Box Components

Overview

Streamlining Ecommerce Fulfillment with Descartes OzLink™ Mobile Warehouse, Box Components, a designer, manufacturer, and distributor of bicycle components, implemented the Descartes OzLink™ Mobile Warehouse to automate and streamline its pick, pack, ship process to manage explosive customer demand. Integrated with Box’s NetSuite Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, the Descartes solution increased order fulfillment speed and accuracy, improved inventory control, and enhanced the customer experience.

Quote

“With the customer experience in mind, we were looking for scalable mobile warehouse technology that could help us eliminate inefficient, error-prone manual order fulfillment. Descartes OzLink helped us increase order accuracy, save time and effort on the warehouse floor, and improve inventory control to avoid the need for frequent cycle counts. It’s totally transformed our fulfillment operations.”
— Teddy Pane, Purchasing and Logistics Specialist, Box Components

Company Profile

• Company: Box Components
• Industry: Manufacturer of Bicycle Components
• Descartes Solution: Descartes Ozlink™ Mobile Warehouse
• About the Client: Headquartered in Anaheim, CA, Box Components designs, manufactures, and distributes parts for BMX and mountain bikes for customers around the world. Driven by its Southern California racing heritage, Box’s forward-thinking products benefit both World Cup champions and enthusiasts, regardless of riding ability.

Quick Overview

• Challenge: Manual Processes Hinder Accuracy
• Solution: Optimized Order Fulfillment
• Results:
  • 90% Order Accuracy
  • Improved Inventory Control
  • 80% Increased Efficiency
  • Smooth Onboarding

Challenge

Box’s small warehouse team manages B2B and B2C ecommerce fulfillment of bike components for customers worldwide from its warehouse in Anaheim, CA. With the popularity of biking skyrocketing during the pandemic, the company experienced 25% growth in 2020 and is on track for even higher growth this year. Box was faced with the challenge of managing escalating order volumes while ensuring order and inventory accuracy—a difficult undertaking using manual fulfillment processes. To deliver a superior customer experience amid booming consumer demand, the company introduced automation with user-friendly mobile warehouse technology that would minimize order errors, eliminate short shipments, and improve inventory management.

Solution

Box ships thousands of bike components annually to customers globally, with volumes continuing to rise due to the pandemic-driven consumer demand for bicycles. In the face of escalating orders, the company deployed Descartes OzLink Mobile Warehouse, seamlessly integrated with its NetSuite ERP, to eliminate time-consuming and error-prone manual order fulfillment processes that hindered its ability to deliver a superior customer experience.

Quote

“Our manual fulfillment practices were holding us back. Every morning, the sales department would print off pick tickets for orders that came in overnight. Everything was picked manually, going down the list of items,” explained Teddy Pane. “We had to manually double-check each order for accuracy before shipping, to avoid shipping wrong items or overburdening our customer service department—not to mention disrupting our inventory.”

With mobile picking and barcode scanning, the scalable Descartes solution helped Box increase order accuracy and fulfillment efficiency, enabling the distributor to handle more orders with less effort.

Quote

“Using handheld scanners, we ensure the order is accurate once it arrives at the ship station. Everything gets shipped out correctly the first time, which reduces the time our customer service department spends handling inquiries,” said Pane.

Descartes OzLink also improved Box’s inventory accuracy.

Quote

“Before Descartes OzLink, we performed a cycle count anytime we noticed significant discrepancies when picking orders, in addition to our regular quarterly count. Now, we’ve been able to reduce the frequency of cycle counts thanks to enhanced inventory control.”

Results

• 90% Order Accuracy: Descartes OzLink increased order accuracy by reducing picking errors through barcode scanning and order validation.
• Improved Inventory Control: Replacing manual picking practices with mobile scanning increased inventory accuracy and visibility, eliminating the need for frequent cycle counts.
• 80% Increased Efficiency: By automating the order fulfillment workflow, the small warehouse team can easily manage increasing volumes.
• Smooth Onboarding: With an intuitive interface, Descartes OzLink minimizes training time, allowing the entire Box team to quickly become proficient in warehouse operations.