PRODUCT EDUCATION
“Te suppliers we have partnered with are really engaged in supporting our business,” Motes says. “One example being key vendors have agreed to build up and maintain safety stocks specifically for Beverage-Air at their domestic warehouses.” When it comes to working through these challenges with equipment dealers, Beverage-Air’s leadership team believes transparency is essential. “Our sales team has been communicating with our customers about lead times in order to provide guidance regarding when to place orders,” Motes says. “We are also trying to work with our dealers to encourage them to increase stock levels as having the equipment in inventory is key to capitalizing on the increased demand.”
CHANNEL MANUFACTURING Shelving and Storage When the pandemic struck last year and states and cities
began ordering the closure of dining rooms, restaurants did two things: they figured out how to adjust their business model and started tackling the items on their to-do lists that they couldn’t get to before. “With the downtime at the start of the pandemic, we were seeing a lot of remodels,” says John Ebenroth, executive vice president for Channel Manufacturing. With their dining rooms closed, many operators cleared out storage spaces and set up dedicated pick-up spaces to make room for increased carry-out and delivery sales. Tis led to a surge in sales for Channel Manufacturing’s shelving and storage equipment.
Depending on their requirements, operators can adjust the number of shelves, the size, width and height of the racks. Te typical depths is 20 to 24 inches deep, while the width starts at 36 inches and goes up to 72 inches. Te height of the racks, on the other hand, are 72 inches tall for a standard product, but can be customized to virtually any height that is needed. Tis flexibility makes the shelving and storage units ideal for a wide number of applications, from a pantry to storage for kegs.
Te racks are designed with durability in mind, as well. Te standard material used is aluminum, however, stainless steel is available when the situation calls for it, like in institutional environments that have a different sanitation requirement. Further, everything Channel Manufacturing produces is made in America, which allows it to tightly control product quality. “Te strength of our materials and the manufacturing design of our shelves and storage equipment are going to handle anything that is thrown at it from the foodservice industry,” Ebenroth says.
What Salespeople Need to Know Although sales of shelving and storage products plateaued earlier in the pandemic, there is still a store demand, especially among schools, hospitals and assisted living centers where self- serve cafeterias have given away to different service models. Te biggest challenge right now is getting those products to the end users. Channel Manufacturing has been impacted by the same global supply chain issues as many other
“PEOPLE WHO WEREN’T HEAVY ON CARRY-OUT BEFORE REALIZED IT WAS A NEW REVENUE STREAM OR A TEMPORARY ONE UNTIL THEIR DINE-IN BUSINESS PICKED BACK UP.”
“People who weren’t heavy on carry-out before realized it was a new revenue stream or a temporary one until their dine-in business picked back up,” Ebenroth explains. Because it offers a broad array of product models and customization, Channel Manufacturing’s shelving and storage equipment can fit most any application required. “We can really adjust our style to fit the end user’s need and application, rather than force the end-user to fit a limited version.”
ROBERT HERJAVEC
INVESTOR AND LEAD SHARK ABC’S SHARK TANK
manufacturers, so the company is encouraging distributors and dealers to place orders as soon as possible to give the company more time to plan production. Te rising costs of freight, aluminum and steel have also led to price increases, which Ebenroth acknowledged. “With necessary price increases or things along those lines, this is certainly not something the manufacturers are trying to exploit,” he says. “Tis is a real issue the manufacturers and the industry are having.”
28 FEDA News & Views
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