Samantha Taylor: Welcome to the Amigo CartCast, the podcast where we roll through the ins and outs of material handling with Amigo carts. I’m your host, Samantha Taylor, here with my co-host Scott Chappell, and we’re on a mission to find a better way for material handling.

Scott Chappell: Thank you, Samantha. Each episode will explore the innovative features, success stories and the endless possibilities that Amigo material handling carts bring to the table. Let’s roll into a world of efficiency, innovation and endless possibilities. This is the Amigo CartCast.

Samantha Taylor: Welcome to another episode of the Amigo CartCast. We do have one of our manufacturer reps calling in, John Oliveira, and we’re going to learn a little bit more about the partnership that a manufacturer rep has with the manufacturer.

Scott Chappell: So my first question for you, John, and thank you for being with us, is how long have you been a manufacturer rep?

John Oliveira: So we’ve been in business since 2001. And the way this came about was I had gone to college for engineering, went into the engineering field as a young man, did not like being indoors and trying to figure things out. So I was looking for an opportunity to go into sales. And in a conversation with one of my good friends, I said I need to find a place that I can get back into sales and just don’t want to be indoors anymore.

And he brought to my attention a manufacturers rep that was about to retire, and they had a couple of lines that he knew of. And that’s how this whole thing came about. I looked at it and was able to purchase this agency from someone that was retiring with a couple of lines. And we have grown since then.

Scott Chappell: Perfect. Perfect. So then that leads me to another question. What actually is a material handling manufacturer rep? What do they do?

John Oliveira: So instead of being a direct factory rep where we would only represent one manufacturer, being independent, we have the ability to represent a handful of companies. So for example, if I was a material handling rep for the restaurant business, I would probably have a refrigerator line, a cooler line, dishes and pots and pans, things that a restaurant uses quite often.

But in the warehouse space, we look for lines that kind of fit together. The shelving, the pallet rack, the Amigo carts, mezzanines, wire cages. So we look for products that go into… the most common products that go into a warehouse, and then we look for manufacturers that want representation in our territory, and we take our product line to the dealers that we work with.

And we see if they want to represent and how they can earn money by selling the product. So that’s usually how the conversation starts when we have a meeting with a dealer and we introduce the lines in the Territory.

Scott Chappell: Gotcha. And I don’t mean to hijack this, Samantha, because you are here. I see you over there. You look nice today, but I just had a few… just a few questions because of the time I’ve spent with John, because I spent a lot of time with him. So I just wanted to get some of these things out there. So then what does a normal day look like for a manufacturer rep?

Samantha Taylor: Real quick, Scott. I think that’s a great question. But before we dive into that, because he talked about how his space is specifically in warehouse storage industries and how do you select brands that make sense, Amigo is very fortunate to be one of those brands that John represents and Pioneer represents. But I’m just wondering are there certain characteristics of a company that you look for when you are looking to bring on a product line?

Is there anything special you look for specifically like in a company or what they’re able to offer?

John Oliveira: Yes. So today, you know, we speak from a position that we’ve been at it for 23 years. So like in today’s world, with all the e-commerce, moving packages with an Amigo cart is a perfect solution. So when we had the opportunity to meet the Amigo folks at the show, at the Modex show… I should say, I think we met at ProMat actually for the first time and saw the cart.

It just made so much sense because more and more people are moving packages and moving smaller items through a warehouse versus pallets with a forklift. And we have seen the line grow over the years because it’s reasonably priced. It’s made in the U.S., ships quickly. So those are some of the things that we look for. Also, you can have a great idea, but if you can’t bring it to market, then the warehouse folks will find another solution.

Scott Chappell: I think it was ProMat 2017.

Samantha Taylor: Early on.

Scott Chappell: If that’s when. Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s when you had met with Jen at the business here and she was leading the charge. And just like you’d said, John, here we have a product get in the market. After meeting a group of these material handling manufacturer reps at ProMat, it just seemed to click from our side.

Scott Chappell: So with that being said, Samantha…

Samantha Taylor: Yes, now we can get back to the question. What does a day in the life of a manufacturer rep look like?

Scott Chappell: Well, I mean, he’s obviously awake 24 hours a day.

Samantha Taylor: 24 hours, getting his steps in.

Scott Chappell: Just nothing too big, John. Just something. Just give us a brief idea of what the day looks like.

John Oliveira: Yeah. So, you know, this is probably better answered this way. We really only get paid on our contracts when there’s a transaction made, when we can educate and bring that product and get a sale through a distributor. So to us, it’s not a 9 to 5 job and an hour and a half lunch. It’s often you try to maximize your day.

You try to obviously make as much as you can, but it’s really taking every opportunity 100% and looking for more ways to close the sales with the dealer. So I can tell you that 8 hours is not enough because also we cover, you know, multiple states and our team, you know, you could always have more people. But right now with a group of four, we stay pretty busy.

And I can tell you that between… the some of our dealers get emails late at night and they’re like, “Do you guys ever sleep?” and I said, “There’s work to be done,” so there is a balance. You still get the weekends, you still get some, you have family time and vacations and trips, but it’s definitely not a 9 to 5 job.

It’s almost like working at a restaurant. You open up early in the morning and it’s midnight and you’re closing the doors.

Scott Chappell: Well, with that description, I’m sure glad Samantha works in the factory because 9 to 5 is kind of her… that’s kind of her jam.

Samantha Taylor: What does that mean?

John Oliveira: I thought the office where Samantha’s at, they actually are like 9:30 to 4:00.

Samantha Taylor: 9:30 to 3:00, 2:00!

John Oliveira: Virtually!

Samantha Taylor: Just virtually. Yes. I’m actually in my pajamas right now! In all seriousness though, I know you have a lot of companies that you represent and been in the industry for over 20 years. I am curious, what is the craziest customer request or inquiry that you’ve ever had?

Scott Chappell: Didn’t you do some mezzanines for… wasn’t it some NASCAR people down in Virginia? Or what was that?

John Oliveira: Yeah. So, so that was a pretty neat project. So it’s, it’s a contractor that what he does he builds a warehouse similar to a large warehouse, subdivides it, and then people rent them out, but it’s on the side of a racetrack. It’s part of a regular sized racetrack. And so people that have the nicer cars, the race cars, and get out of work and want to go, you know, just blow off some steam and take their cars and drive 180 miles an hour, you know.

So that was exciting to be in that like a warehouse. At the same time, there was there was a lot of activity where it was.

Samantha Taylor: So, most important question, did you get to drive one of the race cars?

John Oliveira: No.

Samantha Taylor: Oh, that’s a bummer. Did you get to ride in one? Did you get to look at one?

Scott Chappell: So let me answer this question. When John and I got together in two thousand… 2017, I am a 58 year old Michigan driver and I went to New Jersey. He threw me into the traffic on the turnpike, Garden State Turnpike, on I-95 south, whatever you want to call it. But I had to learn how to drive in that area.

So this this is kind of goes on your 180 mile an hour thing. Now, here’s the important part that everybody has to understand. I’m driving, John’s in the passenger seat. He’s on the phone twenty-four seven. People think I am. He’s on the phone talking to dealers and all this. And I say, “John, where do we go next?”

“Oh, get in this right lane.” What people don’t understand is the right lane was four lanes away and I have to get out. This is true story. I have to get off at that exit. And he just rolls with it and I’m stressing out. But I will let everybody know that I became a very good driver in New Jersey.

And John, maybe you’ll agree because I know the drill. I know what’s going on. I try to use GPS now instead of relying on you, even though it’s not 180 mile an hour. But it was pretty stressful in the beginning. Would you agree John?

Samantha Taylor: That’s a little scary.

John Oliveira: Not only that, but we used to have a trailer. We used to rent a trailer and pull the trailer with the truck. So it was… it was not just, you know, a car or the van. It was… it was two, two things. And you were shifting lanes on I-95. Yes.

Samantha Taylor: Everyone survived.

Scott Chappell: Yes, they did. But for the people that are listening, we deal with multiple manufacturer reps. And what’s very nice is when you deal with the dealers we deal with, our distributors, is it’s very nice when they recognize our manufacturer reps. But just tell me in your world, because I know you only have… and I don’t say only seven, eight lines and there’s a lot of reps that have more than that.

How do you pick up a line? I mean… I mean, what do you look for from that company? Because you may be in high demand. You may have a lot of manufacturers that say, “Hey, we want you to represent us.” And I feel fortunate from 2017, but what do you look for?

John Oliveira: Well, so it almost has to be an item that’s used quite often in the warehouse space. And I’ll kind of break it down. If you were moving into a house, the basic things is you need a kitchen table, you need a couch, you need a TV, you need a bed. So there’s a lot of things in the warehouse, but there’s one thing that’s common.

They need a forklift to move product. They need an Amigo cart. They need a pallet rack to put the pallets on, some small shelving. So we look for those types of lines that are like, it’s… I don’t want to say mandatory, but you got to have it. Just like you have it in your Amigo warehouse. You have pallet rack, you have workbenches. So those are the things that we look for.

And our goal now is to grow with the lines that we’ve been with and to just expand and teach and educate our dealers more about the line than just try to keep adding additional lines. So that’s where we’re at. And the benefit that a company — to answer one of Samantha’s earlier questions or to add to it, she was saying like, what’s the benefit?

The benefit is when we represent a line, there’s no out-of-pocket costs to the manufacturer because unless there’s a transaction, we don’t get paid, you know, so when there’s a sale, everybody wins. So it’s… hiring a manufacturer’s rep is a great solution for a new company and for an existing company with a customer base because we can now, you know, we all benefit from it.

So we find that it’s a win-win for the manufacturer and for the sales rep and for the dealer because we bring that knowledge. So what’s the next question?

Samantha Taylor: Okay, what’s the next question? This one’s a fun one. If you could choose any celebrity to endorse Pioneer Reps, who would it be and why?

John Oliveira: I will tell you this. There’s somebody who’s very famous and it’s, you know, I have to throw out his name. So this guy, he just lights up the room when he’s endorsing or when he’s talking about the product. And it’s really Scott

Scott Chappell: Oh, stop it! Stop it right now.

John Oliveira: When Scott is explaining things in-person or if you watch one of his videos, you know, when he’s just going over his product line, people just gravitate to him, right? And I’m like, “I want to hire this guy,” because he’s like, you know, now, he’s not from New Jersey. So he would not survive here or New York. You know, he’s just learning how to drive around here.

But no, you would be like someone that just has charisma. It’s exciting. And you know, so he is a celebrity, he’s the guy who can put anything on LinkedIn and get like 2000 likes in less than two days.

Scott Chappell: That is not… that is not what we were looking for.

Samantha Taylor: But no, I think that’s great. So our last episode, we talked about the Amigo Roadshow and I said there’s a twinkle in his eye. I think that you just hit the nail on the head, John. I wish everyone could just experience a little Scott in the room every now and then, and he’s got great character.

Scott Chappell: Yeah, that’s not where this whole, this…. That’s not where this should go.

Samantha Taylor: He’s blushing, everyone.

Scott Chappell: So are we at the point — because I am chomping at the bit — are we at the point where I tell our story?

Samantha Taylor: He has one, ready. Yes. So, John, you stick around for this. We like to share at the end of every episode…

Scott Chappell: Everybody, everybody. I’ll keep it short and sweet. But this just so you know, this is real life. So John and I were working in northern New York, coming across 90. Syracuse, Utica, that whole area, and we work normally very late. And one night, John, you’re going to… you’re going to know what I’m talking about. So I hate to embarrass you, but one night we did a demo.

Believe it or not, this is true story, everybody. We had the truck, John’s truck and a U-Haul trailer. And we demo the young man with the van’s… with the truck’s lights in the parking lot. So we did that. It was 9:00. And John said, “Hey, before you go, I’ve got to take you to a steak house and you have to have Utica Greens.”

So we went to the steak house, we had Utica Greens and they were okay, everybody. Don’t hate me for this, but they were okay. I’m not a green vegetable guy anyway, but it just is what it is. So I’m the kind of guy that likes to stay at a hotel and then drive the next day. Well, nope, nope.

And I do listen, even though some people think I don’t, John says, “Let’s go home.” So it was honestly an hour and a half, two hour drive. So after the steak house, I’m driving his truck with the U-Haul trailer and the unit in the back that we just showed in the headlights. I’m driving. John’s in the passenger seat.

His head is tilted back. He is snoring as I’m driving. And I wanted to stay at the hotel. We got to his house because he wanted to go home in New Jersey at 12 midnight at night that night. And I drove all the way because I just drive. That’s just how that’s just who I am. I drive the vehicles and we made it home that night after the late night demo and after the Utica Greens.

Now John did buy the dinner, he’s very gracious, but do you remember that whole trip, John?

John Oliveira: Oh yeah, that was like a five hour drive from Utica to New Jersey. So after having a good meal and a long day, and it was a rainy night, and not to mention that the tires in the truck at that time were not in the best condition you know?

Scott Chappell: And how many people actually would spend that kind of time together and obviously have the same mission and the same desire to promote the products that were promoting? Because it was late and it was dark. But that just kind of sums up all the time we’ve spent together. It’s never been 9 to 5. It’s been late.

We eat late and we normally get up early in the morning. I’m not so early anymore, but we normally get up pretty early in the morning. And hit it the next day.

John Oliveira: I want to just throw something in or leave you with this. It comes down to partnership. We find that as a manufacturer’s rep and the lines that develop a good, strong partnership with their dealer and the dealer can bring a great solution to the customer. It’s a win-win for everybody. And I think that’s what we have here with Amigo is you found a better way to move people, you found a better way to move packages, but it’s a partnership.

And I think so often people just look at “I just want to make a sale today and,” you know, “I don’t care how I do it,” but if you try to create a partner that’s long term thinking and that you do the right thing day in, day out, outwork your competition, sooner or later it comes back to you.

So I feel like that’s the relationship we have with Amigo and what you deliver all the customers that have purchased the Amigo cart. Everybody’s been happy. They come back, they buy two, they buy three. So my hat’s off to you guys. You do a great job. And I’m looking forward to… I don’t know if I want to say another 23 years, but most likely the folks that work with us and Willie, Geno, and Angela will do a great job.

Might be one to put in 23 more years. But, you know, it’s folks like you guys that make this thing easy, you know?

Samantha Taylor: And I do want to just say quickly, you said 23 years, one of our core values — you said two things. Do the right thing is one of them. Another one is look to the next 50. So we are looking to the next 50. And we hope that we just continue to build this partnership.

Scott Chappell: I’ll take 50. In a heartbeat.

Samantha Taylor: I mean, it might not be us specifically, but somebody from Amigo and Pioneer Reps, hopefully we’re looking to the next 50 to the future.

John Oliveira: Absolutely.

Samantha Taylor: All right, John, well, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate your comments today and we look forward to seeing you at our next trade show. We’ve got a couple coming up.

Scott Chappell: I just want to say thanks, John. You killed it like you always do, and you never disappoint. So thank you very much.

John Oliveira: Thank you. It was a pleasure. Appreciate the time.

Samantha Taylor: And that wraps up another episode of the Amigo CartCast. We hope you enjoy this exploration into finding a better way for material handling with Amigo Carts. Be sure to subscribe as well as go to myamigo.com/podcast to see pictures and videos mentioned in today’s episode.

Scott Chappell: Thank you for tuning in and until next time, keep rolling with Amigo.

Samantha Taylor: Until next time.

Scott Chappell: Keep it rolling.

Samantha Taylor: Keep it rolling.