I Am Confident This Time
The first Amazon delivery is being collected tomorrow for delivery scheduled on Friday. I thought I had an extra month or two and it turns out that the timing of this new delivery deal could not have come at a better time. This will save thousands of Rands each week and why the pressure was very real.
I have been under severe pressure lately to sign up a service operator who will fulfil our service needs by delivering pallet loads to our Cape Town customers. I had no idea the phone call I made last week was going to be so game changing as we had a meeting with them today.
They flew in from Cape Town which shows firstly how serious they are and how hungry they are for the business. I spoke to the owner last week and had no idea the lady that phoned me was his mother. It turns out she started the business many years ago and handed it over to her two sons. The mother is seriously clued up and who we dealt with today.
The timing could not have been any better as the first Amazon load leaves tomorrow which will increase the number of pallets sent weekly. The negotiated rate stands firm and even if there is a pallet with excessive weight which was way over what I originally told her being an average weight she is not phased. That would only be an extra $7.50 extra and is very reasonable which no one else could match.
Being a sporting company Everlast we have gym equipment which includes weights so every now and then having a pallet that weighs closer to 1 ton is possible even though we try and spread these across a number of pallets. This is not always possible especially if the order is only weights and this does happen. My 200kg average which she quoted on was kind of blown away, but was soon resolved during the meeting today.
They are essentially a family business like we are, but have been established for many years and know exactly what they are doing. The service they offer is above and beyond what you would normally find which also includes storage and packing orders if required on items that are not cost effective sending from Johannesburg. On these items we would send down a bulk delivery which they would then break up and distribute as required. Surprisingly there is no extra charge for this personal service and why we agreed to give them the whole delivery account countrywide.
When you find a company that adds to your service relieving stresses and problem areas you grab them with both hands. What was a problem for many months is no longer a problem and now we can move forward working as a team.
The other bonus is they are going to act as agents with the packaging material I am still involved with selling on to their network of clientele. All in all this was a highly successful meeting that should be profitable for both parties. When you start out hunting for a service partner you hope you will find one, but this is not that easy and has taken many months to achieve this. Literally hundreds of phone calls sifting through until you find the one that stands out above all others. Price was important due to the budget but also what they could offer and this has exceeded all expectations.