How Brilliant Fulfilment Became ShipBob’s First SFN Partner & Scaled to Shipping Millions of Orders [Case Study]

By

Need Help With Order Fulfillment? ShipBob Can Help.

Let’s Talk

Subscribe for More

Enjoying this article? Join the tens of thousands who get the latest from ShipBob’s blog emailed every other week.

Learn how Brilliant Fulfilment partnered with ShipBob to improve consistency and fulfil millions of orders from multiple facilities.

About SFN

ShipBob powers a fulfilment network of franchised warehouses known as the ShipBob Fulfilment Network (“SFN”). The expansive network consists of over 20 3PL providers with 30+ facilities across the world, providing both DTC and B2B fulfilment to ShipBob customers. The SFN facilities are state-of-the-art warehouses, thoroughly vetted by ShipBob. Each SFN site is equipped with ShipBob’s proprietary technology, offering customers the entire ShipBob experience.

Nancy Henger, CEO of Brilliant Fulfilment

Key metrics

  • 4M orders shipped since starting with ShipBob
  • 700 ShipBob customers supported
  • 2 SFN sites
  • 3 years of partnership  
  • 60 fulfilment professionals working at Brilliant

About Brilliant Fulfilment

Founded in 2013 with the goal of providing temperature-controlled warehousing for health and beauty companies in the southern US, Brilliant Fulfilment has been committed to delivering the best picking, packing, and kitting services in the business.

We sat down with Brilliant Fulfilment’s CEO, Nancy Henger, and CFO, Heather Davis, to discuss how being the first 3PL to join ShipBob’s SFN network paid off, and how the SFN program has enabled Brilliant to achieve higher consistency, access better tools, and gain a trusted and supportive partner in fulfilment. Plus, how one facility started with one row dedicated to ShipBob and how it scaled to shipping millions of orders from that facility alone.

Starting from a single row of inventory, and growing to a dedicated warehouse

As told to ShipBob by Nancy Henger, CEO, and Heather Davis, CFO, of Brilliant Fulfilment.

When we started with the SFN, we initially only allotted ShipBob one row in one of our warehouses — but the entire ShipBob team earned our trust in no time. Soon, the one row we gave them in our warehouse became two; then two rows became four rows, then eight, and so on. Now, we have a whole facility dedicated to only ShipBob orders — and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

“We’re happy that we were the first 3PL to join the SFN, and we think that ShipBob makes a great partner. Brilliant and ShipBob are both very grateful for each other, and we’ve learned a lot from ShipBob’s team over the course of our partnership.”

Nancy Henger, CEO of Brilliant Fulfilment 

In fact, the first facility we launched with ShipBob has already shipped several orders since we began our partnership.

Achieving greater consistency in order volume and forecasting 

When we started working with ShipBob, we immediately saw more consistency in order volumes and storage levels. Knowing that we’ll have a couple thousand orders every day at minimum is a great help. It makes it much easier to plan labour and forecast operating costs. We love the regularity of it, and it takes much of the everyday stress off of us. 

ShipBob also bears the burden of sales and marketing, so we don’t have to worry as much about reinvesting revenue to convert new clients. It’s a very simple system that fills our shelves without emptying our marketing budget. 

Leveraging “the best WMS on the market”

ShipBob’s WMS is, without exaggeration, the best in the business. It’s super intuitive, so when a new employee starts, it’s extremely easy for them to learn to pick and pack on their first day. The ease of adoption is probably one of the biggest benefits to ShipBob’s warehouse management software in general. 

The analytics are also amazing. With every update, the software keeps capturing more and more of the minutiae involved in fulfilment operations — it’s just unbelievable.

“We’ve shopped around for a good warehouse management software to use in our fulfilment centres, and we found that no other WMS on the market compares to ShipBob’s. It’s the best, bar none.”

Nancy Henger, CEO of Brilliant Fulfilment

Partnering in a way that feels like family

We run this business like a family, and we feel that ShipBob is a part of our family. It’s very important to us that our employees are happy and that they feel cared for, and ShipBob definitely cares for our business and its members.

Testing a competing fulfilment network — and ending the relationship immediately

Our relationship with ShipBob has spoiled us, frankly. We tried becoming partners with one of ShipBob’s competitors who also has a fulfilment network, but within 60-90 days we had fired them because they did not make a good partner in terms of integrity, accessibility, and collabouration. 

ShipBob’s openness, honesty, and transparency are must-haves for us, and have helped create the mutually beneficial relationship we enjoy today — and that we plan to continue!

“Company culture is really a highlight for our business, so it was a prerequisite that any potential partner both value and commit to that culture. Ultimately, we chose to partner with ShipBob because they’re good people, and because we trusted that they would not only prioritise quality, but also the well-being of their partner and its employees.”

Nancy Henger, CEO of Brilliant Fulfilment

We’re proud to have been ShipBob’s first SFN partner, and our goal is to be their best! ShipBob has grown at such an extraordinary pace, but we plan to continue growing and providing best-in-class fulfilment for every merchant who relies on our facilities. We’d love to open a few more fulfilment centres, and take ShipBob with us! 

Learn more about SFN

If your 3PL is interested in partnering with ShipBob, click the link below to learn how you can gain a supportive partner to help you scale.

Written By:

Rachel is a Content Marketing Specialist at ShipBob, where she writes blog articles, eGuides, and other resources to help small business owners master their logistics.

Read all posts written by Rachel Hand