Context
Zilker Belts’ successful growth from its infancy into a reputable, authentic Austin, TX, brand has been notably organic. They’ve managed it with a small internal team, a few select partners and “friends” of the brand.
Like many e-commerce business founders, Wade was the sole pick-and-packer for Zilker Belts with all inventory stored in his home. This became increasingly problematic as the number of orders scaled to the point that it began to limited the time and energy he was able to dedicate to growing the business. He didn’t have time to build awareness for the brand and develop other opportunistic corporate initiatives to drive next-level growth acceleration, not to mention the significant irritation to his family life! Growth, though, requires trusted partners that respect the vision and corporate roadmap ahead of any specific service they provide. In the fall of 2021, Wade and Hill were having a hard time finding that trusted partner to handle product distribution.
The Work
Onboarding our team to manage inventory and distribute Zilker Belts was seamless. As we do with all clients, we eliminated complex pricing sheets in favor of a simple hourly rate to manage inventory receipt, pick-and-pack, ordering supplies, label creation, inventory counts, shipping and the various miscellaneous tasks that support product fulfillment. We worked with the Zilker team to move all existing inventory from Wade’s home to our warehouse in the course of a single day. We took administrative control of Zilker’s Shopify store via our own Shipping Easy account, thereby unlocking shipping cost discounts for their products.
The day-to-day operations of the relationship are highly communicative, including regular details around necessary reorders, considerations for sales and planning for peak seasons. Warehouse access for the Zilker team is welcome at any time - no appointments required. We’ve built a substantial level of trust that often translates into broader operational, technological or marketing implications that we discuss and debate as part of the partnership - all in the spirit of supporting their growth journey. We simply became an extension of the Zilker team.
"I wish we’d found this solution sooner. The KV team is like an extension of our team and they treat us like family. They are especially collaborative, considerate of our product and generally passionate about seeing us succeed and making the terms of our partnership easy."
Wade Green,
Co-Owner, Zilker Belts
