Blog Posts Saddle Creek Scales Operations 400% to Handle Pura Vida Black Friday Sales
It’s widely known that Black Friday through Cyber Monday are the biggest shopping days of the year. It’s certainly the most wonderful time of the year for Pura Vida Bracelets. When they first reached 15,000 orders on Black Friday a few years ago, they realized they had made it to the big leagues. And that was just the beginning.
How do they handle the dramatic influx of orders? They count on Saddle Creek for order fulfillment.
Fine-tuning Fulfillment for the Holidays
Handmade by homeless artisans in Costa Rica, Pura Vida’s bracelets have helped to take many out of poverty. When the bracelets caught on fire in ecommerce and B-to-B sales channels, owners Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman realized they needed an experienced fulfillment partner and brought Saddle Creek on board.
They particularly value Saddle Creek’s ability to manage their order fulfillment, inventory management and logistics during the holidays. This year, sales for Pura Vida doubled the amount of that for 2015’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. In the 11 days after Thanksgiving, Saddle Creek completed 10,000 more orders than those from September and October combined.
To handle the increased volume, Saddle Creek increased the number of shifts by 400 percent and expanded staffing to include temporary and part-time associates. The team also changed the floor plan to double picking capacity and spread out high-velocity SKUs to streamline order flow. Operations went from working traditional ten-hour days, five days a week, to 24/7 workflow for 11 straight days.
Saddle Creek’s most effective enhancement was the addition of a cloud-based warehouse and inventory management system. The state-of-the-art system helps to ensure optimal efficiency, improve visibility, and accommodate a variety of order profiles under one roof. Best of all, it has enabled Saddle Creek to process orders 8 to 10 percent faster.
That’s no small feat. Pura Vida’s product line has expanded to include approximately 1,500 SKU’s. Fulfilling orders is an especially labor-intensive process since each item is inserted in its own branded canvas bag. Orders are shipped in poly mailers with marketing inserts.
Pura Vida says their fulfillment partner has performed flawlessly. “Saddle Creek has really blown us away with their expertise, their professionalism, and how fast they get our orders out,” Thall says.
Saddle Creek’s seamless systems integration, flexible space and staffing, and in-depth understanding of fulfillment best practices give Pura Vida the scalability to grow as holiday order volume continues to climb.
To learn more about Saddle Creek’s partnership with Pura Vida, watch the video.