Industrial Solutions - Anticipating the New Year!

I have always been a car guy. Even when I was a kid, I was a car guy. It’s odd because no one else in my family was even remotely interested in cars. When I was a little kid (and, no, I did not have a pet stegosaurus), I loved Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars. I loved those little friction race cars, too. I’d push the car to the floor, pull it backward and then…wait…I could feel the tension in the little springs inside the car wanting to unleash the built up energy…I’d aim the car carefully and then let it go! It would shoot across my bedroom floor and crash into whatever obstacle I had created for it to destroy. 

Of course, it took planning and execution to create the desired destructive effects.

As Christmas is fast approaching (less than a week from this writing), the automotive industry prepares for the year to wrap up and to a great extent, shutdown for the rest of the year. What happens during that time reminds me of my younger days when I would plan those little destructive scenarios in my childhood bedroom. This is the time of preparation and suspenseful build up…waiting for the next year.

Playing with those cars, I learned that the more planning and effort that went into each scenario, the more spectacular the result. So, I take this time of year to check in with all of the folks that I am working with on the customer side to remind that we are still here and we eagerly await an opportunity to help each of them achieve their goals. 

I remind them that this is what we do.  We help them achieve their goals three ways:

·         By Simplifying the Manufacturing Processes

o   We Improve Efficiency

• By Eliminating Inefficient, Off-Line Assembly & Kitting Processes
• By Opening Manufacturing Floor Space, Allowing Greater Flexibility

·         By Simplifying the Management Processes

o   We Facilitate Fiscal Responsibility

• By Purchasing the Inventory, Improving Your Cash Flow
• By Controlling the Inventory & Managing Your Supply Base, Improving Your Allocation of Resources

·         By Simplifying Your Business

o   We Provide Peace of Mind

• By Using Our Interlocked Assembly System: Ensuring Quality (14 PPM FY12)
• By Using Our State of the Art MRP System: Ensuring On Time Delivery (99.5%)

So, as you prepare for 2014, consider the benefits of contacting Telamon Industrial Solutions to help you reach your goals for 2014 with spectacular results!

-John Weeks

Director of Sales
Industrial Solutions - Telamon Corporation

About Telamon Industrial Solutions:

Telamon Industrial Solutions provides Assembly, Kitting and Third Party Logistics (3PL) services in a culture of quality and efficiency that reduces our customer’s total cost of ownership using robust, unique design processes, creating a worry-free, cost effective purchasing experience.

Energy Solutions - IND Solar Farm Q&A

Vincent Liu, the head of Telamon’s solar division, answers some key questions regarding Telamon’s participation in the IND Solar Farm project at the Indianapolis International Airport.

·        What makes the IND Solar Farm the largest airport-based solar farm in the country?

The IND Solar Farm is a 12.5 megawatt DC solar photovoltaic system that encompasses 75 acres of land. At peak capacity, it has the capability to produce 16.5 megawatt hours of electric energy per year, which is enough to power more than 1,800 average American homes for one year. The solar farm consists of 44,128 panels, each capable of producing 280 watts at peak power production.

·         What will be done with the power produced?

The energy produced will be sold to Indianapolis Power & Light via a 15 year power purchase program.

·         Why was Telamon interested in the project initially?

Telamon was interested in the project because solar was a new market for us. We knew that winning the RFP would present us as a forward thinking leader in the solar industry since the IND Solar Farm is the largest airport-based solar farm in the country. The Indianapolis Airport Authority came up with the idea of putting a solar farm on their property. Telamon simply responded to the RFP.

·         What was it like to get funding for such a large project?

The project cost was $35-$40 million. Any utility-scale solar project developer knows that financing is always key to the success of project execution. Telamon has a strong balance sheet and good industry/banking relationships. Telamon’s core business has had an established, adequate financing mechanism for years and this solar project was of no concern.

·         What were some of the challenges Telamon faced?

Some of the challenges included: 

1. Solar is not big in Indiana, which is mainly a coal country. The incentive program is not widely adopted.
2. The original feed-in-tariff and tax burden makes the project not-bankable. It took a lot of effort to make legislative adjustment.
3. Since it is the first major utility solar project in the state, a large amount of coordination among all stake holders was required.

·         What was the most fun aspect of working on the solar farm?

For Telamon, working on this project was very fun. We were able to garner partnerships that we can continue to use for future airport solar installations. We also built a brand around the IND Solar Farm with a distinct logo and both web and social media presence. This has never been done before for any solar farm in the world. 

·         How long did the project take to construct?

The project began construction mid-March & finished mid-October, so a total of 7 months.

·         Looking back, is there anything you would change about the way you handled the project? What was the most important lesson learned? 

Persistence and having faith. There are always many uncertainties which can kill a project of this size. The biggest lessons are:

1. To build a strong partnership and not nickel and dime on every piece of the project.
2. Make sure the financing partner is strong and dependable.

For more information and to view real time monitoring of the solar farm, please visit the IND Solar Farm website at www.indsolarfarm.com.

Business Process Solutions - Focusing on Faster Resolution Time by Liberating Your Staff

Holiday preparations are well underway. Nothing else seems to remind us about squeezing every moment out of a single day as a typical workday during the holiday season. Therefore, if you're looking for ideas on how to improve customer relationships to kick off the new year, then Telamon's Business Process Solutions division is here to help your business. We help our customers by managing their redundant document management processes, so our clients' staff can focus on improving customer resolution times.

There is no question that speed is considered a hallmark of good customer service. Customer response efficiency metrics often focus on measuring the speed to first response time. Keep in mind that your team could pick up a phone call within two rings or average an hour respond time via e-mail - however, if they are spending 2-3 correspondences with the customer to solve one issue, then you might not be deploying your staff the most efficiently.

Here is one example on how to enhance your document management workflow to empower your staff to solve cases as fast as possible during the holiday crunch. Consider using a business process management partner, such as Telamon, as a resource to process data entry tasks, indexing, post payments, etc. Our skilled staff will integrate with your existing business process methods. While we execute the workflow and handle the majority of e-mail support related to workflow issues, your staff is liberated and gets involved only when needed. The concept allows managers to focus on streamlining faster customer resolutions. 

Medical Solutions - HITECH ACT Takeaways

Telamon recently participated in the Indiana Healthcare Symposium on November 13, 2013.

The symposium focused on many topics, but specifically an impactful presentation on the changes in the HITECH Act. The HITECH Act is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which “seeks to improve American health care delivery and patient care”. The HITECH Act specifically lists IT standards and requirements for security and safety. 

In attendance, Stephen Etter, Telamon Medical Solutions Technical Writer, captured the following summary changes in the HITECH Act that is important for service provider and IT companies to understand:

Final Rule:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-25/pdf/2013-01073.pdf

HITECH Increased Enforcement: 

• Reasonably Unaware: $100.00 per violation; $25,000 max per year
• Reasonable Cause: $1,000 per violation; $100,000 max per year
• Willful Neglect - $10,000 per violation; $250,000 max per year; $50,000 violation; $1.5 million per year if not corrected in 30 days

OCR Recent Enforcement: 

Affinty Health Plan - 1.2 million

Wellpoint - 1.7 million

Business Associates:

BA and subcontractors now have direct liability and will be subject to HIPAA Audits.

BA must have Risk Analysis and Policy/Procedures for security safeguards per the final rule.

Breach Notification: 

New breach notification procedures and policies went into effect. BA or Health Organizations have to tell the individual even if there is a minimal risk to their data. Acquisition, access, use or disclosure of unsecured PHI is not permitted by the Privacy Rule unless there is low probability the PHI has been compromised based on risk assessment. Standard of 500 + patients must require notification to the media and notification to the Secretary.

Risk Factors:

1. Nature and extent of PHI involved, including types of identifiers and likelihood of re-id

2. Unauthorized person who used PHI or to whom disclosure was made

3. Whether PHI was actually acquired or viewed

4. Extent to which risk to PHI has been mitigated

Telecom Solutions - The Evolution of a Customer

From my previous blog posts, I have written about how Telamon got its start as an equipment provider to a large telecommunications carrier and how we have grown into providing integration and installation services.  This evolution was predicated on the need of our customers to reduce their costs and speed the deployment of new technologies – two vital components of staying competitive in a rapidly changing environment. 

Recently, Telamon has been awarded several contracts which have not only cemented our future with our existing carrier customers, but have applied our original business model to an entirely different customer – equipment manufacturers.  These manufacturers, seeing the success that we've had, realized that providing solutions (fulfillment, distribution, product integration, engineering, design or deployment) can translate into cost savings and additional market share.

By utilizing Telamon’s vast experience and logistical presence, OEM’s (original equipment manufacturers) have been able to free up their own resources to do what they do best and transfer that work to us.  One can imagine how expensive it is to have a team devoted to product integration or installation – the cost of facilities, specialized equipment and training – but also the loss of revenue if you can’t get the product to market quickly.  OEM’s now ship product directly to our warehouses where we package it into racks or cabinets based upon the end customer specification or configuration.  We then act as the installation team for that OEM – sometimes even wearing shirts with the OEM name on it! – to ensure that the product is deployed properly.  The last step is to perform full test and turn up before leaving the site with two happy customers – the end customer and the equipment manufacturer.

-Suzanne Beck

VP Business Development

Telecom Solutions - Telamon Corporation 

Industrial Solutions - Reflections on the NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Fair

During the last week of October, the National Minority Supplier Development Council held their annual conference and trade fair.  This is a very important event for minority suppliers as it is one of the best opportunities of the year for minority and women owned businesses to network with some of the largest companies in North America.

I have no idea what the final attendance number is but I would estimate that there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,000 people there.  For the buyers and purchasing agents working for these major corporations, the task of sifting through all of the potential suppliers must be daunting…maybe to the point of paralysis!  There is a concept in psychology called “cognitive overload”, where the mind has way more information coming in than it can handle. I can imagine that is how many people left this year’s conference.

So, for any of you who are suffering from this condition, please allow me to offer some relief by reminding you of what makes Telamon Industrial Solutions the best and only choice for your manufacturing support needs.

Telamon Industrial Solutions had a few competitors at the trade fair but I was struck by four key differences that really make Telamon Industrial Solution stand above the rest:

1.      Attention to Detail.  The level of detail that Telamon pours into each part number assembled is extraordinary.  Every step in the manufacturing process is very precise and intentional for the sole purpose of being the most effective way to endure quality with the end product.

2.      In Process Quality Checks.  Every step of the manufacturing process is interlocked with the step before the step afterward to assure that every step is taken correctly and exactly to plan to virtually guarantee a high quality part every time.

3.       Engineering Expertise and Diversity of Products Manufactured.  The background of our engineering group is diverse and deep.  Because of this, Telamon Industrial Solutions has the ability to assess any kind of assembly of any size. We are also well aware of our limitations and will not quote something that we know that we cannot do with the absolute highest level of quality.

4.       Complete Supply Chain Management. Our capability to manage a large, global supply chain both physically and financially is a major differentiator. Many of our competitors do not have the financial resources that Telamon has and therefore cannot offer the level of service at the cost levels that we can.

We have the background, resources and expertise to provide a worry-free purchasing experience. Our desire is to partner with you to help you be as efficient, focused and profitable as possible.  Call us and let’s talk about what Telamon Industrial Solutions can do for you!

About Telamon Industrial Solutions:

Telamon Industrial Solutions provides Assembly, Kitting and Third Party Logistics (3PL) services in a culture of quality and efficiency that reduces our customer’s total cost of ownership using robust, unique design processes, creating a worry-free, cost effective purchasing experience.

-John Weeks

Director of Sales

Industrial Solutions -Telamon Corporation

Energy Solutions - Bill Payment

I was exposed to "expense management" while working for a consulting research and advisory company a few years ago. It is the outsourcing of corporate bill management (and sometimes payment). Over the last few years, it has become more accepted as a standard "best practice" for business. Here are some basics to help you better determine if expense management is right for you.

The cornerstone of an effective energy management program is the secure collection of reliable, relevant and independent points of data. 

Billing data, metering data, and the like - these are the data points that energy management is built upon.

Next, it is important to understand that what we call "utility bills" are better understood as "customer statements". These are not simply a demand for payment, but rather one of the best and easiest ways that your service provider can communicate with you. Important data points can be extracted from statements that when aggregated can provide visibility on important trends involving cost and usage.

Having a single system that can manage all of the data is one of the first steps in creating an enterprise-wide energy strategy. It is also one of the lowest cost/highest impact steps an organization can take in understanding their company/facility energy position.

When billing data is compared to metering data, an independent measurement and verification process is established, which is also critical to an energy strategy. This process drives erroneous data out of the system and validates future energy savings against projected savings. The benefits of this process cannot be adequately described in a blog post.

Telamon Global Bill Management collects, processes and reports on billing data from over 150 countries. 

Today, one Fortune 300 customer has saved over $200K in the first year by using Telamon's CUBP (Custom Utility Bill Payment) and is significantly expanding the program in 2014.


What does Telamon's CUBP offer you?

• Reduces Late Fees
• Validates/Corrects Proper Rate Structure
• Validates Energy Reduction Activities
• Facilitates Strategic Purchases of Energy Contracts
• Provides intelligence and impact regarding significant energy cost increases
• Over 20 different bill types available
• International Bill Payment
• Automated CO2 Reporting (Domestic & Global) 
• Sub-Metering
• Freight & Fleet

 If energy is one your mind, call us today for help in getting a handle on your energy environment. Telamon gives you the tools and data to make the best decision for your organization.

-Mark Brown
Channel & Business Development
Telamon Energy Solutions