‘Don’t Hesitate’ Women in material handling talk about the opportunities and evolution of the business

Cover Story Eileen Mozinski Schmidt ‘Don’t Hesitate’ Women in material handling talk about the opportunities and evolution of the business

When it comes to chances for the advancement of women in material handling, Amber Schenck has seen the momentum building. “I see that tide starting to turn. I do see more things being put in place to help empower women,” she said. Schenck is a field service supervisor for Toyota ProLift and has been with the company for three and a half years.

Coming from the service industry, the business was her first introduction to industrial equipment. But she has advanced to her supervisory role and is currently in charge of half of the road tech team; the direct report for 19 people. She makes sure her team is on track and goes over audits and open tickets, along with ensuring customers’ needs are met.

Schenck said her team covers a service area about 70 miles around the shop. “I am out with the techs seeing firsthand how we can better support them,” she said, describing her job as being “the boots on the ground and seeing what they go through and meeting the customers.” “I love it,” said Schenck, of her work. “I love getting to work with the techs and seeing some of that world and getting to see the customers,” she added.

Schenck said she learns more about the business every day and applies this technical knowledge to her experience in customer service. She said the pandemic conditions did result in more time spent in the office, which was a challenge being new to her position. “I took that really hard. I had only been in the position for six months. It really tested communication skills,” said Schenck, who said the time working remotely did shine a light on how beneficial it is to build relationships with employees and customers.

Now, she said more in-person meetings have resumed and the company has been especially busy. “Goods still have to be moved,” Schenck said. “A lot of cross-dock operations are doing massive amounts of shipping. We’re probably busier now than prior to the pandemic. “When things started opening back up, it was just a tidal wave.”

Schenck said she would love to see more women involved in the industry and encouraged others to jump in to take opportunities available. “Do it. Don’t hesitate because it’s a maledominated industry. Know who you are and be true to yourself,” she said.

Shari Altergott has worked in the industry for two decades. While she says sexism is still present in some quarters, she agrees with Schenck that improvements have been made. “I think that it’s much better than it was 20 years ago. I would still say it’s not easy. It’s challenging, but I think it’s a good challenge,” she said. “I always relish places where there are new opportunities and there are a lot of opportunities for women in this space.”

Altergott began in the industry for a material handling dealership in the Chicagoland area while in college, when a temp agency connected her with the business “I interviewed and they were talking about material handling. I remember thinking, ‘I have no idea what this company does and it sounds super boring but I’ll take the job because they offered it to me,” she said. Starting as an office helper, Altergott put her knowledge of sales, marketing, and business development to work and found herself on what would be a rewarding career path.

Soon after her start, a new office manager with a strong belief in marketing tapped Altergott to help grow the business. “So, I stayed and it ended up being the best decision,” she said. By the time she left two years ago, Altergott was vice president of customer experience and the company had more than tripled in revenue. “It was a really awesome journey,” she said.

In 2019, Altergott left to start her own company, The CX Edge. The business-to-business company focuses on four areas of customer service: people, products, process, and feedback, according to the website. Altergott said she was concerned when the pandemic hit in 2020, just as her business was picking up steam. “I thought for a minute that I made the dumbest decision ever,” she said.

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Cover Story continued

But Altergott said the new venture allowed her to be home with her daughter as she worked remotely for school and about halfway through the year “people started being comfortable with the new normal.”

“What I really found in 2020, halfway through the year, was that people realized they needed to supplement outside sales forces somehow,” she said. In this respect, Altergott said her company is primed to help provide the expertise needed. Many material handling companies ended up having a good year in 2020 and Altergott said her own business also proved profitable. Although the pandemic has changed some of the ways of doing business, Altergott said relationships still are key. “They are not important in the same way that they were ten years ago. Golf outings and martini lunches don’t really work anymore,” she said, adding that it is industry knowledge that is most valuable in building those relationships.

Some Altergott’s own connections include working as the marketing chair for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Chicago Board, an executive board member for Loyola’s Supply and Value Chain Center, and working closely with MHEDA, having served as emcee for the group’s women in industry convention.

“That partnership has been really fun. I have the opportunity to meet a lot of people,” Altergott said. She is currently working with several contractors and is aiming to start hiring for the business in the next two years. “My goal is to really become a full-blown agency,” she said.

Eileen Mozinski Schmidt is a freelance writer and journalist based in the Greater Milwaukee area. She has written for print and online publications for the past 13 years. Email editorial@MHWmag.com or visit eileenmozinskischmidt.wordpress.com to contact Eileen. If your company would like to be featured, email editorial@MHWmag.com

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