In the world of distribution and e-commerce, warehouses fill the space separating supply from demand.

Warehouse Systems Inc. isn’t one of the increasing number of warehouses filling that new niche in Calgary’s economy. It’s a warehouse supply company, providing supplies and equipment for running warehouses. It can take care of anything from front door to back door in a major
warehouse, or it can take care of a walk-in customer’s need for $100 worth of shelving for the garage.

WSI does have a warehouse, though – the back of the building is full of warehouse parts and equipment, collapsed and stored on pallets.

Don Faulds, head of WSI’s Calgary branch, says geography is behind the growth of the city’s warehouse industry. There are millions of people within a 24-hour truck ride of Calgary. The city has also become a major distribution hub for deliveries to other regions.

Don Faulds, head of WSI's Calgary branch, says all customers are treated the same, whether they spend $100 or $1 million

“We’re taking it away from Toronto and Winnipeg,” he says.

Storage solutions range up to the largest warehouses, and
products run the gamut from pallet racking and shelving through shipping supplies to wire-guided systems for forklifts.

The latter technology has the guidance system built into the floor of the warehouse, ready to handle the steering of the vehicle between the racks. The driver only has to select forward or reverse and the system takes care of the rest.

Computers know exactly where everything is in those warehouses. “Orders are completed exactly as wanted,” says Faulds.

On the day Faulds was interviewed, CAD designer Andrew Showers was working on the layout for a new Forzani's
distribution centre, among other projects. The close-up view on his monitor showed the spacing of shelving down to one-32nd of an inch.

WSI design and egineering staff including, from left, Andrew Showers, Darrell Kehler and manager Don Faulds, ensure clients' needs are met.

“WSI is a two-year-old company with 60 years of experience,” says Faulds, explaining that he, other principals and key employees spent years working for other
people in the warehouse supply industry.

The market advantages of WSI are its employees. Sales staff know exactly what the customers can get to meet their needs. Customers are dealing with a manufacturer with an engineering staff, so that their needs and safety concerns are met.

The company works with builders and developers so that new warehousing is compatible with the racking and systems that will be installed.

Sales staff “will talk to a guy who’s spending $1 million with them in the morning and a guy buying a $100 shelving unit in the afternoon — and they get the same drawing of the shelving. They’re all treated the same,” Faulds adds.

Products include an array of different new shelving systems, and an inventory of used systems that could save a small company thousands of dollars.

Faulds refers often to the quality of the staff, from the most to the least experienced. It’s the counter staff, CAD operators, sales force and front-line workers who are the key to WSI’s success.

“I’m proud of my people,” he says. “I work for them, and I’m the boss. We all have the same philosophy: ‘We fix it.’

“Basically, we’re problem solvers.”