The end of 2020 is near (finally!). The hustle and bustle of the holiday season will soon descend upon us as well, creating an urgency to complete the usual end of year tasks that every business experiences. The rush is no different in the material handling industry. At WPRP, our goal is to help pallet rack dealers, especially in the post-Halloween crunch. We compiled a list of tasks for your customers and prospects.
Follow-Up
As a pallet rack dealer, you are almost certainly following up and checking in with customers throughout the year. No matter the stage of your relationship, it’s a prime time to check-in. Reaching out is the first step and the precursor to some of the options you can bring to your customers for the end-of-year planning process. It is especially crucial as budgetary dollars need spending, projects need completing, and material needs replenishing. The follow-up is the precursor to the rest of the points on this checklist.
Rack Inspection and Safety
The topic of conversation in the material handling world seems to come back to safety more often than not. The end of the year is a great time to look at the overall condition of pallet racking and other material to make sure it is safe and secure.
The Rack Manufacturers Institute is the premier source for racking information and guidelines for pallet rack dealers. They have a trove of information on their website on inspection. You can find a list of blog posts right here.
Customer Inventory
The inspection and inventory processes go hand-in-hand. If damaged or missing material exists, those pieces will have to be replaced or repaired. After inspection and evaluation is complete, we often see a need for expanded storage, especially in advance of the holiday season. If you have customers from the retail, e-commerce, grocery, or distribution sectors, you can safely anticipate their needs for expanded operations during the holiday season – and utilize our Quick Ship program to do so.
Evaluating Project Timelines
Economics 101 taught us that growing demand requires the supply to back it. Every area of the supply chain inevitably sees this demand grow towards year-end, and material handling is no different. Dealers must determine if customers can use quick ship material in stock and have the flexibility in size and capacity to match that stock material. Verification of manufacturing lead times is a must, as they tend to extend near the end of the year. If you’re not on top of them, it could force customers to find other dealers or sources.
Tax Incentives
Everybody likes to save money. Luckily, federal programs exist in the form of tax credits that apply to the material handling industry. One is the R&D Tax Credit. The IRS widened the credit scope in recent years, and daily tasks in the material handling world make many companies eligible. You can read more about the credit in this Modern Material Handling post.
The Section 179 Deduction is another tax boost to businesses. This provision allows the deduction of the full purchase price of equipment in the current tax year. The limit for 2020 is up to $1,040,000 in eligible equipment to be deducted. This helpful FAQ list can also answer a lot of questions.
As always, our goal is to help you. If you need additional help with your end-of-year planning, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (888) 578-1579.
Phoenix, AZ 85009