Professional Services Companies Seek Value-Added Relationships

Firms Find Mutually Beneficial Relationship
Morrison Company, a leader in industrial material handling equipment solutions, announces its newest vertical market initiative. "Many times architectural, commercial real estate, design/build and other professional services firms are the first to hear about a change occurring to a potential client," indicated Jim Green, president, Morrison Company. Over the years, professional service firms have relied on Morrison Company's expertise in designing integrated warehousing and manufacturing systems. Until recently, working on a project with such a firm was not intentional. With the new hire of an experienced professional, these professional services firms now have a primary contact.

"In just a few short months, Rob Neskey has opened up potential projects to us", said Mr. Green. As Director of Advanced Business Development, Neskey will create and sustain relationships with these types of professional services firms so they can present a greater value to the relationship they offer to their clients.

"Morrison Company's greatest asset is our people and their expertise, says Jim Green, president of Morrison Company.”We look forward to assisting our partners with best-in-class design engineering services using premier material handling equipment."

Morrison Company

Morrison Company has been a consistent top distributor for Interlake, Wildeck, FKI Logistex and many other products. Based in suburban Cleveland, OH, Morrison Company distributes industrial material handling integrated solutions to manufacturing and distribution companies across the U.S.

Unique to Morrison Company is their expertise in design engineering and systems integration. Since 1929 Morrison Company has exceeded client expectations by designing and installing static and dynamic material handling systems.

US Chamber of Commerce Lobbying Efforts

Small Business Health Plans
More than 45 million Americans are uninsured, with nearly 60% of those employed by small businesses. As health care costs continue to rise, fewer employers and working families will be able to afford coverage, and the number of uninsured Americans will inevitably rise.

To make health care more affordable and accessible for small businesses, the Chamber promotes passage of legislation that would create federally regulated small business heath plans (SBHPs), also known as association health plans (AHPs). Allowing small businesses to arrange their health benefits through associations will make coverage more affordable by spreading risk among a much larger group, strengthening negotiating power with plans and providers, offering insurance across state lines, and reducing administrative costs. To appeal to their broad membership bases, associations will need to offer comprehensive benefit packages that meet a broad array of health needs and preferences.

Small Business Health Plan legislation (previously known as Association Health Plans) - has been introduced again this Congress. The House has once again passed its version of the bill. The focus is now on the Senate.

Health Care Solutions

Small business health plans (SBHPs) would make health care more affordable and accessible for small businesses. The House of Representatives has passed this legislation seven times, and President Bush has made the enactment of SBHPs a central feature of his second term health care agenda. However, this legislation is stalled in the United States Senate, where for a decade, it has died over and over again.

Sen. Michael B. Enzi (R.-WY), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced new legislation, S. 1955, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, in November 2005, to address the concerns of SBHP opponents and to reach compromise on the issue. If all goes well, the Senate HELP Committee could consider this legislation as soon as next week! This will mark the first time the Senate has brought this legislation up for debate.

While S. 1955 does not include all provisions of the House-passed legislation, it will enable bona-fide trade and professional associations to offer uniform fully-insured health insurance plans across state lines to their membership, while maintaining a meaningful role for state oversight. It will also go a few steps further to bring harmonization to the small group insurance market as a whole.

U.S. Chamber Position

The Chamber continues to advocate for the passage of legislation to create federally regulated small business health plans (SBHPs), which would make health care more affordable and accessible for small businesses.

The Chamber is currently active in a coalition of businesses and associations advocating the enactment of SBHPs in the 109th Congress. This coalition has commissioned a study to measure the anticipated effect SBHPs will likely have on reducing the number of uninsured and employer costs and anticipate that the findings of the study will solidify a case for SBHPs.

You Do That?

Mezzanines Span Time and Space
Now you can fully utilize existing overhead space and gain valuable working, office, storage or manufacturing areas at a lower cost than new construction. Also, you are able to put this space to work fast, with minimal interruption to your working floor area.

Wildeck designed mezzanines assemble quickly with the simplicity of "erector set" construction to form rugged, high-load-bearing overhead levels. Special steel components engineered for mezzanines lock together to form a strong, unitized structure. Heavy-duty columns provide rigid support, eliminating obstructing bracing and providing maximum flexibility of movement and utilization of the lower level.

Versatility of Wildeck mezzanines offers a choice of optional accessories to match your needs-railings, stairs, landings, swing gates, sliding gates, types of decking and more. And the structure can be expanded to meet future requirements.

Wildeck has been a pioneer in the development of mezzanines with a solid reputation for products that have been engineered to the highest standards. Thousands of mezzanines are in use today-in warehouses, industrial plants, institutions, retail stores and government facilities. This is an assurance that your Wildeck mezzanine will give you extra space at a moderate cost, with superior quality throughout.

What solution is right for your operation? A Wildeck system provides the most cost-effective mezzanine based on load, size, span or height requirements. Rugged steel construction provides all the strength and rigidity needed for more efficient office, production or storage needs.

Does a mezzanine make sense over conventional construction? Many times the initial cost is similar. Factoring in a favorable depreciation schedule for a mezzanine, the numbers many times point to a steel mezzanine.

Morrison Company has consistency been one of Wildeck’s top producing distributors in the United States. A Morrison Company representative can discuss your unique requirements; even conduct a facility assessment to determine the best mezzanine solution for you. Select mezzanine in the area of interest on the contact us page on the Morrison Company website.

Operations Manager Issues

What is Considered Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, which include but are not limited to the following:

• The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
• The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
• The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
• Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
• The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.

Agency/Employer

Employers are always potentially liable for supervisor's sexual misconduct toward an employee. An employer is subject to vicarious liability to a victimized employee for an actionable hostile environment created by a supervisor with immediate (or successively higher) authority over the employee.

When no tangible employment action is taken, a defending employer may raise an affirmative defense to liability or damages, subject to proof by a preponderance of the evidence.

To succeed in such a defense, employers would have to show they "exercised reasonable care to prevent or correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior" and that the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise.

Non-Employees

Sexual harassment can also come from outside of the organization. Paragraph (e) of the federal guidelines establishes the right of employees to be protected from harassment by non-employees. Employers are responsible for any acts of sexual harassment perpetrated by non-employee while conducting business in the employers work environment if the employer is aware of the harassment and does not take measures to correct the conduct.

Employees Role in the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

• Keep a copy of your sexual harassment policy at work. Copies should be posted and made available within the Human Resources Division or EEO Division. Agencies should have the name and number of someone you can contact in case you are being sexually harassed.
• Follow the guidelines of your employer's sexual harassment policy.
• Tell the person firmly, you find their behavior objectionable.
• Tell your supervisor. If your supervisor is the harasser, don' t fear losing your job, tell his manager. Remember, the law states that your employer is liable.
• Keep a detailed log of the offensive behavior.

Supervisors / Managers Role in the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

• Notify all subordinates of the sexual harassment policy;
• Establish and maintain a work atmosphere which is free of such harassment;
• Conduct sexual harassment training for all managers, supervisors and employees;
• Cooperate with the Equal Opportunity Division (EOD) to eliminate sexual harassment;
• Inform the aggrieved persons of the right to contact their EEO Officer and / or the EOD for assistance;
• Participate in the investigation and resolution of sexual harassment by:
• Maintaining adequate documentation on each investigation
• Providing timely and complete notification to appropriate persons on the disposition of each investigation.

Business School Book Review

Texas A & M University University
Are you a reader? If so this article will feature book reviews by some the county’s best and brightest business school professors. While they’re recommendations may not always be about business, the books do have something to say about perseverance and integrity. This month’s featured professor is Dr. Leonard L. Berry is Distinguished Professor of Marketing and holds the M.B. Zale Chair in Retailing and Marketing Leadership in the Lowry Mays College of Business at Texas A&M University.

SECRETS OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT by James G. Barnes

"A well-researched, comprehensive and current discussion of customer relationship management and its possibilities. Barnes knows his stuff."

MINDING THE STORE by Stanley Marcus

"This is the inspiring story of the building of one of America's great retail companies, Neiman-Marcus. This book more than any other influenced me to become a services researcher and shaped my philosophy of retailing."

THE CIRCLE OF INNOVATION by Tom Peters

"My favorite Tom Peters book. It contains many nuggets of wisdom that you can use."

CLICKS AND MORTAR by David Pottruck and Terry Pearce

"A book about the power of information technology when it is coupled with heart."

Biographical Info:

Dr. Leonard L. Berry is Distinguished Professor of Marketing and holds the M.B. Zale Chair in Retailing and Marketing Leadership in the Lowry Mays College of Business at Texas A&M University. He is the founder of Texas A&M's Center for Retailing Studies and served as its director from 1982 through June 2000. He also is a former national president of the American Marketing Association.

Professor Berry's most recent books, all published by The Free Press, include: Discovering the Soul of Service -- The Nine Drivers of Sustainable Business Success, (1999); On Great Service: A Framework for Action, (1995); Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality, (1991); and Delivering Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, (1990).

Industry Trends

Analyzing Your Workflow for Improvement
The following article is submitted by Sedlak—providing independent, client-focused distribution consulting services. Find out more at www.jasedlak.com

Some of our clients have been amazed at the amount of improvement in productivity and cost containment they’ve gained from implementing changes indicated by a thorough workflow analysis. Here’s how they did it.

Step One: Buy-in All ‘Round

First, they identified what they hoped to achieve from the analysis process, then got buy-in from the highest level of management. Why is that important? Obviously, management should be prepared to spend money to make money.

Buy-in from all other employees is important because those primed for participating in the process provided objective, accurate, and complete information during the analysis. They proved to be the companies’ best source for potential improvement suggestions. By the way, it didn’t hurt to assure them that the first step in saving money was not to eliminate their jobs. Instead the focus was on their helping to examine current operations methodologies and identify areas for improvement.

Outside suppliers were also asked to be part of the analysis process and give valuable advice for reducing costs and improving service from their perspective.

Step Two: Examine Every Nook and Cranny From All Angles

Our clients documented how merchandise flowed through the system from when it was received from the vendor until it arrived at their customer sites. They analyzed each step in the process to determine if it could be eliminated or combined with another.

They documented every physical movement of the merchandise and including paperwork associated with the material-handling process. If they ended up with a stack of paper, it was a sign there were many chances for errors and inefficiencies could be taken out of the process.

They considered safety and cleanliness a critical part of their analysis. Some even conducted a “lights-out” test to determine whether the emergency lighting system adequately illuminated the facility so workers could safely find exits.

Once they built a process flow, they started looking for processes or activities that could be combined or eliminated. One example was working with suppliers to deliver product already labeled with the company’s bar codes/UPCs.

Step Three: Build the Big Plan

Our clients’ next step was to build a plan. First, they identified ways to address the challenges they unearthed and documented suggested changes. They looked at the costs of needed changes and compared them with any cost savings resulting from the changes. They continued working with us and their material-handling equipment suppliers to identify innovative solutions which offered significant savings and minimized capital expenditures, such as high-speed sortation, parcel singulation and WMS upgrades.

Based on projected costs vs. savings, they prioritized their list of changes to get the biggest return first. Then they built the plan for implementation.

Step Four: Assess the Assessment

Our clients assessed new processes to assure it was working as planned six months after they were implemented. We were not surprised to discover their fine-tuning yielded additional cost savings. We recommended they review their processes at least annually, then go through a major review or assessment every two to four years. And we reminded them to share their findings with everyone involved from the beginning.