Elmira, Ontario
Problem: How to relocate a leading John Deere dealership without disruption of business.
Solution: Order, load, and organize cabinets prior to the move.
Benefits: Limited downtime in productivity. The new storage cabinets also improved organization and provided a streamlined look to keep the new dealership running at peak efficiency.
Products Used: Cabinets and overhead storage.
Premier Equipment Elmira, a leading John Deere dealer in Ontario, Canada was looking to update their facility into a more streamlined look that provided their employees with more work space and more efficient storage. The decision was made to move to a new facility, a process that required the complete relocation of their parts, service, and equipment departments.
But the initial capital outlay and potential downtime (in sales and productivity!) of an entire relocation can be a daunting thought for any facility manager.
Undeterred, Leon Brubacher, Premier Equipment Parts Manager, forged ahead. After final building plans of the new dealership were complete, the first order of business was to design and outfit the interior with storage solutions that would save space, save time, and be scalable with business growth. Having worked with Vidmar products in other locations, Brubacher knew exactly where to start—Vidmar.
Brubacher was able to work directly with a Vidmar Territory Sales Manager (TSM) on all his project needs to save a great deal of time in the planning process. From the onset of the project Brubacher worked hand in hand with his TSM, Brent Mitchell, to understand his exact needs right down to drawer sizes.
“Vidmar’s service and expertise made it easy for me to make a decision. Brent provided surveys, drawings of our location, and storage solutions that fit our exact measurements,” says Brubacher. “Once we assessed all of the options it was clear that Vidmar was the best choice.”
Vidmar’s design process started before construction on the new building was complete. This is a hallmark of Vidmar’s hands-on service—the ability to lay out an entire installation based only on engineering drawings. The Premier project started with Mitchell drawing the planned cabinet installation into the new facility’s blueprints in order for Brubacher to visualize the exact setup. The team established that the installation required flexibility to arrange drawers of various sizes, and the ability to custom-configure cabinet designs based on different departments’ diverse needs and size requirements.
Vidmar standard cabinets and overhead storage, along with Premier’s existing shelving, was all that was needed to comprise the entire solution.
The purchase of the cabinets was strategically made prior to the relocation. This allowed the cabinets to be pre-organized and inventoried before the move, a step that is critical to eliminate unnecessary downtime.
The major disadvantage in using drawer and shelving combinations, rather than stand alone cabinets, are that these units must be dissembled in order to move them and reassembled in the new location. Therefore, the units and inventory products are moved twice, rendering both the products and dealership inaccessible for a period of time. Any potential upfront savings can be lost in one or two days during the move, and an inconvenience to customer who may be requiring parts during the move.
Vidmar’s cabinets were pre-loaded with transferred inventory, and bin locations were updated, making the transition to the new facility very smooth.
“Ordering and pre-loading the cabinets before we moved was the key to a speedy and seamless move. One person worked for about three months to do the rebinning, and then in one evening we moved and placed about 50 cabinets in the new location,” said Brubacher. “It was so simple to pick up and move. We were done with the entire move in two days.”
Not only did pre-loading the cabinets save time, but there were additional benefits as a byproduct of the decision:
- Inventory bin locations were all corrected.
- Inventory cycle counting was done while inventory was transferred.
- The opportunity to purge dead stock eliminated unnecessary “clutter.”
- Parts were always easily locatable throughout the move rather than strewn in a box.
- The parts and service departments still functioned efficiently while the move was in process.
The result was a professional, well-organized environment that consolidated inventory into a smaller footprint with less aisles. The new dealership provides ample room to grow, more efficient parts-picking due to less walking between aisles, and a neater system of binning and labeling for larger products.
Based on the success of the process and installation, Premier has the assurance to reach out to Vidmar for any new projects knowing their TSM can offer a complete proposal that covers the requirements of the facility, demands of the business, and unique needs of the technicians.
Vidmar understands the heavy equipment business and provides turnkey solutions to facility or warehouse relocations. Working through a distributor can provide a diverse product offering, but not a complete solution. This is where Vidmar products and customer service excels.