Retail Insights #10 Operations Overview transcript

John Jaffke:
I’m John Jaffke, Chief Operating Officer at Bish Creative. You already recognize Bish as the innovator in our industry. And Jerry invited me to speak to you today about some exciting operations enhancements which supports this creativity.

John Jaffke:
But first, a little about me. I spent the majority of my career working for two major consumer products companies, Frito-Lay and Kraft, seeing firsthand that a great merchandising vehicle can provide up to a 600% lift in product sales. Then several years ago, I shifted to a consulting role across the entire display industry. And after about two years of work for five different clients, I realized that Bish was exactly the team, and exactly the culture that I’d been looking for. Bish is truly the best of the best.

John Jaffke:
And now on to one of my favorite topics, operations. Over the past year, we have implemented a number of changes which add to our capacity, reduce our display costs, and improve service for all of our clients. First of all, we’ve implemented a company-wide enterprise resource planning system, otherwise known as an ERP. Ours is called NetSuite. This allows us to monitor every stage of a project, from concept through design, prototyping, manufacturing and shipping, and finally, invoicing.

John Jaffke:
Next, we reorganized and expanded our warehouse network, with a capability to fulfill and ship product from 10 different facilities in the Eastern, Midwest, and Western parts of the US. This includes the ability to assemble displays from simple two-component kitting, all the way to projects requiring an assembly line with over 30 employees.

John Jaffke:
All of our logistics work will be tracked within a warehouse management system, or WMS, that we are installing as we speak. This provides our clients immediate information on inventory status and shipment timing. Of course, none of these improvements would be possible without the greatest asset of Bish, our people.

John Jaffke:
Here we have embarked upon a journey to provide continuous feedback and personal development through individual goals, and professional training. The net result of all of these efforts is an even better customer experience, with enhanced communications, streamlined reporting, and most importantly, on-time delivery of a creative display which grows your business.

John Jaffke:
So thanks for joining us today. I know you’ll share my enthusiasm for these changes as we chart the next 65 years at Bish.