Podcasts

Ep. 5: How Deposco Grew The Daily Grace’s Shopify Business

Episode 5 of Bright Perspective kicks off a new series: The Supply Chain Diaries: WMS Edition, where we will be speaking with leaders in the supply chain about their warehouse management system (WMS) buying journey. Today's guest is The Daily Grace Co., an ecommerce seller of gospel-centered resources, to discuss the tremendous growth they have experienced as a result of implementing Deposco's ecommerce solutions.

Overview

If you’re an ecommerce business, you know the agony of having 3X more orders than your WMS software can keep up with. In the beginning, your first reaction is to buy a minimum-viable product — a WMS system that is affordable and can essentially sustain your day-to-day warehouse operations.

But then, growth happens.

You quickly realize that all the manual work and inventory systems not talking to each other cause orders and pick lists to go missing. Shipping costs slip out of control. Inefficiencies in quality control, rate shopping, pick-pack-ship, and more prompt the need for something much more. Something offering a sophisticated level of ecommerce order fulfillment software that delivers modern automation, adaptability, and control.

That was the story of today’s guest, The Daily Grace Co., before they partnered with UPS and Deposco to consolidate into one robust warehouse software system for ecommerce fulfillment.

What is the ROI of an ecommerce WMS?

This episode walks through the ecommerce WMS software behind their successes. Using Deposco, The Daily Grace Co. has unlocked modern warehouse management system functionalities, such as automated rate shopping, binning, and scan validation.

These processes, in conjunction with a best-of-breed warehouse system implementation team, have led The Daily Grace to a 6.5X increase in top-line revenue and 275% rise in daily orders fulfilled, with 99.97% order accuracy. Through significant time and resource savings, they are now able to expand to warehouses across the country, as well as fulfilling orders internationally.

Want to learn more about the ROI of their ecommerce warehouse managing system investment? Jump to The Daily Grace Co. success story.

EPISODE NOTES

Carina
Welcome to the Bright Perspective Podcast! I’m Carina Wingel and in this first episode of the series, I’m joined by Logan Brewer, Director of Warehouse and Logistics at The Daily Grace Co. Thanks so much for joining me today!

Logan
Hey, it’s a pleasure. Thanks for having us on.

Carina
I’m excited to dive into learning more about The Daily Grace Co. For those listening, tell us, who is The Daily Grace? What do you guys do?

Logan
The Daily Grace Co. is an ecommerce seller of gospel-centered resources. One of our unique qualities is creating products that are beautiful, theologically rich, and accessible to all people.

Carina
How did the business get started?

Logan
We have two founders, Kristin Schmucker and Jeremy Schmucker. They’re a married couple with 6 children, one of whom was a stillborn named Sophia. That experience is where our business originates.

Kristin was writing in her journal about what she was going through and was able to share some of that with other women in our area. Her thoughts in the journal inspired the creation of our first Study, as The Daily Grace Co. We’ve just grown immensely out of that one Study and through the life of Sophia.

Carina
Wow, what a beautiful way to come out of that situation and help others. Very inspiring.

You guys have been growing like crazy. When looking at warehouse systems in the beginning, obviously the Company couldn’t ship out of a garage or house much longer with the growth it was experiencing. What key factors were you looking for in your warehouse management operations?

Logan
Back then, Jeremy and Kristin ran everything. They were looking for ecommerce WMS software that was affordable, and essentially sustainable day-to-day. They started out of their basement and eventually grew into what is now 2 warehouses – one that’s for overflow and one that is operational. In the beginning, a basic inventory system or two was all they thought they needed.

Carina
That’s where a lot of small businesses start, in the basement looking for a solution that can get them out of that space and into a warehouse. That’s an area a lot of people struggle with when starting an ecommerce business on marketplaces like Shopify.

Logan, when you came on board, what did inventory fulfillment look like in the systems you were using?

Logan
We started from the beginning with SkuVault and ShipStation, kind of a combined effort on that front, to fulfill our orders. That carried us until I started in 2020. It was sufficient at first, but then growth exploded and we had to come up with a solution for that.

Carina
What were some of those challenges that you were facing then?

Logan
There were a lot of manual tasks we had to do, which are now automated with Deposco, such as pick waves. We use a picking cart that has 20 bins on it. Each bin is an order. Now that we use Deposco, those 20 orders are allocated into a wave.

Before, we had to manually wave those, selecting 20 orders, going down, and making sure that nobody was picking a duplicate wave. That happened several times, which was super frustrating because then we’d have to put products back.

Packing slips were placed in every bin. Deposco has allowed us to pick the bin, which has disregarded the whole process of placing packing slips and bins to communicate between SkuVault and ShipStation for our pickers to shippers.

Logan
Deposco’s WMS enabled us to automate an entire quality control role. Now, this task is placed into the shipper’s role to fulfill that. Deposco allowed us to put more of those people who were on that task into different positions – whether that’s more pickers, more shippers, or what have you.

Those are the kinds of day-to-day functions that we saw as challenges, but now we’ve been able to free up people for other things, thanks to the system’s automation functionalities in Deposco.

Carina
I know those manual tasks can take a lot of time. It seems to be a common issue that a lot of rapidly growing businesses eventually run into when they hit their maximum capacity. Was there an order limit, or maximum, where you would say that these manual processes really started to cause issues?

Logan
Yeah. One example that comes to mind is around Christmas of 2020. Our peak season is during the Advent launch in October and, like most ecommerce WMS platforms, business explodes around then in preparation for the holiday season.

So in Christmas of 2020, we saw 8,000 to 9,000 orders enter the queue. Until then, we’d seen order fulfillment volumes of only 1,000 a day (if we were lucky).

Looking at that many orders in the queue, with that many customers to please, those orders just sat there for days – sometimes a week. It was really frustrating for our customers and us.

We had people working overtime. I was working 60 to 70 hours a week as an hourly employee, which was insane. But it was the only way we could keep up with our volume.

It was absolute chaos just trying to use the processes that we had and to plan. Our inventory fulfillment processes weren’t sustainable for growth.

Carina
You want to deliver faster. I understand that you guys had some issues connecting to and syncing inventory between Shopify and 2 other systems. Could you tell me more about that?

Logan
Sure. There were some issues between SkuVault, ShipStation, and Shopify all trying to work together. Deposco has helped us immensely by putting our picking and shipping under one umbrella.

Before then, we would have missing shipments, combined shipments, and missing packing slips. Things like that. We were putting time and effort into places where we didn’t need to. I think a lot of it came from the manual quality control aspect. Now we’ve been able to disregard that whole role.

Our quality control task was to take all the products out of the bins that had been picked and recheck them to make sure the correct product was in the bins. There was no over-product or product that wasn’t there. I think the more people you get to touch your products before they go out the door, the more mistakes are bound to happen.

We realized we had to fix the issue of SkuVault, ShipStation, and Shopify not working well together. Shipments were going missing, quality control was combining shipments, or we were losing the little packing slips.

There were also a lot of moving parts with the quality control process. We were trying to improve our accuracy; but at the end of the day, our accuracy was failing due to too many hands in the cookie jar.

Carina
Having too many hands increases the risk of human error, for sure.

In looking at a new system after that moment of, “Oh my gosh; we cannot go through another Christmas like this”, what were some of the factors that were important to you guys as a growing business?

Logan
Ultimately, we were just looking for simpler warehouse systems that were going to make us more efficient.

The first thing we needed desperately was a shipping management solution with automatic rate shopping. All of our shippers were going through ShipStation, manually and checking the shipping rates of priority mail, First-Class, UPS Ground posts, and what have you. They had to manually research the best option for every single package. With that kind of volume, getting an automated process would ultimately create much more business value there.

The second thing we were looking for was a process for our pickers to eliminate that quality control aspect of creating a better flow in our warehouse. SkuVault just didn’t offer the kinds of features and functionalities we needed.

We had ideas in mind of things we wanted and needed to implement, but the systems we had were not capable of supporting those ideas.

Carina
Sounds like that’s where The Daily Grace Co. really hits your limit. You’re looking up every order because, as a small business, you want to save on shipping the best you can for the customer, yet still provide the best experience.

And the time and effort of having to rate shop manually… It sounds like you guys just hit those walls in a hurry. It was a new year and a new time for assistance.

Logan
Yeah, for sure. We definitely hit a ceiling that we could not break through for a while.

Carina
During that process, where did you guys start looking for better warehouse system functionality?

Logan
The process for us was probably a lot different than many other companies. For us, we had a UPS warehouse engineer come into our facility to re-evaluate our processes. What looked good? What needed improvement? He made several suggestions.

One recommendation was to move away from SkuVault and ShipStation to Deposco, putting warehouse management under one umbrella. That’s how we heard about Deposco.

It was a super-simple buying process. We didn’t look at many competitors; we were almost set on our logistics partner’s recommendation. That was in June. Our conversation with Deposco started to take place in July, which was fairly quick.

Carina
So why were you able to depend on that recommendation? What was your relationship with them like then, as a small business?

Logan
Our logistics partner has helped us immensely in several processes. They’ve set us up with different vendors to help us improve.

For example, we used to use packing peanuts, which was an absolute mess at the end of the day. Our customers loved it, but our shippers did not. Allowing us to move away from that and use sealed air pillows has helped our efficiency at ship stations.

Carina
Going through their recommendation of Deposco, how was that buying process for you?

Logan
We’ve had great relationships with our partner representatives, who have guided us thoroughly, making sure we are being taken care of. That’s a huge piece of making this happen. Not only was Deposco going to be helping us, but they stepped in and, together, they made sure we were getting what we wanted.

Was the functionality going to be exceptional for us? Did we have room for growth? Our representatives had seen where we’d been, packing-wise, and where we were going. Seeing the forecast, they knew what we needed, and Deposco was that solution for us.

Carina
That makes sense. Your logistics partner is such a trusted partner for a lot of businesses. That’s the first partner for many smaller businesses that are growing because you have to ship out your products.

Having gone through that buying process, what advice would you give to someone going through the same thing now?

Logan
If you think your processes are stagnant and you cannot keep up with your growth, switch immediately.

That was one of our hindrances. We were trying to function on legacy systems that were barely holding on for us. We’ve switched our mindset now from being reactive to proactive. That has really helped us in not just trying to fix the problems we already have but looking ahead at problems we might see in the future.

Some of the upgrades that Deposco is giving us will really set us up. Maybe we don’t need those WMS capabilities right now, but making room for them early is going to help us in the future. When we do need them, we’re not scrambling at the moment for another solution.

Carina
And all that data, you get to keep as forward.

Logan
That’s exactly right. I will say that as a transition, it’s going to be difficult. However, 2 months into a Deposco WMS implementation, you can look back and say, “Wow, this was well worth it”.

We’re so glad we made that transition. Even though you’re going to have bugs, you just have to roll with the punches because once you get through them, you will be very happy with your choice of Deposco.

Carina
How did the implementation go for The Daily Grace Co.?

Logan
We did a full implementation from our starting conversation with Deposco to go-live in just 2 months, which is very quick. We had Advent season ahead, which is where peak season starts. Being able to get in about a month early allowed us to work out all the bugs and fixes before that season started.

Probably the biggest thing is mapping out what specifically your needs are to ensure the implementation goes smoothly.

Carina
What results have you seen since implementing Deposco’s platform?

Logan
There are numerous benefits that we can talk about. Shipping efficiencies and accuracy have increased drastically for us since implementing Deposco. The more fluent systems keep it all under one umbrella.

The pick-and-ship functionality has gotten our fulfillment times down under 0.7 days this year. We are fulfilling orders in less than a day, which also allows us to put business rules in place specifically for shipping couriers, which we didn’t have before.

That goes into rate shopping as well, a functionality where Deposco has really helped us. If it’s under a pound, it’s going this way; if it’s 1-2 pounds, it’s going this; if over 2 pounds, it’s XYZ. Putting those business rules in place has helped us immensely with faster delivery times.

We are sitting under 5 days, whereas before were at 7 or 8 days. Looking at couriers and knowing that we can utilize those as an option, but keeping them cheaper and offering the best transit time, are all crucial variables for our customers. They’re super satisfied with what’s coming to their doors.

Carina
I think that’s the key to any small business owner: “How can I make my customers happier? How can I keep them coming back?” And, the supply chain, especially in this past year, has been very much at the forefront of that customer experience.

Amazon has made it so that consumers ‘want it same day’. They expect the same service as Prime Days from small businesses, and that’s not something that every business can do. But it is becoming the new standard that everyone must meet.

Logan
Yeah, it is very difficult.

Another benefit we’ve seen since the Deposco implementation has been growth in our order fulfillment volume. As I said before, we were sitting at 800 to 1,000 packages a day, and now we are comfortable shipping 2,000 to 2,500 a day during our peak season, with just a couple of days of overtime.

For the first time ever, we shipped 3,000 packages in a day, a huge milestone for us. So if you look back at our numbers in 2021 and 2022, we’ve almost tripled our shipment throughput due to Deposco’s ecommerce WMS making things more efficient and accurate.

Carina
And that’s with basically the same staff. Maybe one or two more. But it’s not like you guys doubled in staff. You just doubled order fulfillment!

So what’s next for The Daily Grace Co.?

Logan
At The Daily Grace Co., we are very quick to move. We like things done quickly. The best time to do something was yesterday. So we’re always looking for improvements.

Two of our core values are innovation and adaptability. We’re always looking for ways to improve our systems and make them better than they were the day before. With that comes adaptability. People have to look at the new WMS and say, “Hey, this is how we’re going to fit into that system”.

We’re always looking for improvements — one of which is having Deposco help us place some of our products in a 3PL in other countries. Right now, we’re specifically looking at the United Kingdom and Canada to get our international orders into those 2 regions, and out to our customers quicker and cheaper.

We are also opening a second location in Houston, which will be our headquarters. That facility will hopefully be up and running in 2 to 3 years. Jeremy, the founder is moving in this January.

We are super excited about what that holds down there and kind of having our own space. Our own warehouse. It’s going to be massive to roll out the new Deposco features that we are implementing here.

Carina
What are some of those features you’re looking at as you make that expansion?

Logan
Right now, we are in the middle of an upgrade to Deposco Bright Suite. We have lots of features that we and our reps are working hard to get implemented.

One is an Amazon integration. Deposco’s WMS software integrations pull in Amazon point-of-sale (POS) automatically. We have a workaround system with Deposco right now where we can fulfill those orders. Automating those functions will pool 3 or 4 people out of that job specifically as far as shippers go, but then it goes back to operations, pooling, NPOs, accepting POS, confirming them, making sure quantities are correct, etc.

Another feature in Amazon that we hope to accomplish is tracking that inventory. Kind of using another virtual facility. We are also going to start utilizing cartonization, which is going to allow shippers to grab a box that the computer tells them to, rather than saying, “Oh, it might fit in”.

It’s going to make the pick-pack-ship process even more efficient and simple. We’ve just implemented a first in first out (FIFO) feature for our products as well, which allows us to get out the older products, or products with publishing errors, first. We’re excited about those things.

Those are just a few things in the works right now, but we have tons on our change request form for Deposco to start working on. It’s super-exciting stuff that’s going to be great for our growth.

Carina
It sounds like you guys have a lot of plans and a lot of things going.

Logan
Absolutely always here at The Daily Grace Co.!

Carina
Thanks so much, Logan for joining me today. I’ve really enjoyed our conversation and learning about Daily Grace. This is definitely a story to which a lot of small businesses can relate. I’m really excited about what’s in the future for you guys.

Logan
Absolutely. It’s always a privilege to share our success story, see where we are, where we’ve been, where we’re going, and be able to share that with others. Thank you for the opportunity and we hope that Deposco will continue to be a great partner for us!

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