“Don’t ship air.”

That’s the first piece of advice Adam Bartell gives to new shippers who are looking to optimize how they transport their goods and take advantage of every inch of space.

He has a wealth of knowledge on the topic. As the operations manager at Intelligent Blends, he’s experienced the complexity of transportation and fulfillment first-hand. Intelligent Blends is a leading manufacturer of single-serve and bagged beverages based in San Diego. Bartell oversees the company's operations across their e-commerce channels, managing a diverse product portfolio of 150-200 SKUs for both B2B and B2C markets.

We sat down with him to learn more about Intelligent Blends' shipping strategy, the key opportunity areas he's identified, and the advice he has for other businesses looking to improve their operations.

Q: Shippers sometimes treat shipping as a hindrance or a check-the-box exercise. What’s your approach?
I understand that mentality. Five years ago, we looked at shipping as an afterthought. We had fewer employees and resources devoted to it, and it wasn't a top priority. But businesses must look at their shipping apparatus and ask, “What can we do to improve this so that the customer experience is greatly improved?” There’s too much on the line.

The best place to start is look at your data. I recommend reviewing data to identify out-of-stock situations and their correlation to customer retention. Identify red flags to determine where shipping could have the most impact. Data visualization tools and AI-driven technical initiatives in the warehouse also give you operational improvements and data-driven decision-making. They can help you interpret complex data and spot trends, which improves forecasting. We use these tools to improve our shipping operations and benefit customers.

Q: What are some top opportunity areas you’ve identified that other shippers can learn from?
Speed is obviously critical in today’s operating environment. Customers, whether they are B2B or B2C, expect their products quickly. That starts by being efficient within the warehouse. We organize SKUs within our warehouses based on demand frequency so our fast-moving SKUs are easily accessible to reduce picking time.

We have also implemented cut-off deadlines for our warehouse. If an order comes in before 2 p.m., we ship it out the same day. Being efficient allows the warehouse to process things effectively, improving customer service and retention. Another solution that has worked for us is transitioning to full truckload shipments from multiple less-than-truckload shipments, saving us time and reducing costs.

But you can’t sacrifice quality for speed. Customers won’t tolerate damaged goods, and they won't buy from you again if that's what they receive. We take a lot of steps to package our loads smartly, even double or triple boxing, and we look for carriers that treat our freight like their own.

My other suggestion is to monitor KPIs militantly, such as order accuracy, shipping times, and on-time deliveries, to identify bottlenecks and eliminate “bad” days when your operations are not running smoothly. I always say the goal is to have more “good” days in shipping!

Q: You mention that you spend time forecasting. What’s your approach with it?
I recommend taking a macro-level view to get an overall understanding of the operations, then looking more closely by channel. If you’re not looking at SKU-level granularity, you will not capture those dips and peaks, and you're going to run out of stock.

Over the past two years, we’ve implemented a bi-monthly forecasting meeting. We’re primarily a hot beverage company, so SKU fluctuations are inevitable (fall is always pumpkin flavor season for us!). It's critical to track those shifts to maintain optimal inventory levels, but the same concepts apply even if you have a different level of seasonality than we do. Transitioning from monthly or quarterly forecasting to bi-weekly allows us to respond quickly to shifts in demand and ensure we have the right inventory available.

Q: You talked about how it’s important to have more “good” days in shipping. How does that help you in other aspects of your business?
When I don’t have to spend time dealing with shipping issues, I have more time to focus on strategy and the big picture. On my good days, I am digging into SKU growth, which is something we prioritize because we are constantly innovating and launching new SKUs. I also like to have time to look closely at product performance and identify week-over-week spikes. We can't afford to overlook those because they are essential to our forecasts.

We had some new SKUs recently—latte sticks and dirty chai lattes—that didn't see growth in the first two weeks, and then they exploded. We struggled a bit at first to get inventory managed and the SKUs out the door, but we at least anticipated it and were not caught off guard so that we could be much more responsive. I encourage other shippers to get their operations in order so they have more time to delve into overall performance and growth strategies.

Work with Amazon Freight
Day-to-day of shipping operations have many moving parts, and they all have to work in harmony. If you’re ready to optimize your operations with Amazon Freight, create an account and start getting quotes instantly.