Chris Domby: 0:03

It's on demand warehousing, so we're able to help merchants scale up quickly for projects, or it could be longer term fulfillment solutions. We have network analysis and AI tools that we employ to, to help inform where merchants should store their products in terms of, closer to their suppliers and their, their end consumers

Tom Raftery: 0:24

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you are in the world. This is the Digital Supply Chain podcast, the number one podcast focusing on the digitization of supply chain, and I'm your host, Tom Raftery. Hi everyone. Welcome to the Digital Supply Chain podcast. My name is Tom Raftery, and with me on the show today, I have my special guest, Chris. Chris, welcome to the podcast. Would you like to introduce yourself?

Chris Domby: 0:48

Thanks Tom. Yeah, certainly. Happy to be here. Thanks for having me. So I am our chief supply chain officer at Ware2Go. So, um, been here for about four years now. So really, I think I was employee number 16, so, lived to tell to tail here. Yeah, so about four years here. And I've spent another 21 years, so a quarter of a century century in a supply chain capacity, mostly working for larger companies.

Tom Raftery: 1:17

And for people who are unaware, Chris, what is or who are Ware2Go? What do you guys do?

Chris Domby: 1:26

So we're a first and foremost a UPS company. So we're wholly owned by UPS and we're really a technology company that connects consumers or merchants online marketplaces to fulfillment services. So that's kind of the, overarching description of Ware2Go, but we, we are much more than that. So it's, it's on demand warehousing, so we're able to help merchants scale up quickly for projects, or it could be longer term fulfillment solutions. We have network analysis and AI tools that we employ to, to help inform where merchants should store their products in terms of, closer to their suppliers and their, their end consumers. And we've really gotten into utilizing UPS services for end to end supply chain solutions. So, More recently got into container shipping. So true fulfillment, all the way from, say, the factories in China to the end consumer. So we offer all those services in between there.

Tom Raftery: 2:28

Okay. And to try and tease it out a little more. What problem are you solving and for typically whom? I mean, are your customers large enterprises? Are they mom and pop shops? Are they someone in the middle? Are they all of the above? And what problem is it you're solving for them?

Chris Domby: 2:48

Yeah, so primarily we target and we serve as small to medium size businesses. So, where we, bring value to those entities is we're able to help them get their distribution network set up and really take advantage of economies of scale. Right. So we employ warehouses to provide fulfillment services for Ware2Go customers, and those customers are able to get really flexible fulfillment services. Most oftentimes cheaper and with better service than they can get on their own. So that's the, that's the sort of fulfillment piece of it. And then there's of course, UPS shipping. Because we are a UPS shipping, a UPS company we're able to provide really favorable UPS rates to them and also provide world class service. If you look at, at the parcel delivery companies UPS is certainly the gold standard. So, we're bringing really fast fulfillment and shipping services at a very reasonable cost. So to provide a, a more Amazon-like experience without having to store your goods in Amazon, it's a good way to put it.

Tom Raftery: 3:56

Okay, so are you like an Uber for warehousing,

Chris Domby: 4:00

Sort of, yeah, you could say that. We, we do a very. Thorough job of vetting our warehouses. So, we don't really have a gunshot approach where we've signed up a thousand warehouses and, you know, expect for all those to perform adequately. So we're very selective and we've narrowed down our partners most of our partners have multiple locations. So, we've kind of doubled down on those relationships and even taken down some custodial warehouses where, where to go is the only customer in that warehouse to get you know, more dedicated like service. So we're a little bit different. And there's some others in this space who act more like agents or, or brokers where they connect merchants with warehouses? We really manage the entire process. So, we're there for the warehouse partners, you know, we provide service. They're using our software. We bring them business and then we're there for the, consumers as well, right? So that they get the SLAs that they expect. You know, it's basically if an order comes in by three o'clock, it goes out the same day and we're 99.5% compliant with that. So that's truly world class service.

Tom Raftery: 5:11

And we are now, in November, we're coming into kind of holiday season. You guys have Thanksgiving in the US and after that we come into kind of the December holiday period, which is gonna be peak period for, buying presents a lot more online than in previous years. You know, every year that number increases, so it's gonna be a busy period, I guess, for you guys.

Chris Domby: 5:35

Yes, this is our Super Bowl, Tom, so, I can't put it any other way really. We look to ship about 35% of our annualised volume in November and December. And the lion's share of, those packages go out, within three weeks. So it really is, very pivotal time for us. We mobilized a lot of resources and plans, and there's a fourth year going through this. So we've gotten smarter and smarter every year to, to make sure that we win peak. So, and we have people standing at the ready. If if we have to deploy resources, which we've done in prior years you know, we will send people out to a warehouse to, to go and, and help pick orders. Right. So, so yeah, it's, it's a really big time for us right now. It's exciting. There's new challenges every year and this year is no different.

Tom Raftery: 6:26

And I mean, I gotta think, as well as the increasing number of online purchases that I referenced, you've also got changing consumer expectations too, right? I mean, the whole Amazon effect, you know, people expect that they place an order, it's delivered that day or the next day. No?

Chris Domby: 6:45

Exactly. Yeah. Consumers, I think consumers understood a little bit more about the supply chain disruptions last year, right? Everybody saw the the ships lined up at the Port of Long Beach and, some of the merchants were not able to get their goods in the warehouse in time to get them out. But that expectation has changed, right? So, people do expect to get their packages within one to two days. and that's a big driver of people's purchasing decisions. So, you know, they're not only looking for promotions, coupons, they're looking for really fast shipping, and they're looking for free shipping.

Tom Raftery: 7:23

And how is that impacting you?

Chris Domby: 7:26

Well, obviously our volume surges during these, this time. So, We really have to double down on forecasting and planning to make sure that we're able to get the orders fulfilled and meet our commitments to get packages out. Like I said, order in by three out the same day. And so we're working with our warehouse partners to staff up, it's mostly, mostly labor that's gonna help us get through this. And so it's really, you know, kinda locking arms with those providers, providing them forecasts and meeting with them and understanding, you know, what their challenges are and helping them work through that as, as partners. So, so it's, it's truly, you know, all hands on deck.

Tom Raftery: 8:12

Cool. Cool. And I gotta think as well that, okay, we are heading into holiday season. It's gonna be incredibly busy. This is going to mean that the emissions and all these kind of things associated with that are going to, to be peaking as well. Are you guys working with your customers to help them on their sustainability journey, or is that something that's on their roadmap at all?

Chris Domby: 8:40

No, it's, we are, we are very focused on sustainability and, and that's very important to consumers as well at 75% of the consumers that were polled in a, in a recent study that we conducted are more likely to buy from a brand that offers two day shipping. So they're, they, they are very focused on, you know, the speed. But they're also focused on sustainability. So 65% of consumers they want to support sustainable business so that that impacts their buying decisions if sustainability is considered for that brand. And so how we assist our merchants our clients is we are a hundred percent carbon neutral. And so, we basically purchase carbon credits associated with, with every shipment that goes out. So, we're truly a hundred percent carbon neutral. We work with a, with a company called Oma. To help purchase those credits. And they're very focused on reforestation and you know, eliminating deforestation, particularly in South America and the rainforest. And so that's, yeah, that's been a very rewarding partnership that we have. And it's a way that, you know, we're able to, to give back to the environment.

Tom Raftery: 9:52

Okay. And what about things like intelligent routing and all that? Is that also built in

Chris Domby: 9:57

Yeah. So there's the, there's the efficiency side of things. And so I listened to your podcast with a gentleman with Packright and, you know, he made a very good, very good point that, hey, if you're, if you're shipping air, you know, then you're really admitting you're filling that truck up full of air when you could be filling it up with goods, right? So, so that's important. So there's the efficiency side of things, right, as well. And that really speaks to where you choose to, to locate your products. So, you have to look at your origin points, you know, where are you if you're coming from China or you're domestically produced and then kind of marry that up with where are your consumers located. So, it's a lot more beneficial, you know, in terms of speed, generally speaking, to be closer to your your consumer base. It reduces long zone shipping as well, so you're not shipping, you know, across the country to get someone, their, their widget in time for Christmas. You're reducing carbon emissions associated with air. So, that's air shipping. So air shipping emits about six times more carbon emissions than ground. And so, that is something to consider in terms of sustainability is, you know, proximity to your customers and really kind of minimizing the need to, to get on a airplane, to get your products to them in time.

Tom Raftery: 11:21

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That makes sense. What are the, what are the big challenges that you see your, your customers, your clients facing?

Chris Domby: 11:30

Well, so, you know, there were the supply chain issues of last year and most of, most of those have subsided in terms of, you know, like we mentioned the container shipping. But really it's. In terms of labor that's a problem that we're running into, you know, across the supply chain. So trying to get your goods landed in time for peak has been a challenge. You know, the, the ports, while they're not necessarily backed up with ships there's a shortage of labor and equipment right now, so we're seeing at the Port of Oakland, for example product is sitting there for 10 to 15 days after it being landed because there's a lack of, of people really to process, those containers. And so, you know, that's something that's gonna slow down, our merchants availability to the land product quicker. So, I'll also say that, merchants have a, high level of inventory still. So we all probably heard about, the earnings suppression with Walmart and, Target in third quarter, and really the headline there was there was a glut of inventory. There's a glut of inventory for, you know, electronics and, and higher value goods. And so, our merchants, are no different in a lot of ways in that they have to cycle through a lot of excess inventory that they have now. And so they're looking really to take advantage of peak season and doubling down on sales. Some of them, us utilizing Amazon as a marketplace in addition to other sales channels, to really liquidate some of that. So they go into 2023 in a better inventory position.

Tom Raftery: 13:03

And can automation help in this?

Chris Domby: 13:08

Yeah, certainly. So we're employing a tool that we've built called Inventory View that's assisting us with planning, for inventory. So a little bit of AI there, but in, you know, in terms of, of processing in the warehouses, certainly robotics is, coming into play more and more. And so, that's assisting with some of the labor issues there. Some of the contention with the port or rail negotiations and and port negotiations has really been around, around automation and utilizing automation reducing the need for people. But it's inevitable that automation is going to have to continue to be employed to reduce the number of bodies really it takes to get goods through the supply chain network.

Tom Raftery: 13:50

Right. We're almost at 2023. What do you see happening in 2023 that'll impact both yourselves and, and your customers?

Chris Domby: 14:00

Yeah. So warehouse space has been really tight. So, um, mention that there's a glut of inventory. There are warehouses who are leasing out space to trailers full of inventory right now because there's no, there's no space in, in many of the the port areas to store your goods. And so I think we're gonna work through a lot of that excess inventory. Um, And it will be right sized and I think warehouse space will become a little bit more plentiful. Probably after Q1 as people kind of right size their, their inventory position. So, you know, I'm looking forward to that. I mean, that's, that's a big squeeze for all of us, so, I do look forward to, you know, having a little bit more real estate available to, to put goods in and reducing that pressure point. And I'll say that, January typically is a very, good month as well. Some people think, well, the holiday rush is over, right? And so, we've seen that, that in eCommerce that's not necessarily the case. So we tend to go into January and through January and part of February very strong. I don't know if that's because people have, you know, money in their pocket after the holidays they're looking to spend maybe it's some New Year's resolutions. But we do see January you know, the start of first quarter being very strong.

Tom Raftery: 15:17

Interesting. And of course we head into February, you're into Valentine's Day and everyone's buying roses and chocolates and and going out for meals, so the restaurants are stocking up, so, okay. Yeah, yeah. Very good. Very good. Very good. Okay. Chris, we're, we're coming towards the end of the podcast now. Is there any question I haven't asked you that you wish I had? Or any aspect of this that we haven't touched on that you think it's important for people to be aware of?

Chris Domby: 15:44

No, no, I'm just I'm excited to to be on, you know, the podcast here, Tom, and I've really enjoyed our conversation today. But no, I don't, I don't think we, we've missed a whole lot here.

Tom Raftery: 15:54

Okay. Superb. Superb. If people would like to know more about yourself, Chris, or about where to go, or any of the things we discussed in the podcast, where would you have me direct them?

Chris Domby: 16:05

It will be Ware2go.com. It's w a r e, the number two. go.com. And then you can see some, we've got some really interesting articles up there that I think people will find very, very helpful around peak um, and some other resources there. And then if you wanna check out the bios there, you can see that the leadership team and all that stuff. So, that's the best resource to go to.

Tom Raftery: 16:29

Phenomenal. Phenomenal. Great. Chris, that's been really interesting. Thanks a million for coming on the podcast today.

Chris Domby: 16:34

Thank you, Tom.

Tom Raftery: 16:36

Okay, we've come to the end of the show. Thanks everyone for listening. If you'd like to know more about digital supply chains, simply drop me an email to TomRaftery@outlook.com If you like the show, please don't forget to click Follow on it in your podcast application of choice to be sure to get new episodes as soon as they're published Also, please don't forget to rate and review the podcast. It really does help new people to find a show. Thanks, catch you all next time.