Lawrence (real name withheld, he’s not ready for the kind of instant
fame that comes from being mentioned on our blog) runs a custom clothing
silk-screening and printing business.
A few years ago Lawrence discovered the internet in a big way, and
customers from all over England have discovered him. The problem is,
Lawrence wasn’t really ready to expand as much as he has, recently. The
move from doing business on a walk-in basis from his shop to printing
and shipping hundreds of garments a week trough eBay and his own website
has led to 12 hour days and a shop, and apartment, completely full of
inventory.
“I couldn’t even have friends over – my outbound orders were piled up on my couch.”
It wasn’t long before Lawrence heard about warehousing and pick-and-pack services, and started asking around for a good provider.
It didn’t take him long to find one who knew how to advise him on how to move forward.As it turns out, 90% of Lawrence’s orders are for three t-shirt designs, so he was able to integrate his eBay and online shops with their system. Now, he spends his time dealing with walk-in customers like before, and overseeing a pair of part-time employees in the back room who make up the bulk of his inventory every week. Once a week a lorry comes from his provider to pick up the t-shirts, already boxed by type, and store them ready for ordering. When an order comes in, they handle the picking, packing, and shipping, and the money finds its way to Lawrence (minus a fee, of course).
Lawrence has actually been able to step up production, and is considering moving to bigger premises. Best of all, though, he has his life back. “It’s not just being able to see my couch again, but that is nice. It’s having time in the evening to sit on it again.”
Like Lawrence, you can reap substantial benefits by finding the right warehousing partner.
- Faster turn-around on orders
- Your inventor stored – and handled – off site
- Online ordering integration
- Dedicated, professional service
