From the start, Great Jones knew they had an amazing product with a cult-worthy aesthetic, but as an eCommerce cookware company, they also needed a logistics solution to manage fulfillment. When looking for a provider, their goals were straightforward.
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When you visit their website, you can tell immediately that Great Jones Goods is different. From the unique illustrations to the modern, customizable cookware, Great Jones gives you an experience that makes even the most feeble chefs want to learn how to cook. And, look good while doing it.
Great Jones went live with Flexe in November 2018 with the mission to bring warmth to the kitchen—creating superior cookware that you don’t want to hide in a cupboard, but use (often) and proudly display.
Great Jones has experienced tremendous growth. Their brand is unique and they have curated a highly personalized experience. Not only does their cookware stand out in a relatively muted market, but they also offer engraving services, options to mix and match products, recipes, and cooking tips, and a text-message service for submitting culinary questions. The key to it all? Doing it thoughtfully.
“We’re not trying to be Amazon,” states Gina Shaffer Seit, VP of Operations at Great Jones. “We’re focused on building a business that makes sense for our customers and meets their needs. Great Jones is a fast-paced startup, and there are a million things we could be working on, but we’re really taking the time to step back and prioritize. Operations and logistics are at the top of the list, which supports giving our customers the experience they want.”
About Great Jones: #
- Type of company: eCommerce cookware company
- Website: greatjonesgoods.com
- Headquarters: New York, NY
- Solutions: Flexe Fulfillment
- Number of SKUs: 20
- Number of warehouses: One (and growing)
Great Jones needed: #
- A simple and fast implementation so they could be operational in time for the November launch and 2018 holiday season
- A technology platform and support that would help them manage operations and didn’t require an internal tech team to handle integrations
- Flexibility in locations, built to streamline expansion without additional onboarding
The Opportunity #
Launching an eCommerce business—fast. #
From the start, Great Jones knew they had an amazing product with a cult-worthy aesthetic, but as an eCommerce cookware company, they also needed a logistics solution to manage fulfillment. When looking for a provider, their goals were straightforward.
Great Jones needed a fast, flexible solution and a technology platform to manage operations. They turned to Flexe.
The Solution #
Flexe Fulfillment #
Great Jones was looking for a solutions provider that could partner with them on operations, act as an extension of their own team, and also be flexible enough to scale their network to enter new markets. Flexe Fulfillment matched the criteria Great Jones needed.
The combination of Flexe’s standardized technology platform, team of experts, and on-demand network of warehouse providers, simplifies order fulfillment and helps Great Jones execute memorable experiences that elevate their brand and impress customers.
“Without Flexe, we would need a tech team and our own WMS. Our day to day is a lot easier because of the services Flexe provides.”
The Results #
Up and running in a matter of weeks #
It took just four weeks to get Great Jones set up with a warehouse provider and finalize implementations—getting them prepared to go live in time for their launch and the 2018 holiday season. The Flexe team sourced a warehouse in Pennsylvania and worked with Great Jones to operationalize their fulfillment services.
“We did quote a couple of other fulfillment providers, but we went with Flexe because we loved the idea of the solution and they helped us launch faster,” says Shaffer Seit. “It would have taken more resources and more time if we had gone with a legacy third-party logistics provider (3PL).”
Leveraging technology and data to drive decisions #
The Flexe Logistics Platform gives Great Jones a simple-to-use system for managing operations and aggregating data.
With Flexe Fulfillment's dashboard and reporting, Great Jones is able to track fill rate, ship accuracy, and inventory turns. Because their orders require precise pick-and-pack services, all three metrics help them define a “perfect-order” score, and enables them to provide higher-quality experiences to their customers.
Great Jones has used that data to help preserve packaging, better manage inventory, and identify popular customer markets to inform expansion plans.
“Flexe is also a startup and gets it. We feel like we have a stake in the technology and have seen how our operations have improved because of the platform that’s being built,” said Shaffer Seit. “Without Flexe, we would need a tech team and our own WMS. Our day to day is a lot easier because of the services Flexe provides.”
“The Flexe team is essentially an extension of ours—they ensure we’re working with the right provider, negotiate on our behalf, and help us keep our operations moving smoothly.”
An extension of the Great Jones team #
Flexe has helped Great Jones keep their in-house team small and nimble. “Flexe adds a level of expertise in operations. Having that support in fulfillment and logistics really allows us to stay laser-focused on product development and our customers.”
“Flexe is a turnkey approach to fulfillment for us,” said Shaffer Seit. “The Flexe team is essentially an extension of ours—they ensure we’re working with the right provider, negotiate on our behalf, and help us keep our operations moving smoothly.”
In addition to everyday support, Great Jones leverages information shared in the quarterly business reviews to reflect on performance and identify opportunities.
“Flexe brings great data to the table in these reviews. It’s really helpful for us, as a small company, to be able to lean into that information and understand where we are and what we need to do for our business.”
"There’s more to come on new product launches, and we’ve worked closely with the Flexe team to strategize how best to launch.”
What’s Next? #
Adding fulfillment locations and expanding product lines #
Today, Great Jones fulfills orders through a Flexe location in Pennsylvania, enabling them to efficiently serve the East Coast. Current plans include an expansion the West Coast to better serve their second-biggest market, California.
“Operations and logistics is huge for us, especially as we strategize around expanding our reach and broadening our market,” says Shaffer Seit. “With any eCommerce business, your delivery promise is key. As we expand our network and add another facility, we’re also looking at ways we can build shorter transit times into our delivery promise and be more transparent in how we communicate that with our shoppers.”
But, Great Jones isn’t just expanding their network to improve efficiency in last-mile logistics, they’re also expanding their product lines. While Gina wasn’t able to disclose much, she stated, “There’s more to come on new product launches, and we’ve worked closely with the Flexe team to strategize how best to launch in the near future, so keep an eye out.”
About Great Jones #
Great Jones is a modern kitchen company that marries substance with style. Our mission is to equip, encourage, and inspire people to cook more frequently, even if that means just frying an egg. We designed our collection with the support of some of the top leaders in food and fashion in America, and produced it with the highest quality standards. Learn more at www.greatjonesgoods.com
About Flexe #
Flexe solves the hardest omnichannel logistics problems for the world’s largest retailers and brands. Integrating technology, open logistics networks, and elastic economic models allows Flexe customers to move fast, at scale, and with precision. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Seattle, Flexe brings deep logistics expertise and enterprise-grade technology to deliver innovative eCommerce fulfillment, retail distribution, same-day delivery, and network capacity programs to the Fortune 500.
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