e-Emphasys and the 2022 Material Handling Business Trends

MHEDA recently released their 2022 Material Handling Business Trends which was compiled based on feedback from distributors and suppliers. This insightful report provides an overview of the key areas that some of the industry’s leading companies have identified to stay competitive in an ever changing market. It is our belief that through the implementation of strategies and tools that prioritize these trends, that a competitive advantage can be achieved and sustained. At e-Emphasys, customer success is at the forefront of everything we do, so today’s blog post is focused on helping you implement these trends.

MHEDA: Extended lead times have created challenges in compensation practices and cash flow. Members should closely track this impact and develop policies to address potential complications.

e-Emphasys ERP’s robust functionality gives you full visibility to inventory lead times, including the ability to set up role-based dashboards and alerts to ensure you stay on top of potential issues.

MHEDA: Companies should be steadfast in their commitment to creating and maintaining a healthy workplace culture and need to dedicate resources to sustain an exceptional employee experience.  Culture is more important today than ever.

e-Emphasys is proud of our culture of excellence, and we are proud to provide our clients with tools that can assist with employee experience. Our Business Process Modeler can help improved the employee onboarding and training process.

MHEDA: Lessons have been learned from establishing a remote and hybrid workforce. Companies need to understand the impact and be prepared for future evolution.

e-Emphasys ERP and the full suite of mobile applications are available on any device or browser. Our secure cloud hosting includes world class security and disaster recovery, allowing your staff to work from anywhere in a safe, secure environment.

MHEDA: Addressing the shortage of skilled labor requires creative recruitment and retention strategies including monetary incentives for referrals, signing bonuses and highly competitive wages.

By leveraging the latest technology for technicians and other staff, you will have the tools to attract and retain talent. eVA, our proprietary guided diagnostic tool powered by AI and Machine Learning, shortens tech training time, improves first time fix rate, and empowers your dealership with a service knowledge base to ensure insights do not leave the organization as technicians retire.

MHEDA: Members should be educated on the depth and breadth of diversity initiatives and how it can help promote career path awareness with a focus on equal opportunities.

Promoting the importance of diversity within your workplace culture will help you find and retain a diverse workforce. This can help differentiate your business as a top employer and top dealership in your community.

MHEDA: Increased government intervention is causing disruption related to the competitiveness of the marketplace. Members should be aware of all types of legislation that affects them on a local and federal level.

Following industry publications such as MHEDA can help you stay on top of the latest trends and regulations. MHEDA even has a podcast, which is a great way to stay updated with the industry while attending to your other responsibilities in your busy life. Our Document Management solution can help you communicate any changes to your business related to legislation with your clients and stakeholders.

MHEDA: Safety protocols are of paramount importance and employees need to be regularly trained on implementing and following safety measures.

With our Business Process Modeler, it is easy to create and enforce employee training guidelines which are integrated directly into the ERP. Our robust Document Management capabilities allow you to store training materials and safety guidelines and distribute them throughout the organization.

MHEDA: Members must be vigilant in protecting against cyber security attacks, regularly analyze exposure and train employees to be attentive of risks. There can be added exposure exacerbated by a remote work environment. It’s critically important to have digital expertise in the company.

e-Emphasys’ cloud hosting provides best in class security and disaster recovery. The platform is trusted by some of the world’s leading dealerships and rental companies.

MHEDA: Business interruption and disaster scenario planning should be included and documented within a company’s strategic planning process.

Your disaster scenario planning and overall strategic planning process can be documented within our Document Management platform.

MHEDA: Business valuation and succession planning has taken on more importance as owners consider retirement and consolidation continues.

Implementing a robust digital transformation strategy can help to improve the valuation of your business. For example, studies have shown that companies with comprehensive CRM data were able to increase their valuation. Robust processes and enterprise analytics help to transform your organization from a person-centric to process-centric company, ensuring a stable platform for growth.

MHEDA: Inflation rates and prices are increasing, partially based on supply and demand. Members should monitor the economic environment and be prepared to protect against unforeseen increasing costs.

e-Emphasys and its integrated Business Intelligence allow you to set up alerts/notifications when KPI’s reach certain thresholds. Timely and accurate data allows your team to manage proactively, identifying potential threats or opportunities and acting on them while there is still time to influence change.

MHEDA: Labor shortages, e-commerce, warehouse efficiencies and other trends are creating heightened customer demands for automation and this will only continue to increase. Members need to be well prepared to embrace these automation opportunities.

The e-Emphasys Digital Transformation Platform helps to promote automation of process and a real-time flow of information at every operating level.

MHEDA: Companies need to monitor the effects of Covid including customer requirements, workforce policies and possible resurgence of variants.

You can organize your Covid policies using our Document Management capabilities. This will keep communication among your employees organized. In addition, if you need to send information to a customer, you can use the Document Management to send the document and record that the customer has received a copy.

MHEDA: E-commerce and online purchasing have accelerated and can result in new, competitive forces. Members should be forward thinking as to how their organization will evolve and provide service/value to the end user.

Our ePortal was created specifically for dealerships, with the ability to integrate with our robust ERP platform. Within the ePortal, your customers can order equipment, parts, or rental equipment. They also schedule services within the platform. They can track their order status, view their requests, print and view invoices, and see past orders in the portal. It also integrates with select OEM interfaces, such as Komatsu CSS. In addition, catalogs update in real time with your live inventory information, ensuring the accuracy.

MHEDA: The integration of data both internal and external, i.e. business systems, WMS and telematics, is critically important to strengthen the member organization and satisfy customer demands.

e-Emphasys offers fully integrated systems with everything you need to manage your business effective. Our full suite of products connects your entire organization, providing a real-time flow of data through every department and a single source of truth.

To learn more about our digital transformation platform and fully integrated solutions, schedule a demo today!