One of the industry’s largest equipment manufacturers is merging the staff of its two biggest West Coast facilities.
As part of a $10 million investment in its operations, Zodiac Pool Systems, Inc. is relocating all activities from its Moorpark, Calif., office to its North American headquarters in Vista, Calif. The move will bring together the administrative staffs of the company’s manufacturing and distribution departments.
The Moorpark office, which belonged to the manufacturer Jandy before it was purchased by Zodiac, has been in continual use since 1988. Zodiac treated the facility as a site for storing parts prior to assembly.
Approximately 230 jobs — comprising roughly 30 percent of Zodiac’s total staff — will be relocated to the Vista facility starting in April. There, they will join an existing workforce of more than 400 employees.
“We’re bringing all of our teams under one roof,” said Troy Franzen, Zodiac’s executive vice president. “We want to create one common culture, going forward.”
This consolidation is only one step in a series of planned expansions and initiatives affecting Zodiac’s customer support, sales operations, supply chain, and manufacturing-and-distribution groups.
To address the needs of its growing customer support and sales teams, Zodiac is deploying a digital customer relationship management (CRM) toolkit. The software includes real-time access to sales data, which will allow Zodiac’s sales staff to tailor new product rollouts to the latest needs of their markets.
The manufacturer also is rolling out a suite of new online tools for supply chain management.
Zodiac is now in the process of restructuring its North American shipping network to keep up with growing order volume. The company is enlarging its eastern distribution center in Memphis, Tenn., and is currently searching for a Southern California location to house a new West Coast distribution center. Unlike the Moorpark facility, which was primarily used for staging pre-assembly parts, these two centers will store completed products that are ready for distribution.
“From now on, all our shipping will be geographically based,” Franzen said. “It’s going to make us that much better in terms of service.”
In addition, Zodiac’s dealer network can also look forward to upgraded digital tools. The company is automating its customer loyalty program, which was formerly known as “Club P” and was recently renamed “Zodiac Premium,” to associate it more strongly with Zodiac’s brand name.
