Perkins

Perkins COO Bob Crawford Sr. talks ÔÇ£people skillsÔÇØ with Jenn MonroeWith few options in how to set itself apart from its competitors, Perkins (formerly Perkins Paper Company) relies on its people, a strategy that has served the company well for more than nine decades.ÔÇ£Whether itÔÇÖs paper, food, chemicals, equipment and supply or any of our businesses, our competitors have essentially the same products,ÔÇØ says Bob Crawford Sr., chief operating officer. ÔÇ£We always take the high road in performance and value. Our motto is ÔÇÿOur people deliver more,ÔÇÖ and we need people to execute that philosophy. We stand out for that.ÔÇØCrawford has been with the company for nearly 30 years. He started as the sales manager, where he was responsible for customer service, purchasing and quality. In his newest position, which he took two years ago, he was given the additional responsibility of overseeing information technology, warehousing and finance. For Perkins, however, it all comes down to sales. ÔÇ£We donÔÇÖt stand for any salesperson who isnÔÇÖt knowledgeable, honest and responsible,ÔÇØ Crawford says, ÔÇ£qualities that unfortunately are not always associated with sales. I tell every person who works in this company that I believe my job and their job is to support sales.ÔÇØFor those working in sales, their responsibility is to extend the same level of professionalism both externally and internally. ÔÇ£Purchasing, delivery, finance, warehousingÔÇöall the support services are respected by the sales force,ÔÇØ Crawford says. ÔÇ£We have a lot of people who are good at their jobs and go out and execute that.ÔÇØThis includes the Perkins customer service staff, which is evaluated on friendliness and helpfulness first. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a culture,ÔÇØ Crawford says. ÔÇ£Over the last two years that philosophy has begun to spread throughout the entire company.ÔÇØ Although the company did do a formalized Total Quality Management program years ago and continues to use many of its principles today, Crawford says he believes so much of what makes Perkins excel is that those principles are rooted in common sense. ÔÇ£There are not too many easy jobs here,ÔÇØ he says, ÔÇ£and the chain can break anywhere.ÔÇØ Part of what keeps that chain together is the fact that Perkins continues to be family owned. ÔÇ£The family has to lead,ÔÇØ Crawford says. ÔÇ£The third generation of the Perkins family now operates the company as owners. These are people who have a high degree of integrityÔÇöas a family they get a report card of all AÔÇÖs.ÔÇØOriginally the company sold twine and brown wrapping paper to stores, and it began to grow quickly in the late 1960s with the boom in disposable food containers. Perkins saw the opportunities in foodservice and focused on growing its customer base there. In the 1970s it began to diversify, acquiring a cleaning products business. In the 1980s, when Crawford joined the company, its largest customer was Mister Donut. ÔÇ£They asked us if we would sell them their food,ÔÇØ Crawford says, ÔÇ£which at the time was just doughnuts and muffins. We said yes, and overnight we were in the food business.ÔÇØ Eventually, the number of bakery products being offered by its customers began to expand, and Perkins responded by increasing its capacity to store and deliver frozen products. Perkins was ready to take on new customers as bakery products began to expand into grocery stores. ÔÇ£We were already in the business,ÔÇØ Crawford says. ÔÇ£We built a facility in 1985 and expanded it four times before moving out.ÔÇØ The success in the food business led to the company entering the equipment and supply sector. ÔÇ£We thought if we could do it well,ÔÇØ Crawford says, ÔÇ£we could sell to existing customers and it would give us an earlier entry point to a new customer.ÔÇØ Most recently, Perkins added ÔÇ£center of the plateÔÇØ items to its businesses. These items are for foodservice and restaurants, and moving into this area has required the company to make large investments in facilities, equipment and training. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve got a couple more years to go,ÔÇØ Crawford says. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a huge body of knowledge to acquire.ÔÇØ As the company continues to grow, Crawford says it has added environmentally friendly products. Perkins is working with its customers to meet green goals in a realistic way. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre willing to listen to our customersÔÇÖ goals and then give them all the alternatives,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£Any move toward green is better than what you were yesterday.ÔÇØ Perkins as a company is greening too. The new addition to its building includes a refrigeration system that uses less water. The company was so pleased with this idea that it retrofitted its existing system to use less as well. It has switched its lighting to T-5 and uses motion sensors in its light fixtures. All the cleaning products used in facilities are phosphate-free, and all the paper has a high recycled content. Additionally, the company recycles everything from paper and plastic to batteries, light bulbs, stainless steel and computers. ÔÇ£In 2009 we want to take every step we possibly can,ÔÇØ Crawford says.Also in 2009 Crawford says there will be an effort to maximize the companyÔÇÖs current technology. ÔÇ£We want to get all the feature functionality out of it,ÔÇØ he says. Currently Perkins is using Mobile Cast in all its delivery trucks, which provides GPS information as well as details on speed, fuel and idle time. It also allows for signature capture upon delivery. Another technology piece is voice select picking in the warehouse. So far 85 percent of the warehouse staff has been trained, and the company has seen a 60 percent decrease in picking mistakes. This fits in with PerkinsÔÇÖ effort to eliminate 25 percent of all mistakes in 2009. It identified its ÔÇ£great eightÔÇØ areas for improvement and ran quality assurance teams on them in 2007. Seven of the eight areas saw improvements. ÔÇ£Anything you put brain power and focus on improves,ÔÇØ Crawford says. ÔÇ£Even in these tough times weÔÇÖre doing okay. WeÔÇÖll be well positioned for even greater success when the economy turns around.ÔÇØ ÔÇô Editorial research by Steven Shah┬á