Every kid in America,
Liked Christmas a LOT,
The warehouse team,
Who had to manage peak every year,
DID NOT!
It could be their heads weren’t screwed on right,
It could be, perhaps, their shoes were too tight!
But I think that the most likely reason of all,
Was that they had no mobility – at all!
But, whatever the reason,
Be it mobility or their shoes,
They ran ragged all year,
Filling orders for you…
Staring into the aisles,
With an overwhelmed frown,
A thousand picks to go,
‘Twas no time to clown!
For they knew every kid,
In American and beyond,
Was dreaming of that morning
When they awoke to find,
Their wishes come to life,
And parents losing their minds!
Then they had an idea,
With their fingers nervously drumming,
“We must find a better way
To keep tendonitis from coming!”
For next week they knew,
All their elbows and knees,
Would ache bright and early,
Forcing more breaks to appease!
And then! The Steps! Steps! Steps!
That’s the one thing they hated,
The Steps! Steps! Steps!
Then the staff, young and old,
Would sit down on their break.
And when they’d go back, the joints would
Ache! Ache! Ache!
And on top of the personal ache,
To feet and other joints,
The poor productivity, was
Costing everyone coin!
This was something
They liked least of all!
Every worker on the floor,
The tall and the small,
Would walk down the aisle,
Back and back again,
Just to fetch some labels,
For the packages they send.
And the more they thought
Of this wasteful productivity flop
The more they thought
The wasted steps must stop!
“Why, for too many years,
We’ve put up with it now!
We MUST stop wasting all these steps!
…..But HOW?”
Then they got an idea!
An AMAZING idea!
The Team
Got a WONDERFUL, AMAZING IDEA!
“I know JUST what to do!”
The manager laughed in her throat.
And she made a quick call, then put on
her hat and coat.
And the team chuckled, and clucked,
“What kind of management trick?
With her red coat and hat,
She looks just like Saint Nick!”
“What’s next, a REINDEER?”
The team looked around while having a laugh,
But when they her return,
They realized their gaffe!
Did that stop the manager?
No! She simply said,
If we could not make one,
We’d buy one instead!
She had called up St. Nick
Who had his connection.
“I’ll hook you up” he said,
With Newcastle Systems.
Then she spoke with the team
At the office in Haverhill,
They knew the EXACT right thing,
To help the weary team fulfill….
And with the order “Giddap!”
The team did their thing,
They packed up the crates,
And gave her phone a ring.
The manager answered in the dark after hours,
Suspense filled the air,
Her team was dreaming sweet dreams for a solution to be there
When they returned to their shift, their worn shoes feeling despair.
Just hours later - “This is it!” the Elven Truck Driver whispered,
As he climbed on the Dock,
Where his goods were to be delivered.
Then he threw up the cargo door,
And did not even flinch,
“You’re gonna like this” he said,
“This will be a cinch!”
Newcastle’s Elves took their time,
For a moment or two,
The manager stuck her head around to peek,
One time, maybe two?
Where the printers once were lined up
All in a row,
Were now just some empty tables, their purpose no longer known.
Newcastle’s Elves then slunk to the office
And made all the laptops
Disappear in an abyss,
They took scanners, monitors, and even the labels!
Even for the digital scale – they curried no favor!
They cleaned out those stationary devices,
Quick as a flash.
Then, the Newcastle Elves took a break of Who-hash!
When they finished, they got up on their Elf shoes with glee,
“And Now!” they all grinned, you just wait and see!
When they hid behind the shelves, a sound they did hear.
It started in low. Then it started to grow…
But this sound wasn’t sad,
Why, this sounded merry!
But of course it would be,
“Woo hoo!” shouted Mary.
The team stared down the aisle,
The manager popped her eyes.
They all shook with excitement, it was a shocking surprise!
Every team member in Building 5,
The tall and the small,
Was singing! Because today would hardly have any steps at all!
The Elves HADN’T taken all their devices,
THEY STAYED!
Somehow or other, IT WAS MOBILITY THEY MADE!
And the manager, with her own tired feet,
Arriving at work through the snow.
Stood puzzling and puzzling,
“How could it be so?”
“It came very sturdy,
It came with great shelves,
It came with ITS OWN POWER?
It came from Newcastle’s ELVES?
It came with rugged casters,
Ergonomic features and more,
It came so many accessories,
I won’t leave my drink behind anymore!
They puzzled for minutes, but
did not puzzle more.
They realized they could do things,
They never could before!
“Maybe Christmas” they thought,
“doesn’t have to make us sore.
Maybe peak season…perhaps…
We could do even more!”
And what happened then…?
Well…in Building 5 they say
That the team’s KPIs,
Improved THREE times that day!
And the minute their shoes didn’t
Feel quite so tight,
They whizzed through their shift,
To finish before deadline
The kids got all their toys!
The adults the packages they expected!
And the team…
…They themselves…
Enjoyed their break with families a whole lot more rested!
