Furnished with the Right Stuff
Quick Start contributes to Havertys’ ongoing success
It encloses more than 500,000 square feet of space, and contains 39 miles of racks holding furniture destined for households throughout the Southeast.
Workers inside the massive facility use state-of-the-art radio frequency communications to direct the flow of inventory, and their computers all have long-lasting battery backups so that work can continue even during power outages.
And, since it opened in 2002, Havertys’ Eastern Distribution Center (EDC) and its 400 employees have had a stellar safety record thanks to the training provided by Quick Start.
“We’ve had zero major injuries thanks to Quick Start training and signage,” says Steve Schingler, VP of distribution at the EDC. “Because of the safety training and signage, we also save on our insurance. The Quick Start training is very cost effective.”
While Havertys’ EDC now is one of the anchors in the booming warehouse and distribution business growing up around Braselton and Interstate 85, a few years ago, it could have been different. The company had to decide where to locate a new facility that would carry the company into the 21st century. As Schingler explains, the competition was tight.
“We had discussed plans to expand and were looking at a number of sites,” Schingler says. “We were working on a new business model for doing distribution, and we spent three years traveling around the country to see how the other players did it.”
The company planned to consolidate distribution in three centers located around the country, all positioned strategically to accommodate anticipated growth. As they closed in on a decision, Georgia looked like a close second.
“We ran the numbers and they showed us being in South Carolina,” Schingler says. “We found several sites in both states and began comparing the two, and when it came time to make a decision, we ended up going with Georgia.”
As Havertys President Clarence Smith said at the opening of the facility two years ago, “The reason we located the distribution facility in Braselton is because of Quick Start and Lanier Technical College.”
The assistance provided by Quick Start and Lanier Tech, as well as the full support of local business and community leaders, turned out to be a critical part of the EDC’s start-up. Quick Start developed training materials, instructional videos and customized training in warehouse operations, safety and team skills. Lanier Tech helped provide facilities for training before the EDC was built, and also taught Certified Warehouse and Distribution Specialist (CWDS) and Certified Customer Service Specialist (CCSS) classes.
“None of us had the experience with systems this large,” Schingler says about the plan to bring a number of processes under one roof, and recruit and train hundreds of new employees. “But we did it, and now all the product in this region is coming through the EDC.”
“This was a green-field process,” says Dave Champion, Havertys customer service manager. “It was a brand-new concept for us. We were consolidating processes and were faced with the challenge of keeping all these pieces together. It involved team building and a new culture. Because of Quick Start, we were able to keep track of all the pieces.
“I believe in training, training, training,” says Champion. “We never stop training. If our employees know how, why and what they’re doing, it’s because of what Quick Start helped us do.”
“We couldn’t imagine opening something on this scale without the kind of help provided by Quick Start and Lanier Tech,” says Rebecca Frye, human resources manager at the EDC. “Our new employees got two full days of training before they even got out on the floor.”
The benefits have been long-lasting, Frye says. “That first group we hired, all but one are still here. I attribute that to Quick Start.”
Even today, two years after opening, the materials and signage developed by Quick Start are still in use.
“I still use the videos Quick Start made for us all the time,” Frye says. “They help get new employees oriented to their job and the company. I absolutely love them. It’s very nice work. It’s something we use every day.”
“Georgia’s very lucky to have something like Quick Start,” Champion adds. “Companies come in and wonder how they’re going to pull everything together. I say, they can do it with Quick Start.”
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