Branded Promotional Product and Apparel Fulfillment Success Story


A national home improvement company found it impossible to keep up with the constant packing and distribution of its branded promotional products and apparel as its network of authorized dealers grew. They had been handling all of these functions internally, but the demand was growing far beyond their ability to keep up. They needed support if they were going to continue to be a trusted source of quality home improvement services.

The Fulfillment Challenge

To focus on the growth of the business, management decided it was best to outsource the warehousing, inventory management, and fulfillment to a company with expertise. They specifically sought a provider experienced in promotional product fulfillment with real-time inventory and 24/7 access to an ordering system. They required a customized order management system (OMS) portal that provided two unique views. They needed to physically transition 100+ SKUs and set up an effective re-stocking program to avoid issues like product surplus or stockouts.

The Fulfillment Solution

There are many different kinds of logistics providers, but Fulco Fulfillment Inc. (FFI) was the perfect fit. Our robust logistics, exceptional inventory management system, top-notch customer service, and branded promotional products web portals were the ideal solution for this home improvement company’s needs.

Managing Inventory: Transition 100+ SKUs

FFI’s management and dedicated client service coordinator took the steps to gain a thorough knowledge of the client’s business. The trained and attentive warehouse team then accurately transitioned the 100+ SKUs into our warehouse in Dover, NJ. The inventory was organized and included a diverse set of products.

  • staff uniforms
  • promotional giveaway items
  • marketing materials
  • signage
  • everyday brand ware
  • prizes

FFI learned the details of their inventory and requirements for packing and shipping. Setting up SKU locations for efficient picking streamlined the fulfillment process for a smooth transition.

Order Management System

Our flexible order management system platform provides on-demand access. Each pre-registered user was given a login and password to access the portal 24/7. The pre-registered user was then able to view the inventory permitted by their access level:

  • Client Management View
  • Authorized Dealer View

Order screens are pre-populated based on the login. The managers see all inventory, but the franchise owners have access to limited earmarked inventory. Orders are entered into the order management system and captured with easy, shopping cart functionality. Once an order is placed, the customer receives an email acknowledging that the order has been received. They receive another email when the order ships.

Inquiries done on product details are in real time, and inventory reports can be generated through the portal. Users can keep track of their order’s historical data and package tracking information.

Using barcode technology, FFI accurately tracks and maintains inventory from receipt to inventory movement to picking and shipping. This kind of solid inventory management avoids pitfalls like running out of branded promotional products right before a scheduled tradeshow or convention.
FFI’s OMS also can prioritize orders by selecting a “rush” button, which sends the order directly to the customer service coordinator for priority processing.

Keeping the Inventory Stocked

Maintaining optimal inventory levels is integral to our customer’s success.

Levels are managed in real time to prevent an item from going out of stock. FFI worked with the customer to establish a re-stocking program, assigning a replenishment point to each product, referred to as the understock level. When a product reaches the understock level, an email notification gets sent to our customers, allowing ample time to order replacement inventory. Replenishment is shipped to FFI’s warehouse from the customer’s marketing and promotional products provider and the products are received into inventory for ordering visibility. This process prioritizes meeting customers’ demands, ideally without experiencing stockouts or overstock issues.

Fulco Fulfillment Helps Businesses Grow

With Fulco handling their branded promotional product and apparel fulfillment, our client has been able to triple their network of authorized dealers. Their commitment to quality continuously exceeds the expectations of their customers and they remain a trusted source for quality and reliable home improvement services.

If you’d like to learn how we can help your business grow, give us a call at 973 361 1700 or fill out our contact form.


The Ethical Manufacturing Order Fulfillment Success Story


The shoppers of today expect their items to arrive on their doorstep quickly. They want the ability to track their items during every step of their journey, and they expect their items to arrive in pristine condition. These buyer expectations were becoming a challenge to one of our customers, an ethical manufacturing customer. A wholesale B2B and B2C retailer, they sell products to wholesale boutique shops, large retailers, and Amazon direct, that were created by artisans and artists. They were growing rapidly and needed to optimize their e-commerce order fulfillment processes.

Growing Businesses Need the Right Fulfillment Partner

This manufacturing customer’s accelerating product demand was creating a fulfillment bottleneck. Having their orders kitted, picked, packed, and fulfilled out of their increasingly cluttered basement was no longer an option. They needed a fulfillment solution that could scale and support the growth of their business, and they turned to FFI to help them.

Within their first full year of operation after switching to Fulco Fulfillment Inc.’s services, our ethical manufacturing customer was able to triple their order volume.

The Customer Had Unique Fulfillment Challenges

Shipping: Finding a provider that has the correct expertise to keep up with order volumes.

Location: Pinpointing location and finding a 3PL partner located in the NY/NJ tri-state area to give the customer the ability to quickly and conveniently access their product.

Specialized Packaging: Finding a fulfillment provider with excellent attention to detail who supports their personalized touch. All packages are paper-wrapped and sealed with a logo sticker, including packing tape customized with their colorful logo.

Sales and Marketing: Getting meaningful, trustworthy fulfillment services so that they could focus on sales and marketing and continue to grow their business.

Trade Shows: Our ethical manufacturing customer displays at major trade shows and holiday markets throughout the year. In this method of marketing, the product has a chance to shine and captivate new customers. The fulfillment provider must get the product there on time and in good condition.

Customer Communication: Customers expect excellent communication, including phone calls, frequent status updates, and shared details about deliveries.

Timing Is Everything: At the time, peak shopping season was just around the corner and this ethical manufacturing company needed a solution that could help them meet and exceed their demands even when facing an unknown future.

Successful Fulfillment Creates Business Growth

Shipping/Freight Savings: Outsourcing fulfillment to FFI has allowed this customer to enjoy the combined freight discount offered by FFI, substantially lowering their shipping costs.

Inventory Management: Using Fulco Fulfillment Inc.’s Order Management System (OMS) and Warehouse Management System (WMS), this ethical manufacturing customer saw their inventory management streamlined. With the Veracore software platform, they manage inbound and outbound shipments along with inventory volumes and order status in real time.

Determining the Right Location: The customer’s base of operations in the New York East Coast Area meant that FFI in Dover, NJ was in an ideal location, conveniently located right off of Route 80, Route 46, and with access to Route 287 and Route 10. Clients can visit the warehouse and stop in for a continued hands-on type of approach.

Dedicated Client Service Manager: At FFI, a dedicated client service manager is assigned to each account and operates under the client service manager team of dedicated pickers. Our team ensures quality control of customized packaging by learning and mastering the details of each client’s specialized packaging needs.

Focus on What They Do Best: By choosing FFI to handle their fulfillment needs, our ethical manufacturing customer was able to increase marketing efforts and sales instead of being consumed by managing shipping and inventory.

Holiday Markets and Trade Show Solutions: FFI’s order management system allowed our client to allocate, manage, and track all of their tradeshow assets. They received special deliveries of materials directly to the New York City holiday show in a small delivery window and, upon conclusion of the show, items were picked up by FFI personnel and received back into client inventory.

24/7 Web Access: Our ethical manufacturing client now has 24/7 web access to its entire inventory via our web portal. They can generate reports, set understock notification levels, access order inquiries to track shipping status, or see a history of inventory usage.

Consistent Results: The FFI team has tested and optimized processes that streamline operations and get orders out on time. Even during peak season, our team has kept and maintained an astounding 99.8% accuracy on all orders.

Fulco Fulfillment Provides the Right 3PL Solutions

Fulco Fulfillment Inc. has improved this ethical manufacturing customer’s supply chain. It reduced the amount of time it takes orders to reach their valuable customers and increased the efficiency of their orders from vendors. In addition, FFI provided logistics solutions at a variable cost to maximize efficiency during the retailer’s peak and non-peak seasons.

We can have the same powerful effect on your business! To learn the ways we can solve your specific challenges, give us a call at 973-361-1700 or fill out our contact form.


Educational Company Finds Efficient Fulfillment Solution at Fulco Fulfillment

A relatively new start-up turned to Fulco Fulfillment Inc (FFI) to help expand and take their nonprofit educational company to the next level. After meeting with the client, we identified their product, a series of math kits that required assembling and distribution to elementary schools throughout the school year.

Many Moving Parts that Required a Powerful Technology System

One of the biggest challenges the client presented was the detailed intricacies of the kits, and the kits within the kits. The materials would need to be received in bulk from various vendors. These innovative math kits use many everyday items such as straws, plastic spoons, playing cards, dice, etc. to involve students in math activities. The client needed the flexibility of real-time online inventory and usage visibility. FFI’s leading order management system (OMS) allows our customer to view kit activity, inner kit activity, and even inquire about the information for the components in the inner kits.

Their need is unique in that they require 8 different ‘bag kits’ with enough pieces for the 16 students, designed for a single lesson and a specific age group.

The technology department had to create separate compositions for each bag and for each kit, and provide documentation that would ensure the correct kit and the correct version were being picked. Our technology department used the kit assembly manifest feature of the OMS to prepare each kit composition, and before long, we were ready to go.

Efficient Kitting Process Required for Back-to-school Preparation

We began receiving product in May and their busy season started in August, so we had about three months to get everything done. Our tech team, client server representative, and warehouse personnel worked closely every day to monitor the set-up progress. It was imperative that everyone knew what bags and kits needed to be made. Each bag gets a sticker identifying the week the bag is intended for and the accompanying pieces. All of these steps are spelled out on the kitting assembly manifest for each season and each bag, which avoids mistakes. We shipped out almost 800 kits in August in preparation for the beginning of the school year. This was roughly three months after we first met with the client.

COVID-19 Created New Kit Fulfillment Challenges

The process we developed to meet our customer’s needs was a success, and this continued until the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the process required modifications. With schools being closed or switching to remote learning, the number of traditional kits being shipped slowed down. However, our customer creatively developed many new kits and products that teachers could use remotely. Orders for these new products were “pick-and-pack,” where each order was different and customized for the recipient. This was extremely successful for our client. Again, FFI was up for the challenge; our tech team quickly revised the process, and more than a thousand orders using this new pick-and-pack method were shipped in the following few months.

FFI’s rapid response and stellar daily customer service communications have built a strong relationship and a high level of confidence with the client. The customer has commented positively on our knowledge of their products and expressed the comfort of knowing that we respond to their phone calls promptly.

FFI is Up for Your Fulfillment Challenges

If you have a product that requires intricate kitting or custom pick-and-pack configurations, we are up to the task. Call Fulco Fulfillment at 973-361-1700 to schedule a free consultation.

Uniform Apparel Company Turns to Fulco Fulfillment to Reinvent Their Inventory Management

Fulco Fulfillment, Inc. (FFI) partnered with a rapidly expanding uniform apparel company that was quickly outgrowing their fulfillment and storage areas. They were looking for a 3PL partner that could handle their increasing sales and changing environment and needed a warehousing solution to assist with their supply meeting demand.

Faced with the dilemma that their previous fulfillment provider abruptly shut their doors and went out of business, they found FFI while looking for a suitable 3PL partner to handle their warehousing and fulfillment needs. Owners Jennifer Marcello and Tony Rossi visited the uniform apparel company’s current warehouse to review the current situation. They immediately noted the challenges ahead of them, that would be required to effectively organize the inventory. A lot of work needed to be done before being able to pick and pack orders. To properly manage an accurate inventory for our new client, we would need to work together.

Searching for a Smart Warehousing Solution

To begin, the uniform apparel company’s physical inventory was transferred to FFI’s facility which was then sorted, separated, re-labeled, counted, and placed in picking stations for order fulfillment. As time went by and demand for the apparel grew, so did the varieties and styles on their website.

Seeing the Need for Inventory Management

With all of the new varieties and styles of uniforms on their website and an increase in orders, the company saw that they were outgrowing their basic inventory management system which involved receiving a daily file upload for orders to be completed and shipped out. Working with the client, FFI implemented an API integration with their ecommerce system for real time inventory management.

Building Efficiencies to Accommodate Growth

FFI quickly saw the need to scale our client’s warehouse picking areas to accommodate their growth. With the use of a time study, FFI measured the length of time it took employees to pick orders of various sizes and complexities. Keeping the importance of prioritizing the quickest moving items in the front, over the next five weeks FFI reorganized the majority of warehouse inventory by moving our customer’s entire SKU (stock-keeping unit) list into a dedicated area. In addition, we reviewed the receiving process step by step looking to revamp the way that items came into the warehouse to further help streamline the process.

The Result: A Revamped Warehouse and Inventory Management System

After consolidating inventories into a singular location, FFI saw measured improvements of 14%-18% efficiency increase in our client’s pick rates. Our suggestions to the client on revamping the receiving of their inventory also saw a radical time improvement.

The inventory management ecommerce API integration works seamlessly and provides an interface for client access to live inventory numbers whenever they need them. The integration transmits orders via an automatic order import to FFI’s order management system (OMS) and seamlessly returns tracking information and does an inventory sync. We helped our client automate time-consuming and redundant tasks by replacing error prone manual processes.

With FFI’s help, the client benefitted from a streamlined order fulfillment and management system that helped get orders out faster and built a future-proof system that can scale as the company increases its sales and product offerings.

Need Help Streamlining Your Inventory Management? Contact Fulco Fulfillment Today!

At Fulco Fulfillment Inc., we are always looking for ways to work smarter and more efficiently when it comes to services like warehouse and inventory management. Call Fulco Fulfillment at 973-361-1700 to schedule your free consultation and get things moving with your company’s warehouse and inventory management.

Fulfillment and Inventory Control

In order to prevent a kit backorder situation, a major manufacturer and Fulco Fulfillment Inc. (FFI) worked together to set-up an automatic reorder system.

The FFI order management system allowed us to set minimums for each kit, kitting supplies and component of each kit. When inventory levels reach the minimum level an automatic reorder notification is generated. The notification goes to the appropriate printer or supplier of each component creating an automatic reorder. Kits remain stocked at all times and never fall to zero.

FFI created a web shopping cart for wholesalers in the field to order kits. To keep the customer’s wholesalers informed, FFI set the system to automatically generate email notifications for order confirmations and order shipments. Order shipment emails also include a tracking number.

FFI Creates Complex Kits in Support of Troops

FFI works closely with a contract assembler for the U.S. Army. This contractor provided multiple components that needed to be assembled with guaranteed accuracy for use in the field. Only some of these components were required, depending on the equipment used. FFI was asked to assemble these kits and package items to avoid breakage or deterioration during shipment and storage. Correct packaging was critical since material needed to last for long periods in harsh climates. FFI uses the kitting module within its fulfillment system to manage the task. The company’s systems specialists wrote a program to ensure that kit contents were accurate. Each of the kit components has a bar code. The system does not close out the kit until each item is individually scanned. The program is now in its second year of delivering 100% order accuracy. In the case of problems, FFI can track items back to the exact kit in which they were shipped.

FFI Tackles Warehousing and EDI Challenges

A large manufacturer of office supplies needed to provide a major U.S. retailer with ongoing product replenishment, with heavier shipments during back-to-school season. Economical storage rates and a flexible workforce were the main reasons FFI was chosen as this manufacturer’s fulfillment partner. But the retail customer required specialized EDI integration and shipping documentation. Although FFI provides EDI services as needed, in this case the most practical approach was to use the existing EDI structure. The challenge: how to maintain security for both the supplier and the retailer while sharing network and software resources.

FFI systems staff worked with our customer to develop a plan that protected each network while allowing effective communication. Orders would originate at the manufacturer, be securely transmitted to FFI for picking and packing, then would be transmitted back to the originating system for EDI documentation. FFI personnel would generate all EDI documents and ensure compliance with all packaging requirements. The result was a system that was transparent to the retailer, yet allowed our customer  to concentrate on its core business. FFI provided 99.7% performance on accuracy and on-time delivery despite seasonal volume fluctuations. EDI documents were created and transmitted seamlessly, prompting commendations from the retailer for flawless performance at FFI.