Salem Distributing

Salem Distributing

There’s a lot to like about Salem Distributing. An international company with locations in Winston-Salem, Toronto and Los Angeles, the company is 100-percent employee owned.
Case Study: Salem Distributing
Industry: Distribution
Service(s): Lineage Optimize & Lineage Accelerate

Challenge

The company proficiently serves four distinct but complementary industries – glass, stone, electro-optical, and ophthalmic. From polishing mirrors to preparing optics, Salem produces materials and supplies technical expertise to meet today’s industry demands.

Keeping track of and mailing invoices and statements to its roughly 2,300 customers and other vendors falls to the company’s accounts payable department. In Winston-Salem, the department’s nine team members vividly recall having to fold items and stamp them by hand. It was an unsustainable model that slowed down productivity. There was a better way: the Lineage way.

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“For so many years, it’s just been great service and dependability.”
Tina Church, Salem Distributing

Solution

For more than a decade now, Salem Distributing has utilized folder/inserters and mail machines from Lineage.

Today, they have an IN-700 mail system with weigh-in motion scale and a 30-lb. platform scale, along with a DS63 folder/inserter. In addition to making the process smoother and more efficient, it increases postage accuracy. The IN-700 can process up to 140 letters per minute. That’s especially helpful given that Salem mails out more than 1,700 items every month.

“We’ve had Lineage equipment for such a long time; I don’t like to remember what it was like before,” said Tina Church, who works in Salem Distributing’s Winston-Salem office. “For so many years, it’s just been great service and dependability. I can’t express how integral these machines have been to helping us do outstanding work.”

Achievement

Salem is a company known for its innovation and quality products. So is Lineage. The chance to pair the two for the betterment of both has been an excellent opportunity to strengthen productivity and service.

“Being able to help the good people at Salem Distributing is such a pleasure,” said Marc Smith, the Lineage sales representative who works with Church and her team. “It’s a great example of the power of a close working relationship. It has been for years – and we look forward to that continuing.”

“Everyone at Lineage has been so supportive over the years,” added Church. “They keep in touch with us on a regular basis and are always asking if we’ve got everything we need.”

Times may change. Processes may change. What doesn’t change – no matter the business – is commitment to doing things the right way and always exceeding expectations. Salem Distributing’s own website touts that it “continues to set the standard by meeting the industries’ demands for cost–effective, high-quality, innovative machinery and supplies.” Lineage is happy to help play a role – however small – in helping that happen.

“It’s all about service,” said Church. “When you do what we do, and you need the machines to do what they do, reliability is huge. We get that from our Lineage products, and it’s made a big difference. That, and the people are just so friendly. I enjoy talking with them. They’re always ready to help, and these days you notice things like that.”

Keeping surfaces smooth has helped build Salem Distributing’s success. At Lineage, keeping mailrooms running smoothly has helped create a sterling reputation. This is one case where two exceptional organizations continue to partner for greatness.