New Fulfillment Center Update
Published: Thu, 09/14/23
Real quickly, we are having a little issue on our website. It will probably be fixed in an hour or two, because they are on the West Coast. The categories aren't working on the website. I asked them to fix a category thing on mobile, and of course they broke the entire category system on the entire website. I should just never ask them to fix anything lol. They always break something else when I ask them to fix something. Just so there is no confusion, my web guys have nothing to do with my New Fulfillment center. These are two separate things.
Anyway, I wanted to give everyone an update on our new Fulfillment Center.
I have been working my brains out in making this perfect for everyone, and we are almost there.
I know that I originally exclaimed that our new fulfillment center was going to ship orders out within 24 hours. However, due to having over 550 SKU's (products), it was a much bigger challenge than anyone had ever thought. It seems like we are going to end up at a 48 hour projected timeline instead of 24 hours to get orders out.
I know that there have been times where we have been a week behind during big promotional surges like the Sunflower Lecithin. However, please understand that there is a major set up and training amongst employees that had to go down in regards to the vast selection of products that we have, setting up procedures, and so on.
Also please understand, it's actually much better than our previous fulfillment center. We used to fall behind 2 weeks on orders multiple times a month. I don't want to say anything bad about my old fulfillment center, but not everyone liked me there. I wasn't treated with much respect. I was blamed for everything, which made me sad, and I was always in high anxiety and stress trying so hard to work with them. I felt helpless always being behind, not listened to, and not treated well. I had to leave.
I am hoping that what you are going to appreciate the most about this move, is that I am much happier in life with less stress and anxiety. It's really good for my health and well-being. I wish that I would have never mentioned the new shipping timelines, and that I was moving, because nobody would have even noticed a difference but only improvements. Now I am just dealing with the stress from customers saying that I promised better time lines and my order is late. If I wouldn't have said anything, this new stress wouldn't have entered into my life. I am writing endless long letters explaining all of this above. This is the main reason why I am writing this Newsletter so everyone has an understanding of what is going on, and I can finally relax.
Right now we are at the 48 hour mark and all orders beyond 48 hours have been shipped. However, there is like 5 or 6 where they need my help finding product and I'm helping them with that. The warehouse is only 6 hours from me in Georgia. Me, Angela, and the kids drove up there, and I now know where every product is located in that warehouse lol. Furthermore, I do all of the ordering of over 550 SKU's, and I have quantities and delivery dates of every single 550 items. So, I am the guy who knows where everything is. I don't know how I do it all, but it's all second hand to me. They just scored a 3rd 20,000 square foot warehouse. Once they are settled in, they will set up that electric inventory system. That is a good handful of months into the future. Once it is set, it should free me up quite a bit.
There was a situation where a small percentage of orders would get skipped, because they couldn't find the product, and a communication break down had occurred. I have put procedures into place now in order to eliminate this. I'm sorry if one of you got stuck in that mix. We only have 5 or 6 orders left in that mix now and those should be handled tomorrow.
Now that we've got procedures in place for that, we are working hard on getting it to this 48 hour mark on an ongoing basis. We are there right now. However, we all need to experience another 'End of the Month' where all the 'At-Cost' specials expire. A huge amount of people always order at the last minute. You know who you are lol. So, I am looking forward to that surge to see if we maintain the 48 hour mark. At some point, we will be at this 48 hour mark ongoing, it's just a matter of time. I hope this is it lol.
There is a chance that we will fall behind a week again in the near future. I'll continue to take the steps until that is gone. If this happens, you can write in and we'll get your order out asap, but please be patient and gentle on Jennifer and I if you can.
These guys really care about me, and are trying really hard to work with me in order to make this flow perfectly. Never in my existence, have we consistently been able to get all orders out within 48 hours. However, this is the end goal here and they are willing to do whatever it takes with me to make this happen. Trust me, I want that stress out of my life and it seems like we are almost there. I am ready to pay more money for more workers in order to make this happen if need be. We are just setting everything up right now and surveying the situation.
Furthermore, I've also been able to provide you better pricing with these guys with their packaging services, as you have seen, and will continue to see over the next few months. That's a big plus. Trust me, you don't want me to leave here lol.
I feel really good about these guys. His mom goes to Church every Sunday, and her best friend from church is the accountant. Her son that runs the show is an incredibly good kind-hearted guy. He cares so much. He doesn't believe in what his mom believes in, and I think that may be one of the reasons why I'm here lol. His mom loves me lol.
So to summarize, it's way better than it was before, and it's just going to get better and better from here on out. Most of you probably don't even think there is an issue here. The vast majority percentage of orders have shipped within 1-4 days since the beginning, which is way better than it has been.
I get that some orders fall through the cracks, just like anywhere, and yes you can come down on me for those lol. Just try not to say, "I thought that you said it was going to be better", because that really gets to me, hurts, and stresses me out. Inside I'm like, it is better. Then I end up writing an entire crazy long letter like this above explaining the entire situation. My fingers are tired from all of these letters that I have been writing lol. We'll always get you handled and taken care of guaranteed. I'm really excited to be where we are at.
All right everybody. Everyone be as gentle as you can on Mr. Matt Monarch here please lol.
By the way, I just found the best way on how to take the Sunflower Lecithin. I've been getting a lot of questions about how to take it. My next newsletter is going to share this crazy and fun information. You are going to absolutely love this Newsletter once Tuesday comes. Enjoy your weekend.
Stay tuned. I'm back, and better, and ready to go. Ok, now I'm just rambling again.
Sincerely,
Matt Monarch