New Technology in High Density Pallet Storage

I usually try to blog every Wednesday. I'm a day late this week but with good reason. I was in sunny California finalizing the details of a partnership with Power Automation Systems, a manufacturer that produces the next generation in high density pallet storage. PAS manufactures the PowerStor system. PowerStor is a close cousin to the fixed-aisle automated storage and retrieval systems with several important differences. PowerStor is denser storage, has considerably lower operating costs, utility costs as low as $.01/move, higher throughput than their cousin and did I mention for most layouts the cost is significantly less than the typical crane system!

PowerStor can be easily configured to fit in existing buildings as the aisle lengths and widths are not determined by a crane system. PowerStor was originally designed for the food industry so it operates in refrigerator and freezer facilities without issue. The whole system is made in the USA so if something should ever go wrong replacement parts are easily available, in addition, every pallet is easily accessible via a catwalk system which is impossible with the old fixed aisle systems. What is the downside to the PowerStor system? Well we've spent the last six months looking for it and we can't see one. If you would like literature on this exciting new product offering from American Warehouse Systems, please contact us at info@aw-systems.com or visit us at http://www.aw-systems.com/.

MPS AA-12 Urban Combat Shotgun

This is a great video of the MPS AA-12 military grade fully automatic 12ga shotgun. Originally designed in the 1972 as a selective fire combat shotgun, it was recently redesigned by Jerry Baber into what it is today. This fantastic weapon was designed to support our troops during urban combat and as the video shows, can fire up to 300 shells per minute and has many different speciality rounds available including HE grenade rounds! Originally aired on the Discovery Channel. Thank you Discovery for the fantastic footage of this devastating weapon.

If you have any other great military related videos or images, let us know we'd be glad to post them here. Have a great Veterans Day!

Can You See the Social Media Storm from Your Office?

Recently we have been feverishly working to get up to speed with social media. Why? After many months of research we have finally come to the conclusion social media is here to stay. In addition we strongly believe industry is rapidly adopting social media as a sales and marketing tool. We aren't sure exactly what the marketing landscape will look like in 5 to 10 years but we are fairly certain it will contain social media as a way to do business.
I know, I know, the material handling industry is still trying to figure out this Internet thing. How can we possibly make such a leap? Well I'm here to tell you that while you are sitting in your safe office waiting for your customers to call, your competitors are eating your lunch. Several material handling companies have already figured this Internet thing out and are making millions of dollars a year as a direct result of their online presence. They are closing deals thousands of miles from their office and three miles from yours because they have embraced this "New Media" and virtually went were the money was. A very small minority of material handling suppliers have found Web 2.0 and are beginning to investigate how to capitalize on it. You should to.
The start of your investigation should be to look into a company blog. Keep in mind that there are many benefits to a blog even if it seems like no one is listening (I'm still not sure if anyone reads mine). In today's marketplace every company should have a blog to distribute information and drive traffic to your website. Look into ways to get your blog out to the public, like Technorati, Buzzlogic and the like. Secondly there should be someone out there on the micro blogs (Twitter, etc.) driving traffic to your blog. You'd be amazed at the free lead generation you can create with a little time.
You should be utilizing an email blast tool like Constant Contact to keep in touch with your customers and to drive traffic to your blog and website.
Each and every employee should at least have a profile on LinkedIn. The profile should be professional with links back to your website and blog. If you're really willing to get out there check out Biznik and Fast Pitch also. These sites are money generators for salespeople. They take prospecting and customer service to a whole new level. On a future blog I will go further into these powerful sales tools.
What is the cost of all this marketing power? Would you be surprised if I said less than $1000 per year? Calculate the ROI on that!
Don't let the social media storm pass you by. It is not a fad, it's not just for kids and if you don't get on, your competitors certainly will.