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Showing posts from December, 2019

Everything Your Final Mile Company Needs to Get the Job Done

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The “final mile” is generally the most complex, expensive, and important phase of the delivery process. With ecommerce changing the face of retail and deliveries from brick-and-mortar retailers remaining strong, the success of countless businesses relies on successful deliveries. Successful delivery, of course, is contingent on the success of a smooth final mile. Ensuring that success requires that the delivery professionals involved have the right tools for the job. Whether the tools in question are a good collapsible hand truck or pertinent information from the client, if your business delivers anything, be sure to set your delivery employees up for success. Collapsible hand truck The Information About the Job It’s easy to collect too little information about a job, which can create delays when delivery staff encounter unexpected circumstances. For the most part, businesses that do deliveries are required to do more than the curbside dropping of a parcel in a m

Essential Tools for Your Party Planning and Rental Business

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Operating a party planning and rental business can be tricky. Delivering anything from large tents to bounce houses is heavy, slow work, and accidents can cause injuries even in relatively safe working conditions. Whether you are setting up a wedding or renting supplies out for a holiday party, the following material handling tools can help you move party supplies quickly and safely. This, in turn, ensures your customers and employees are well cared for, which will help your business continue to succeed. Convertible hand truck Convertible Hand Truck A convertible hand truck transforms from a classic upright hand truck position to a horizontal hand truck, giving it a longer, flat surface. It’s perfect for wider loads that a classic hand truck isn’t able to transport. This can help move anything from stacks of chairs to cases of drinks. It’s ideal for transporting utensils, cups, and other supplies, including smaller pedestals and tables. As it is also able to fun

The Tools Your Winery Needs to Improve Efficiency and Safety

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Wine has been around since ancient times and is enjoyed by virtually every culture. With the increasing demand for wine fueling an ever-growing global industry, even the small “craft” wineries are part of a very big business. It’s created a terrific opportunity for anyone with a passion for wine and winemaking. However, there are always ways to improve the business of wine, making winemaking both more efficient and safer for craft and family-owned wineries. Sometimes that may mean upgrading from a traditional to a powered hand truck , and sometimes it just means sufficient training. Powered hand truck Safety in the Vineyards Safety in the vineyard relies on the same basic safety rules that any other agricultural work requires. That includes the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and comprehensive safety training for the use of all equipment. Although there are some additional concerns for vineyard work, such as: Night Harvesting Illumination

Easy Material Handling Safety Fixes for White Glove Delivery

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The dominance of ecommerce in the marketplace has meant a huge influx of online orders that require delivery. Meanwhile, deliveries from brick and mortar retailers remain common and popular. The result is that effective delivery is now often a necessary element of the success of delivery companies and even brick and mortar retailers that deliver their products. White glove delivery adds an additional element of difficulty and importance to the delivery process. As such, ensuring the safety of delivery staff and customers is of the utmost importance. That safety involves a number of elements, whether that’s investing in a stair climbing cart or providing the right training. Lift Hand Truck White Glove Delivery and Why It’s Important White glove delivery is a feature of the last and most important delivery stage—the “final mile.” White glove differs from traditional delivery in that it involves more active participation of delivery staff, who enter a customer’s home

Give Your Commercial Laundry and Uniform Service an Edge with These Material Handling Tools

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Every business is looking for an edge on the competition. This holds true for the commercial laundry, uniform, and garment services industry. Material handling tools often get overlooked when a business is making upgrades, but an “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” mentality doesn’t provide a competitive edge. Proactively upgrading everyday operations can provide the edge a business needs. The right hand truck, hand cart , and material handling accessories can be hugely beneficial for any laundry, garment, or textile business. Hand Trucks A Hand Truck for Every Job: Boxes and Loose Articles When you’re moving totes of dirty laundry from place to place, traditional hand trucks will do the trick. For no-frills product-shifting, there’s still nothing that beats an old fashioned hand truck. However, if you have loose garments or stacks of neatly folded uniforms to move, consider investing in a convertible hand truck with a removable solid deck. They can be used vertical

Cider, Liqueur, Mead, and Moonshine: Safety Equipment for Your Alternative Spirits Business

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It’s an exciting, vibrant, and challenging time for craft breweries, cideries, and all independent producers of alcoholic beverages. There has been a renaissance for the craft brewery and distillery industries, with huge growth in the past few years. That’s a bit of a double-edged sword. It means there is a great community of like-minded distillers for informational and moral support, ready-made supply chains for sourcing equipment, and a wealth of other resources. It also means a lot of competition. Keg Handling In an industry that competitive, and one with notoriously slim profit margins, the last thing any craft distiller of a niche spirit like cider, liqueur, mead, or moonshine needs is to find their business’s success threatened by something like not having the right safety equipment. Sometimes that equipment is a quality pair of work gloves, sometimes it’s a reliable keg handling hand truck. Safety Equipment and PPE Of all the alcoholic beverage productio

The Equipment You Need to Optimize Your HVAC Final Mile Service

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Running back and forth to a warehouse, supplier, or office for parts, equipment, and information wastes both your and the customer’s time. Instead, make sure you have everything you need for the final mile for delivering and installing HVAC systems. From installing AC units to water heaters, here’s the equipment you need in your HVAC service truck to optimize your final mile service. Appliance Hand Truck Hand Trucks The classic hand truck is perfect for moving stacks of boxes and other smaller pieces of equipment, either from the warehouse to the truck or from the truck to the job site. For bigger appliances, such as a water heater, you may need an appliance hand truck . As the name implies, it is meant for larger loads, such as appliances and bigger boxes than a classic hand truck can safely handle. Extra Common Parts From circuit boards to hoses and motors, it’s worth storing extra parts that are common in your vehicle. The key is “common,” as some parts may

Installation Included: How Home Center Retailers Can Provide the White Glove Treatment

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One of the best services a home retail center can offer is the white glove treatment. After delivering the product, often an appliance, an employee installs and sets up the product for the customer. Whether it’s delivering and installing a refrigerator, a TV, or a microwave, here’s what your home retail center needs to effectively provide the white glove treatment for customers. Hand Lift Truck Warehouse to Delivery Truck The white glove treatment starts with delivery. Whether it’s from a warehouse or inventory in the back, you need to get the product to the truck. Smaller items such as microwaves, doors, or boxes of tiles only need a hand truck for easy transport. Larger items, however, may necessitate a powered hand truck . Be warned that unless the delivery truck or van has a liftgate or ramp, the powered hand truck will be too heavy to take on the actual delivery. Be sure to scan the product into your electronic inventory system, if your store uses one, to ke

Why Nailing Final Mile Delivery Is Crucial and How to Properly Equip Crews

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For any business that relies on delivery to customers, whether those are consumers or other businesses, the “final mile” (or “last mile”) is the most crucial part of the process. There are some common misconceptions about the final mile and recurring questions about how best to ensure that all of final mile processes go smoothly. Some of those processes are business-specific, as every company has its own unique challenges and clients. However, there are more universal tools and solutions, from a stair climbing dolly to the right software, that can optimize final mile delivery for any business. Stair Climbing Cart What Is the Final Mile? For starters, the final mile isn’t necessarily a mile. In fact, it usually isn’t. The term “final mile” refers to the last logistical stage in a product’s journey from its manufacture to delivery: the final journey between a local warehouse and the customer’s door. The final mile can be the trickiest, the most important, and the mo

Tools Big Box Electronics Delivery Needs for the White Glove Treatment

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The white glove treatment is now common for most big box electronic stores: For an extra fee, a customer can have not only delivery of their new TV, fridge, or other appliance, but a friendly employee will also install and set up the device or appliance. From hand trucks for delivery to a tool kit for assembling refrigerator doors, here’s what you need every step of the way to provide the white glove treatment for your customers.  Hand trucks Tools for a Safe and Efficient Delivery The white glove treatment starts with standard delivery. For the best results, you’ll want to use material handling equipment to move the appliance or device. Smaller appliances such as microwaves and computer towers will fit on a standard hand truck. Bigger items such as refrigerators or large-screen TVs may need the extra capacity of a heavy duty hand truck , also known as an appliance hand truck. Heavy duty hand trucks have a larger load capacity and can be modified with wings to ac