CEO Blog | Jarltech.com

CEO Blog

29/05/2019

The daily struggle for customer limits

A recurring battle for us is the struggle for sufficient credit for our dealers....

A recurring battle for us is the struggle for sufficient credit for our dealers. We usually find a solution because we not only rely on credit insurers, but often also set our own limits. We frequently significantly increase the limits of credit insurers at our own risk.

If that does not work, we often find a creative solution, for example, the reseller does not have enough limit, but a great end customer does. While we do not do business with end users, we do charge the end user the agreed price at the request of the dealer, and then pay the margin to the dealer. True, he dealer will not have turnover in the books, but full profit and he loses the risk.

If turnover really needs to be in the books, it can also be arranged so that the end user pays us in trust. Yes, such a conversation with an end customer is dumb, but do not worry. If I have a great software solution, but am just a small company, then a large well-known end customer has understanding for such a solution. They are not hearing that for the first time.

Credit limits are important to us all, like the air we breathe. Unfortunately, some entrepreneurs do not even think about how to improve their creditworthiness. And that annoys me.

This mainly affects small companies that suddenly get a large order, and then quickly need a credit limit of 500,000 euros, although only a mere 20,000 euros of their business is capital stock. Sometimes one wonders why we should take more risk than the entrepreneurs themselves.

I often hear, »My end customer is the billionaire company John Q Public Inc., so they will definitely pay and then Jarltech will get its money.« Maybe. But if my dealer messes up or the end customer claims that the solution does not work as it should - than John Q Public Inc. simply does not pay. If the dealer has tight finances then things can quickly go bad, especially if you cannot wait three years for a Supreme Court decision with 100 expert opinions.

Perhaps it will help one or the other to hear how I, 25 years ago, unfortunately without any capital, started to build up and maintain the creditworthiness of Jarltech.

Each new balance sheet was sent to the well-known credit insurers and credit bureaus on the day of publication, fully transparent and with commentary. My banks, or as it was at the beginning only one, additionally received a monthly report with order numbers, plus some information about what kept us busy. Although no one had asked for it. This builds trust.

If you do not want to publicize numbers, you usually have something to hide. For the sentence »I do not give out any numbers, otherwise the competition will get them«, there is only one translation, which reads: »The numbers are too bad to show.«

Even those who have not studied business administration (to this day I have not seen a university from the inside) must understand what equity ratio is. And if this is only important on the balance sheet date, then I have to manage this key figure and not have an unusually high inventory on this day or drive a maximum credit line utilization, which unnecessarily drives up the total assets and screws up the debt ratio. Banks and insurers have their rating systems, even if they sometimes dont really fit.

What we also do: if we have profit carried forward in the company, which I cannot or do not want to distribute to myself anyway, then I can occasionally adjust the capital stock to the size of my company from the companys own funds. We just did it again in May. It just looks better and the bank knows that it is more difficult for the owner to run away with the money.

Another classic mistake is a reorganization. »We are so successful, we have just opened a new company especially for this area«. Yes, only then it is completely new and without any credit history, so for the time being it is not creditworthy. Unless a parent company is liable for it, in a way that everyone can see in the commercial register.

For our decisions at our own risk, it is true that the customer who puffs up the most (especially with regard to his million dollar limit with our competitors) usually walks on the sharpest razor blade. If you look at Google Earth for the credit decision and find only a garden shed at the address instead of the company headquarters shown on the website, then the case is quickly clear ...

However, I must also say that some credit insurers make funny decisions. Because there are not so many of them anymore, their power is simply very great. If an insurer suddenly sees an increased lump sum risk for an entire country or an entire industry, then one or the other innocent party may actually be affected.

As mentioned at the beginning, we almost always find a good and quick solution. Credit risks are part of a distributor's core business. But, we are not a venture capitalist. If a customer pays well, we are there quickly, at our own risk. And I am pleased that we are not bound by any ratings and are sometimes also allowed to make a gut decision, because people in our industry know each other.

16/04/2019

Would you apply for a job that doesnt interest you?

Those who are already in the working world know how to apply for a job....

Those who are already in the working world know how to apply for a job. However, those who are looking for an apprenticeship, or for their first job, could inform themselves a bit about how to do it properly. Dont you learn that in school? Many young people send us fantastic job applications, and the interviews are fun. But there are a few catastrophic mistakes that pop up more frequently.

Id like to summarize what immediately comes to mind:

Yes, the current Generations Y and Z sure are aces at one thing: chilling. But a lot has already been written about that. That makes an apprenticeship and a job rather curtailing. But its necessary, because at some point, parents want their kids permanently off the sofa. Ergo, the kids would like to transfer this free time to their place of work. From an employers perspective, you dont score points by only asking about holiday time during an interview, if you can bring your dog to work (and who will take him for a walk?) and why a trainee cant work from home from Day 1?

Also common on applications is the headline »Hobbies«: »hanging out with friends, listening to music, going on holiday, YouTube.« Doesnt anyone play an instrument anymore? Or maybe have some sensible hobbies? Seriously, if we want to train someone to become an IT specialist, then I think I would find that he does something computer-related in his free time, and that I might even find that under »Hobbies«. Maybe for your first application you should look for a job that also interests you privately?

If I want to become a businessman, have I already looked at some material on the subject? Yes, its also helpful later on to subscribe to a business journal at home if you want to be successful at work. Im sure there are also tons of YouTube channels about it. My question, »What do you think you will learn in vocational school during this apprenticeship?« should not be answered with a giant question mark across your face. Really, you need to know that ahead of time.

Heres another newbie tip about your choice of words: you »learn« something in an apprenticeship, you dont get »taught«. Active, not passive, is the motto here.

I would also like to touch a little bit more on side jobs or charity activities. Maybe you should write that down? No false modesty here! Please include it in your application when you stocked shelves in the supermarket, took part in a flea market, or are an Ebay top seller, helped in a club or perhaps a political party. Or maybe you collect something, or you attend every away match of Eintracht Frankfurt, etc. Put a little more passion into it. Also note if you earned any money on the side or if you are truly dedicated to something.

If you want to get into Marketing, you have hopefully already designed a flyer, worked on a website, or at least developed a logo for a school dance. Lets have it!

By the way, wouldnt it be nice if the cover letter states why you want this particular job? (Youll get asked that question anyway during the interview.) Moving on. I would also like to see your picture on the application, one which is not a snapshot or a class picture from 6th grade. And please, no pictures with your hands in your pockets! Oh, and applicants should clean up their public social media profiles, since of course, every potential employer has a look it first.

A total waste of time are the interviews that take place after the call comes: »The commute is too far.«. That also happens to older applicants, by the way. If you dont know where Jarltech is, you fall into the same category of job applicants who dont make the effort to read over our website before coming in person.

If you have a 4 on your last report card in »English«, then your cover letter had better say that you are taking lessons during your free time. After all, it is clear that in a career as a businessman in a somewhat larger company, you wont go far without good English skills. Principally, bad grades are basically »the teacher's fault«. But if not all the students in your class had a 4, then others probably had the social skills to come to terms with their superiors.

No, unfortunately I also cannot brag about my grades, but it was not because of the »teacher«. :) No, it was because at the end of my schooldays, I simply worked more than going to school, and that's what I definitely would have written in my application. I'm only in the position of complaining about bad grades here because I had a job from the beginning that I enjoy, and in which I learn something new every day - because then its not so bad anymore, if I miss out on opportunity to chill every now and again.

I'm looking forward to receiving many applications!

03/04/2019

Dress code and Jarltech fashion

Even Jarltech has a dress code....

Even Jarltech has a dress code. Ergo, a suit for customer visits, otherwise just a shirt with a collar (not folded up), no visible tattoos and no sportswear in the office. Anyone who jogs into the office in the morning can please immediately change his clothes. Only the boss is allowed to wear ripped jeans, if he has no appointments (mostly).

Where does all this come from? When I was young, I practically slept in a suit - without a tie, no bank would have taken me seriously at age 20, and certainly no customers. But the further I get, the less anyone really cares about it. And the best wife of all has loosened me up a bit. I have to look really hard for a tie at home. Plus the times have changed tremendously: I can greet a bank executive in jeans. And he can address me informally. The board member can arrive with a driver, or drive himself with the Smart. So what? That's all superficial. But there is a minimum standard of respect, so be neat, clean, wear a collared shirt and clean shoes (but no sportswear). We show our hospitality with tailor-made cheese platters and a variety of freshly baked cookies. I'd rather have that than a company in which everyone wears a different tie every day, but the guests only get tap water and store-bought cookies.

Company clothing with a logo. This is actually an American disease, and this would never have happened to me 20 years ago. But now, I can welcome everyone in a Jarltech polo shirt. And with a Jarltech cap and even with Jarltech shoes (the logo is on the sole, for leaving the perfect footprint), not to mention the famous Jarltech anti-slip socks. This is not high fashion, but it does make me proud. Jarltech polos simply make you look beautiful.

After some logistics employees decided that Jarltech polos were not enough, there were suddenly Jarltech hoodies and jackets. And without my intervention! Some of my staff have actually privately embroidered clothing with the Jarltech logo. At their own expense. What a compliment!

My reaction was the usual Spranger overreaction: a Jarltech collection of T-shirts, jackets, polo shirts, hoodies, caps, baby bodysuits and so on, from black to pink.... Of course, by the boat load. Who would be bothered by that? Oh yes, wait there was someone else: the tax office. If I provide employees with non-safety-relevant company clothing, it is subject to German flat-rate taxation. Here's mud in your eye! If an employee dresses in »Jarltech« clothes, we have to collect a few euros from our employees and in fact sell the clothes. But if I give away Jarltech socks to customers, then there is no further taxation. Yet, if I warm the feet of my own team, then the tax office has to be involved. A real pity, since there is hardly any better advertising than employees who voluntarily wear »Jarltech«.

There's only one thing still missing, and that is a Jarltech tattoo. True, this fashion trend is long gone, but a QR code on the forehead is better than any dating app, assuming you have a large, pretty forehead - like me. I can also recommend putting the Jarltech logo on the arm to anyone who wants to enter into salary negotiations with me. That's guaranteed to help! But wait, a tattoo on the arm only works if no shirt is required. And oh yes, even the employees of the savings banks have finally understood that a shirt has long sleeves (and no breast pocket). Back to compliance. Do I bribe my team if I give away Jarltech clothing? Or maybe they are bribing me if they voluntarily wear it? Maybe things just shouldn't be taken so seriously. After all, Jarltech makes you slim and beautiful.

01/04/2019

Dear Vendors, please check your figures!

Dear Vendors,

...

Dear Vendors,

All of you are saying that we need capable distributors. Processing projects directly with end customers or resellers is too expensive. Distributors are better at it, and are cheaper. Is this a one-sided opinion? No, our resellers also say: We prefer buying from the distributor rather than directly from the vendor. Well, maybe not from just any distributor, but maybe from a premium distributor like Jarltech. Why? Because the merchandise is delivered from stock, in time and at the correct address, and the payment terms are favourable. What's more, the distributor acts as a buffer for the vendors' attitude that sometimes is cumbersome and bureaucratic. Yes, leave that to us.

We have understood this, the customers have understood this. Then why do vendors always make a fuss when a project price needs to be converted to delivery via the distribution? Yes, it costs the vendor a little of their margin. But a premium distributor is not a post office, there's more to it than delivering parcels, it involves service. Tailoring deliveries to reseller needs, software staging, special reporting, applying protective films to mobile device screens, including a repeat order form for consumables we do that all day long. We take care of your complicated service contracts, and we even include the corresponding accessories in the delivery.

Our vendors often get in their own way and in that of customer service. Commission agreements with their employees are to blame. If Jarltech gets a small percentage, the corporation saves money, but that salesperson's turnover decreases a little. That's why it should work differently: If a deal is fulfilled via a premium distributor, this vendor's sales team should earn more. At the end of the day, this saves costs, issues and work. I bet that account managers could tend to their customers better and sell much more if they didn't have to struggle with internal order processing.

Luckily, reality is now hitting our vendors. There are notable end customers the kind who spend millions in our sector every year who give system integrators instructions: Regardless of which vendor is awarded the contract, you must not order from them directly, but rather from Jarltech. Because then, the supply chain works, as well as the customisation, even after three years. This is an honour to my team and me. We never advertise ourselves to end users but there are end customers who know the value that a distributor can add to a reseller from behind the scenes.

And apart from the end customers, many of our resellers no longer want to accept that vendors make offers to them directly and then charge an extra fee for buying from the distribution channel so that they can make a living too. Because that's nonsense and the vendor is the one who saves the most thanks to distribution channels. Therefore, purchasing from a distributor should cost less. Please think! If a controller of our vendors reads this: Please have a look at your fulfilment costs among your quarterly figures. The sense of happiness that arises everywhere once you add Jarltech to your chain should, of course, not be disregarded.

11/02/2019

Decency among retailers

Jarltech is successful if we are able to enter into a true partnership of equals with our vendors....

Jarltech is successful if we are able to enter into a true partnership of equals with our vendors. In such a partnership we can stockpile the right products for our partners, find solutions, ensure for a good price from the vendor in projects together, and even tinker with creative project financing here and there.

On average, our resellers are real pros. Some of them sell 10,000 mobile devices per year, others only seven POS systems. Since we all treat each other fairly, this makes no difference to us.

I have never complained about a customer using this platform, but two cases have brought the volcano to eruption, and I simply have to release my frustration. Thankfully, these things hardly ever happen, but when we feel we are being blackmailed, then we are angry through and through. In these two cases the people obviously could never get enough, and are of the opinion their »power« as »King Customer« is unlimited.

Case #1: We send a customer four printers instead of just one. Since our packing error rate is sensationally low, this is truly an exception. While checking the serial numbers we should have found the mistake ourselves after a few days. But the customer is honest, well, since he never could have used this type of printer again in the future. And there is no real market on ebay for them. An attempt at evasion would not have resulted in extra money, on the contrary, the customer would have had a disposal problem.

The customer contacted us and requested the printers be picked up by UPS. »For our honesty we would like to receive a complimentary bottle of champagne.« Asking for presents is rather tasteless, but our sales team thought it was a fair request, and, of course, the champagne was immediately dispatched.

Unfortunately, the printer pick-up also went wrong. When we called the reseller he honestly said to us: »Thank you for the champagne. But we feel that you could also throw in an iPad for our honesty. And then you can pick up the goods.«

Growing audacity? No, after a jaw-dropping moment, we simply reported the three surplus printers to the police as being stolen. Perhaps they will be fortunate enough to merely pick them up without having to give anything in return.

Case #2: A never-ending story, abbreviated. The customer has no right to return a certain article. He placed the wrong order (which can happen) but only realized it half a year later. That's truly annoying. Yet we provide credit as a gesture of goodwill and remind him that the device needs to be packaged in its original box, plus then in outer packaging when returning it to us, so that we can resell it.

The system was returned to us, but with all kinds of software installed on it, plus it had scratches. It was carelessly tossed into the next available box, and there were even stickers on it. Since the reseller is no shipping pro, the display was also broken. So, we rejected the credit, since this was not part of the deal.

The reseller says: »Ok, then we won't buy anything else from you. The end customer never paid for the 500 euro system. We simply collected it. It should be Jarltech's problem.« Aha, so the customer knew ahead of time that he wanted to dump unmarketable junk into our lap. He simply thought that we wouldn't say anything, because he appears to be such a good reseller. And that he can lie to us as he pleases.

03/01/2019

Record Year 2018

Each year, I like to let you know which progress we have achieved in our group in the previous year. To keep it short: 2018 was fantastic!...

Each year, I like to let you know which progress we have achieved in our group in the previous year. To keep it short: 2018 was fantastic! Of course, there are no official numbers yet, but so far we are confident to break the 300 million euros turnover barrier in 2018. This would mean a growth of about 20%. Thus, the speed of our growth is increasing again. In 2018, we have moved to our new 30.000 sqm-campus at Jarltech-Platz 1 in Usingen. Thanks to this, and thanks to the increase of our equity, we have been able to heavily invest in our inventory. Also, our staging department is now ten times bigger than before, enabling us to deliver more value-added services. We regularly offer trainings to our reseller community in our demo center and outside. Our customers seem to like those changes, as our order volume is increasing. Our logistic processes have been improved, but we still added 20 heads to our team. We will continue to invest in 2019, especially in our IT systems. We still have lots of ideas how to further improve our services to attract even more resellers. Although we have a very big market share in Germany, we are still growing in our home country, while our offices outside Germany grow much faster. As founder and owner I want to express again how proud I am of my team, which makes our success possible day by day. Thank you!

21/11/2018

Short-sighted advertising planning?

My corrective eye surgery was 25 years ago and now I should get a pair of glasses for when I drive....

My corrective eye surgery was 25 years ago and now I should get a pair of glasses for when I drive. At least the eye doctor sees it that way, and he sees better than I do! It can't be that hard, I imagine, and I visit a known provider on the internet. After all, you don't need to look around forever just for a pair of driving glasses.

Then I waited. And waited. I really thought that these types of glasses would be tossed on my yard by DHL the following day. Of course, it must be a DHL problem, which is a typical thing to say when logistics run askew. What they have already messed up royally this year. A few days later, I had another look at the online shop of the eyeglass website: my order hadn't even been shipped. Delivery time 5-13 days, that seems to be the standard. And you have to contact them regarding your pupil distance. Under "Inquire further about an order" (where I had to re-enter my data, even though it was shown on the order page), I got no answer. A few days later then, finally: "We are very sorry, we are currently overburdened with too many orders. It will take a lot longer." Hmm, thanks a lot.

To save costs I suggest to this company that they hit the pause button on the constant "Fast, simple purchase of glasses" advertising campaign. You can't process the orders anyway and will certainly be backlashed with tons of cancellations and returns. I will probably have forgotten the online order at some point. After all, what do I want with glasses when I can see for weeks without them anyway? Or my vision has decreased further and I can't open the package anymore. Presumably during the waiting time fashion has since changed?

If I cannot deliver anyway, I will not spend money on even more customers.

Today I looked at the website, and guess what? Yes, everything is cheaper on »Black Friday«. Super sale. Act fast! You're throwing profits out of the window again for marketing, just to generate more dissatisfied customers? Doesn't sound logical to me.

02/08/2018

Order something from the press office of a German company!

I briefly want to share an experience with a model German company, version 4.0, on which not only we, but many other companies are dependent, in a sense....

I briefly want to share an experience with a model German company, version 4.0, on which not only we, but many other companies are dependent, in a sense. Which company? Keywords: building automation, combined heat and power plants, fire alarm systems. The company most likely has - as you have heard on the radio - problems in power plant construction, but earns quite a lot of money in the field of digitalization. If it has not yet clicked" with you, they also build trains and do medical technology.

I recently made several attempts over the course of a month to purchase an extension for our fire protection system at Jarltech-Platz 1. Realistically, there was no alternative to this group, since the rest of the plant came from there and is also maintained by these people. The connection must also be made through their emergency center, since our district probably has a contract with the company.

Anyway, nobody wanted to react to my order, even though the offer already existed. No e-mail was answered and the phone number from the offer led nowhere.

Out of boredom while waiting, I then surfed on their website, and also found no e-mail addresses or phone numbers of other contact people. But, the press office has an e-mail address!

So, simply write down the job for PR:

"We need to quickly expand our fire alarm system that came with you. This is one of three fire detection systems we currently pay for.

Unfortunately, we are unable to reach your sales department, not even if we want to throw money at your company. What should we do? I would be glad if you could help me, otherwise I have no e-mail address from your fire detection systems area. Unfortunately, nobody answers the phone in sales. Oh yes, the control center e-mail address of our contract is no longer there. And the website does have a contact form, but no e-mail address.

I accept that you have a quasi-monopoly with us, but I do not accept that the whole company is unavailable."

Of course I didnt even get an answer from there. But, the department of fire protection has completely woken up, and the next day I had everything I wanted. As if hibernation was over.

So just try it out the next time you feel that your favorite company is just sleeping though World 4.0!

In any case: Jarltech does not have a press office, for safety's sake!

25/07/2018

Dispose of your call centre

If a company really doesn't want to know what their customers think, then an external call centre is a great solution to shield you....

If a company really doesn't want to know what their customers think, then an external call centre is a great solution to shield you. Such a call centre can be in Berlin or in India, that's legal. It doesn't even need to be an external service provider, it's easily possible to assign one of your own departments to call centre duty and ideally move them to a far corner of the company premises, wherefrom no feedback can be heard.

It is also very popular to direct the call through an automated phone system: "Press one to file a complaint, press two to place an order" and so forth. Oh and: "Please type in your 18-digit customer number and confirm by pressing the pound key."

This is requested from me each time, even though the phone system can identify me via my phone number after my first call.

After selecting whether you wish to speak German, English or Indian, it follows up with: "Your estimated waiting time will be: 18 minutes". Instead of playing some music, it is recommended to bug the customer with advertisements during their 18-minute-long wait.

Expectations would soar high, if one didn't know that the person on the other end of the line who is going to pick up your call does not identify at all with the company whose name they are going to tell you (and of which they are not even an employee in most cases).

If I finally get into a dialogue, the staff member is trained to calm me down, enter my problem into a statistic and maybe help me with three or four standard questions. If that's not enough for me, I'm lost.

So: Those employees who are in contact with customers (which is almost everyone at Jarltech, for instance, because customers don't bite) should be in the middle of the company, should be allowed to communicate with all other employees in the company, to suggest solutions to the company and to demand solutions. Because in fact, they are not paid by their boss, but by the customer.

The chance to satisfy a customer through a call centre seems much lower than with the company genuinely caring about him. And if feedback only adds to a company statistic, how much of it still finds its way to product development?

Please make your call centre a part of your company. Customer contact is the most important asset a company has. Where does the idea of outsourcing this even come from?