Table of Contents
** Minutes
About Forest Ink & Groovy Things Co.
Hands-on training with an intuitive system: how we got started with ShipBob WMS in under 1 month
Cost-effective carriers and reduced labor costs: how we save money with ShipBob WMS
What’s next for Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
Learn how family -owned and operated apparel and accessory brands, Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co., implemented ShipBob WMS in their own facility to streamline fulfillment and manage a large SKU catalog.
Customer Profile
Beth, Blake, and Zach Welch own and operate two clothing and apparel brands: Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
Started in 2009, Forest Ink is a size-inclusive, ethically sourced alternative clothing and swimwear brand. Groovy Things Co., the family’s second business, specializes in creating vibrant socks with witty quips and eye-catching designs. The family runs a warehouse in Texas that fulfills orders for both brands.
Key Metrics
- 16 years in business
- 2 businesses under the same umbrella: Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
- 2,000+ SKUs
- 100s of subscription orders each month
- 60+ hours per week reclaimed during peak season
- 83% reduction in labor during peak season
About Forest Ink & Groovy Things Co.
In 2009, 16-year-old Zach Welch started a graphic t-shirt business called Forest Ink to showcase his art. Over the years, graphic t-shirts morphed into offering ethically sourced and size-inclusive alternative apparel.
In 2020, Zach’s brother, Blake, moved home after college and launched Groovy Things Co., a vibrant and unique sock brand.
After their products went viral, what was previously a part-time endeavor turned into a full-time opportunity for Zach and Blake. In early 2021, the brothers left their full-time jobs to focus on scaling Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
Zach and Blake, with their mother, Beth, fulfilled orders for both brands from their family home until they outgrew the space. They moved into a warehouse and adopted manual fulfillment processes to get orders out the door.
The process was incredibly tedious and time-consuming, and the Welchs knew they needed to leverage a warehouse management system (WMS) to streamline fulfillment so they could continue building the business. That’s when they implemented ShipBob WMS.
Learn how the apparel and accessories brands have been able to save time and expand their business as a result of their partnership with ShipBob.
From manual tally marks to automated inventory counts: how we improved our fulfillment operations with ShipBob WMS
As told to ShipBob by Beth Welch, Co-Owner and Co-Founder, and Maddie Crawford, Fulfillment Manager, at Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
When we started Forest Ink, we fulfilled orders from our family home, and it was chaotic. Eventually, we expanded into a small warehouse, which we outgrew. We added more and more space until we found the right amount in our current facility.
Before ShipBob, our fulfillment was completely manual. We stacked boxes along the warehouse walls with different socks and styles of apparel. There was a blank label on each box where we’d tally how much inventory was removed when an order was picked.
Inventory management was a nightmare. We had to manually divide stock between Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, and wholesale channels. There was no single source of truth. We had to physically count open boxes and cross-check inventory to make sure we had enough for each channel.
For example, when a warehouse picker took 1,000 socks from a box for a large wholesale order, we’d manually mark that on the box we physically took it from. We relied on people doing the correct math and recording it accordingly. For apparel, we’d stack boxes on top of each other and cut holes in boxes to access clothing by size, from XS to 5XL. It wasn’t uncommon to have avalanches of collapsing boxes.
This system was messy and error-prone. When we had a small order volume, it wasn’t bad. But as we grew, operating this way became unsustainable.
We knew we needed a more efficient fulfillment solution, so we connected with ShipBob about their warehouse management system (WMS). Thanks to ShipBob WMS, we’ve made major improvements to our fulfillment process. With their processes and inventory visibility, we don’t have to second-guess stock levels or spend time recounting products.
Hands-on training with an intuitive system: how we got started with ShipBob WMS in under 1 month
When we looked at WMS options, ShipBob stood out. They were responsive, competitively priced, and most importantly, they came out to do in-person onboarding. Many other WMS providers don’t offer in-person training, so that was a major advantage.
The hands-on support we got from ShipBob made all the difference in implementing the WMS in our warehouse. The implementation team assisted us in setting up our racks, answered questions, and helped us navigate the system as we became familiar with it.
“Once ShipBob trained us on the system and we understood how the WMS worked, everything fell into place. ShipBob WMS is incredibly intuitive and made our operations much more accurate than our previous system. We quickly learned how to label and manage inventory within the system, and it was easy for the whole team to use.”
Beth Welch, Co-Owner and Co-Founder, and Maddie Crawford, Fulfillment Manager, at Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
From turning off BFCM ads to being fully equipped to handle peak season demand: how ShipBob WMS helps us stay agile and efficient
During peak season last year, some of our ads went viral. Orders were flying in, but we couldn’t keep up with fulfillment. Ultimately, we had to turn the ads off altogether. To keep up with demand, we had to hire friends, roommates, and anyone else who could help us fulfill holiday orders. We worked 12-hour days and still fell behind.
Not being able to keep up with demand not only prevented us from generating more revenue but also affected customer satisfaction. Customers expect Amazon-level speeds, and at one point, we were a week behind on shipping orders. People reached out to us asking about the status of their order. That’s when we knew we needed a real system.
This holiday season, we’re looking forward to scaling up our fulfillment operations without cutting off our ads. ShipBob WMS will help us capture more sales and offer the quick shipping our customers desire.
“Switching to ShipBob WMS was honestly the smartest decision we could have made for our business. We weren’t prepared for going viral and the influx of sales that followed. Now, with ShipBob WMS, we’re much more equipped to handle increases in demand.”
Beth Welch, Co-Owner and Co-Founder, and Maddie Crawford, Fulfillment Manager, at Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
Reducing fulfillment time by up to 83%: how ShipBob WMS helped us save time and expand our product lines
Before ShipBob WMS, our entire team used to help fulfill orders. During peak season each year, everyone would be all-hands-on-deck with fulfillment: receiving, stowing inventory, picking, packing, and shipping. The laser focus on fulfillment put a stop to all other aspects of the business. Having everyone spend so many hours on fulfillment during peak season put us behind in many ways.
For example, since our designer was fulfilling orders, we were behind on designing new products, which led to manufacturing and product launch delays. Because we have to work around Chinese New Year deadlines for spring releases, we had to rush getting designs ready.
“By streamlining our fulfillment process, everyone can actually do their jobs. As a result of implementing ShipBob WMS, we’re able to focus on marketing, product development, and photo shoots, all of which are things we couldn’t do before. We’ve been able to grow in ways that were previously impossible.”
Beth Welch, Co-Owner and Co-Founder, and Maddie Crawford, Fulfillment Manager, at Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
Unlocking better inventory management and seamless subscriptions: how we leverage ShipBob’s tech integrations
We’ve integrated both our Shopify stores (retail and wholesale) and Amazon with ShipBob. Everything is now centralized in ShipBob’s platform, which has been a huge relief.
“We’ve become smarter about fulfillment and inventory planning. Using ShipBob’s platform, we can access real-time inventory counts, have records of backstock, and know exactly where inventory is located within the warehouse. Having all of our orders across channels coming out of one pool of inventory has been incredibly helpful.”
Beth Welch, Co-Owner and Co-Founder, and Maddie Crawford, Fulfillment Manager, at Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
We also switched our subscription platform to Recharge, which integrates well with ShipBob. We set up bundles so customers can choose between a subscription with 1, 2, or 3 pairs of socks.
Through ShipBob, we can batch pick SKUs for our subscription boxes, which replaces our old manual process of matching hundreds of labels to hundreds of packing slips. That will simplify the subscription fulfillment process and save us so much time.
Cost-effective carriers and reduced labor costs: how we save money with ShipBob WMS
ShipBob has helped us save significantly on shipping and labor.
We’ve been able to leverage ShipBob’s carrier relationships, which have reduced our costs but also given us more reliable pickups. Prior to ShipBob, pickups would happen really late in the day, or sometimes not at all. There were times when we had to load up 15 big mail bags into our cars and drive them to the post office because a carrier didn’t show up at our warehouse.
Benefitting from ShipBob’s carrier relationships has been a game-changer. We’re confident we can ship orders quickly and keep customers happy.
As for labor, we went into peak season thinking we needed to add several new packing stations and hire 5 or 6 more people, but it turns out we only needed 1 more of each. That will help bring our costs down a lot. With ShipBob, productivity is up, and we’re not scrambling like last year.
What’s next for Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
It’s an exciting time for both Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co. We’re expanding Forest Ink product lines to include unisex apparel and accessories, and Groovy Things Co. is adding more compression sock styles and additional sock sizes.
We’ve been able to grow our product lines, which wouldn’t have been possible without ShipBob WMS. And our customers are incredibly receptive to our growing catalog. During our last product launch, five of our nine new styles sold out in three days.
We’re thankful that we switched to ShipBob WMS when we did so we can continue scaling.
Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.’s team at ShipBob
Sean Morris
Sean is the Account Executive who helped Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co. get started with ShipBob.
TR Rhodes
TR is the Merchant Success Manager who supports Forest Ink and Groovy Things Co.
Get started with ShipBob
Need a warehouse management system to help you optimize and streamline fulfillment in your own facility? Connect with ShipBob to learn how we can support your brand.
