Educational Company Finds Efficient Fulfillment Solution at Fulco Fulfillment A relatively new start-up turned to Fulco Fulfillment Inc (FFI) to help expand and take their nonprofit educational company to the next level. After meeting with the client, we identified their product, a series of math kits that required assembling and distribution to elementary schools throughout the school year.
Many Moving Parts that Required a Powerful Technology System
One of the biggest challenges the client presented was the detailed intricacies of the kits, and the kits within the kits. The materials would need to be received in bulk from various vendors. These innovative math kits use many everyday items such as straws, plastic spoons, playing cards, dice, etc. to involve students in math activities. The client needed the flexibility of real-time online inventory and usage visibility. FFI’s leading order management system (OMS) allows our customer to view kit activity, inner kit activity, and even inquire about the information for the components in the inner kits.
Their need is unique in that they require 8 different ‘bag kits’ with enough pieces for the 16 students, designed for a single lesson and a specific age group.
The technology department had to create separate compositions for each bag and for each kit, and provide documentation that would ensure the correct kit and the correct version were being picked. Our technology department used the kit assembly manifest feature of the OMS to prepare each kit composition, and before long, we were ready to go.
Efficient Kitting Process Required for Back-to-school Preparation
We began receiving product in May and their busy season started in August, so we had about three months to get everything done. Our tech team, client server representative, and warehouse personnel worked closely every day to monitor the set-up progress. It was imperative that everyone knew what bags and kits needed to be made. Each bag gets a sticker identifying the week the bag is intended for and the accompanying pieces. All of these steps are spelled out on the kitting assembly manifest for each season and each bag, which avoids mistakes. We shipped out almost 800 kits in August in preparation for the beginning of the school year. This was roughly three months after we first met with the client.
COVID-19 Created New Kit Fulfillment Challenges
The process we developed to meet our customer’s needs was a success, and this continued until the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the process required modifications. With schools being closed or switching to remote learning, the number of traditional kits being shipped slowed down. However, our customer creatively developed many new kits and products that teachers could use remotely. Orders for these new products were “pick-and-pack,” where each order was different and customized for the recipient. This was extremely successful for our client. Again, FFI was up for the challenge; our tech team quickly revised the process, and more than a thousand orders using this new pick-and-pack method were shipped in the following few months.
FFI’s rapid response and stellar daily customer service communications have built a strong relationship and a high level of confidence with the client. The customer has commented positively on our knowledge of their products and expressed the comfort of knowing that we respond to their phone calls promptly.
FFI is Up for Your Fulfillment Challenges
If you have a product that requires intricate kitting or custom pick-and-pack configurations, we are up to the task. Call Fulco Fulfillment at 973-361-1700 to schedule a free consultation.