Planning for Growth

Mark: Growing While Protecting Margins

Like other smart online entrepreneurs, Mark Stern focused his retail business on a high demand, niche product - potty training for puppies and adult dogs. Mark enjoyed explosive sales growth. What he didn't enjoy was the mess that came with success, particularly the hassles of storage, inventory and shipping. But in order to grow he needed to expand his storage space even further. However, the added costs would threaten his profit margins.

Then he found Shipwire on the web. Shipwire offers an outsourced, automated, plug-and-play storage and shipping solution made for growing businesses like his. Shipwire enabled Mark to streamline his business and focus on growing. "The lynchpin," he says, no start-up costs and Shipwire was very up-front with pricing. It made me feel comfortable that we could scale our business."

"In so doing, I eliminated a lot of headaches and growing pains when I started using Shipwire..including the 3,000 square foot warehouse - and all the stress that went along with it," he notes happily.

Enter into New Markets

Chris: Chooses an Easy Path for U.S. Expansion

C. Pallaske, Managing Director of VoxMicro, expected expansion of his UK wireless products business to take some time and effort. With Shipwire he was ready in about 20 minutes. "I could not believe how easy it was to configure," Pallaske says. "It took just a few clicks for us to sign-up with Shipwire, and be ready to manage inventory and shipping." Shipwire's simplicity of administration opened up an easy path to growth for VoxMicro. All inventory management and shipping could now be handled directly on the VoxMicro website, including adding products, sending merchandise, automating order entry, sending confirmation emails, and providing order status. "Management is a snap, we even got orders automated from our Web site to the warehouses very quickly," notes Pallaske.

Now that they are plugged into Shipwire's U.S. warehouse network, Voxmicro can expand its wireless business throughout the US. "Our wireless products help people manage their lives and business from wherever they want," notes Pallaske. "Now Shipwire helps us manage our shipping and storage with ease and simplicity, right from our website."

Outsource a Headache

Ben: More Profit & More Time

Ben Jones wanted to expand his 7-year old, web-based, herbal supplements and vitamins business, but was wary of the consequences. "I was already stretched thin, managing storage, shipping, and warehouse employees, printing labels, and running our website." Investigation showed Ben that traditional warehouse expansion "would have put profits out of reach, not to mention run me ragged." An unhealthy situation for someone who values health and personal happiness. Ben found a natural solution for growth in Shipwire's storage and shipping solution. With Shipwire he could scale up his business with less time and effort. "Because of Shipwire I now have more time to focus on growing sales and actually get time with family and friends," he says.

Shipwire not only restored a healthy balance to his life but also led to an even healthier balance sheet. "With my own warehouse it seemed that increases in orders actually reduced profit margin on a per order basis. With Shipwire it is crystal clear that increases in sales result in lower per shipment costs." He adds, "We chose Shipwire as they seemed to get it! I've got nothing but good things to say about Shipwire."

Help! My Web Store Stole My Life

Don: Getting his life back

Travel excites Don Chernoff. That's one of the reasons he founded Skyroll, a company that makes light-weight, compact, elegant luggage. The only problem was Chernoff was so busy he didn't have time to do any traveling himself. So while his business was taking off, he was stuck on the tarmac. "It was really frustrating to have orders come in online and then I would have to come in and spend all day printing labels, calling the shipping company and coordinating product delivery."

"Where was the Internet to help me get my day back?" He found the answer with Shipwire. According to Chernoff, "Before I found Shipwire, I looked at everything from mini-storage to existing warehouse and fulfillment solutions, and it seemed like I was blocked at every turn ... long-term contracts, startup fees, commitments ... it was full of hassles I didn't want. Shipwire made my storage and shipping problems go away," he says, "and made it easy to get our PayPal store completely automated with the warehouse and fulfillment parts of our business. When I found Shipwire I felt like the last piece of our Internet business had snapped into place."