Ensure Your Shipments Are Looked After Every Time

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Shipments|Ensure Your Shipments Are Looked After Every TimeAs a modern business, you are going to have an international client base, and this means organizing shipments both domestically and internationally. There are a lot of ideas that play a role in this process, and it is important to make sure you focus on some of the best ways of improving your business shipments, and making the right decisions to look after this. There are so many things that play a part in ensuring you have the perfect business shipments, and choosing the right companies to work with is one of the key ways of being able to achieve this.

That means you need to look at what you can do to team up with reputable companies like Mercury in order to ensure you are getting the best shipments for your business. They are the perfect choice to help you make the best of your thermal and cold chain supply deliveries. Providing multiple options, and a range of packaging choices at different sizes and temperatures, you can see the website in order to gain a better understanding of who Mercury are, what they do, and how your company can benefit from teaming up with them. Check out the infographic below so you can get a breakdown of the different things that the company offers, and how you can utilize this with your shipments.


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5 Issues Every Landlord Needs To Plan For

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Becoming a landlord|5 Issues Every Landlord Needs To Plan ForAre you considering starting a property business? Becoming a landlord can be a hugely successful strategy to secure a long-term secondary income source. Every landlord understands the importance of finding:

  • a great location
  • a great rental setting
  • great facilities

However, landlords need to think outside the box to plan proactively against some of the challenges they might face. Here are the top 5 issues you must prepare for to maintain your property business.

Protect your home against second losses

Over time, a property can develop faults and damage by no fault of your own. Even responsible and trustworthy tenants can cause accidental damage to the furniture or the structure. To preserve the property and your income, you need to invest in dedicated landlord insurance. Ultimately, the landlord cover protects both the property, like home insurance coverage, but also your income in case tenants can’t pay for any reason.

Consider natural disasters

Natural disasters are becoming unpleasantly frequent. Flooding and heavy rain are some of the more frequent occurrences. You might assume that your landlord insurance can provide protection against extreme damage. Unfortunately, most insurers will recommend taking additional cover to ensure the landlord doesn’t have to pay for a water damage restoration company out of their own pocket. It’s a good idea to review the recent extreme weather events in your local area to figure out which protection is best suited for your home.

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Tenant screening is a must

Tenant screening is a no-brainer when you start your real estate side hustle. However, most landlords are unsure about how to organize the screening process. Many choose to interview tenants to build a first impression. In reality, the screening process should include running credit checks and criminal background checks, confirming employment, and verifying prior residence history. It can be beneficial for landlords to rely on a professional screening tool to ensure they can use the most relevant and accurate data.

Sudden changes in the local community

A rental needs to maintain access to public transport and local amenities. However, when the local community changes, making your rental attractive to new tenants can be tricky. For example, if the local medical practitioner moves into a new place further away from the rental, future tenants may consider the rental location less suitable.
Ideally, landlords need to keep track of all infrastructure and business plans and projects in the local area to make sure they can market their property accordingly. A rental in the vicinity of business areas should target professional adults in age of working rather than seniors.

The no-pet policy needs to change

Should a landlord allow pets on the property? Almost 7 in 10 households have a pet. So, if a landlord doesn’t authorize pets, they could lose approximately 70% of the tenant market. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that pet owners tend to be responsible tenants who take care of the space and rent on time. They are more conscientious and loyal, ensuring long-term rental lease agreements and frequent renewals.

Are you ready to bring your rental to the next level? Smart decisions regarding your tenants can make it easier to attract reliable individuals through tenant screening and a policy allowing pets. Landlords must consider multiple cover solutions to protect their properties, as the typical home insurance is not suitable. Finally, the more involved a landlord is with the local communities, the better they can market their rental.

6 Tips to Improve Forklift Performance

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | 6 Tips to Improve Forklift PerformanceForklifts are important pieces of equipment in the manufacturing industry, especially in heavy industries like mining and construction. Forklift operators must ensure they are moving materials around safely and efficiently, to maximize productivity and output. As a manager, there are several things you can do to ensure your machines are performing to their level best without risking any damage. Let’s look at some tips to help you improve forklift performance.

1. Ensure the forks on your forklift are adjusted correctly

If both sides of the fork exhibit a different angle, this will cause an unequal distribution of weight and unbalance. This could be dangerous to you and others around you, so always adjust it before operating the machine. The angle should be set at 90 degrees. If there is no mechanical means of adjusting the angle, you can use wedges that are inserted in between the forks.

2. Make sure your forklift truck is properly loaded

If you have to lift a heavy cargo with a smaller load, don’t just add weight on top of the fork. This could leave gaps in between and cause instability. It’s safer to add a second forklift to lift the extra load or just use a lower “fill rate” when loading your cargo. The maximum carrying capacity printed on the side of your machine should not be exceeded. If unsure, make sure to consult an expert for advice before operating. This will ensure safe operations and avoid any accidents that could disrupt your productivity.

3. Ensure your forklift is well maintained and serviced regularly

You can check for wear and tear using a visual inspection gauge before starting the engine, which you should do every time you start up. Parts like brakes and hydraulics must be checked periodically too. Wear will usually show up as cracks, rust, or deforming of materials (usually steel). If there are any parts that need replacements, get new parts as necessary. When purchasing these parts, make sure you get quality items for better longevity. One way you can ensure quality is by buying from a reputable dealer like Intella Parts.

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4. Check the oil regularly

Checking and topping it up will ensure your machine runs smoothly on the job site every day, avoiding any sudden mechanical failures that could be costly to productivity or even personal safety. Oil is an important lubricant part of the forklift. Inspect the oil levels to make sure they are at the proper levels before starting up.

5. Proper forklift training is crucial for operators

It’s always best to learn the right way to use a forklift from an expert, so you can avoid accidents and continue operating safely for years to come. In fact, it’s a legal requirement in many countries for forklift operators or people who will be using the machine regularly for work purposes. Training on how to use a forklift also ensures the machine is used correctly, maximizing efficiency, safety, and productivity.

6. Ensure there is no speeding in the workplace

As the manager, you should caution forklift operators against speeding. Speeding can lead to accidents. If possible, you could use an automatic speed control device like the Speed Limiter, which is available for most forklifts. This device limits the maximum speed that a truck can drive, so your employees won’t be speeding on site.

Hopefully, these tips will help you to optimize your forklift’s performance. When it comes to forklift performance, you can never be too safe. If there is a way for your forklifts and their operators to perform better or more safely, then take that opportunity. You’ve invested in the equipment; now invest in its upkeep with these tips.

5 Benefits of Workload Automation in the Modern Workplace

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Workload Automation|5 Benefits of Workload Automation in the Modern WorkplaceIn today’s increasingly competitive business world, you need to constantly be on the lookout for ways to make your company more efficient. One highly effective way to do this is through the implementation of workload automation.

For the uninitiated, workload automation is the process of using software to streamline business processes, transactions, and workflows, all without the need for any human intervention.

If you are still unsure about whether this type of automation is the right choice for your business, the below blog may help to convince you. Keep reading to discover five benefits of workload automation for your modern business.

1. Improved efficiency

Efficiency is crucial if you want your business to attract new customers and outperform your competitors and workload automation has the ability to improve your efficiency levels significantly.

Even with the best workers in the world, manual actions will always be more time-consuming than automated ones. Plus, by automating these vital tasks, your skilled employees will have more time to focus on higher-value duties.

2. Increased productivity

Humans make mistakes. You should always account for human error and never assume that your workforce will be 100% perfect every single time. As a result of these mistakes, it can cost your business a lot of time and money. However, when you use workload automation software, you can eliminate the risk of human error, ensure that no important jobs are forgotten, and ensure that all data is entered correctly and on time – all of which will help to increase your overall productivity levels.

From simplified file transfers to the effective automation of big data, workload automation can streamline and speed up many of your IT processes.

3. Better protection against data loss

If you experience a hard disk crash, the resulting data loss can have huge repercussions on your business. Fortunately, if this occurs and you are using workload automation software, disaster recovery will be automatically implemented and your data will be protected.

4. Good ROI

If you are concerned about investing in new software for your business, you should know that workload automation offers a great return on investment. As mentioned above, it can make your workplace more efficient and productive.

However, it can also reduce your other automation costs. For example, most businesses have different automation tools for different departments, but workload automation is able to manage multiple platforms from one single platform.

Furthermore, it enables you to run forecast reports that can be used to manage resource utilization.

5. Ability to evolve

As a modern business, your needs are constantly changing and evolving. This means that you need software that is able to adapt with you. The beauty of workload automation software is that it takes a more sophisticated approach to controls and procedures.

Offering a single control access point, you can manage multiple tasks simultaneously and eliminate the need for dependency on your IT department.

Plus, by investing in a scalable WLA system, you can rest safe in the knowledge that your business will not outgrow your new software.

Let the Data Decide: Using Wifi to Inform Your Hybrid Workspace

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Hybrid Workspace|Let the Data Decide: Using Wifi to Inform Your Hybrid WorkspaceAs organizations talk about the pivot to hybrid work and what it means for workplaces themselves, let’s look back at where our modern-day concept of 9-5 work even came from.

In 1908, according to this Atlantic piece, a New England factory started to give its Jewish workers two days off around Saturday sabbath. That is believed to be the start of our “weekend” concept. A few decades and a Great Depression later, the trend of working five days a week took hold across the U.S.

Even as office work started to evolve, and technology started to accelerate decade by decade, that old notion of when we work continued strong. This century it seemed like we might be edging toward possible acceptance of a four-day week as even big companies sparked conversation. Google’s Larry Page wondered aloud if by dropping one day from the workweek, would it be better for employees and businesses. Entire countries have trialled the concept.

Today all that seems forever ago. Because a pandemic has compelled corporate chance as it lays bare the foundations of how and when we work. Companies now have to see how they can navigate change and make hybrid workstyles work for them.

The Office Must Serve A Purpose

Employees now seek the flexibility to commute to offices on specific days for specific purposes. The office is no longer a place to simply perform work. Instead, it is the destination to serve a wide range of specific needs for each employee, and each department.

It naturally follows then that an office space designed to serve the “office as a factory” mindset can’t adequately serve the “space as a service” mindset that’s now front and center in a hybrid work model.

Hybrid employees require spaces that drive efficiency, promote collaboration, and enhance comfort – elements your typical office was not necessarily designed to do. For some, this rethink of space is an opportunity to right size real estate portfolios. Others are seeking to reconfigure in new and better ways, being flexible and thinking holistically about what a business and its many different teams need from that real estate – now and into the future.

To that end, it’s important to know:

  • Do you have the space you need to support your teams?
  • How could your existing office space in fact serve more people?
  • How can you make the greatest, and most cost-effective impact to your workplaces?
  • How can your real estate best serve employee experience, helping the team be productive and working together?

Data For A Functional, Efficient, Strategic Space

Understanding how people use a space is essential. This is where data is invaluable. Insights such as visit frequency, new and returning visitors, and the levels of interactivity between employees provide a rich tapestry to design the office, assign resources, inform policies, and, if needed, rationalize the overall portfolio.

The good news is the infrastructure to strategize efficiency and empower growth is already available using always-on WiFi-powered indoor location technology.

Since WiFi already exists in most workplaces, these solutions are quick to implement and easy to scale across large portfolios. A solution from InnerSpace works by tracking the movement of anonymous smart devices throughout a building from the time that device enters to the time it leaves. As you can imagine, patterns in how people are using the space are quick to emerge, challenging assumptions or validating changes to layout or function.

The platform was recently installed in the main office of a global leader in lodging and hospitality. The client wanted to design the space efficiently, putting resources where they were needed most.

But first they needed data to understand the true needs of their teams. Using WiFi signals, we identified how two distinct teams of employees used the space differently, demonstrating unique needs for their environment. In fact, we also identified sub-teams within those departments whose movements etched predictable patterns over time.

In this particular case, the client was able to use these insights to inform office design, resourcing and seating assignments and notably, to find room within its existing footprint for 100 additional people, saving themselves the enormous cost of office real estate expansion.

In any workplace change project, it is essential to measure and continue to adapt the office space as needed. In a hybrid scenario, this typically means collaborative space must increase and office designs made as flexible as possible, with room versatility a priority. To both chart course now and tweak direction over time, WiFi-based indoor location data can paint a clear picture and provide a strong foundation for all future transformation.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor |James WuJames Wu is the CEO and Founder of InnerSpace, a thorough space utilization and analytics platform that goes beyond people counting backed by proprietary technology and advanced data science. InnerSpace enables their enterprise-class customers to optimize their two most valuable resources: people and property. Download Blueprint for a Hybrid Workspace to learn how indoor location data can empower you to make better decisions about your workplace.