I am happy to report that business remains strong through the first four months of the year; orders are at 109 percent of plan and sales are at 122 percent. Our focus on pipeline generation the last two years is clearly paying off as the economy continues to open up and recover. We remain cautiously optimistic for the remainder of the year based on activity levels and other indicators.
As we make our way into May, we are focused on PERFORMANCE and maintaining the levels of service that our customers expect. With the March influx in orders due to the price increase, lead times have extended on certain products. Our goal remains 6-8 weeks on standard core mobile and 10-12 weeks on storage products. I have a team focused on plans to accomplish this to provide the Spacesaver Group the most competitive lead times on standard products.
In the short term, we continue to hire labor to properly staff these work centers so we can continue to ship per our confirmed dates. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t also acknowledge the challenges organizations are facing today with maintaining a full workforce, including many vendors we source purchase parts from—and Spacesaver is no different. Nonetheless, our Human Resources and Sourcing teams are working tirelessly to fill gaps and plan ahead.
As we look ahead to strategic planning for 2022, we will again update our automation strategies in order of priority, which will allow us to increase capacity, improve efficiencies, and maintain competitive lead times.
Next month I will update you on the status of the unprecedented increases we continue to face in steel and other commodity costs, such as packaging and components, and what our plans are to manage these.
We look forward to continuing to work together to ascertain top-notch PERFORMANCE and make 2021 another great year.
All the best!
Mark Haubenschild | President/CEO
Spacesaver Scorecard
The Spacesaver Group continues to build momentum and April proved to be our best month so far this year, finishing just under $8M for incoming orders! The consensus is: we are just getting started, we’re building pipeline with viable impact projects that are primed to close in 2021, and the best is yet to come.
As mentioned, incoming orders were well over quota, coming in at 107% as a Group, powered by 13 PARs exceeding their number. With multiple impact orders coming in from all corners of their territory, Patterson Pope topped $2M on their own (150% of quota)! Modern Office ($879,000), Donnegan Systems ($709,000), and McMurray Stern ($633,000) rounded out the top four, crushing their quota and propelling us past our overall goal. For the year, Patterson Pope ($5.8M/102%) and Southwest Solutions Group ($3.3M/112%) lead the way for total incoming revenue and both are over quota through the first four months – part of the 13 PARs over incoming goal YTD.
Shipments were also up in April, finishing just under $7M (95.3% of quota) and bringing our YTD total to 88% of quota. We still have some ground to make up, but with the incoming orders growing every month we can expect this number to catch up as those orders ship. We had 14 PARs ship more than their quota in April and for the year 11 PARs are over goal, with Systems & Space ($2.4M) still leading the Group with 204% of plan.
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!! We also kicked off The Spacesaver Cup for the summer. Be sure to read the rules, secure the orders, present to A&D, and take home the CUP!
The Team has FOCUS: Performance
Whether you’re taking a 3-point shot, drawing a bow and aiming for the bullseye, OR on stage with a microphone in your hand in front of hundreds of fans, you’re aiming to give your best performance. The Spacesaver Group has also given one of their best performances these last few months. All of you saw the numbers in how our first quarter of the year rounded out—and we all have so much to be proud of. We showed up. We performed. We won. Let’s take on the next quarter like we did with the last!
Vertical Market Updates
Military
“Store it how you deploy it” is our mantra: it’s an approach that promotes readiness by saving time, keeping gear organized, and minimizing the risk of property loss. Check out our NEW VIDEO promoting our fully deployable storage solutions and share it with your contacts!
This market is the first to start up in-person tradeshows again as we emerge from the pandemic, and ADS Warrior West and ADS Warrior East are coming up this summer. As always, we’ll pass along leads generated from these shows. Curious about other upcoming events? Check out Spacesaver’s full tradeshow calendar.
The military has end-of-year funds that must be spent by the end of September, so now is the time to start requesting meetings. The most lucrative Spacesaver projects are often complex, requiring site visits and several iterations of drawings and plans, so don’t wait until the last minute! We’re doing outbound call blitzes this month and we’ll pass those leads along, but you should also reach out to your contacts. If you’re new to the market, Pete can help you strategize.
Monthly Military Market Calls
Next call: May 27 (last Thursday of every month)
Contact Pete Rooney to learn more about this market or build on your success.
Weapons Transport for Deployment/Training Exercisess
High fives to Greg Moak at Southwest Solutions Group, whose quick thinking and willingness to loop in Pete Rooney resulted in a sale that can be replicated on other military bases. An Army battalion with a CBRN mission-set was looking to quickly mobilize their arms room for an upcoming training exercise. They wanted to keep weapons organized, consolidated, and secure. Greg showed them the Universal Expeditionary Weapons Storage System (UEWSS) solution and asked Pete to help develop an expedited quote and explain the Tailored Logistics Support Program (TLSP) purchasing process. “It was a group effort,” Greg said of the sale. “Working collaboratively helped us get it quoted in a timely fashion, explain a purchasing option that was new to the client, and meet their deadline.” The sale resulted in $121,725 Spacesaver net and included 4 UWESS.
Library and Education
The American Rescue Plan is a stimulus package that’s unlocking billions of dollars for schools, and you can be part of the action! Contact Zak for assistance in putting together an action plan to uncover potential with schools and universities across your territory.
Schools are often looking to do their capital projects during the summer, when students are not in class. The education fiscal year typically ends on June 30 and they look to obligate funding before that deadline. Do schools near you need help with storing PE gear and other athletic equipment, library storage, lab storage, or storage for PPE and other preparedness supplies? Make sure to get in on the summer fun!
Bi-monthly Library & Education Market Calls
Next call: May 28 (last Friday of every month)
As always, you can contact Zak Hermans anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Major Projects = Major Success
Kudos to Steve Davis at Donnegan Systems, who pursued a complicated project and worked with our Major Projects team to land it. The Boston Public Library put out a bid via the city’s portal that included a variety of product heights. After the library awarded the job to two different bidders in succession, both of whom were disqualified because they couldn’t fulfill the requirements, a consultant on the project advised them to go with Spacesaver based on the firm’s capability and reputation. Spacesaver’s Major Projects team worked out the details and Steve and his team will install the project, which resulted in $395,340 Spacesaver net.
Museum
Did you miss our launch of Nantucket Drawers and Trays? The newest addition to our line of interchangeable 4-Post shelving accessories is a budget-friendly solution that truly provides “a place for everything.” Watch the launch webinar and download and share the sales tools, including the new video!
Remember that even if museums in your territory are closed to the public, the collections are still there! Doors are opening, literally and figuratively, as we begin to emerge from the pandemic. Now is a great time to check in with museum staff in your area to see if they’re satisfied with their collections storage solutions.
Monthly Museum Market Calls
Next call: May 18 (third Tuesday of every month)
As always, contact Ben Adamitus to learn more about this market.
Selling Value
Hats off to Parth Joban at Modern Office Systems, who emphasized value and designing the best solutions, rather than sticking to a substandard spec. When Parth saw the spec a competitor had prepared for a high-profile museum client, he knew he and Spacesaver could do more to protect collections. He familiarized himself with the collections, took measurements, and designed a far better solution. He won the contract, which totaled $190,000 Spacesaver net.
Agriculture
We’re stepping up our outbound efforts as cannabis legalization expands. We’re buying targeted social media ads, calling in to newly legalized territory, and sending emails to new and multi-state cultivation license holders—and as always, we’re passing those leads along to you!
Our partnership with Hawthorne Gardening Company makes it easier for your clients to order the best products in indoor horticulture, and we’re updating our systems to make the partnership more user-friendly for you, too. We’re adding ABS trays to Configura and streamlining the ordering process, and we’ll be sending out details in the next month or so.
And last, but certainly not least, cannabis isn’t just about growing plants: the process involves drying plants, too. We’re excited to announce new drying racks and carts in the upcoming weeks, so be on the lookout for more information to hit your inbox soon!
Contact Greg Sayre to learn more about breaking into this potentially lucrative market.
Recent Win
Congratulations to Jacob Schwartzer at MOTUS Space Solutions (now with Bradford Systems) who recently landed a sale against our biggest competitor. The local Hawthorne rep introduced Jacob to the clients, who wanted to maximize canopy space. Jacob went through about 10 iterations with them as they finalized the plans for their buildout, and he invited them to visit another customer site to see an ActivRAC in action. They were impressed by the system and the customer gave a glowing review. Jacob worked with Spacesaver to get strategic pricing to compete with another mobile racking provider, and the customer ultimately went with Spacesaver for $57,000 net.
Marketing Minute
Every month we share a plethora of materials and information in this section about the marketing and outreach efforts we’re working on. However, this month we’re taking time to share some results we’re also seeing from a Business Development and Channel Development perspective.
From a Business Development standpoint, we have converted and sent your teams more than 2,100 opportunities since the turn of the year. The team has also set nearly 300 sales appointments for your reps and have uncovered nearly $4M in won projects. The team is focused and performing at optimal levels. In the upcoming months, we will be focusing more on outbound efforts that tackle the further expansion of cannabis legalization, summer planning for education, military year-end approaching, uncovering long-term projects via Dodge, and more. Keep an eye on your email inbox for all the leads this team is sending your way!
On the Channel Development side of things, we’re also seeing a growing level of interest from the AEC community. We had a record-setting month in April for Spacesaver-led AIA presentations given—with Laura Walton delivering 17 presentations. We have also grown our BIMObject library with the addition of Nantucket and seeing leads coming in from that already. As if that wasn’t enough, we’re hosting live webinars (see calendar below) and working on updates to our Healthcare AIA presentation. Get in on the action by checking out our library of AIA and product presentations and put them to use in your territory.
