As sales boomed, pesticide manufacturer Bonide found itself struggling to keep up with orders. New lift trucks and a warehouse redesign changed all that.
A few years back, Bonide found itself facing the classic growth challenge—at least where its distribution operations were concerned. The Oriskany, N.Y.-based company, a third-generation family-owned and -operated manufacturer of home, lawn, and garden pest-control products, had experienced a decade of double-digit sales growth. While that was great for the bottom line, it had put a strain on the back end of the operation, leaving the company scrambling to make good on its 48-hour-to-ship commitment to its customers.
It was clear that without some major changes, things were only going to get worse. With business exponentially growing, the warehouse needed more space to move product, the current workflow was laborious, and the facility had no room for expansion.
After evaluating its warehouse operation, Bonide concluded that a big part of the problem was its lift-truck fleet. The lift trucks were inefficient and plagued by issues that were causing significant downtime, slow processes, and missed deadlines. The company was also dissatisfied with the service it was receiving from its lift-truck provider.
For help finding a fix, Bonide brought in Pengate Handling Systems, a material handling and storage solutions provider and authorized Raymond sales and service center. Together, the partners developed a plan that included switching to Raymond trucks, a new brand for Bonide. As an initial step, they launched a three-month test run of Raymond electric lift trucks.
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