Our thanks to Bill Bryant at Temecula, California based Biltwell for this insight into how one accessory company's crew responded to the current crisis…
Back in March, when the state of California issued a stay-at-home order for all residents, Biltwell Inc. acted quickly and decisively. While some companies immediately panicked and cut staff, Biltwell responded by sending all employees home to shelter in place with 30 days pay, in advance, while the situation evolved.
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| Assistant Warehouse Manager Christian Dominguez |
Those who could work from home quickly set up workstations and the warehouse crew took a couple of days off. With online orders still coming in, company co-founder and Brand Manager Bill Bryant came in alone to handle the daily pick, pack and ship duties.
Assistant Warehouse Manager Christian Dominguez and the relatively new kid, Parker, came in voluntarily and not only worked their shifts but cranked out overtime hours to get the larger dealer and distributor orders out the door.
Soon the rest of the crew was back in full capacity, complying with social distance mandates and exceeding any state guidelines for hygiene and cleanliness protocols. VP of Sales and Purchasing Mike Ellis kept the Sales Department running smoothly from home as the team settled into a new routine of remote work.
Project management tools such as Monday and Basecamp allowed them to keep communications tight and move dealer orders quickly through the system. "Biltwell has long-term relationships with the best distributors in the business. This may be a storm, but it's one we will survive together," says Ellis.
"We used this extra time for all of us to get caught up on deferred housekeeping in all departments," says Bryant. "We've got a great FTP site for dealer assets, and that's more up to date than ever now, and so are the specifications and diagrams on our website.
"As far as product development goes, that team has been full throttle all year, and the Corona didn't slow these guys down at all. Keep an eye out for some exciting stuff in 2021."
Biltwell's dealer portal on the website is 100% operational, and it is processing orders daily and adding new accounts on a regular basis.
In a time of constant doom and gloom news, it's refreshing to hear from a company which, like many, indeed most in the powersports industry, cares about its employees and retail network and is standing up to the challenge and not just survive - but thrive.
www.biltwellinc.com