An Intermec computer mounted on a forklift.

Nacco Materials Handling Group (NMHG) is offering value to customers through an aftermarket reselling agreement with mobile computing and data collection manufacturer Intermec.

Jonathan Dawley, NMHG's business development manager, tells Forkliftaction.com News Hyster and Yale forklift dealers can now deliver forklifts and business solutions to customers through the supply of fleet management solutions or RFID systems.

The agreement means Intermec's forklift-mounted computers, RFID technology equipment and hand-held barcode scanners can be specified as part of forklift orders from dealers.

"While NMHG has been focused on the integration of telemetry providers for fleet management, this is the first time the company has developed a formal relationship with a mobile computing and data collection company," Dawley says.

"[We] recognise customers are looking for a single aggregator to bring the installation of technologies together.
He says Intermec is an ideal partner because it has the technical and sales resources to support Hyster and Yale.

From a product standpoint, Dawley says Intermec "isn't always the first to market, but their products are always well thought-out and meet the diverse needs of their customers", citing the new backrest-mounted RFID reader as an example (Forkliftaction.com News #293).

According to Dawley, about 70% of warehouse forklifts in North America have mobile computing or data collection equipment installed.

Intermec has completed 17,000 warehouse installations and has installed systems in over 250,000 vehicles. NMHG uses Intermec's AIDC (automatic identification and data capture) tools in its parts distribution centre in Danville, Illinois to improve parts availability and accurately fill orders for its dealers.

"We see a huge opportunity in the ability to steer customers toward taking a second look at our Yale and Hyster brands. Our dealer's ability to provide a single source of procurement, installation, and support of mobile computing and RFID options delivers true value to the customer," Dawley says.