How Swirly Curly Scaled Order Volume While Maintaining 99.9% Accurate Fulfillment

Challenges

Swirly Curly faced a number of challenges with their original 3PL partner. Performance was consistently sub-par, products were lost and never found, and communication was practically non-existent. The company eventually had enough and began seeking recommendations for a new fulfillment provider - only to find out that many ecommerce brands within its professional network were already dealing with similar challenges from their own 3PLs. Swirly Curly needed a partner that would keep its promises and actively address the challenges that growing ecommerce businesses face on a daily basis. 

Inconsistent and Unreliable Fulfillment

Swirly Curly’s last 3PL had been unable to deliver reliable order fulfillment services. SLAs were unmet on a regular basis, while in some cases, packages wouldn't arrive at their intended destination at all. Meanwhile, Swirly Curly paid premiums for speedy order fulfillment services yet still suffered consistent delays. Their 3PL provider regularly took more than a week to get orders ready and shipped - double what they were expecting. 

This reduced Keziah’s confidence in their ability to meet both ongoing and future demand. If performance struggled under normal conditions, what would happen when the business grew and experienced an increase in shipping volume?

With the company’s reputation on the line, and an inability to grow with their 3PL, Swirly Curly knew they needed to look for a 3PL partner that would understand the impact that fulfillment can have on brand perception and customer experience. 

Lack of Communication and Accountability

Swirly Curly valued the idea of having a partner ready to actively address important issues, which their previous 3PL failed to do. Because their previous 3PL had no internal customer support, Swirly Curly would have to submit a ticket any time they wanted to talk to someone about their account. These tickets would go unaddressed for several days at a time. Since customer support was not actually on site, had no access to Swirly Curly’s products within the warehouse, and wasn’t familiar with Swirly Curly’s business, achieving a resolution to any issue took even longer. Their point of contact at the previous 3PL had to relay between several teams both on and off-site in order to get basic updates. 

Accountability was another big issue. The 3PL not only lost Swirly Curly’s inventory but didn’t take the initiative to recover it or responsibility for the loss. Swirly Curly was then left in the dark on inventory status as orders continued to pour in. 

Unpredictable Shipping Rates

Swirly Curly was frustrated with their previous 3PL’s lack of pricing transparency; charges were inconsistent and came with little to no explanation. The previous fulfillment partner’s system would see orders shipped through a different carrier partner almost every day, which resulted in unpredictable and often unnecessarily high costs. 

An order containing hair accessories would result in a $5 shipping charge one day, and the next day a similar order would cost $10 to ship. These fluctuations eventually led Swirly Curly to realize they were being overcharged - well after the fact. Because there was no system in place for them to review their order fulfillment charges in real-time, many cost discrepancies went unaddressed until it was too late. 

No Flexibility

Swirly Curly invested a great amount of time and resources into developing new branded packaging and product bundles, many of which their original 3PL was unwilling to accommodate. Even if they had agreed, Keziah wasn't confident she would be able to count on them to meet their brand standards. 

Solutions

When Keziah was looking for a solution to solve Swirly Curly's fulfillment issues, she came across Shipfusion. What made the difference for her was that the initial discussion felt like much more than just a sales call, while meetings with other potential 3PL partners felt scripted.

Keziah felt like Shipfusion genuinely wanted to understand Swirly Curly’s business, its customers, and the nuances of cosmetics fulfillment. Shipfusion’s selectivity in the clients they partnered with indicated they were serious about creating a mutual partnership - something Swirly Curly would be getting for the first time.

Accurate and Timely Order Fulfillment

Timely and accurate order fulfillment was a top priority in Swirly Curly’s decision to partner with a new 3PL service provider.

Since switching, Swirly Curly has now achieved over 99.9% accurate and on-time order fulfillment with Shipfusion. Order fulfillment is now reliable and efficient, while turnaround times have been cut by more than 50% - down to two to three days over what was previously more than a week. 

One-on-One Support from a Dedicated Account Manager

Swirly Curly received access to one-on-one support from their very first day with Shipfusion. They have a dedicated Account Manager (AM) who acts as a go-to point of contact for questions, concerns, and updates. Even better, their Account Manager works on-site at the same warehouse in which Swirly Curly products are received, processed, packed, and shipped out to customers. 

This means that if any problems were to occur, their AM could easily walk into the warehouse to address the issue in real-time. Swirly Curly’s team greatly appreciates the peace of mind that comes with knowing a dedicated Shipfusion staff member is always within arm’s reach, and that the communications they receive are both timely and well-informed. 

“[Our account manager] is fantastic. We really love that portion of the service. [Dedicated account management] has given us the experience we were looking for.” - Swirly Curly

Taking Advantage of Shipfusion's Scalable Fulfillment Solutions

In early 2023, Swirly Curly had the opportunity to be featured on Good Morning America - a milestone achievement with the potential to see the brand’s popularity soar. However, it’s something that might not have been feasible without their switch to a reliable fulfillment provider. Keziah and her team knew they could rely on Shipfusion’s fulfillment capabilities and expertise and pursue their GMA promotion hiccup-free.

The seamless response to a sudden spike in order volume meant Swirly Curly’s team could focus more on strategic marketing initiatives worry-free. The fast and accurate order fulfillment also helped the brand make a positive first impression on new customers.

Adopting a New and More Transparent Pricing Model

Swirly Curly’s frustrating experience with the changing costs of their previous 3PL made pricing transparency non-negotiable when looking for a new fulfillment partner. Their contract with Shipfusion clearly outlined all costs, including storage and shipping fees. No surprise charges would be popping up later down the road, and easily accessible inventory management reports have provided an easy way for Swirly Curly to track costs in real-time. 

Swirly Curly appreciated that Shipfusion's carrier partnerships gave them flexibility over who handled their goods, as well as greater choice with respect to shipping fees and timelines. The breadth of options allows decision-makers like Keziah to adapt their logistics strategy to the business’ changing needs. 

Using Shipfusion's In-House Technology and Expertise as a Tool for Growth

Swirly Curly has been using Shipfusion’s proprietary inventory management software to predict when specific products in their inventory need to be replenished. This is game-changing during busy times such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas, but also throughout the year as the company seeks to scale. 

To that end, CEO Keziah is making strategic use of their dedicated Account Manager to help plan for future growth. In a recent discussion between the two, they explored options for scaling up Swirly Curly’s inventory and fulfillment of best-selling products, such as their hair oil. Swirly Curly was also able to use their Account Manager to leverage Shipfusion’s strong carrier relationships and negotiate favorable shipping rates. This has meant that Swirly Curly has saved on shipping costs while continuing to increase its sales across the country.

High Standards of Accountability

Swirly Curly has been reaping the benefits of Shipfusion’s consistent and reliable fulfillment services since the very beginning. They love the fact that the team is not only honest and upfront about its operations but also proactive in finding solutions. 

There’s no back-and-forth assignment of blame. Shipfusion investigates problems as soon as they’re brought to light and takes accountability if an issue occurs. That professionalism has meant the world to Keziah, who feels like they’re finally working with a partner who wants to work with them. 

“[It’s] really nice when you work with a company that's happy to help you figure [problems] out.” - Swirly Curly

Results

Since partnering with Shipfusion over three years ago, Swirly Curly has seen impressive growth in both its sales and customer base. They’ve consistently experienced an order accuracy rate of 99.9% and two to three-day processing over what used to be more than a week of lead time. 

Swirly Curly has also benefited from Shipfusion's strong relationships with carrier partners by negotiating shipping rates, resulting in cost savings on their increased order numbers. And, despite the company’s rapid expansion into other markets, the company has not had to invest in additional warehouse space thanks to Shipfusion.

"We have noticed improved shipping times and delivery times to customers and cost savings on shipment per order." - Swirly Curly