About Balsam Hill
Balsam Hill is the leading provider of high-quality, realistic artificial Christmas trees and related décor. All Balsam Hill products are shipped direct to consumers from one of 8 regional distribution centers in the U.S. Staci Americas has operated the company’s Southeast DC since 2007.
Staci Americas Helps Direct Seller Balsam Hill
Balsam Hill’s fulfillment challenge can be summed up in one word: SEASONAL. While products ship all year round, 90% of the volume ships between October and January. According to the company’s VP of Operations, Bernie Leas, that presents some real challenges.
“For fulfillment partners, it’s difficult to manage highly seasonal distribution and do it profitably. We recognize this and manage the economics of the arrangement so that it’s a sustainable, ‘win-win’ partnership.”
“It wouldn’t be economical for us to build our own warehouse network, and it’s a challenge to find fulfillment companies willing to work with such a high degree of seasonality. But we’ve developed a model with Staci Americas and others that works.
Containers destined for the Staci Americas warehouse start to flow in from China in May and June via the Port of Savannah. Outbound shipments increase in September and October and orders spike severely in November and December.
Key To Success
SCALABILITY
With the new voice pick system in full operation, 32 Degrees shipped more B2C orders on July 4th than it did on the previous Cyber Monday. Fulfillment is no longer a barrier to growth.
ADAPTING BASED ON SKU-SPECIFIC FORECASTS
With the new voice pick system in full operation, 32 Degrees shipped more B2C orders on July 4th than it did on the previous Cyber Monday. Fulfillment is no longer a barrier to growth.
PARCEL SAVINGS
A change from USPS to FedEx SmartPost using Staci Americas' lower rates yielded substantial parcel savings.
CLOSE COMMUNICATION
The relationship is highly collaborative. “Staci Americas acts on the information we provide – not all 3PLs do,” says Lunden. And 32 Degrees will change its processes in response to an Staci Americas request. For instance, 32 Degrees worked with its overseas vendors to group like SKUs together when loading containers. This significantly reduced unload and sort times at the warehouse.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
PICK ACCURACY
Artificial Christmas trees, although they last for a very long time, are used only for a short period. If a shipped order is incorrect, the customer will likely cancel the order. Staci Americas' quality process includes a label scan to automatically validate that the product that is ordered is what ships.
VARIABLE RATE STRUCTURE
Balsam Hill pays only for the space and services the company uses in a given month, so logistics costs parallel the company’s revenue
stream.
FLEXIBLE STAFFING
When Balsam Hill orders spike, Staci Americas makes strategic use of temporary labor and cross-trained staff from other accounts to assist.
FAST FULFILLMENT
Orders received before 1 pm ship the same day. According to Leas, “Consumers who click the BUY button have been conditioned by Amazon to expect a tracking number within 2 hours and delivery within 2 days. Staci Americas' Atlanta location lets us hit the whole Southeast market in 1–2 days via economical ground transportation.”
RESULTS
Improved Scale and Quality
In the last 6 months, order volume has increased 150% with improved operational performance.
Improved Order Accuracy
Improved order accuracy from 90%-95% with the former provider to nearly 100% with Staci Americas.
Saved Parcel Shipping Costs
Saved 50% on parcel shipping costs after the initial shift to Staci Americas' parcel management program.
Balsam Hill estimates that its seasonal fulfillment solution with Staci Americas saves the company well into 6 figures each year versus managing the project on its own.
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