contractors

Changing Regulatory Instructions for the DoD are Fueling a Need for More Technological Adaption.

The most innovative companies have countless ideas and technologies that are useful to the Department of Defense, but doing business with DoD can look and feel very differently than what tech firms are used to. In Silicon Valley and beyond, firms that prize speed, agility, and the ability to pivot or launch a product on a moment’s notice can feel encumbered by red tape when collaborating with the government.

A DoD advisory panel was recently formed to expedite collaboration with non-traditional contractors—those companies who aren’t accustomed to DoD contracts.

So far, the Government Accountability Office has identified these challenges facing DoD contractors’ equipment needs, negotiations, and finances:

• Complex processes

• Drawn-out processes

• Inexperience on the part of DoD staff

• Unusual, government-specific terms and conditions

• Unpredictable budget and cash flow issues

• Conflicts with intellectual property rights

Government and the tech industry have long enjoyed a two-way street of innovation and growth. What’s different now? According to the GAO, the private sector has increased R&D spending by 200% since 1987, while the government has held steady at 10% growth.

Among the goals: speed up contracting agreements to 60 days max, and enable DoD agility with easier access to new technology platforms.

Technology for Government and Military Contractors

At DJ Products, our GSA-approved material handling carts serve military and DoD contractors’ equipment needs in hangars, warehouses, factories, construction sites, and more.

From the TrailerCaddy Chain Drive battery-powered trailer hauler to the remote-controlled BombCaddy for explosives removal or general confined space towing, we have solutions that empower DoD contractors and make it easier to fulfill government work. Contact DJ Products today for more info!

Hoteliers Embrace Social Media for New Marketing Opportunities

Hoteliers Market on Social Media

Technology can change people’s habits, leading to changes across an entire industry. In 2015, mobile search volume surpassed desktop search. In 2016, social media advertising spending outpaced TV ad spending for the first time.

The hotel industry stands in position to embrace social media as an exciting—and in fact, necessary—means of marketing. Especially to the younger generations.

For the hotel and hospitality industry, social media marketing is especially important because it lends itself toward converting sales immediately online.

Jimmy Quach of HVS Vancouver explains some tips for hotels using social media:

• Produce quality content about experiences, food and drink, destinations

• Encourage the use of branded or event-specific hashtags, which make it easier to track engagement

• Spend on influencer marketing to get your hashtags and links in front of specific demographics

• Use social media as a customer service tool

• Combine with new mobile wallet and online payment tools for seamless bookings

Embracing Technology to Grow a Hotel Business

When used smartly, technology can help your hotel deliver a better experience to a growing customer base. Social media and mobile engagement make it easy for guests to find and book. Technology, like our powered hospitality industry carts, can also improve the guest experience.

DJ Products has a lineup of motorized equipment for housekeeping carts, supply carts, waste bin hoppers, and more. Powered hospitality industry carts let your staff work more efficiently, which improves guest comfort, reduces customer service response times, and even prevents worker injuries to keep your best staff on the clock.

Contact DJ Products today for more info about powered hospitality industry carts such as our CartCaddyLite electric cart pusher.

Have the Feds Over-Outsourced Work Contracts?

Outsourcing is Driving Contracts – Too Much?

Has the Pentagon been outsourcing federal work too frequently? Some lawmakers believe so, and they’re attempting to resolve the problem by instituting a cap on service contract spending by the Defense Department.

Restoring Balance to Defense Department Outsourcing

A cap that limited service contract spending to fiscal 2011 totals was instituted in fiscal year 2012. The measure remained in effect until fiscal year 2015, but it has been removed for the past two years.

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, introduced the amendment including the cap, which was part of the annual defense authorization bill approved by the House Armed Services Committee. According to Rep. Hanabusa, the cap was necessary to “strike a fair balance” between federal workers and service contractors.

Has Outsourcing Become “Unfair and Inefficient?”

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers local in Hawaii represents a number of Navy civilians. Led by its president, Jamie Hiranaka, the union supported the amendment’s inclusion.

Hiranaka stated that without the cap, “unfair and inefficient” outsourcing of jobs is likely to continue. With no room to hire federal workers, DoD agencies would be forced to outsource new work.

Michael Fischetti, executive director of the National Contract Management Association, disputes the need for a cap. In his view, such caps make spending decisions political rather than acquisition-based.

Meeting DoD Contractors’ Equipment Needs for Safety and Efficiency

DoD contractors’ equipment needs range across a wide spectrum of sizes and types. DJ Products offers a full line of battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers to handle any requirement.

Visit our website and chat with one of our sales engineers to find the solution for your application.

Tips for Choosing the Right Dumpster Moving Solution

With So Many Options, You Have to be Sure You Make the Right Choice. We Can Help.

Do your employees have to work in pairs to move the dumpster? According to insurance statistics, the trash room is the most high-risk area on your property.

Investing in a dumpster mover can quickly pay for itself through reduced labor costs and fewer work-related injuries. Use these tips to choose the most effective dumpster-moving solution for your multi-family community.

1. Choose a Product That Is Built for the Job

It can be tempting to create a DIY solution by using fork lifts, golf carts or other motorized items already in use on your property. Since they’re not designed to the specific requirements of a dumpster mover, they can actually increase the risk of injury.

2. Choose a Company that Understands Your Needs

Some providers try to be all things to all people, and as a result they really offer nothing of value. When you work with a company that focuses on commercial movers and tugs, they have the experience and knowledge to assist you in finding the right solution for your needs.

3. Work with an Established Provider

Purchasing a dumpster mover is a little more involved than buying office supplies. You’re investing in a product that should serve you for many years to come with the proper care. Beware of companies with no track record or ones that are vague about replacement parts and other maintenance requirements.

DJ Products: Providing Industrial Mover Solutions for More than 20 Years

Find out how products like our best-selling CartCaddyLite can increase productivity while saving you money. Visit our website to learn more form one of our friendly and knowledgeable sales engineers.

Author: christopher Harper