Click on the link to see the Fall 2007 issue of the AMJ Campbell Employee Newsletter.

 fall-2007.pdf 

Doing your own packing?

Start six weeks to one month before your move, and plan carefully to save time and money and minimize the work for you!

• Get your equipment ready
• Go online at www.amjcampbell.com and order boxes and other packing materials.
• Start saving newspapers and other wrapping materials.
• Make sure you have plenty of strong, wide packing tape to tape boxes securely.

Organization Counts!

• Begin your packing with seldom-used or off-season items.
• Label tops and sides of boxes with content and destination.
• Keep a master inventory list detailing what’s in each box and the box number in case you need to find something after it’s packed.
• Put things you’ll need right away in boxes marked “Open First”.
• Make up “Do Not Move” cartons for items you’ll be taking in the car.
• Don’t forget to empty the “secret hiding places” in your home.

Protect your Belongings

• Use “fragile” stickers and “this end up” arrows on cartons requiring special care.
• Use towels and blankets as extra padding.
• Wrap dishes in clean paper or bubble wrap, not newspaper, to avoid ink stains.
• Pack flat items, such as china dishes, mirrors and pictures, on edge.
• Pack lampshades by themselves and take light bulbs out of sockets.
• Pack books on edge in small cartons. Be careful not to pack too many to lift!
• Pack electronics and computer equipment in the boxes they came in whenever possible. Tape down moving parts to avoid damage during the move.
• Put CDs, records and tapes on edge, packed tightly so they don’t shift around.
• Tie brooms, mop handles and curtain rods in bundles.
• Use wardrobe cartons to move clothing.
• If you disassemble furniture, put the bolts, fasteners and assembly instructions in a plastic bag and tape to the underside of one of the pieces.
• Wrap tabletops with pads to protect the finish.
• Fill the washing machine tub with blankets or stuffed animals to keep it secure during transport.
• Secure drawers inside the fridge or other appliances so they don’t come loose. But don’t tape bureau drawers shut it could damage the finish!

Pack Safely

• Tape any sharp edges, such as scissors or tools, to prevent injury.
• Don’t pack oily rags. Dispose of them.
• Make sure containers of dangerous fluids are tightly closed.
• Put paints, fertilizers, insecticides, etc. in strong cartons, padded firmly to avoid spillage. Clearly mark any boxes containing harmful substances.
• Do not overfill cartons they should weigh less than 23 kg (50 lbs). Packing Tips
• No carton should be so large that it obstructs your view when carried or weighs more than 23 kg (50 lbs).
• Do not overfill or under fill cartons; this practice increases the risk of damage. Tops must close flat and be sealed with tape.
• Pack heavier items on the bottom and lighter items on top. Pack articles snugly so they will not shift.
• Cushion every carton with clean, crushed paper on the bottom, between layers, at the top, and in any empty spaces between articles.
• Pack small articles in small boxes and nest them into a large box.
• Wrap fabrics and china in clean newsprint.
• Wrap all items separately to protect fine surfaces and protrusions from damage.
• Wrap small articles in coloured paper so they will not be discarded with packing material.
• If you must ship liquids, fasten and tape lids, seal in a plastic bag and place upright in a carton.
• Record the contents of each carton in a notebook. Label each carton with your name, room location and special directions.
• Tape small pieces and screws to where they belong or put them in a carton labelled “Set-Up Carton” for easy access at destination.
• Place items from desks and drawers in small labelled cartons. Loose clothing may remain in dresser drawers.
• Place a “Do Not Move” sign on items that are to remain in the house.
• Assign a place for suitcases and other items that are not to go in the moving van.
• Send your important documents by Registered Mail or valuables (jewellery, furs, etc.) security carrier, or carry them with you.
• Roll and tie electrical cords so they will not tangle.
• Prepare a “Load Last Unload First” carton for things you will need as soon as you arrive.

I am pleased to announce that AMJ Campbell has renewed its agreement with the Easter Seals Society of Canada throughout 2008.  For the past 5 years AMJ has been a proud sponsor of the Conn Smythe Sports Celebrities Dinner which is the country’s largest sports celebrity dinner that has raised over $5.4 million dollars for Easter Seals since it’s inception in 1951.  At AMJ Campbell, we are dedicated to our obligation to become integrated into the foundation of the communities in which we work.  Supporting the Conn Smythe Sports Celebrities Dinner and Auction is just one of the ways we give back to the community. - Denis Cordick, Vice President Marketing

Special to Globe and Mail Update

Rob Blackstien                      May 10, 2005 at 3:20 PM EDT

What do the death of a loved one, divorce and moving have in common?

The first two will often result in you needing some couch time, while the third involves lifting couches. But a clearer connection is that these three events can be found at the top of the list of life’s most stressful events. And while you’re best advised to seek help dealing with the first two elsewhere, AMJ Campbell Inc. has developed software that can help alleviate some of the stress associated with moving.

Move Complete is proprietary software made specifically for the moving industry. It’s designed to create efficiencies at every point of the process, the company says, from estimating and confirming orders to dispatching, planning and execution of the move. It also covers accounting, invoicing and collection, to after-sales customer service and claims resolution.

In other words, virtually every aspect of AMJ’s business is touched by Move Complete, but it’s essentially invisible to the customer.

Rhonda Payne, office manager for AMJ Campbell Mississauga Household, the company’s largest corporate shop, was directly involved in the creation of Move Complete. She shared 14 years of experience gained from filling various roles within the company, acting as a consultant to the mover’s IT department. Later, her office acted as the “guinea pigs” to beta test the software.

“We knew we needed something … and we wanted to have our say in how we wanted this product [to] work,” she says.

Move Complete is a Web-based application that allows AMJ’s salespeople to prepare estimates within customers’ homes using Hewlett-Packard PDAs running Windows CE, explains AMJ chief financial officer Richard Smith, who also oversees the IT department. Once estimates are approved, the PDAs get synchronized on the salesperson’s laptop or desktop for central data storage. All the customer’s move information is then automatically transferred from the system sales module to the dispatch module, where the move planning and execution process occurs. Once the move is complete, data is uploaded to the accounting system for invoicing and collection.

Move Complete runs on Windows 2003 Server and uses a Microsoft SQL Server database. It was written with ASP.net, XML, HTML, DHTML and JavaScript. Although it’s a proprietary solution, Mr. Bowser says licensing the product to independent movers is something AMJ is considering. Licensing fees would certainly help recoup the development costs that totalled almost $2-million, he says.

The greatest advantage the system offers, says AMJ president and CEO Bruce Bowser, “is the wireless estimating capability. Traditionally we’d have to go into a customer’s home and view the [objects to be moved], handwrite it all out and then come back and hook up to a computer at the office, go through a sort of long procedure in our industry to come out with a quote.”

Now, he explains, salespeople walk in armed with their handheld device. As customers walk them through the house, the salesperson clicks on each individual room and up pops a list of all the potential items in that room. They simply click on each item the customer has in order to create a complete inventory. And because the average weight of each item is pre-configured into the system, the guesswork of estimating weights is taken out of the equation.

In the past, Mr. Bowser says the salesperson’s estimate might have been within 15 per cent of the move’s true weight. AMJ now is able to come up with a weight estimate with a margin for error of about five per cent, and the system means much faster cost estimates are delivered to the customer. Salespeople can print directly on-site and hand the customer an estimate within minutes, where previously it would take as much as two days to provide the customer with a quote.

The system also speeds things up if there are problems with a move. By moving its claims resolution procedure on-line, Mr. Bowser estimates that a process that used to take 90 days can now be done in 15 to 30.

Tara Kowalik recently moved from Brampton, Ont., to Acton using AMJ, and says she was impressed with being able to get a quote right away, and at how painless the process was. Ms. Kowalik thought the salesperson was merely plugging data away on a calculator, not realizing how much technology was at work behind the estimating process until she was handed the quote for the job. “I didn’t even really notice,” she says.

Not only does this system make the salesperson’s job easier, but it’s a joy for accounting, AMJ’s Ms. Payne says.

“It does save a lot of time. All the information’s at your fingertips. And you can’t ask for anything better than that in my mind.”

Rob Blackstien is a freelance writer and the principal of Pen-Ultimate (www.pen-ultimate.ca), a Toronto-based writing and editorial services firm.

I am pleased to announce that our AMJ Campbell Oakville office has been named Corporate Sponsor of the Year by the Hamilton chapter of the MS Society. 

Congratulations to Greg Wayland/Gary Kofoed and the entire AMJ Campbell Oakville branch.  The branch will be recognized at the MS Society Annual General Meeting Banquet on November 20th in Hamilton.  AMJ Campbell is dedicated to the communities we work in and live in and has been involved with many charity endeavours over the years. 

AMJ Campbell has been the Official Mover of the MS Society Super Cities Walk for MS for the past 5 years.

AMJ CAMPBELL INC. is proud to announce that its Mississauga and Calgary locations have been recognized by Atlas Van Lines, Canada, Canada’s largest moving organization, for their outstanding sales performance for the 12 month period ending July 31, 2007.  The AMJ Campbell Van Lines, branch in Mississauga recorded net linehaul sales in excess of 5.3 million dollars for the period and established a new record for Atlas Van Lines agents.

The AMJ Campbell Calgary Branch recorded net linehaul sales in excess of 4.9 million dollars and established a new record for their office.
“Once again, the two sister offices of Mississauga and Calgary finished number one and number two respectively.  Each year your agency manages to exceed the prior year’s performance.  This is a remarkable feat.  Congratulations on a job well done”, said Doug Auld, President of Atlas Van Lines, Canada.
“This is a tremendous achievement for our locations in Mississauga and Calgary, Wayne Davis and his staff in the Mississauga office and Doug Jasper and his staff in the Calgary office are to be congratulated on a prodigious performance”, Tom Finlay, Executive Vice President of AMJ Campbell Inc. added.
Both Branches will be publicly recognized at an Awards luncheon on Friday, October 16th at Atlas’ annual convention in Vancouver.

I am pleased to launch the new AMJ Campbell Blog – every day a new blog will be published with inserts from myself, Tom Finlay, AMJ Campbell’s Executive Vice President; Denis Cordick Vice President Marketing; Richard Smart, CFO; and many others.  The AMJ blog will be an interesting place to find information about AMJ Campbell, our community involvement and life in general.

George Bernard Shaw once said:  “You see things; and you say, “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say, “Why not?”  That is the way we should think everyday in our life and in our careers.  When I first came to AMJ Campbell Van Lines in the role of Commercial General Manager I dreamt things like Why Not help grow this company to become the largest and best moving company in Canada.  Today we are without question the largest and the Best service provider in our industry.  We take tremendous pride in the job we do everyday looking after our customers possessions as they relocate.  I look forward to sharing my thoughts and views with you moving forward.  Thank you for taking the time to spend some time on our website.

Bruce Bowser
President and CEO
AMJ Campbell Van Lines