Twin Oaks Technology: Mark Bondurant

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Mark Bondurant, CEO of Twin Oaks Technologies, discusses the challenge of digitizing warehouse management– especially in a pandemic-affected world.

 

 

Danny:

Alright, so thank you so much for joining me today on our IndustrialSage Executive Series. I am joined by Mark Bondurant, who is the CEO of Twin Oaks Technology. Mark, thank you so much for joining me today.

Mark:

Thank you for inviting me. I appreciate the opportunity to spend some time with you today.

Danny:

I’m excited to do the same. So before we jump into everything, and for those who aren’t familiar, tell me about Twin Oaks Technology. What do you guys do?

Mark:

Sure, Twin Oaks Technology offers a variety of services. Predominantly what we focus on in the industrial warehouse industry is a warehouse management system. So over 30 years ago, I started in warehouse and distribution and had the opportunity to work with different companies in different industries which has led me to open up Twin Oaks Technology. In 2012, I started out with one office and four employees, and here we are, eight years later. I have two offices, and we have 14 employees, part-time employees, and I’m still on the hunt, trying to hire more people.

Danny:

Oh, excellent, very good. So I want to know a little bit more about you as a person. So take me back. How did you get into this space before Twin Oaks and everything?

Mark:

Sure, so 30 years ago I did start working for a very large wholesale distribution company. It was a 400,000 square foot facility. And that exposed me to a lot in the warehousing industry. My background and degree was actually computer science and accounting directly out of college, but I landed a job there, started out as a programmer, ended up rising to the IT manager, eventually to the VP of IT and operations over the facility. Eventually, ultimately, that company was sold to a much larger company, a publicly-traded company, that was a holding company, and it allowed me to have exposure and work with a lot of other companies, distribution facilities, and serve on a technology steering committee for the publicly-traded company. So I really appreciated… that really helped me advance my career. I got to learn a lot about different warehouses, operations, different people. And they opened up a lot of doors for me personally to travel to see other operations in China, India, several countries in Europe, Mexico, and Canada. So that was pretty valuable to me.

Danny:

That’s great. So how did you, what’s the story behind starting your company?

Mark:

Sure, so I was with the company for a number of years, and I love working on solutions. That’s one of the things that I really strive to do. And in 2012, it was just the right time. It was an opportunity to come along, and I wanted to open up my own business. So we took a leap of faith and did that.

Danny:

So tell me, what was that moment when you made up your mind? Typically you wrestle with it. Well, maybe I should do this. Well, no, go back, pros and cons and all this stuff. But what was that moment when you said, “You know what? I’m doing this, and I’m moving forward”? What was that like?

Mark:

It’s a little bit exciting and scary at the same time when you make that. When you have a steady paycheck from a good company and you love working with people that are there, it is definitely a little frightening, but at the same time super exciting. And I knew that with the skill sets that we had to offer, technology we had to offer, there was a lot of value proposition, and I just really enjoyed working with a lot of different companies and people. So it was the right time to do that.

Danny:

That’s awesome. So was there anybody in the past in your career journey that really made an impact on you?

Mark:

Oh, definitely. I would say that the opportunity to work with– I’ve got the chance to work with CEOs, vice presidents, presidents of operations, warehouse managers. Even the people on the front line, the factory workers and warehouse workers, I love all of that. You learn a lot from just working with people who are in that. But I’ve had some great mentors. They’ve taught me a lot through my career, a lot about leadership, company culture, running a business, the finance side of it. So I’m extremely grateful for the mentors that I’ve had a chance to work with over the years.

Danny:

That’s great. So let’s go into a little bit about some of the challenges that you’re seeing in the industry right now. Obviously, there’s a few. And obviously, being in the technology space right now, I’m sure you see, I’m sure a lot of challenges that you have seen that were there before Covid, I think there’s a lot of challenges that are probably the same, if not accelerated because of Covid. And, then, there’s new ones. What are you seeing right now?

Mark:

Sure, so I will tell you I heard another person commenting recently, and they had a question. They said, “Well, Mark,” they said, “which is more impactful, Amazon or the pandemic?” And the answer I replied was, “Amazon was the pandemic.”

Danny:

That’s a great answer.

Mark:

At least for warehouses and logistics companies, 3PLs. I think that Amazon has really set a new bar and a new standard, and if companies do not respond to that, they’re going to be in big trouble. So, yes, the pandemic brought on a whole different set of challenges with social distancing, the warehouse work environment. How do you manage that? There’s a lot of pressure from people. You have to attend to that. Cleaning the environment and, then, with Amazon it was the speed, the service levels that they pushed on us. And, then, labor shortage, that’s another one I would say is an industry challenge. And, honestly, I think social media is one as well.

Danny:

Hmm.

Mark:

Today, with the reviews and with the– you can get slaughtered. If you’re not performing the service levels, it doesn’t take very much but one or two reviews to make your company or a company to look really bad. So social media and the feedback and the constant feedback, I think, has set a new standard for us as well.

Danny:

Yeah, absolutely. No, that makes a lot of sense. Obviously, the speed of information that is happening, speaking specifically to that social media comment, yeah, that can do some harm. Especially now, as we’re seeing, there’s a big, big shift into using more social media, especially as you’ve got changing dynamics, changing demographics. There’s more adapt to using these technologies. So, yeah, that’s certainly a challenge.

Mark:

And, now, it can do great benefit for a company, as well.

Danny:

Absolutely.

Mark:

One of our clients of which we had implemented our WMS solution, they were going through their fourth quarter with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And some of the speed with which the orders were being processed within two to three hours of the customer placing the order, the order was already shipping, and they were receiving tracking number confirmations. Well, I will tell you that, from a social media perspective, that was awesome to see all of the comments with incredible, fast shipping. So it goes both ways, and it’s just another one of those variables we have to stay on top of.

Danny:

Yeah, exactly. So just a couple other questions on here. So as far as the type of companies that you might work with, is there, is it– I imagine ecommerce is a big place. Is there any other vertical or other areas that you’re focusing on?

Mark:

Sure, from a channel perspective, let me answer it that way.

Danny:

Yeah.

Mark:

Really, we focus on three primary channels, one of them being ecommerce. Our systems and our solutions are… very much have unique features for that. But, then, we also service the wholesale channel and key accounts. So if a warehouse, a 3PL, a distribution facility has those different types of channels, they work perfectly with us.

Danny:

Okay, great. So what are some of the– we were talking about some of these challenges that are coming up. How are you guys solving some of these?

Mark:

Sure, I would say that we have implemented a number of unique features. We have multiple pick methods specifically designed if you’re picking ecom orders or you’re picking wholesale or key account orders. We put in some unique tools, I think, that are not out in the industry, tools that will allow companies to negotiate better shipping rates, tools to allow them to reslot their forward pick locations, inventory consolidation tools. And, then, we provide real-time statistics at the warehouse level and also at the employee level. I think that that sets us apart, but also it’s our integration. We’ve integrated our solutions with Fetch Robotics, Vuzix Glasses, Amazon Alexa. So if you want to talk to your WMS, you can ask it questions like, “How many lines have we shipped today?” Things like that. Android phones, PLCs, laser dimensioners, inline scales, conveyors, being able to talk to all those pieces of hardware.

And, then, at the same time being able to integrate with software packages like ERPs, ecom platforms like Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce. And, then, there’s a lot of packages out there, a lot of things that are happening, I think, that is forcing companies to make some different decisions. And by that I mean, I think you’re going to see less monolithic solutions like big, giant ERP systems that do everything, and you’re going to see more integration in terms of different packages and software. These big, giant packages are costly. They’re risky. They’re not adaptable. And I see more movement towards being able to have best-of-breed packages, being a WMS or be it an accounting system and, then, have those systems integrate and talk to each other. And, then, finally, one thing to answer your question, our solution we provide is both cloud and on-premise. Then, I think that we’re very reasonably-priced. We’ll go right up head to head against some big, tier one-type solutions. And I think we stack up pretty well with that.

Danny:

Well, who would be an ideal customer profile for you?

Mark:

Sure, so an ideal customer profile would be a customer that maybe has a distribution facility. It can be a customer or a 3PL. Usually, 20,000 square foot would be the smallest, all the way up to… it could be a 500,000, 750,000 square foot facility. It can be different types of industries. Like I said, ecom, wholesale, key account, that would all fit perfectly in our equation. And by the way, we service some small accounts, too, that are not ready for the robots or the robotic solution. That is perfectly okay. They are trying to technology-proof their solutions so when they grow to the point they’re ready for it, then we can put those solutions in place. And we believe that our solutions are not, it’s best not to modularize them and sell you different modules. You get it all and, then, you can use what you need or want of it. So that, I think, is part of our unique proposition.

Danny:

That’s interesting; that’s very cool. No, I love it. So for those who would like to learn more about you, what’s the best way? Assuming checking out your website, they can go learn more about you there?

Mark:

Absolutely, they can check out our website, twinoakstech.com. They are welcome to call us. We’re very personable. We do webinars. We did an in-person webinar at MODEX, this last show. And, by the way, we got voted in the top 10 of all of the seminars. We were in the top 10 selection on that.

Danny:

That’s great, congratulations.

Mark:

Educational seminar, yeah, thank you. Yeah, so we’d love for customers to reach out and talk to us. They can call us or send us an email or hit our website.

Danny:

Alright, well great. Well, there you have it. So Mark, thank you so much for joining me today on the Executive Series. And, yeah, for companies that would want to go check more out about you guys, go check out the website and, then, go see– maybe they can help you out with a challenge with one of their solutions.

Mark:

Excellent, thank you.

Danny:

Thank you. Alright, well, there you go, another Industrial Sage Executive Series. Thanks so much for watching, or listening, if you are listening on any of the podcasting stations. Hey, listen, real quick, if you are not subscribed to our email list, you need to do that right now. Go to IndustrialSage.com and subscribe. Why? Well, I’ll tell you why. We have a lot of other content that you’re missing out because we want to get more episodes like this where you can hear from other executives about new technology, new solutions, understanding what your peers may be doing or people doing in your complementary markets. So go sign up there so you don’t miss out on all this great content. And I will be back next week with another episode of IndustrialSage.

 

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