OVERVIEW

“You’d think one of our first business purchases would’ve been a 3-D printer. It was actually a thermal label maker.”

Xmount360, a company specializing in innovative mounting solutions, faced significant fulfillment challenges that threatened their growth. Despite their success in design and prototyping, their most essential early purchase wasn’t a 3-D printer but a thermal label maker—a testament to the logistical hurdles they anticipated. The company’s geographic location in Hawaii compounded these challenges, leading to high shipping costs, delayed deliveries, and negative customer feedback.

CHALLENGES

1. High Shipping Costs: Xmount360 was hit with shipping charges twice—first to get products from China to Hawaii, and again to resupply Amazon on the mainland. This doubled the logistics costs, cutting into their profit margins.
2. Missed Opportunities with Amazon: Due to being outside Amazon’s preferred locations, Xmount360 couldn’t take advantage of the shipping deals Amazon offers, which further exacerbated their shipping challenges.
3. International Shipping Delays: The majority of Xmount360’s website customers were in Europe, making Hawaii one of the most distant shipping points possible. Products had to traverse the mainland before heading to Europe, often resulting in significant delays. Automated emails requesting feedback would sometimes prompt reviews from international customers who hadn’t yet received their products, leading to poor ratings that affected the company’s reputation.
4. Fulfillment Delays: Even after setting up a fulfillment location in New Jersey, Xmount360 faced delays when resupplying inventory. Products took a long time to reach the fulfillment center, and it could take 2 to 3 weeks for the inventory to be processed and ready for shipment, particularly during peak seasons.
5. Low Priority During Peak Seasons: During the holiday season, Xmount360’s fulfillment partner deprioritized their orders due to the company’s size, effectively halting fulfillment and causing further delays.
6. Eroded Profit Margins: With high shipping costs and delays, especially for resupplying Amazon and fulfilling international orders, Xmount360’s margins were severely impacted. Despite having a strong product and the opportunity to offer synergistic products through white labeling, the cost of shipping to and from Hawaii sometimes left them with little to no profit.

“I’m scaling my music studio business and competing with bigger players, but the logistics were overwhelming—tracking inventory, meeting shipping regulations, and packaging consistently. mpaqt provides practical solutions to keep operations smooth while I focus on innovation.”

Learn More

• Operational Efficiency: Xmount360 has begun to experience a reduction in lead times and shipping costs, leading to smoother operations and better customer satisfaction.
• Customer Experience: Customers responded positively to the improved service, appreciating the personalized approach and clear communication.
• Competitive Positioning: Focusing on customer experience is helping Xmount360 differentiate themselves in the market, leading to increased customer loyalty.
• Shipping Costs: The proximity-based shipping model reduced logistics costs, allowing Xmount360 to maintain competitive pricing while offering expedited shipping.

mpaqt’s solutions supported Xmount360 in addressing their logistical challenges, improving their customer service, and achieving more cost-effective shipping.

By having mpaqt receive components from multiple suppliers and assemble the saleable unit, Xmount360 is able to optimize their supply chain and outsource the labor.  The added benefit of working with a host was the attention to detail and personal communication.

Whether shipping direct to the customer or drip feeding supply to Amazon FBA, or even last mile delivery within the driving radius of a host, mpaqt reduced the cost and improved the speed of shipping and optimized FBA.