Wag!’s business model implies that certified and insured walkers come to the dog owner’s home when she is not around to get the dog. This requires a safe mechanism to exchange the key for the flat or house between dog owner and walker. Wag! approached Intrepid Sourcing with the task to develop a secure lock solution for storing the key as quickly as possible considering their rapid growth. Since the tight time frame didn’t allow for the development of a completely new lock–especially in the necessary quantity–the best possible adaptable lock solution had to be identified from countless Asian suppliers.
Relevant factors were not only the product characteristics and price, but of equal relevance were customization, lead time, logistics and packaging. Intrepid Sourcing procured, adapted and oversaw the production for in total more 300,000 locks. Based on this successful short-term solution, Wag! and Intrepid Sourcing are working on an improved and further customized lock solution.
Before Intrepid Sourcing took over the coordination of the locks, these were ordered from China at an about 20 percent higher price. Furthermore, stickers and packaging had to be done in the US, which caused Wag! a lot of additional effort and cost. The entire supply chain was streamlined efficiently by setting up these steps in China, allowing to ship the locks directly from a fulfillment center.
Wag!’s business model implies that certified and insured walkers come to the dog owner’s home when she is not around to get the dog. This requires a safe mechanism to exchange the key for the flat or house between dog owner and walker. Wag! approached Intrepid Sourcing with the task to develop a secure lock solution for storing the key as quickly as possible considering their rapid growth.
Since the tight time frame didn’t allow for the development of a completely new lock–especially in the necessary quantity–the best possible adaptable lock solution had to be identified from countless Asian suppliers. Relevant factors were not only the product characteristics and price, but of equal relevance were customization, lead time, logistics and packaging.
Intrepid Sourcing procured, adapted and oversaw the production for in total more 300,000 locks. Based on this successful short-term solution, Wag! and Intrepid Sourcing are working on an improved and further customized lock solution.
Before Intrepid Sourcing took over the coordination of the locks, these were ordered from China at an about 20 percent higher price. Furthermore, stickers and packaging had to be done in the US, which caused Wag! a lot of additional effort and cost.
The entire supply chain was streamlined efficiently by setting up these steps in China, allowing to ship the locks directly from a fulfillment center.
The Challenge
For most of its branded products, Wag! was relying on several layers of costly middlemen to source from multiple suppliers, encountering long production lead times, sporadic communication and inefficient logistics—all of which were increasing costs and time unnecessarily.
Moreover, many of their promotional items–such as T-shirts, bandanas and other products–were being sourced from local suppliers at exorbitant prices and little room to customize them for brand purposes. Finally, most of the items were being packaged and shipped from Wag’s offices.
The Story
As a tech startup, Wag! needed to develop a sustainable supply chain that enabled them to source a variety of high-quality products at lower costs, reduce product lead times and more efficiently deliver those goods to their customers.
The necessary flexibility of a tech startup has to be transferred to the procurement of physical products. Intrepid Sourcing assessed Wag!’s current situation and developed a holistic procurement strategy tailored to their needs. This included the adaption of a quick coordination for process for product selection, product design with branding, mass production, packaging and logistics.
The Solution
The First Step
We first wanted to understand what they were doing at the moment and WHY. We discovered that the company was following a slow process of sourcing products from various LA based suppliers and dispatching them from their offices. The branding of the products often deviated from company branding and design requirements. If they continued this same approach as they grew their user base and customers, Wag! employees wouldn’t have enough time to fulfill existing orders, let alone grow their business.
The Second Step
We provided mock up designs of their white label products and its packaging (including revisions). We provided samples to prove the product concept and then choosing the right white label supplier for each product that was best suited for mass production. Our team ensured supplier due diligence, quality control and coordination. A process was implemented so that any new product or product version would be available in a unique Wag! design in short time.
The Last Step
We developed customized solutions to eliminate logistics bottlenecks and to ensure Wag! had an efficient supply chain in place that could expand as they grew their business. Our team ensured products get the right certifications, customs clearances and organized shipping of products from China to LA. By doing the custom packaging already in China and by using a fulfillment center in the US, the shipment process within the US could be made more efficient.
The Outcome
Wag!’s overall cost decreased by 30% saving Wag! almost 1 million USD in less than a year. Now Wag! doesn’t need to worry about their supply of branded and customized products. Instead, they can focus on further developing their technology, services, and attracting venture capital.
Even A Successful Tech Company Like Wag! still needs help sourcing from different suppliers.
With Intrepid Sourcing’s help, Wag! successfully achieved the goals of developing their own customized production lines, product sourcing from reliable suppliers, significant cost reduction, faster turnaround times, streamlined logistics planning and coordination. Wag! has decided to continue the successful collaboration with Intrepid Sourcing also for the future.
