New company President Eric Cagle didn’t waste much time setting his imprint on Tucker Rocky and Biker’s Choice.
The appointment of the logistics specialist was only announced in October, and by the end of November he’d already started to make his presence felt with the closure of two warehouses and with around 20 salaried staff laid off.
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| New Tucker Rocky and Biker’s Choice President Eric Cagle said that “as we enter 2017, we see the opportunity to continue to grow around our optimized DC footprint. We remain committed to improving our processes and technology in order to be recognized as the preferred distributor by powersports dealers.” |
The changes to “optimize its distribution center footprint” was part of the TR/BC “ongoing mission to provide powersports dealers with unparalleled service levels,” and saw closure of its distribution centers at Denver and Portland, with inventory being consolidated at its “primary DCs”. These state-of-the-art facilities take advantage of the latest technology, including high-density pick modules and battery charging stations, in order to provide dealers with exceptional service.
“Over the past three years, we have focused on our DC strategy, and invested heavily in square footage, people, processes and technology to provide unparalleled service levels,” said Dan Kent, Vice President of Operations. “Our facilities in Denver and Portland were smaller and do not have the space to support the technology and stocking strategies necessary to meet our current standards. Therefore, we are closing these DCs at the end of the year.
“By having more inventory in fewer locations,” says Kent, “we will be able to improve our customer fill rates and reduce the number of shipments necessary to complete an order. Our dealers will spend less time on receiving and waiting for multiple packages to arrive.”
“2016 has been a challenging year for the powersports industry,” Eric Cagle is quoted as saying. “We are confident in our strategies as we have realized significant growth in the V-twin market and continue to out-perform our competition in the metric market. As we enter 2017, we see the opportunity to continue to grow around our optimized DC footprint. We remain committed to improving our processes and technology in order to be recognized as the preferred distributor by powersports dealers.”
This news was followed some two or three weeks later by reports that the company had let some 20 or more salaried personnel go as part of ongoing “optimization” – among them were Hank Desjardins, long-time Marketing Director, and Phil Davy, a very well-known and respected apparel industry veteran who numbers roles at ICON, Helmet House, Leatt, AXO, O’Neal and Renthall among his experience.