5-10-2017, Mobile Electronics -- A bird of prey has many functions. These functions change based on the surrounding environment. To survive, the bird must rely on its instincts and natural abilities to catch food. The method of catching food, however, is almost always different. Land-based predatory birds require different strategies than water-based predators. The birds in these varying landscapes go by different names, which include fish eagle, sea hawk, river hawk, fish hawk and one other—osprey.
Much like its namesake, 12-volt retailer Osprey has earned its name by adapting to an ever-changing environment in its 32 years of doing business. The Westwood, Mass. location operates out of Boston's South Shore community, where car audio is only a fraction of its daily workload. The company goes by a different name, Boston Truck & Van, to cater to its fleet business installing ladder racks, van shelves, emergency lighting and GPS tracking. This work is done not just for small businesses like plumbing and electrical, but for local municipalities like police and DEA vehicles.
Since opening its doors, the company has adapted to declining revenue in one category by venturing full-force into another. That journey began in a completely different market, far from a standard 12-volt operation.
"In 1985, there was a new thing coming to Boston called cellular. We were the very first cellular telephone dealer in the Boston area," said Jeff Maron, owner of Osprey and Boston Truck & Van. "The book ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ is our creed. When the cheese gets moved, you have to find more cheese or you're going to die. The cellular telephone business was such a good thing that those companies (like Verizon and AT&T) opened their own stores. At that time we started doing alarms and remote starts, which became our new cheese. A little while later, my son Jason came in and said 'We are going into the stereo business with cassette players, CD changers, dealer work and personal work in customers’ cars.'"
For the last five years, the company has profited greatly by using Adrian Steel, a local supplier of ladder racks and other installation components that Boston Truck & Van uses in its fleet and B2B installation work.
"We're doing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business. Now we're off the Automile and in a new facility," Maron said. "This new facility is outstanding. Now we can house nine vehicles at a time. It has two dedicated bays for electronics and the rest dedicated to van shelving and ladder racks."
A Larger Wing Span
To be in business for 32 years means the necessities of your business will likely grow. More work means more space is needed to accommodate more vehicles. Today, the store does work with 80 car dealerships and has fleet vans lined up outside the bay with an average of seven in the bay at any given time.
"Were totally out of space and needed a bigger parking lot. By doing business with so many dealerships and different brands, whether it be Ford, Ram or Mercedes, we fish in a lot of ponds," Maron said. "It's all about needs over want. It's not a kid who wants a car stereo. It's a plumber who needs lighting in his van to work more efficiently or GPS to get to his next job. We talk about needs selling all the time."
The new location consists of 11,600 square feet of space, with 6,000 for the warehouse and garage, two showrooms of 1,500 and 800 square feet each, and the rest made up of offices, employee break room, customer waiting room, electronics stock room, four bathrooms, and a kitchen.
The store is a traditional retail shop, fully stocked with product, and offers a focused product offering that includes Kenwood, Alpine and Directed for 12-volt products, Whelen lighting for emergency vehicle lighting and Adrian Steel for ladder racks and shelves.
Located south of Boston, Mass., right off of the busy I-95 highway, the store sits in the middle of a shopping center called University Station which sees thousands of people pass through daily.
To make the shop's recent transition to its new location a seamless experience, Maron emphasized the importance of what he calls "The Five P's."
"Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. People's plans don't fail, they fail to plan. If you are working in the new facility while still cleaning out the old facility, it's good planning," Maron said. "The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary. If you plan for it, when you move into the new building it's like you've been there all along."
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