About Big Dog Warehouse, Inc.

Big Dog Warehouse, Inc., committed to bringing you the best service and value on lockers, shelving, cabinets and other storage products

Visit our On-Line Catalog to view our complete line of lockers, storage and other material handling products.

Doing it better than anyone else--Big Dog Warehouse, Inc.

The purpose of this page--"about us"--is to delineate who we are and what we do, and how Big Dog became an industry name after only four years.

We founded Big Dog Warehouse in 2004 because after surveying the internet locker and shelving industry we knew that this industry was ripe for change. Between us founding partners we had over 25 years collective internet experience, and knew a real opportunity when we saw it. In short, we saw a fragmented, screwed up industry with a lot of room for us to establish ourselves.

But a little thing was holding us back. It's called cash flow. With no capitalization, we entered the industry handicapped with lousy margins from those manufacturer who would do business with us and a "Big Dog who?" from those who wouldn't (usually companies unfamiliar with or downright inept with internet commerce). It was clear we'd have to distinguish ourselves. Volume usually does that--but you need the deep margins to do volume. Back then we had neither the volume nor the discounts. Looking back, it was a bit of a drag. But we kept pushing along, sometimes practically giving product away just to compete and hopefully draw some attention to ourselves so manufacturers would start taking us seriously.

Finally in 2006 a company called Penco Products recognized that we had potential and decided to give us a fair chance to play in the sandbox. And what we've done since then is grow--sometimes slowly, other times at a pace that's been difficult to keep up with. And though the hills have been full of challenges, it's been all uphill for Big Dog since.

You can become a recognized industry name in one of two ways: you can buy it or you can earn it. Floating our operation ourselves meant we'd have to earn it, and over time and with a lot of hard work and team effort, we did it. It's 2008 and Big Dog Warehouse is now a recognized industry name:

Customers recognize Big Dog as a hard-working, honest, knowledgeable and service-oriented distributor providing affordable solutions and outside-the-box thinking;
Competitors recognize Big Dog as "those guys" who killed high margins, dared to break the industry code of silence and told consumers what to really expect and how to protect themselves when doing business with this interesting industry.

What it all boils down to is honesty and integrity. Sure, we're in business to make money--aren't you? But we do business in this industry with our heads held high because we don't lie, we find solutions when others can't (or won't take the time to) and pride ourselves with the best customer service and knowledgeable sales crew in the industry.

Everyone in Big Dog--sales or administration--have done our time in sales and customer service. We take the time to understand the needs of our customers. Customers--not manufacturer discounts--drive our business. Perhaps that's why we have an excellent reputation (military and governmental organizations can look us up on www.ccr.gov and read our excellent customer reviews).

We put in long days, and now that locker season is here sometimes long nights as well. Parts of this market are seasonal--like lockers and bleachers. But from our humble start with Penco we now enjoy direct dealings with some of the best domestic manufacturers in the industry: Penco, All Star Bleachers, Hallowell-List, Republic Storage Systems, Jamco Products, Quantum Storage Systems, Legacy Lockers, Apache Mills (mats) and Folding Guard Corporation. And that list will be growing in 2008 as we solidify new relationships with additional top manufacturers in our industry.

We've also expanded our initial product line of steel lockers, shelving and pallet rack to include bleachers, plastic lockers, wooden and laminate lockers, commercial and industrial mats, storage bin systems, storage cabinets, service carts, bulk storage units, portable security gates and much more.

Last year, customers would get a couple quotes before deciding what distributor to buy lockers from. This years it's more like three to five quotes. Clearly consumers are shopping more carefully and looking not only for the best prices, but a distributor who will not only provide materials but will also help them plan projects and stick with them through project completion.

That's our niche. We have mastered logistics, coordinating complex installation projects and have worked with factory-authorized installers to successfully complete projects that only GCs could do before. Guess what? GCs don't particularly like us, because we are starting to cut them out of the picture because schools and businesses realize we can sell then the exact same product for a hell of a lot less, while providing the boots-on-the-ground support they need. The result time after time is a successfully completed project with a large sum of money saved for the customer.

Guess what we really want to say is that if you're looking for a distributor who will educate you and meet your project needs affordably and professionally instead of bamboozling you or simply act as an order taker, here we are. We may be a little rough around the edges but are no dummies when it comes to what it takes to earn and keep your business.

Honesty and integrity. If you find a better way to conduct business while sleeping well at night, please let us know.

We're Big Dog Warehouse, and we proudly stand 100% behind our products, team and service. And all of us were made in the USA.