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Explore how this leading soccer equipment brand turned shipping complexity into a winning strategy
It can take a long time, even decades, for major brands to achieve the success and notoriety they come to be known for. Much of this is built on the trust between the brand and their customers and partners. To maintain a top-tier status, it is crucial for businesses to have reliable operations across each part of their business, including shipping, to deliver the expectations of their stakeholders. When order fulfillment slows down or costs begin to erode your bottom line, it can create internal headaches and negatively impact the external confidence in your brand.
For a leading manufacturer of high-quality soccer equipment like Kwik Goal, falling down this slippery slope was not an option. Catering to over 2,000 dealers and consumers nationwide, while managing peak volumes exceeding 500 parcels per day, Kwik Goal needed a smarter shipping strategy to keep their operations efficient, costs under control, and customers satisfied.
So, how did they pull it off? By partnering with leading multi-carrier shipping software (MCSS) provider, Varsity Logistics. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s go back to how it all started.
Shipping Challenges On and Off the Field
Before deciding to partner with Varsity Logistics, Kwik Goal faced a series of shipping challenges that put their operations at risk and strained their resources. While previously relying on carrier-supplied systems, they soon became aware of several limitations, including:
- Expensive software updates
- Time-consuming processes
- Restricted configurations
- Data silos
As their business began to grown, these significant hurdles made it apparent to Kwik Goal that they needed to make a change for the sake of their business and their customers.
What It Would Take to Stay in the Game
To transform their shipping challenges into areas of efficiency, this major soccer manufacturer required a solution to keep pace with their high-volume operations while supporting continued growth. This solution would need to provide:
- Seamless integration with their existing VAI S2K ERP interface
- Streamlined workflows to handle peak shipping volumes with efficiency and minimal errors
- Data visibility with real-time access to shipment data to improve customer support
- Scalability that can accommodate business growth without costly, time-consuming upgrades
- Customization to tailor the software to their needs and eliminate limitations
In short, these requirements were non-negotiable for Kwik Goal to maintain operational efficiency, control costs, and deliver at their highest potential, both in the warehouse and for their customers and suppliers.
Teaming Up for a Smarter Shipping Play
Kwik Goal found the solution they needed to address their pain points, turning to Varsity Logistics, a leading provider in multi-carrier shipping software for parcel and less-than-truckload (LTL). By implementing Varsity’s solution, they were able to leverage the tools they needed to simplify complex processes, manage high-volume demand, and improve overall shipment accuracy.
Varsity offers a variety of add-on modules, allowing shippers to choose which modules best fit their unique needs. With the customization Kwik Goal was looking for, they were able to integrate several solutions including Varsity’s ShipSoft-Parcel, ShipSoft Freight, and ShipOptimizer. Additionally, Varsity provides seamless integration with Kwik Goal’s existing VAI S2K Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, enabling a complete, comprehensive multi-carrier shipping solution.
This new partnership allowed Kwik Goal to gain real-time visibility into their shipping data within their existing systems, eliminating data silos, empowering data-driven decision-making, and enabling real-time tracking. With automated workflows such as carrier selection, label creation, and rate and package calculation, Kwik Goal was able to reduce potential errors, lower packaging costs, and improve delivery speed and transportation spend, even during peak periods.
Varsity’s MCSS is built to scale, giving Kwik Goal the confidence to continue business growth without facing disruptive, costly upgrades or software restrictions. Overall, this soccer manufacturing giant was able to achieve faster, more flexible shipping processes that aligned with their goals, improving both the brand’s confidence in their future operations and their ability to continue to consistently meet customer expectations. To get the full details on Kwik Goals transformative results and significant benefits, check out the case study.
Scoring Results and Looking Ahead
The decision to partner with Varsity Logistics enabled Kwik Goal to flip their shipping challenges into a streamlined, cost-effective, and scalable operation. By leveraging Varsity’s comprehensive suite of advanced shipping modules, they were able to check the boxes to each capability they required in a new solution, from customization to automated workflows and seamless integration.
For manufacturers and high-volume shippers facing similar challenges, take a page out of Kwik Goal’s book. Having the right shipping software in place can truly make or break the success of your business and the trust between you and your customers.
Ready to explore how your business can achieve the same success? Contact our team of shipping experts today or schedule a pressure-free demo to see how Varsity can help build a smarter shipping strategy that wins.
