Expansion Leads to Smaller Management A TOWER OF BABEL. That's what Blackwood Medical Equipment felt like to Mel Saluk when he joined his uncle's company almost two years ago. "People did what they wanted to do," he says. "The biggest learning curve has been for people to learn to work together and share duties."

The imperative to communicate in a more organized fashion has only been heightened by the recent acquisition of a smaller home medical equipment provider in eastern New Jersey, says Saluk, chief operating officer of the 39-year-old business based in Blackwood, N.J. He expects the expansion to bump up revenues from $3 million last year to $4.5 million this year.

And with this anticipated growth comes the need for a more detailed organizational chart. "We are going from a small company to the next level," he says. "We recognized that if we were getting bigger, we would have to change our ways. We have to move from everyone doing everything to departmentalizing activities."

Indeed, information and the distribution of it have become Blackwood Medical's vital new currency. The company worked on "putting together a different organizational flow and setting up chains of commands to make it operate efficiently at a higher level," Saluk says.

A new computer system also gives company managers "the control we wanted," reports Saluk. "We've been working on transferring data over to it. It's a major job." What's the payback? One of the key benefits of the new computer system, he says, will be tighter inventory management.

One employee also has been put in charge of ordering-which might not sound like a revolutionary idea, but it was for a company "where everyone was buying before," Saluk says, recalling the employee who ordered 10 wheelchairs at regular price right before last year's biggest trade show. "Everyone now knows that wheelchairs are on special at the show," he adds. "We now have everything coordinated so it won't happen again."

On the operational side, procedures are being redefined so that each person knows what his or her job is and how to do each task better. For instance, an intake manual is being developed to help employees answer client questions and make more sales. "When a customer calls for the product, the staff can look through the book, see the picture and know what questions to ask," Saluk says. "They will also be able to see other items they might want to sell with that item. We're trying to be more high-tech in the sales end."

Before the provider's organizational rebirth, when a customer ordered a wheelchair, it would be delivered without anyone attempting to make a companion sale. "We're trying to train people to suggest other products, and we're finding that most people will buy other items," says Saluk.

With its expansion, Blackwood Medical has grown from 20 to more than 30 employees. "You can make money in this industry," declares Saluk. "You just have to run your business properly. More and more companies are reaching the age when they are going to have to work smarter."

Consider Blackwood Medical among them. HC

Has good thinking in education paid off for your business? HomeCare Magazine would like to hear about it. Contact us by phone at 800/543-4116, ext. 263; fax: 310/317-9644; or e-mail: marie_blakey@intertec.com