NEW CABINETS ALLOW TITAN
to carve out valuable storage space without costly expansion. 

Many companies talk about being "cutting edge," but when Titan says it, they mean it -- literally. The wholesale company has been providing its industrial-distributor customers with premium quality, cutting tools for over 30 years. Success, however, was a double-edged sword, as Titan recently ran out of storage space in its main distribution center. While there was high demand for the drills, taps, endmills and reamers that are manufactured for the company on a private brand basis, the huge volume of inventory was taking a huge slice out of the center's storage space. Clearly, the company's storage units -- comprised entirely of open metal shelving -- were no longer cut out for the job.

Although expansion of the facility was an option, it was an expensive alternative and one which Ralph Colby, president and CEO of Titan, wanted to avoid if at all possible. Consequently, Colby turned to Linda Barker at American Tool, who recommended the use of storage solutions from Lista International, a manufacturer of innovative, efficient, modular storage systems.

The fact that Colby was no stranger to Lista products himself made his decision that much easier. "Over the years, I have seen Lista storage solutions being used at many of our customers' locations across the country," he said. "They appeared to be very durable, and the customers are convinced that their units will last forever. They offered some pretty powerful testimonials. Likewise, we expect our cabinets to be around for several generations."

Titan purchased a total of 140 Lista storage cabinets. The majority of the units are Lista's HS width cabinets, but they also ordered some mid-width cabinets fitted with butcher block countertops. Built with heavy gauge steel, the HS and mid-width cabinets are capable of withstanding the most extreme work environments.

"With these units you can use all the space productively, unlike the old shelving system which wasted a lot of available cubic space, essentially storing air," said Colby.

For a company like Titan that places such a high premium on space utilization, Lista's HS cabinets are critical in preserving precious square footage. To begin with, the cabinets measure just 40 1/4" wide and 22 1/2" deep. The relatively shallow footprint ensures that more aisles of storage can be packed into their existing -- and very limited -- space. And because only 36" of aisle space is needed for full drawer extension of the HS cabinets, valuable storage space is further maximized.

With each HS drawer providing an 18" depth of usable storage space, accessing large and/or heavy items is never stressful. Further, their full 100% extension from the housing allows for full use of the furthest corner and easy accessibility to all drawer contents. Plus, the drawers feature a 440-lb load capacity, because most of Titan's products are quite heavy, this benefit cannot be overstated. Despite their shallow depth, drawers are capable of storing items up to 36" in length.

The drawers have partitioning slots on all four sides and can be subdivided -- without special tools -- with a wide variety of drawer accessories, translating to better organization and faster product retrieval. The drawer dividers have angled tops that can accommodate most bar codes for the accurate identification of compartment contents. This extensive array of subdividing options gives Titan extreme flexibility, as drawers can be configured at any time to make room for changes in inventory.

Additional safety features include Lista's drawer handles, positioned at the top of each drawer and flush with the face of the housing for easy use, leaving no projecting parts to snag clothing.

Colby pointed out that the cabinet drawers can be moved from one unit to another. This can be helpful, saving time when moving inventory for expansion. However, Colby contends that the effective protection of Titan inventory is the most attractive benefit.

"Our products now stay dust-free in the drawers, not subject to potential dirt or damage as they were in the previous open shelving," he said. "Our inventory always stays neat and clean waiting for shipment. This eliminates the need for any repackaging before shipping, which saves us both time and money."

Certainly, from a capital investment standpoint, the decision to switch to Lista cabinets proved to be not only effective, but more frugal than alternative choices. "Before we chose to purchase the Lista storage solutions, we obtained a quote to expand our building," said Colby. "The building expansion was going to cost twice as much as the units. And that's not including all the ongoing overhead we would have experienced, like heating, maintenance, insurance, and so on. Ultimately, we were able to double our inventory space without expanding the building."

Lista International
 

 
STEEL ENTERPRISE
management system provides improved performance and seamless 
integration to supplier of steel products

Parkdale International Limited of Hamilton, Ontario, a supplier of devalued steel products, has implemented the STEELMAN Steel Enterprise Management System (SEMS) solution. Parkdale has officially gone live with the software following a five month implementation and training phase.

The installation incorporates the full functionality and scalability of the SEMS solution coupled with Intermec portable barcode scanners and printers, which:

* supports the timely inventory balancing and tagging for sales contracts and receiving dot data input; and

* allows for seamless integration of all aspects of Parkdale's steel warehouse activities, including purchasing, inventory control, processing, shipping, documentation and accounting functions.

As a result, Parkdale's sales team will be able to better define their ongoing cost and pricing structure and be seamless in providing information to customers and management. For their customers, this translates into faster response times to inquiries and sales contract finalization.

"We saw STEELMAN as the best scaleable business system for our operations," said Stephen Margles, sales manager at Parkdale. "The implementation will allow us to move forward with our emphasis on 'continuous improvement' in servicing our customers and at the same time, providing our team with sales and management tools that complement their function."

"Our partnership with industry innovators such as Parkdale contributes to our success at providing leading edge solutions for the steel industry," stated Daniel Brody, managing director at SSSI. "We are pleased to have Parkdale join the STEELMAN community of users."

Now that the base system is in place, Parkdale plans to convert its operations to a 'paperless' system and launch smaller segmented initiatives to enhance communications and relationships with suppliers, customers, financial partners and stakeholders.

"As a result, we seek to empower a flatter organizational structure and concept of accelerating sales processes," added Margles. "We are confident that the software will improve performance and generate a sufficient return on investment over time to justify the expenditure."

STEELMAN Software Solutions for the metals industry are designed specifically to meet the needs of manufacturers and suppliers of metal products. Imbedded with Oracle 9i infrastructure software, the STEELMAN suite of products includes sales order management, product catalogue, order booking, warehouse management, manufacturing control, and business financials.

STEELMAN Software Solutions, Inc.
 

Canadian Industrial Equipment News April 2004

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