Why Material Handling Teams Clash: Two Operating Systems at Work

I've Watched This Scene Play Out at Least a Dozen Times

Picture this: A VP in his late fifties spends 20 minutes explaining why the company absolutely needs to print 500 brochures for an upcoming trade show. His marketing coordinator (mid-twenties, fresh out of college, probably wearing those minimalist sneakers that cost $180 but look like hospital shoes) keeps suggesting they "just make it a QR code people can scan."

The VP's face turns red. The coordinator looks confused. And whoever's stuck in the middle realizes: these two people aren't just disagreeing about tactics. They're speaking entirely different languages.

Welcome to the most overlooked tension in material handling: the Analog-Digital divide.

Here's What's Really Happening

Your leadership team? Mostly Native Analogs, born before the early 1980s, raised in a world where business happened face-to-face and trust was built with a handshake and a printed spec sheet.

Your younger workforce? Native Digitals, born into a world where Google has always existed, where "send me a link" is faster than "let me print that for you," and where anything that can't be updated instantly feels broken.

Neither group is wrong. But this divide is costing you more than awkward meetings.

It's affecting your marketing. Your technology decisions. And whether your customers actually get the information they need.

How Analog Minds Work (And Why They're Not Old-Fashioned)

I remember sitting in a dealer principal's office. Beautiful mahogany desk. Three-ring binders lined up perfectly on the credenza behind him. (You know the binders. The ones with those clear plastic sleeves on the spine, where you slide in a label you printed from a label maker. Not the label maker app on your phone. An actual label maker that goes "click-click-click" and spits out a strip of embossed plastic that smells faintly of the 1990s.)

He pulled out a printed customer list from 1987 and said, "Half these guys still buy from us. You know why? Because I showed up with something they could hold."

That's not nostalgia. That's a business philosophy built over decades.

Native Analogs didn't grow up with smartphones. They grew up with Rolodexes, trade magazines, and printed catalogs that customers actually kept on their desks.

Here's what they trust:

• Printed materials you can hold and hand to someone
• Face-to-face conversations where you can read body language
• Tools and processes that have worked for 20+ years

When they insist on printing something, it's not stubbornness. It's because tangible materials signal commitment in their world. A printed piece says, "We prepared. We're serious. We're not going anywhere."

And honestly? For certain customers (especially those running old-school operations where the office still has a fax machine and someone's legitimately proud of it) that still works.

How Digital Minds Work (And Why They're Not Just "Young and Impatient")

Meanwhile, I watched a service coordinator in her late twenties close a $40,000 fleet maintenance contract entirely through text messages and a shared Google Doc. The customer never spoke to her on the phone. Not once. And when the deal closed, the customer said, "This was the easiest process I've ever had with a dealer."

The coordinator showed me the text thread afterward. It was 47 messages long, full of thumbs-up emojis and screenshots. (Boomers see an emoji in a business text and think civilization is collapsing. Millennials and Gen Z see a message without an emoji and assume you're furious with them. This is the world we live in now.)

Native Digitals didn't learn to communicate through phone calls and printed memos. They learned through texts, Google searches, and instantly updated information.

Here's what they trust:

• Information that's searchable and shareable with one click
• Tools that update in real-time without needing a reprint
• Speed and clarity over formality and tradition

When they push for digital-first solutions, it's not because they're dismissing experience. It's because outdated information feels unprofessional in their world. A printed brochure with last quarter's pricing? That's not commitment. That's a liability.

And honestly? For certain customers (especially those running modern, tech-forward operations where everyone under 40 has "agile" or "synergy" in their email signature) that still works.

See the problem?

Why This Isn't Just a "Marketing Preference" Issue

This tension shows up everywhere:

Your sales team wants printed leave-behinds. Your marketing coordinator wants trackable landing pages.

Your operations manager wants a binder full of procedures. (Probably with tabs. Color-coded tabs. The kind you have to lick to make them stick, which is objectively disgusting but somehow still feels official.) Your warehouse staff wants a searchable app.

Your leadership wants a polished presentation deck. Your younger employees want a Loom video they can watch at 1.5x speed while eating lunch at their desk.

Each side thinks the other side "just doesn't get it." And they're both right.

This isn't a generational personality clash. This is a fundamental difference in how people process trust, information, and decision-making.

And it's about to get worse.

AI Is About to Make This Divide Way More Obvious

Last month, a dealer told me his marketing manager used ChatGPT to write 15 customer emails in 45 minutes. His sales director saw the emails and said, "These don't sound like us." The marketing manager replied, "But they got responses." The sales director just shook his head and walked away.

Neither person was wrong. But they couldn't even agree on what "good" looked like.

AI tools are accelerating everything. ChatGPT writes emails. (And yes, sometimes they sound like a very enthusiastic robot who just learned about "synergy" and "value-add" and cannot wait to use both words in the same sentence.) AI builders create landing pages and IC vs electric cost calculators in minutes. Automation handles follow-ups instantly.

Digital workers are adopting these tools fast because they already think this way. They see AI as a natural extension of how they operate.

Analog workers are moving slower, not because they're resistant to change, but because AI doesn't give them the physical, tangible signals they've learned to trust. You can't hand someone a printed ChatGPT conversation and feel the same confidence.

If your business doesn't bridge this gap now, you'll end up with:

• Tools only half your team actually uses
• Marketing materials that confuse instead of convert
• Customers who get inconsistent experiences depending on who they talk to

Your customer doesn't care about your internal preferences. They just want clarity, speed, and fewer headaches.

The Fix Isn't "Pick a Side." It's "Serve the Customer"

Stop asking, "What does leadership prefer?" or "What does the team want to use?"

Start asking: "What does the customer actually need?"

Because here's the truth: your best customers don't all think the same way either.

Some of them want a printed spec sheet they can mark up with a pen. (The good pens. Not the cheap ones from the bank. The ones that feel substantial and make you think you're signing something important even if you're just circling a tire size.) Others want a link they can forward to their CFO in 10 seconds. Some want both.

The smartest dealers I work with do this:

First, they build one core message that's clear, consistent, and rooted in real customer value.

Second, they deliver that message in multiple formats. Print for those who want it. Digital for those who prefer it.

Third, they make sure both formats say the same thing so no one gets conflicting information.

You're not choosing between Analog and Digital. You're designing for both.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

Let's say you're launching a new forklift preventive maintenance program.

Analog-friendly version:
A clean, one-page printed flyer with clear pricing, a simple visual, and a phone number to call.

Digital-friendly version:
A landing page with the same messaging, an embedded video walkthrough, and a "schedule now" button that syncs with your calendar.

Both versions:

• Lead with the same headline
• Highlight the same customer benefit
• Make the next step obvious

Your Analog leaders feel confident handing out the flyer. Your Digital team feels confident sharing the link. Your customer gets consistent information no matter how they prefer to engage.

Everyone wins.

You Don't Have to Solve This Alone

I work with material handling companies to cut through internal confusion and build marketing that actually works. For leadership. For the team. And most importantly, for the customer.

Here's how:

Strategy First is my process for defining what makes your dealership different. I interview your customers (not just your team) and learn what they actually value. Then I compare that to what your competitors are saying. Your strongest market position lives right there, where customer insight meets competitive opportunity.

From there, we build a message that works across every format: print, digital, video, whatever your team needs.

That's just one part of the process. Click here to see everything included.

The Analog-Digital divide isn't going away. But it doesn't have to slow you down.

Build for both. Lead with clarity. And let the customer decide how they want to hear from you.