By Lori Anderson

You need a widget and you have several options of companies you can go to go purchase your widget, but how do you know which material handling company to choose? How do you determine which one truly has your best interests at heart?

It would be easy to choose if every company doing business truly cared about their customers and what was best for them, but sadly, that's not the case. The key is finding a company that wants to partner with you and work together to find the best solutions for your particular needs. You want to work with a company that won't just sell you what you ask for but will strive to understand your applications, evaluate resources, and offer creative material handling solutions to increase your productivity.

In these trying economic times, you need to know that the products you are spending your money on are the right ones for your particular needs. You want to work with a company that is concerned about your bottom line as much as you are and will help you determine what will work best for you.

Business transactions can be over and done in the blink of an eye. Some companies make the sale and move on to the next without giving it a second thought, while others will take the time to get to know you, what your needs are, what you are trying to accomplish, what is important to you and your company. These are the companies that you want to create a relationship with. They will follow-up after the sale is made and make sure that your goals were achieved.

The ideal material handling company should posses the following qualities and values:

Listening - Salespeople are infamous for trying to do all the talking to try to "sell" you that widget. What you want is someone who will listen to you, ask pertinent questions when needed, and then listen to your answers. How will they be able to help you decide what will work best for you if they don't listen to your needs and what your goals are? You should be doing most of the talking, not them.

Obsession with Reliability - They should be dependable, delivering what they promised you on time, accurately and completely.

Strong Work Ethic - Find a company willing to give it 500% from start to finish and you have a winner. Whether it's a simple or complex project, you need to feel like they are giving it their all to find the solution just right for you.

Unity of Team - Everyone within the company should work as a team providing a seamless flow from one department to another providing the best service possible to you.

Sense of Urgency - They should respect your time and needs, focusing their attention on timely solutions.

Caring Attitude - You need to be able to sense by the tone of their voice and their actions that they truly care about you and finding solutions to your companies needs. Are they cheerful and genuine when you talk to them? Do they take the time to get to know YOU and your goals?

Unquestionable Ethical Behavior - They should always be honest and forthright with you. You should be able to rely on them to be completely truthful with you at all times, always focusing on your best interests.

Easy to Do Business With - Every aspect of their company should be effortless to work with from Sales ... Customer Service ...Accounting ... Shipping ... Order Processing ... Return Policy ... Website. Your experiences with them should be pleasant, straight forward and uncomplicated.

When you find a Material Handling Company that possesses the above qualities and values, you have truly found a partner that you can reply on to always have your company's best interests at heart and in these tough economic times, the more people in your corner the better!