Meridian is so good at what they do, and they have the industry expertise which allows us to focus on what we're good at.
Gerald Chen
Chief Financial Officer
The Client
Founded in 1998, Otter Products has taken its mission of "We Grow to Give”, to heart, growing from the Colorado garage of its founder to an international company, with offices in Fort Collins, CO; San Diego, CA; Hong Kong, China; Cork, Ireland; and Shenzhen, China. They’ve grown to become an innovator of premium protective products for smartphones and tablets, through their OtterBox, LifeProof, and OtterCares brands. In 2018, they had 4,826 SKU finished goods sold, and they plan to expand even more in the coming years.
Business Impact
Meridian’s independent leasing and financing experts provided access to cost-effective refurbished material handling equipment that met or exceeded OEM standards for performance and quality. Additionally, Meridian’s vendor agnostic capability granted Otter the flexibility to choose the best of breed OEM of their choice for their equipment. Otter Products was able to reinvest the savings they experienced into other parts of their operations, like a new automation line. Their mission of "We Grow to Give” extends to making sure their employees have the tools they need when they need them.
With facilities running 24/7, Otter Products needed simplicity and efficiency throughout their business operations. Having great communication, transparency and a partner who has impeccable lease documentation makes acquiring equipment quick and seamless.
By leasing equipment from Meridian at lower prices, we've been able to reinvest that extra cash flow to other improvements within our operations.
Gerald Chen
Chief Financial Officer
The Challenges
With operations relying heavily on technology and equipment, there is a high probability that a business-critical system will fail, significantly impacting business. Equipment failure can cost thousands in repair bills, business interruption and lost revenue. Otter Products understood the negative financial impact of this so they sought out a partner they could implement a formalized equipment replacement process with to stay on top of the routine care their equipment required and replace parts according to schedule. Otter Products was in search of a reliable and cost-effective way to source their business-critical material handling equipment without cutting corners on quality.
How Meridian Helped
Refurbished equipment is a lower cost alternative that comes with many of the benefits of buying new equipment, and savings of up to 60%. Otter was able to take advantage of Meridian’s unparalleled access to refurbished material handling equipment across a variety of manufacturers. Meridian’s refurbished equipment goes through a comprehensive process to restore it to the original equipment manufacturers’ (OEM) specifications for performance and reliability, so Otter did not have to sacrifice quality. Meridian provided Otter’s Colorado facilities with forklifts, reach trucks, turret trucks and more so that Otter can provide the level of quality their customers have come to expect.
Meridian makes sure that we have reliable equipment when we need it.
Andy Jensen
Distribution and Fulfillment Manager
Related Videos
- 01 - Case Study: Otter Products 2:10
- 02 - Otter Products: Meridian Allows Us to Focus 0:23
- 03 - Otter Products: Meridian Supports Our Mission 0:39
- 04 - Otter Products: Multi-Vendor Support 0:23
- 05 - Otter Products: Our Customers Rely on Us and We Rely on Meridian 0:39
- 06 - Otter Products: Refurbished Equipment 0:46
- 07 - Otter Products: Reinvesting Savings 0:43
- 08 - Otter Products: We Run 20 Hours A Day 0:38
- 09 - Otter Products: What I Appreciate About Meridian 0:27
