Kele Community Blog

By now you’ve probably heard about Twitter and Facebook, and might even have your own accounts. If you haven’t, Twitter is a kind of microblogging that allows users to read and send messages called “tweets.” By subscribing to a person’s tweets—unformatted messages that can’t be more that 140 characters—you can receive their updates online or by text message. Facebook is an online network where individuals or companies create a profile to stay connected and share information. Each profile can choose who to ”friend,” and can become “fans” of companies or organizations they like.

So what do Twitter and Facebook have to do with the BAS industry? Only time will tell but at Kele, Twitter and Facebook are the newest ways we’re making it easy for you to communicate with us. Find out about our latest promotions and newest products, and give us feedback about your experiences with Kele. If you’d like to be our fan, find our Facebook fan page at Kele Solutions Facebook Page; and if you’d like to receive our tweets, follow us at Kele Solutions Twitter Page. 

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Being in Project Sales I spend the majority of my day calling on customers.  When I ask how Kele can gain more market share with their company, the most common statement I hear is “I love Kele!  We get all of our products from you guys.”  My usual answer is “Really”?

Before I call I usually run a quick report that shows what the company has purchased over the past year. When I see a product line that’s missing from the report, I’ll ask about it.  Usually the answer is “Oh, I buy that from XYZ Company” or “I didn’t know you carried that”.

The most common reason is that the customer only knows a few sections of the Kele catalog.  I would like to think that everyone keeps a Kele catalog by their night stand to read before they call it a day.  Now that would be a salesman’s dream!  But the reality is when people find a product that works; they usually stick with it, even to the point of dealing with poor customer service, long lead times, multiple vendors and high prices.

Another reason a customer may only buy certain products from Kele is because of their company’s engineering and purchasing practices.  Once the products get into their system, it becomes a buying habit.  It’s easy to just order what’s in the system and it allows you to move on to the next task.  

Unfortunately the ease of continuing old habits can lead to the problems mentioned above -  such as dealing with multiple purchase orders, which can be expensive. On average it cost $50 to $80 for a company to issue a PO.  With multiple vendors that amount adds up quickly, as does the cost of freight.

So what’s my point? At Kele, we make it easy  with a printed catalog with 18 sections, over 230 manufactures on our line card, a fantastic website and a warehouse stocked full of products ready to go.  Many customers think we only carry what’s in the catalog.  Not true!  Kele’s buying power allows us access to all of our manufactures’ lines and then some.  If Kele put all of the products we have access to in the catalog, it would look like…well, it would be BIG! 

It’s a no brainer.  Save time, save money, and relax.  Send Kele the bill of material for your projects.  The chances of Kele being able to supply what you need and offer you the best price are pretty darn good.   

Late one afternoon not long ago, a fellow got me on the phone for tech support. He said he had ten carbon dioxide transmitters on one DCP-1.5-W power supply, and they weren’t operating, and he had pulled out most of his hair. Each transmitter needs less than 100 mA to operate, so the 1.5A power supply should have been more than enough.

He had applied power to the transmitters one by one, and all was well until he connected the fifth unit. At that point, the voltage dropped from 24 volts to 6, and it continued to drop bit by bit as he connected additional units. He checked everything, he said—he even powered up each individual unit directly from the power supply—and they were all just fine. What to do?  (Continue Reading)