One of our strategic initiatives entering 2020 was to increase our engagement with our exclusive distribution network of Area Contractors. I am confident you are seeing this on a monthly basis from all areas of our business.
Our engagement strategy centers around innovation, which is so much more than new products. It also includes the way we work with you, support you, and communicate with you in order to drive all our initiatives. We thank you for embracing us and the results our efforts are driving.
As we continue our strategic planning process for 2021, it is clear this level of engagement and commitment by the entire Spacesaver Group will be absolutely critical in our long-term success. For good reason, there is a lot of uncertainty looking ahead to 2021, but with uncertainty and change come new opportunities. We are working hard to identify and quickly capitalize on them. Much more to follow on this in the coming months.
Wishing you all continued good health and safety.
Mark Haubenschild | President/CEO
Spacesaver Scorecard
Through July, the Spacesaver Group has maintained its consistency with 13 Area Contractors exceeding monthly incoming order quota (total Group 86 percent of quota), which brings our year-to-date total to 12 Area Contractors over quota and a company total of 88 percent. This is right on pace with our averages through the first half of the year. Southwest Solutions Group led the way in July with nearly $900,000 (108 percent) and Donnegan Systems raised their bar by hitting 185 percent ($730,000). Great job staying focused and driving home the sales!
For shipments, we were able to raise our year-to-date total to 87 percent, thanks to 11 Area Contractors exceeding quota and our monthly total at 98 percent. Another big month from Spacesaver Interiors (MD), shipping over $750,000 (310 percent). Diversified Storage was not far behind, exceeding 200 percent by shipping $733,000. Not to be outdone, the power from the northwest – Spacesaver Specialists – continues their impressive 2020 by invoicing almost 500 percent of their monthly quota and now sits at 286 percent for the year!
The Team has FOCUS: Innovation
innovation | inəˈvāSH(ə)n: a new method, idea, product, or solution. It creates value. It’s what separates the good from the great. It’s also something Spacesaver has been FOCUSed on in 2020. If you’ve been paying attention to everything coming out of “The Fort” over the last 12+ months, you have witnessed this innovation firsthand. While team members from across our organization continue to look for ways to create more value and to further build the Spacesaver brand, here’s a glimpse at just a few of the ways we’ve recently been bringing new (or improved) solutions to your teams.
Vertical Market Updates
Military
As Spacesaver continues to engage with the AEC community (Architects, Engineers, and Contractors) across all markets, our military presentation for architects was accepted by the American Institute of Architects for continuing education credit. The presentation offers yet another opportunity for you to connect with this group and is another sales and outreach tool at your fingertips. We will release this presentation via a webinar on Thursday, August 27. Watch for an email invitation coming soon.
USE IT OR LOSE IT! As many of you know, September is a huge month for the military as it’s the end of their fiscal year, and they lose all funds that aren’t spent by midnight on September 30. We want to make sure Spacesaver is top of mind as the military looks to spend unencumbered funds so we’re implementing a number of activities to generate leads to pass along to you—including proactive call blitzes, marketing campaigns, advertising, and more.
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Deadlines Order request: September 4 MIPR submission: September 18 MILSTRIP submission: September 30
This market is complex, and we don’t expect you to go it alone. That’s why we host a call on the last Thursday of every month to fill you in on the latest military storage news, trends, products, and projects. Did you miss our July military call? Or did you enjoy it so much you want to see it all over again? Catch the recording here.
Looking to connect with military clients in your territory? Contact Pete Rooney for ideas!
Innovating for the Long Term
Congrats to Brandon Beyl at Associated Office Systems, who recently closed on another TriCON sale to the Navy Seabees. Brandon and ADS rep Steve Legg worked with Spacesaver’s engineering team about five years ago to develop the Universal Expeditionary Weapons Storage System™ (UEWSS), which facilitates the shipping and storage of weapons ranging from small arms to crew-served weapons. The Seabees are on an incremental purchasing program and purchase more product as they obtain funding. This sale consisted of another ten UEWSS units for $285,000 Spacesaver net.
Library and Education
Schools and universities are gearing up to reconvene during the pandemic, and touch-free and easy-clean surfaces are a priority. We’re emphasizing those features (and more!) as part of a new Day Use Lockers campaign, Unlock the Potential. The campaign includes new and updated collateral to reflect current trends and more product offerings, including touchless RFID locks. We hosted a webinar on July 27 to cover all of the exciting things going on related to Day Use Lockers. Watch it here if you missed it!
We also continue to support your efforts to sell into the High-bay market. Earlier this week, we hosted a High-bay product presentation training. If you couldn’t make it, check out the recording here. Interested in doing a remote presentation with your clients? Contact Hannah Bare to schedule it today!
Want to expand your efforts or break into this market? Contact Zak Hermans or Hannah Bare for support.
Working Together to Land a High-Bay Sale
Congratulations to Ron Nieto at MOTUS Space Solutions on his recent sale to the University of New Mexico! Ron sold a project in the university’s library about 15 years ago, and he made a point of keeping in touch over the years. About three years ago the client mentioned they were thinking about a high-bay facility. Ron got the details, collaborated with Sam Ausloos to draw up plans, and fine-tuned the plans with the client before passing them along to Hannah Bare at Spacesaver HQ. Together the team landed a sale that resulted in $377,000 Spacesaver net. Great job to the whole team!
Museum
Similar to Spacesaver’s Day Use Lockers line, we’ve learned a lot about the 920 Viking Preservation Cabinet since our initial launch. We want to share new customer insights and product updates with you and your clients, and we’re excited to announce that we’re launching a new campaign (and exciting updates) in mid-September. Look for a webinar announcement soon!
On a related note, we know that museum cabinets are the best solution for storing many museum objects, but we do offer a budget-friendly alternative for collections that don’t need the sealed environment that cabinets provide. Learn all about drawers and trays in 4-Post shelving in our latest on-demand episode of “Museum Solutions.”
Don’t forget about these other museum market resources:
Contact Ben Adamitus with any questions or concerns.
Complete Solutions for a Native American Museum
Congrats to Tom Huberty at Mid-America Business Systems, who parlayed his relationship with the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation into a recent sale to protect a variety of cultural artifacts and natural history specimens. Tom helped out with the tribes’ new law enforcement facility and a treatment center in the past, so the museum’s collections director entrusted him with the design of a new collections area that includes mobile systems, art racks, textile racks, Viking 920 Preservation Cabinets, pallet racking, and a variety of shelving. The sale resulted in $164,000 Spacesaver net. Well done, Tom!
Agriculture
Our partnership with Hawthorne Gardening Co. continues to GROW. With that, and in hearing from you, we’ve learned where some efficiencies can be gained. One of those is related to improving our project registration process. Watch for an announcement related to that process coming where we will be consolidating ownership, streamlining processes, and expediting communication to set us all up for success.
As promised, the Configura update is now live and includes a new “canopy calculator.” After you’ve drawn a GROW system, just right-click on the aisle and select “Create grow system report.” Configura will automatically calculate the system footprint and canopy area, and it will also produce a tray count by size.
High fives to Brad Lieber at Systems & Space for his continued support and success in this market. Brad brought home another win in Northern California with a system that has the tallest uprights of any GROW system we’ve sold so far at 28 feet! A system of that height in a seismically active area required in-rail and overhead anti-tips, and Brad worked with our engineering team on a modified BAT rail with stainless steel bar stock to set us apart from the competition. This sale resulted in $70,000 Spacesaver net. Thanks to everyone for their innovative teamwork!
Lock technology continues to evolve and we have expanded our lock offering to include RFID and touchless locks to provide customers even more options. We also pride ourselves in making high-quality steel storage products and Day Use Lockers are no exception. We continue to reinforce the benefits of steel in this product line and respective markets.
As we continue to build our robust library of materials, here is a link to all of our new and updated Day Use Lockers materials so you have everything you need to sell Spacesaver Day Use Lockers.
Save the Date
Below are some dates to put on your calendars. You can also refer to our 2020 tradeshow calendar for the latest updates related to tradeshows for the remainder of the year.
