Crowdfunding Project Fulfilment: A Case Study

From a marvellous idea, a well-received crowdfunding campaign to a successful product development and a timely manufacturing process, they are many obstacles for a product start-up. The least you’d want to think about might be the aftermath, that is handling the large batches of pre-orders.

Our client H&Y Filter is one of the kick-starter programmes based out of Hong Kong. They design and manufacture professional camera filters for their supporters from over 60 countries around the world. They were very successful in their crowdfunding campaigns, and had received almost 5,000 pre-orders worldwide.

It came down to 3 main challenges upon order fulfilment and delivery.

Time

H&Y Filter was working on a very tight schedule, firstly because the actual production took longer than estimated, and secondly they had planned to have their products delivered to their supporters during the holiday seasons.

There was only one week between the completion of the bulk production and the expected collection of the individual e-commerce parcels. It is hardly possible to hit the timeline if they are to pick and pack each order manually.

By wave picking in our warehousing management system, multiple orders were picked simultaneously. This increases efficiency and reduces the time needed, hence orders were fulfilled just in time.

Destination

Crowdfunding campaigns are opened to all the countries around the world. Some orders H&Y Filter received had to be delivered to less known markets like Northern Mariana Islands, Oman and Malta. Not all carriers handle these markets.

It was very difficult and time-consuming for outsiders to source and engage with multiple carriers. After reviewing the full order list, our team work with multiple carriers to consolidate service offerings that fulfil the destinations of all the orders.

At the meantime, we also compared the cost and time of each services, to ensure H&Y Filter gets the most attractive rates and time-effective solutions.

Tracking

An one-stop courier tracking became impractical in H&Y Filter’s case now that there is no choice but to use multiple carrier. In order to avoid logistics enquiries piling into their emails, and allow them to focus on sales, marketing and new product development, we compiled all the shipment statuses to keep the end-consumers updated through automation via email and online portal.

Our customer service team also had set up a dedicated mailbox to receive and answer any logistics enquiries.

If you are a start-up or crowdfunding programme, please feel free to speak with us and let us know how we may support you on your logistics operations. We are sure our comprehensive one-stop solution can be the answer to your challenges.