Spacesaver Team, Hard to believe we are already through quarter one of 2024 and, as expected, we are starting the year strong! Through Q1 we are 113% of sales plan, 102% of order plan, and our backlog remains strong and continues to grow.
But let’s not take our recent successes for granted. We are seeing an increased competitive presence post-COVID. A few of our major competitors have returned to hunt for commercial business due to a huge decline in the cannabis industry. Others are chasing bids due to a lack of an established distribution network like that of The Spacesaver Group.
The common denominator with these competitors is selling on price. As we know, The Spacesaver Group brings an enormous amount of value to the customer, which is proven through our expertise and experience. But we also know that sales is not a linear function (one-size-fits-all), is not always formula based, and is different for each sales situation…with the ultimate objective of identifying and satisfying our customers’ needs for complete customer satisfaction.
It all starts with completely understanding our customer’s goals, developing a solution, being reasonable, and understanding (and driving) how it will be bought. Let’s continue to leverage all the investments we continue to make (SpecLink, A&D, Spacesaver BD, tradeshows, marketing…) and resources we offer (Contracts, Sales Support, Major Projects, Vertical Market Managers, and more) to ensure success. If we continue to work together, share openly, and get involved early, we will win; it is a proven formula.
Speaking of investments, we are in the process of enhancing our second shift with substantial additions to fabrication, weld, and assembly. This will ensure we consistently offer the market’s most competitive lead times and on-time delivery while also increasing production capacity. This, in addition to all our capital equipment investments, will allow us to further increase our market share. Our goal is to have this all in place by the end of May, in time for our year-end push.
We have so many exciting things happening and being executed on. More to follow on these as we continue to communicate with you throughout the year.
Thanks for all you do. Let’s keep this train rolling!
God bless, Mark Haubenschild | President/CEO
Congratulations to our Area Contractor teams that have a Spacesaver Group anniversary!
Patterson Pope – April, 19 years
Heritage Business Interiors – April, 31 years
Spacesaver Solutions, Inc. – April, 34 years
The Systemcenter, Inc. – April, 35 years
Ergo Office Plus – May, 27 years
STORAGELogic, Inc. – May, 28 years
Spacesaver Scorecard
We are off to a great start in 2024 as a Group, exceeding our Q1 shipment target with 19 PARS over their YTD quota. Led by Patterson Pope with almost $6M invoiced, the entire Group sits at 105.5% heading into spring. We are in a great position to keep our momentum and exceed our team goals.
March was another great month for incoming orders as well, with 15 PARs over their monthly quota – Patterson Pope entered $3.25M in March alone! Donnegan Systems also had a strong month, sending in $1.15M in orders, keeping them on pace for the yearly quota for their total territory.
Southwest Solutions Group is making a run for the top spot after the first 3 months, booking over $4.6M… but Patterson Pope entered $5.4M to keep a slim lead on the year. There are a ton of major impact projects for several ACs that are expected to hit in Q2…it will be very exciting to see who climbs the list each month!
It is great start to 2024 – let’s keep the foot on the gas and dominate every day!
Major Projects
Going Big and Bringing Them Home: Our Major Projects team has been hard at work bringing to light some larger-than-life installations. But they have not been alone. We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again, our people are our number one competitive advantage against the rest. Their expertise, specifically when it comes to the level of service they provide throughout the installation process, is a testament to the value The Group provides. Here are some highlights of two high-impact projects to keep you up to speed on what is possible when you partner with the Major Projects team.
Cleveland Public Library A 14-month-long install that was highlighted by its distinct ability to create a mass amount of available space for growth by repurposing its static shelving (installed by Spacesaver in the 1990’s) within our high-density mobile systems. Check out this time-lapse video showing a portion of the installation process: https://youtu.be/KXW_obCSO5k. Thank you to Patterson Pope Midwest and their installation team!
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: An off-site storage project several years in the making, this intricate mix of drawers, racks, and compartments on Powered High-Density Mobile Storage Systems is starting to fill up and free up space on-site. Shout out to Donnegan Systems and their installation team!
As we all work to drive sales in 2024 and beyond, Powered High-Density Mobile is front and center as a core focus area. With the launch of Gesture Control™ in February, Spacesaver has provided another key differentiator on the path to success for mobile systems. In their March newsletter, The Systemcenter gave prime real estate to Spacesaver by announcing our new product, explaining its value, and linking to the video we created as part of the launch. Thank you to The Systemcenter team for Going Above PAR and ALIGNing to this initiative and supporting this product launch!
Vertical Market Updates
Public Safety
It would be criminal not to mention again that we are focusing on Corrections this quarter. Come see us at the American Jail Association Conference and keep an eye out for upcoming Corrections collateral!
Next Public Safety Market Call
May 10 at 10:30 AM CDT
Have you facilitated an install in your local fire department? We want to hear about it (and all your installs for that matter) and see some pictures. Reach out to our team if you have a project you’d like us to cover.
Contact Scott Loreaux anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Uncovering IAPE Opportunities
We are in the process of re-igniting our relationship with International Association for Property & Evidence, Inc. (IAPE) and will be providing more information and a formatted presentation template for all to use at upcoming IAPE training sessions. Be on the lookout for an IAPE session in your PAR and let us know how we can help you with presenting to a captive audience of Evidence technicians and managers.
Military
Two main takeaways from this year’s Logistics Officers Association Symposium: Finding dependable weapons racks are a priority for this group and space optimization in warehousing remains forefront in their minds.
Next Military Market Call
May 2 at 1:30 PM CDT
The $886 Billion NDAA has passed! Opportunity is knocking and so should you be in your PAR!
Make sure you’re keeping healthcare facilities in mind when you’re on base. This will be a major focus over the next year. Check out the new collateral we’ve created and reach out to our team for support.
Contact Pete Rooney anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Library & Higher Ed
Is a library in your community looking to establish a Library of Things for its members? For facilities and populations big, small, and everything in between, we have what it takes to provide a helping space.
Next Library/Education Market Call
April 19 at 2:00 PM CDT
While the decline in students on-campus makes summer the ideal season for improvements, it’s a year-round affair. From the fieldhouse to the Fine Arts building, we have what it takes to keep school storage streamlined.
Contact Zak Hermans anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
More Than A Few Favorite Things
Finding themselves collecting more and more daily use items for checkout each day, librarians at Park City Library in Park City, Utah found their backroom shelving was becoming both full and inconvenient for displaying options to patrons. Leaning on their great working relationship, the Library Director reached out to Ken York, their local Spacesaver representative at Spacesaver Intermountain, for a more substantial solution that could more prominently display these items. While a bit too early to fully measure the shelving’s impact on the community as it was just installed last month, there’s no doubt the staff loves it. The shelving’s depth allows space for items of all sizes and its custom accessories help to separate and hang items as needed. From Ken’s initial estimates based on what the library can now store with our shelving, they’ll most likely be needing more shelving for future growth. Thank you, Ken, for sharing this story!
K-12
FFine Arts, ROTC, and Flexible Shelving. You have installs you want us to share? Our Marketing team is ready for all the pictures and systems you have for us.
Next Library/Education Market Call
April 19 at 2:00 PM CDT
The K-12 CEU was the most requested option in Q1 and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Make sure to keep this valuable resource top of mind for your potential clients.
Contact Zak Hermans anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Museum
Grant season is just around the corner! Make sure you’re up to speed on the latest opportunities. Information on Grants
Do not hesitate to reach out to Zak Hermans for all Education market museum opportunities, or one of our Sales Managers within our Major Projects team for all others.
Contact Brian Grimm anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Healthcare
This year, we are focusing on Military Treatment Facilities and VA Hospitals, allowing us to set the tone to go after Public and Private hospitals in 2025.
We have invested in a tool to help with facility targets and customer contacts, and we just had a great Healthcare Roundtable with some of the seasoned HTC reps that everyone should watch!
Contact Pete Rooney anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Marketing Minute
Show and Sell
Knowing that seeing is believing and the ability to try it before you buy it is invaluable, Spacesaver has expanded its Product Showroom. From static shelving to high-density mobile storage systems, you and your customers can visit the showroom to see how these systems will function and fit within any space. In addition to the value the showroom will provide to architects, designers, and customers, it will be used to support our nationwide network of sales representatives and certified installers. Now with the expanded showroom, more dedicated individuals – like yourselves – can gain firsthand experience with the solutions they’ll use to further our best-in-class service.
Installation Training and Product School
There has been a great deal of learning going on at The Fort since our last edition and that will not stop! We had 12 participants join us at the Installation Training and 12 ACs and 7 internal team members at Product School. Thank you everyone that came and participated!
