What Would You Like?

Whats on YOUR wish list? We would love to know.

Here at W.L. May Company, we have always made it our goal to have what you need on hand and ready to go before you need it. We uses many techniques to anticipate future needs such as factory recommendations, inventory monitoring and tracking, and in some ways the most important: client feedback.

Client feedback has been responsible for introducing us to several products through the years. In fact, some of our most popular accessory items were introduced to us by our clients either telling us about a product or asking for our help in locating a product.

W.L. May Company has made a commitment to helping to further the success of our clients. The most outwardly visible way of doing this is by participating in trade groups, such as United Servicer's Association. Another way to help further your success is by our concentrating on stock availability and accuracy of all details of our business from the initial research assistance, to making sure warranty credits are applied quickly to your account. It takes some time and effort. Much of it happens out of the sight of our clients, but we hope you notice the results.

On the subject of furthering our clients success, we know that it takes more than just parts for a service business to stay successful and grow. It takes good equipment, a good appearance, and more and more it takes computer expertise. Our position in the supply chain means that we are approached regularly with solution suggestions for all of those issues.

So we pose the question: "What would you like?" Are there aspects of your business that you are struggling with and would like some assistance or direction? Uniforms, trucks, software, tools? Let your parts expert know what you are struggling with and we will do our best to help address those needs.

Thanks to all of our clients for your help and support. We look forward to hearing your suggestions. Have a great servicing day out there!

Taming the Beast: Organizing Your Inventory

Even if you don't have an inventory as large as this, organization can still save you time and money.

A lot of companies keep a lot of stock on hand. A lot of companies also don't know what they have. Naturally, it is pretty easy to match up non stocked parts as they arrive with the job they are intended for. How do you keep track of what you have in stock so that you can get it when you need it? This is an important question, because if you can't find the part, you might end up ordering a part that you already have. This costs you in a number of ways. There is time lost due to the ordering and receiving process. There is the expense of making a second, perhaps unnecessary trip to install the part you ordered (and actually already had). Of course, their is also the obvious unnecessary cash outlay from buying a part more than once. Those are just the more tangible factors. There is also the risk that your client will form an unfavorable opinion of you because you were unable to complete the job on the first visit. All the while you could potentially be missing out on opportunities to do other work because you are "too busy" to fit another call in your schedule.

What do you do to keep track of your inventory? Some shops use a simple system of shelving items alphabetically or by machine type. That is a good starting point, but what do you do when you can't see your shelves? This is where a computerized inventory comes in. There are lots of solutions available on the marketplace, but even an Excel spreadsheet can do the trick. I would recommend several things you want to able to keep track of. You want to know what parts you have, where they are at, how often you are using the item (so that you can make informed stocking decisions), invoices and purchase dates are also not a bad idea as is pricing info. Like most things involving computers, the set up will not come easy. Once it is set up, though, maintaining it should be fairly easy. If you are in the repair industry, you probably should be thinking about the long game. The time you invest now can show you time savings down the road when your system is up and rolling.

I'd like to share a little about how we do things here to manage our inventory. We have software that keeps track of those things I mentioned as well as sometimes other information about the part. Included in the software is a field for parts location. With how our warehouse layout is designed, even a large inventory like the one we stock can be tamed. We start with each aisle having a "100" number. So that means we have an 100 aisle, a 200 aisle, a 300 aisle, and so on. In each aisle we have a row of shelving units. Each shelving unit has its own number that follows after the "100" number in the location system. That means in the 100 aisle we might have a shelf 101, 102, 103, etc. By having two digits to work with we could theoretically have 99 shelving units in that aisle. That would be a long a aisle though, I think our longest aisle only goes to 50's.  Then to further zero in on the part, each shelving unit is given a letter: A on the top shelf, B on the second shelf down, and so on.  So if you have a part that is on the 3rd aisle, the 12th shelving unit and the fourth shelf down from the top what do you think that locations would be? If you guessed 312D, you are correct and I have managed to explain the system clearly.

W.L. May Company uses card board parts bins on each shelf to keep things further organized. Each bin is labeled on the front with the part number of the piece it holds.We stock several sizes of parts bins that you could use in your store or on your truck. Consult with your parts expert here for details.

We hope that explanation of how we organize our warehouse can provide you with some inspiration to get your inventory in order, if it isn't already. If you have already been keeping track of your inventory by computer, talk to your Parts Expert about our S.T.E.P. program. This program is already being used by some companies to fine tune their inventories and save them money. We would like to offer those same benefits to you. What techniques does your company use to keep track of your stock? Are you using any special software? Let us know about it in the comments section. Have a great day out there and happy servicing!

KELLY'S KORNER - AFTER THE HOLIDAYS

Hey, All!

Wow, the holidays and vacation are over!  I hope they were very good for you and that the coming year is happy and prosperous.  I had a great time!

The Christmas tree is down and the lights and decorations all put away - now what?  Well, now is a good time to get everything ship-shape and Bristol fashion.  Start by making a list of all the things you NEED to do and those you WANT to do.

Creative Commons license on image.

NEED TO DO:  Clean refrigerator of all leftovers, get documents together for taxes, check outside your home (or office building) for any winter damage so far (gutters {think about getting a LintEater - DVC202 - not only will clean lint build-up in your dryer venting but has an attachment for downspout cleaning}, moss on your roof, and if you run a business - INVENTORY!  And did you change the batteries in all your smoke alarms and CO2 detectors?  Window washing - inside and out - although if it is freezing weather where you are at you might want to wait on the outside windows.  These are just a few of the things that are looming out there - start that list and take things one at a time.

WANT TO DO:  Clean out cupboads, new paint on walls or maybe just some touch up in spots.  Don't forget your appliances!  W L May has touch-up paint for your appliances.  Reorganize and get rid of stuff you don't want or need - someone out there will and it's a good write off on those taxes!

I'm sure you can think of a bunch more things that you could put on these lists - the key is to take things one at a time (maybe a "Honey-do" jar with a task per slip?) so the list doesn't look so daunting.

Have a great week!

PS:  Boy, do I need a copy of this book!

For more from education and entertainment from W.L. May Company click...HERE
 

Friday Facts: Five Essential Stock Items for November

Creative Commons license on image.

We at W.L. May hope that you had a nice Halloween last night with plenty of tricks and treats and we also hope that you are enjoying the fall colors in your local area. With Halloween behind us, a glance at the calendar reminds us that we are heading into  the holiday season with Thanksgiving just a few short weeks away. When the pages of the calendar turns to November, the calls begin to come in for ranges. Unlike most of the year, when more recent appliances are the usual service call request, during Thanksgiving time people have a tendency to evoke nostalgia and go with what has always worked to create a memorable holiday. Often, this means an old range. Many of the more universal range parts are those found on electric ranges and that is what we will be concentrating on here. However, if you are in an area with more gas appliances you'll want to make sure you have an adequate supply of igniters on hand.

How can you be prepared, as a servicer, for those electric range calls? As we have previously stressed on this blog, you want to minimize return trips so a stock of "universal" parts for ranges can do wonders for your efficiency during the holiday season. So what should you have ready to go? Here are a few suggestions:

• Bake and Broil elements. This is probably the most common request we get during Thanksgiving season every year. Sure, we stock a lot of elements, but you'll want to have some on hand yourself. We recommend reviewing your service history and at least make sure you have the most common ones on hand. If you have a brand that is particularly well represented in your area, you might want to include a few less common elements from that brand as well. If you need some suggestions, ask your W.L. May parts expert. We would be happy to help.
• Surface Elements. Many ranges uses the same standard surface elements. Having these in your truck can mean the difference between completing a call and going back later. Whether you decide to use OEM surface units or a generic version, make sure you have some on hand.
• Burner Receptacles. Don't forget that sometimes replacing a surface element also means replacing the receptacle. Again, many use the same receptacles. Don't let yourself be caught short.
• Universal Thermostat and Surface Switches. We recommend using the OEM specified thermostats and switchs whenever possible. However on some old ranges they thermostat may be out of production. If that is the case a universal thermostat may save the day. We also stock a few universal switches that could come in handy on these older machines.
• Drip Pans and Cleaners. The holidays are a time for entertaining and many people see this as an opportunity to spruce up and do some extra cleaning in the kitchen. If you are prepared with cleaning solutions and replacement drip pans, you may be surprised to find customers eager for those items. Beware of you own bias here. You might not be inclined to replace stained drip pans on your own range, however many customers appreciate the opportunity to replace their own drip pans. If you have them on hand, you can spare your customer from trying to find pans that fit (and probably don't) at their local big box store and , by the way, you will be increasing your own bottom line as well. Win-win!

The holidays also have a tendency so increase calls for dishwashers, icemakers, and trash compactors. Consider how you can prepare yourself with pieces for those items as well. We look forward to helping you solve some of the mysterious old appliance parts problems as you work your way to a delicious turkey dinner (or Tofurkey if you are so inclined). Just give us a call and we would be glad to help. So what do you find to be an essential stock item at this time of year? Please, let us know in the comments.

For more from education and entertainment from W.L. May Company click...HERE

Throwback Thursday: News Recap September 19, 2014

If you have been reading the W.L. May Blog but haven't checked us out on Facebook, Twitter or Google+, you may not be getting the whole story. We use all of those social media outlets to share news stories that relate to our industry as well as appliance tips we have found from other sources. Here is a recap of some of the top stories we have seen lately. A lot has been happening so without further ado:

We start with a few consumer friendly articles we feel would be great for sharing:

• The Simple Dollar discusses the cost effectiveness of hand washing dishes vs a dishwasher. Link
• Rodale News made these suggestions for saving money when running your refrigerator. Link
• Reviewed.Com shared their picks for best American made appliances. Link
• Deseret News offered 8 tips for keeping produce frsh in the refrigerator. Link
• Angie from Angie List gives her opinion on the age old question: repair or replace? Link
• C-Net published their washing machine buying guide. Link
• The Daily Orange made some suggestions for new college students tackling using dorm laundry facilities. Link

Next, we look at the manufacturers and how they have been in the news recently:

• Whirlpool announced the hiring of a new executive chef. Link
• Multi-Housing news approves of Whirlpools "Ice" line of appliances. Link
• Whirlpool announced the launch of the industries first induction double oven freestanding range. Link 
• A new design of Heier dishwasher doesn't have a handle for its latch. Link
• Whirlpool announced their new WashSquad app for iphones. Link
• GE's chefs talked about what they like about GE appliances and shared a few recipes. Link
• GE told us about the process involved with formulating a new color of appliance paint. Link

We found a few articles that might be of interest to those of you who love all thing appliances:

• We reposted this older story from Digital Trends about some hi-tech refrigerator magnets. Link
• Newsleader.com discussed retro style appliances and their growing popularity. Link
• Peta Pixel shared a dishwasher trick for film photographers. Link
• Main St. had an in-depth piece on smart appliances and the internet of things. Link
• Scott. J. Higgins makes the argument that the washing machine was a more important invention than the internet. Link
• We found these images of destruction for those of you who like such things. Link
• Wired reported on a concept idea for washing machine sharing. Link
• Gigaom tells us why they think washing machines, not refrigerators, will be the first successful internet connected appliances. Link
• Digital Journal told us about a blog that offers dating advice based on what the dates refrigerator looks like inside. Link

Sometimes, the links we post are related to technology, business or happenings on the internet:

• Smart Van posted an excellent article about stock management and its relationship to first call completion rates. Link
• KFGO reported cautious optimism for manufacturing in 2014. Link
• Smart Van makes the list again with their 7 Deadly Sins for Service Calls. Link
• Hubspot offers 30 Terrible Pieces of Social Media Advise You Should Ignore. Link

A new contest was announced

• Womans world is giving away a Frigidaire refrigerator. Link

We close with an interesting article about the history of the Philips screw and screwdriver:

• From A Continuous Lean. Link

Five Items on the W.L. May "Secret Menu"

Cheeseburger fans around the world know about Southern California's famous In-N-Out Burger. As a guy
who grew up in Southern California, I will admit to being a fan, it isn't healthy but it sure is tasty. While they are famous for their burgers, they also have a bit of fame for another reason. In-N-Out has a "secret menu" of items that they make regularly, but you have to know to ask. That's the only way to get a Triple-Triple Burger or French Fries "Animal Style".

Creative Commons license on image.

W.L. May has some similarity to the burger chain.For example, In-N-Out has built its reputation by offering a better than average product at a reasonable price with terrific service. That is our approach as well. In addition, like the drive-in restaurants, W.L. May has a sort of "secret menu" of services available to our clients. We don't want to keep our menu a secret any longer. Some items on our "secret menu" include:

• Experienced parts research. It is not such a big secret that we are happy to assist in finding the part you need for the machine you are working on. Did you know that our parts staff has over 200 years of accumulated experience in researching parts? With that kind of experience, you know you are in knowledgeable hands.
• Triple Redundant Shipping. One of the ways we guarantee accuracy in your order is by our triple check order fulfillment procedures. In addition to the person who pulls the part of the shelf, we utilize a double checker to verify accuracy before one last check is made by the boxer. Three sets of eyes mean we can intercept order pulling errors before they leave our building, preventing you from the hassles associated with erroneous orders.
• Back Order Management. In a perfect world there would be no back orders, however sometimes circumstances beyond our control might prevent us from having the part on hand at the time it is requested. All of our reps have access to factory inventory and shipping records. This allows us to look into the factory availability of a part being back ordered allowing us to share an accurate ETA,.
• Drop Ships. We offer drop shipping of parts from the factory to you in the unlikely event we are out of stock. In addition, we can ship directly to your customer from our inventory on your behalf. This is a great service to offer your customers, especially those folks who are a bit distanced from your location.
• Inventory and Management Consulting . Our ordering system is designed work with you to manage and consolidate your order no matter how many times in the day you need to add on. W.L. May has created programs for strategic truck enhancement, allowing you to increase your first call completion rate by being prepared with what you need to do the job BEFORE the consumer calls you. We also provide management tips to help make your business grow. 

Thrifty Thursday: Is Your Cost Cutting Actually Cutting Into Your Profits?

To paraphrase the old Dragnet series: “The story you are about to read is true. The names and details have been changed to protect the innocent.”

Creative Commons license on image.

A few weeks back Kelly talked about inventory in her Kelly's Korner article. She made some solid points about the importance of keeping track of what you have in your stock. I was having a conversation with another W.L. May Account Manager this morning and that person shared a frustration that they had in serving their customer and it illustrates fairly well the point Kelly was making about knowing what you have in inventory, whether it be in your your truck or on your shop shelves.

A little background here. As a wholesale parts distributor, we want our customers to succeed and prosper in the long term. It's good for our industry and it's just good business for us. Our focus is, therefore, on the long-term and not on any given sale for one part.

Which gets me back to my story. I was commenting to the rep about what a great job this customer was doing in utilizing social media tools and that I thought they were doing a great job at bringing their service to market. All evidence points to an online presence as being essential for a successful 21st century business, and they get that. The response from my fellow rep was that the marketing efforts being made were great, but the frustration was that the customer had decided that there was little value in keeping anything more than a bare boned inventory of parts on hand. They have a a few well stocked parts houses nearby and can almost always find things available for next day delivery.

At first glance, that looks like a great idea. Less initial outlay for supplies and less to keep track of. The frustrating aspect of the situation is NOT that they weren't buying parts, they have been buying parts and and continue to do so. Where the concern lies is that this policy is costing them in a couple of ways. The first and biggest loss would be the service calls lost to other companies that keep stock on hand a complete call on the day the call was received.. That would be bad enough, but also in their zeal to keep a lean streamlined inventory, they tend to return parts as not needed. Then they reorder the same parts a short while later. This is costing them labor in processing the order and returns, not to mention the cost of shipping parts back. It is understandable that sometimes a part return makes sense, but there are also times when it just don't seem to add up.

A wise veteran of our industry, now retired, who specialized in helping struggling operations turn things around, once told me once that many companies make the mistake of trying to reduce costs by reducing inventory. This leaves them short of the very thing thing they need to generate revenue. Lately, I have been discussing with many of our customers how they keep track of their inventory. The most successful ones have systems in place to keep track of their parts. Usually it is a computer based program, and the best of those show trends of raising or lowering demand for a given part. If you rely on memory and the "I.C Method" (If I See It-I Have It) of inventory management, I urge you to consider if this approach is truly serving you well, or could you be a more efficient and profitable using a more advanced method. Do you utilize any software to "keep track of your stuff"? If so, we would love to hear about your experiences in the comment section.

Kelly's Korner - Inventory

Hey, All!

OK, start the groaning now because "inventory" has to be one of the most dreaded words around.  No one likes to crawl about to find and count the myriad parts that are on trucks, in stockrooms, garages, shelves, desks or wherever else you keep your parts.

But answer this:  Do you have any idea of how much money you have sitting there?  Maybe about tax time when you HAVE to account for your parts but how many times do you want to do that?  How many times have you ordered a part because "I know it's here somewhere, I just can't find it!" 

Now, I am the last one to preach about organization (at the best of times my desk looks like a hurricane hit it), but when parts are your bread and butter, it pays to keep track.  It may take awhile to get your truck, stockroom, garage, whatever, into shape and to inventory those parts and train yourself to keep up on it (kinda like cleaning the gutters on your house and just about as fun).  But when you realize the amount of time and money that this will save you, it will be worth it.

There is lots of software out there for you techno people (you probably have it on something you're using now but haven't utilized it) and it can integrate it into your invoicing and definitely make tax time a lesser burden.  Also, lots of storage containers for those parts are out there!

And those parts that you have no idea where you got them and haven't used and have no idea what they go to?  Try networking on the internet to get them to people who are looking for them.  There are lots of "antique" appliances out there people don't want to get rid of and parts are no longer available for them but they will hunt to the ends of the earth to find them to keep their beloved appliances.

Send me a postcard from your vacation with all the money you've "saved"!

Have a great week!