Taking a Vendor-Neutral Approach to MHE Utilization and Optimization

Managing and optimizing a lift truck fleet has never been more difficult. With e-commerce, omni-channel, and evolving customer demands working together to put new pressures on global warehouses and DCs, companies need reliable, safe, well-maintained material handling equipment that helps them meet and exceed these demands.

Achieving that goal can be difficult in today’s dynamic fulfillment environment, where a hodgepodge of old and new equipment—not all of it interconnected or reliable—comes together under a single material handling umbrella. At the same time, companies have little or no visibility over their fleets, and rather than managing them proactively tend to take a “putting out daily fires” approach to the task.

This is where a vendor-neutral partner can step in and help companies optimize material handling equipment fleets in a way that helps them tackle the rigors of e-commerce, omni-channel, and whatever else is being thrown their way right now.

In this Insider Q&A, CHG-MERIDIAN’s Markus Hiller describes the current logistics environment, shows how it’s impacting companies, and explains how a vendor-neutral partner can help shippers get their material handling approaches into alignment, optimized, and working smarter in this ever-changing business environment.

Insider Q&A

Markus Hiller — CHG-MERIDIAN, Principal

Q: Why is leasing lift trucks a good idea?

A: In general, there’s a high level of flexibility that comes with leasing. Not only do companies have full cost transparency, but when they lease with us they get all of the data they need to be able to make more educated decisions about their fleets. They know when it’s time to renew their fleets not just from a financial perspective, but also in terms of any new innovations that will help them improve productivity and efficiency.

Q: What role does a vendor-neutral partner play in optimizing today’s material handling equipment fleet?

A: A vendor-neutral partner like CHG-MERIDIAN takes a consultative approach versus just trying to sell you something that you may not need or want. With our backgrounds in material handling, we can help companies pinpoint the right kind of equipment for their applications.

For example, there are certain lift truck manufacturers that are more proficient in specific applications. We know who is doing what in the industry, and we can figure out which manufacturer is better in one business setting versus another. Because we are vendor-neutral, and not tied to a single, proprietary product, technology or specification, we can provide unbiased advice on MHE utilization and optimization.

A vendor-neutral partner also isn’t there to persuade a company to go to a certain manufacturer; it’s there to help the user make the best possible choice for its operations. Finally, we have direct access to a global remarketing network that helps us provide very affordable lease rates and terms for our customers. It’s a definite win-win-win all the way around.

Q: What differentiates CHG-MERIDIAN from other players in this space?

A: We help companies gain a very high level of transparency in terms of onsite assessments, reviewing data sheets, and tracking existing fleets. Based on that data, we develop an analysis on what equipment should be refreshed; what should be disposed of; what part of the fleet is short-term rental (and should be transitioned into a lease); and so forth. We want to create this transparency and then use the data to develop an optimized, lower-cost, future state.

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everything needs to transition to a CHG-MERIDIAN lease—sometimes we’re just helping companies right-size their equipment, fleets, and the associated costs and maintenance that go along with them. Ultimately, it’s about making good decisions based on data that becomes available at the right time, and that helps to keep costs low. We don’t just want to sell a great leasing rate; we want to keep the total cost of ownership low.

Q: What does this look like in real-life?

A: For one of our biggest customers, we went onsite and identified every piece of material handling equipment that it had at the different sites. We collected the information, looked at how many hours were on their lift trucks; listed out the various manufacturers, and so forth.

To the customer’s surprise, it had about 400 more lift trucks than what showed on its inventory sheets. We also identified which vehicles were on short term rental agreements, and how long they were in use, and then helped the customer reduce the percentage of short-term rentals. With new leases and TESMA® (CHG-MERIDIAN’s lifecycle management platform), we helped the company lower its overall cost and improve its rigor of lift truck refresh.

Q: What’s the biggest advantage that companies gain by applying the CHG-MERIDIAN asset management approach?

A: We look at the total cost of ownership. This includes the costs before, during and after an asset’s productive phase. We factor in overall costs and we help companies gain full transparency over their fleets, all while reducing both costs and risks.

Finally, we minimize the amount of the time and money that goes into managing MHE on a daily basis. With our technology and service management system (TESMA®), many of these workflows can be automated. In return, companies get reduced risk, full transparency, and minimized workloads.

Q: What would you say to fleet managers who want to improve visibility and optimize their material handling equipment?

A: Companies need transparency over their MHE combined with an accurate analysis of their technology. Without these two elements in place, they won’t be able to optimize their fleets, nor will they be able to make the right decisions at the right time. At CHG-MERIDIAN, we don’t just give our customers a number; we help them manage their fleets via a true partnering relationship and throughout the entire lifecycle of the lease.

CHG-MERIDIAN USA CORP.

21800 Oxnard Street, Suite 400 Woodland Hills, CA 91367
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www.chg-meridian.us