Opportunity
Sugarfina is a fast-growing multi-channel retailer of high-quality artisanal candies. eCommerce, retail and wholesale orders are processed at their distribution center in Los Angeles. Moving into the busy 2018 holiday season, they needed to significantly increase their order fulfillment capacity to prepare for the expected demand.
Challenge
For high-growth product companies, determining how and when to scale fulfillment operations ahead of sales is often a challenge. With Q4 sales forecasted to quadruple year-over-year, Sugarfina required a larger, more efficient inventory layout, in addition to new control software to manage the process. We were under a tight 8-week timeline to launch these solutions prior to Black Friday 2018.
Solution
We began by conducting a sales analysis in order to position products by velocity for efficient order picking. We designed a new layout that increased the pick bin capacity in addition to the number of simultaneous order pickers. OzLINK pick-to-scan software was implemented to increase order picking throughput and accuracy. Analyses and upgrades to order fulfillment operations of this type would be beneficial to any eCommerce company facing high-growth order forecasts ahead of peak holiday shipping.
Results
Fulfillment capacity increased by 500%, with an increase in the number of simultaneous order pickers by 400%. On-time holiday deliveries exceeded 99% after implementation of the new operating system. Order fulfillment SLAs and customer expectations would not have been met without these changes.
About Us
We're former startup operators with deep experience in logistics, order fulfillment, warehousing, supply chain and inventory control. We’ve helped multiple high-growth product companies locate capable fulfillment partners, optimize warehouse efficiency, upgrade operations technologies and improve overall operating performance.