Capacity LLC

Capacity Commuting Data

2012-01-16T09:30:00.000-05:00

For any of you who are like us, data obsessed, below is a snapshot of the analysis Jeff Kaiden our CEO performed to conclude we save around 35,000 gallons of gas a year at our New Jersey campus through carpooling, public transportation, biking and walking. Take a look and enjoy! If you'd like the original in Excel, just send an email to information@capacityllc.com, and thanks for the support.

Staff Holiday Party

2011-12-22T22:09:00.000-05:00

The annual tradition of the Capacity Staff Holiday Party has some special things about it. It's bilingual, although what our CEO Jeff Kaiden says each year is a little bit different if you are primarily an English or Spanish speaker. Each year we emphasize the great appreciation we have for the team, and how lucky we are to succeed alongside you all. We share food, good will, presents, speeches and even cash. We recognize a few of the incredible people we work with, some recent, some together over a decade. We wish you a Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

how to choose a 3PL partner

2011-11-30T07:41:00.001-05:00

There have been numerous articles on this topic, this one is a lucid start if you're curious.

http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/how-to-evaluate-a-3pl-partner/

Below is another article by a sadly defunct competitor, but also a very good overview.

Picking the Right Fulfillment House

A guide to researching, interviewing and selecting
the right fulfillment house to meet your specific needs

Prepared By:
Paul Purdue, President
iFulfill.com
sales@iFulfill.com
http://www.iFulfill.com

Introduction
If you’re selling (or planning on selling) a product, then sooner or later, you’re going to need to figure out how to get that product into the hands of the purchaser. There are two main options:

-You can ship it yourself
-You can outsource

This eBook was written to help you understand the options, infrastructures, costs, and logistics involved with outsourcing your fulfillment to a third party. Some of what’s covered can be beneficial even if you plan to start out shipping the product yourself. All of it will help you in your quest to investigate and recruit a fulfillment house.

Who is Paul Purdue?
I’m Paul Purdue and I’m the President of iFulfill.com, a full service fulfillment company based in Maumee, Ohio. While I sincerely hope you’ll consider our company as you search for a fulfillment solution, I’ve made every effort to make this eBook objective. My goal here is to tell you what you need to know to research and pick the right fulfillment company to meet your specific needs.

I’ve been in the fulfillment business for almost four years, all of them in my current capacity as President of iFulfill.com. Before that, I was involved in establishing infrastructures for a variety of different businesses, most recently an internet service provider, and just prior, a national software distributor. That brings us to our first keyword: infrastructures.

What’s the key here?
The heart of any business is the “infrastructure”. It’s how you do things, the day to day nuts and bolts methods by which you conduct business. If you are involved with a business that sells a product, then the infrastructure that you setup to conduct that business is going to be a key element in your success. When you outsource your product fulfillment, a major element of the success of that endeavor is that the two infrastructures (yours and the fulfillment house’s) work together to get the job done.

The main key to success in such a “marriage” is clearly identifying how these two infrastructures are going to fit together, identifying any problem areas, and finding solutions, all before the relationship is finalized and the first order is placed. That’s what this eBook is all about.

Where to look
The first logical step is to tell you where to look to find potential fulfillment partners. Perhaps one of the most comprehensive lists is Yahoo’s Fulfillment Services Category. You’ll find about 100 fulfillment houses listed. You can also search at any of your favorite search engines or directory sites. My favorites include Google, Overture, and AltaVista. Search for “Fulfillment”, “Order Fulfillment”, or “Product Fulfillment”.

There have been many articles written about fulfillment; here are a couple:

From Workz.com
From WebSuccessMaker.com

You’ll find many more as you utilize search engines to look for a fulfillment solution.

Fulfillment Specific Sites:

There are a few sites devoted to fulfillment that are worth a look:

Operations and Fulfillment – a website devoted to presenting articles from the popular publication of the same name

NCOF – The National Conference on Operations and Fulfillment – a 12-year track record of delivering high quality, use-it-now information and know-how; a must-attend event that consumer and business-to-business operations and fulfillment professionals participate in each year.

eLogistics 101 – A site devoted to warehouse logistics, layout and design, it has some interesting information on fulfillment also.

There are also several websites that deal specifically with marketing that offer some insight into fulfillment:

Wilson Internet – Produced by Ralph Wilson, and home of two hugely popular eZines: Web Commerce Today and Dr. E-Biz.

Sell It On the Web – Produced by Paul Lange – An interesting collection of information on running an eBusiness.

How it all works – a broad view
In the simplest term: a fulfillment relationship is one where you put your product in someone else’s warehouse. When a customer orders your products, they ship them out.

Some fulfillment houses can provide an ordering mechanism (shopping cart, order page, etc.), and some can let you use their merchant account to process credit card orders, while others can do both, in addition to fulfilling the orders. You need to define what your needs are before approaching a potential fulfillment partner.

-Do you already have an “order mechanism”?
-Do you already have a merchant account to process credit card orders?
-If not, do you want the fulfillment partner to provide them?

How you answer these question will be a determining factor in which companies you can work with so be sure to give these issues some thought before you proceed.

The ordering mechanism is what we commonly think of as a “shopping cart” although it can be as simple as a one page order form to order a single product, and as complicated as a full featured shopping cart that’s capable of advanced features like discounts, gift cards, coupons, online shipping charge calculation. How you take your orders is a big part of the “customer experience”, and should not be taken lightly. It also is a big part of your interaction with the fulfillment house.

An order mechanism that’s working fine for you now, may be a disaster when it comes to integrating with a fulfillment house. Let me give you an example.

You’re currently taking orders and shipping them out yourself. Everything works just fine, and you have the whole situation under control. But you’re currently shipping 50 to 70 orders a day, and getting your orders out the door is taking more and more of your time, and you’re spending less and less time doing the things that sell: promoting your site, calling potential wholesale customers, search engine positioning, advertising, etc.

That, of course, is why you’ve started to think about using a fulfillment house. They can free you of the day to day work of getting orders out the door, and allow you to spend more time promoting your products and establishing business relationships.

Now lets look at the order infrastructure you currently use and some potential “gotcha’s” that may cause problems when you go to integrate your systems with the new fulfillment house’s.

• PO Boxes – You say “no PO Boxes” on the order form - you offer UPS shipping and they can’t deliver to PO Boxes. In the “pre-fulfillment house” days, when you got an order with a PO Box, you stopped the order, called the customer, and got the street address.
• States – You have a 20 character field for state on your order form. If someone from Ohio orders (just an example, we’re not picking on Ohio here), they could enter Ohio, OH, Oh, or Oh. to name a few. In the “old days”, you could deal with this, it just meant you had to correct it.
• Countries – Same for country; they could enter US, USA, U.S.A., United States, United States of America, etc.
• Incomplete addresses – You always noticed these yourself, right??

Bottom line is: when you’re doing it all yourself, you had time to review every order and you knew what your order mechanism (shopping cart, order page, whatever) would “let through” so you knew what to look for. It’s not going to be quite that way with a fulfillment house; they’ll need the order to come in right the first time, and in a format they can deal with. There will only be one correct way to say US, only one correct abbreviation for Ohio (it’s OH), and the data will have to be complete and correct when the orders taken.

While a somewhat sloppy order mechanism may suit your needs just fine right now, with no noticeable side effects, it will have to be cleaned up before you can effectively deal with a fulfillment house.

Call Center
While you may find yourself looking for a call center at the same time that you are looking for a fulfillment house, don’t be surprised to find that most fulfillment houses do not offer call center services. While some do, most prefer to work with or recommend a third party.

Of the fulfillment houses that do offer call center type services, many only offer limited hours for these services.

My recommendation has always been to utilize a third party call center, where you’ll find trained operators, a call center oriented infrastructure, 24/7 availability, and competitive pricing. These are all things that typically aren’t found in call center services offered by fulfillment houses, as these are all areas that are outside their regular area of expertise.

One thing to look for: be sure that the call center is one that has the internet available at the operator’s desktop. If you are taking orders on the internet, you want the operators to be able to do the same. They’ll have access to your site, where they’re likely to find answers that they may need. In addition, if they’re taking orders directly into your online infrastructure, and if you’re integrated with the fulfillment house in “real time”, then a next day order that’s placed on Thursday afternoon has a significantly better chance of shipping that day and arriving the next day.

In addition, if there’s a problem with the credit card charge (the card is declined, or the wrong number is given to the operator), the problem will be discovered while the customer is still on the phone; the problem can be solved right then and there. If this sort of an issue isn’t discovered until after the customer has hung up, then there’s a 50% chance that this order will never be recovered.

The reason it’s significant to be certain that the operators have the internet on their desktops is that to this day, many still do not! Call Centers and Answering Services were, by nature, one of the first businesses to be computerized. Because of this, many still operate on mainframe or mini computer based systems, where the internet at the desktop is often not an option.

We have quite a few clients who utilize the services of a company called Torcom, and have been quite pleased with them.

The Pick Pack Process
Once your order hits the fulfillment house, it will go through several steps before it is deposited with the carrier (UPS, FedEx, The Postal Service, etc.). It will be:

• entered into their system (if the method in which you transmitted it didn’t already put it directly into their system)
• printed as a packing slip in the warehouse
• picked from the shelf
• packed in a box and sealed
• weighed
• labeled with a carrier compliant label
• deposited with the carrier

There are several “issues” that may come up depending on your needs. You should make sure the company you choose can handle them.

Kits
Kits are multiple item products. Let’s say, for instance, that you sell three videos on dog grooming (one on bathing, one on clipping, and one on combing). They each sell for $20, but you offer all three for $45. When your shopping cart takes an order for all three, it doesn’t list them separately, it merely lists the set of three videos as one “product”.

Some fulfillment houses will be able to deal with the single listing and their system will be able to be programmed in such a way that when someone orders the “set” (or “kit”, as we call it), it shows up as three separate videos on the packing slip. Others will require that you submit the order to them as three separate videos, which might be complicated to do on your end. Others might simply accept the order as a “set”, show it on the packing slip as a “set”, and let the people in the warehouse figure it out, which can tend to lead to errors.

If you have a “kit” type product, be sure that the fulfillment house can handle it in such a way that will be easiest for you to accommodate and result in the least number of errors.

Other examples of “kits” include:

• Items that require a separate sheet of paper to be inserted with each of a certain product that’s ordered. For instance, perhaps you sell a dietary supplement that has a sheet of instructions that goes with it.
• Multiple Quantity Products – these are just “deals” on purchasing more than one of something. We see a lot of clients that have setup their cart to charge, for example, $20 for one bottle, $35 for 2, $50 for 3, etc. Many fulfillment houses will use kits to handle this situation.
• Case Quantities – This is discussed a little further down.

Inserts
Inserts are like kits, only kits are product specific and inserts are typically order specific. A good example of an “insert” is a catalog. You only want one to go into the order, regardless of how many products were ordered or what those products were. With inserts, it’s always one per order, no matter what’s been ordered. If the need is there, be sure your potential fulfillment partners can handle inserts.

Packing Slip
The packing slip typically will show what has been ordered in such a fashion as to facilitate accurate picking by the warehouse staff. If you have special needs, they should be addressed up front.

A packing slip usually has your company name, the address of the fulfillment house, the name and address of the customer, an order number, and a list of the items in the order.

Label
A label usually has your company name, the address of the fulfillment house, the name and address of the customer, an order number, and any other details specific to the carrier.

Cutoff Times
It’s important that you understand what to expect with regard to the time it takes to fulfill an order, in part so that you can convey that information to your clients. Some fulfillment houses will give a specific cutoff time for orders. For instance, “all orders received by noon will ship that day, and all air orders received by 4:00 PM will also ship that day.” When this is the case, be sure everything is clearly defined, and don’t forget to take into account the time zone of the fulfillment house.

Other companies simply give a timeframe. For instance “all orders ship within 24 hours.” In my opinion, this is less desirable, because it fails to specifically define the situation. It gives the fulfillment house more “wiggle room”, and makes it harder for you to be specific with your customers.

Fees you might pay
Merchants are sometimes surprised by the costs involved in outsourcing fulfillment. That’s usually because they haven’t taken the time to sit down and figure out exactly what it’s costing for them to do these same tasks themselves. It’s important to analyze and understand what it’s currently costing you to prepare and ship your own orders before looking at what it will cost to outsource. Otherwise, you won’t be able to accurately and fairly compare the two alternatives.

I’ve listed many (hopefully all) of the fees that you might encounter as you start to make inquiries at various fulfillment companies. Fees vary from one company to the next. Some will charge some fees and not others, and there may be other fees that I’ve not encountered yet, so always be certain you understand the complete pricing picture before making a decision.

Fulfillment Fee
This is the bread and butter of most fulfillment operations. Typically it’s a “first item” fee and an “additional item” fee. For example, it might be $1.75 for the first item in an order and $0.30 for each additional item in an order. In this example, an order going to one person that contained three items would cost $2.35 to fulfill.

Shipping Charge
This charge is usually simply passed on at cost. Be certain you understand the basis for this charge so that you have a good idea what to expect going into the relationship.

Setup Fee
Some fulfillment houses charge a fee to setup an account. Sometimes this fee covers adding products to their system, sometimes it doesn’t.

“Programming” fee (product maintenance)
Many times the merchant pays to setup their product line in the fulfillment companies computer system. This is usually charged by the hour or by the product.

Storage Fee
This fee covers the storage of the product in the warehouse. Some companies charge just for the pallets that they store, while others also charge for the shelf space in the pick/pack area.

Monthly Service Charge
Sometimes this fee takes the form of a monthly (or weekly) minimum, other times it’s simply a flat fee.

Receiving Fee
This fee covers the costs involved in receiving merchandise from suppliers. It can be charged a number of ways, but the most common is either by the pallet or by the product (SKU).

Kitting
This is a generic “catch all” phrase that covers all sorts of manual labor. Kitting is usually billed by the hour, plus costs. Examples of kitting include:

• insertion
• kitting
• assembly
• special packaging
• labeling
• pre-pricing
• shrink wrapping

Website Development
Some fulfillment companies are able to provide technical assistance in setting up order infrastructures (shopping carts and order forms), processing credit cards online, and integrating with their infrastructure. These charges are usually billed on an hourly basis.

Returns Processing
This is a fee for receiving and processing a return. It’s usually billed on a per return basis.

Packaging materials
Some fulfillment companies charge extra for packaging materials, while others will include it in the fulfillment fee. Be sure to check.

Order Entry
Depending on the volume, some fulfillment companies will hand enter orders into their system. This is usually billed on a per order basis.

Customer Service
Some companies will charge to answer customer inquiries, others don’t. Be sure to check.

Sales Reporting
Many fulfillment houses offer reporting that will satisfy most merchants needs as a part of their service. Others will charge for it. Be sure to check that your reporting needs are met and that you understand the fees associated with getting the information you require.

Insurance
Sometimes your goods are insured under a blanket policy carried by the fulfillment house, other companies require that you carry your own insurance on your goods while they are in their warehouse.

Questions to Ask
Finally, some questions to ask that just didn’t fit into any other section.

How big is the warehouse
Size can mean many things to many people. You don’t want a company that’s got a warehouse that’s too small to accommodate the product you intend to put in it, however, at the other end of the scale, you don’t want one that’s so big that you’ll get lost in the shuffle, unable to get the attention and service that you require.

Flexibility is a key here. Virtually every potential client I’ve come in contact with has been concerned with whether or not we’ll be able to handle the sudden huge influx of orders that are going to ensue when (not if; when) their product becomes the next pet rock. That’s understandable, and actually, it’s part of the entrepreneurial process. If you don’t believe in your product, who will?? However, from the fulfillment companies’ viewpoint, it’s their job to keep everything in perspective.

They know that “when my product becomes the next pet rock” should be interpreted as “if my product becomes the next pet rock”. Flexibility is the key here: Do they have the “capability” to have enough warehouse space to handle the million orders you’re going to ship each day.

If I secured extra warehouse space for every client that claimed they were going to need it, we would be bankrupt. Instead, it’s my job to make sure that the extra space will be available should the need actually arise. The fulfillment house you pick should have a similar strategy.

How many Employees
See “How big is the warehouse”, as the situation is identical.

How long in Business
While largely irrelevant, I wouldn’t recommend going with a company that’s been around for less than 1 year. This gives them enough time to have worked out the kinks, developed their infrastructure, and assembled a competent staff.

References
This is a key item: can they provide you with references of satisfied customers. Any company should be able to provide you with names of at least 2 or 3 customers who, when you contact them, will simply rave about their service. Even companies that have clients that have been dissatisfied will be able to scrape together a couple that will rave. The more they can provide, the better, but here’s the important part: contact the references!!

Minimum Order Quantities
Many fulfillment houses have minimum volumes that you must be shipping before they will even talk to you. One of the first questions you should ask is “do you have a minimum volume that you require”, because, if they do, you want to make sure you satisfy it before you waste your time asking all the other questions you should ask.

Are they accepting new clients
Some fulfillment houses are not accepting new clients, yet, oddly enough, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had someone tell me lately that they spent an hour one the phone with this company or that company and THEN they were told that the company wasn’t accepting new clients at that time: incredible. Ask before you waste your time!

Maximums
Some fulfillment houses have a maximum volume that they can deal with. This is a good thing to know up front; be sure to check it out.

Error Rate
Everyone makes mistakes. This is the question you ask and then listen just as carefully for “how” they answer as “what” they say. Also a very good question to ask of references.

Wholesale Distribution
If you intend to ship case quantities to wholesale customers, you want to make sure that the company you choose is capable of doing it and charging appropriately. If a case is 24, and you submit an order for 3 cases, you want to make sure you get billed for 3 “picks”, not 72. Most fulfillment houses will have a way that you can submit such an order and be billed appropriately, but some don’t so be sure to check it out.

Date Tracking
Do you sell a product that expires at some point? If so, do you need the fulfillment house to track it? Be sure they can, most don’t, but some do. It’s much easier if they’re taking care of tracking product expiration dates than it is for you to manage from afar.

Branded Packaging
If you want to ship your products in packaging that has your companies name or logo on it, be sure to check. Some will, some won’t.

How long to check in?
This is commonly called “dock to shelf time” and it’s the amount of time that goes by between when your goods arrive on the fulfillment company’s dock, and when they are “checked in”, on the shelf, and ready to ship. Times can range from a few hours to days, so be sure to check what the average is at the companies you’re considering. Also a great question to ask references.

How long to setup?
How long does it take to get setup and ready to start. With some companies, it’s literally how long it takes you to ship your products to them, with others, it can be weeks or months.

How do you pay?
Some companies give terms, others require that you prepay for their services or provide bank account info so that they can deduct their fees from your account.

Customer Service
Do they provide customer service for shipping or order fulfillment related problems or questions? If so, is it via email, telephone, or both. Make sure you understand what level of service they will provide and what is expected of you.

Information Reporting
What information do they provide to you after an order as shipped? Does it satisfy your needs? Can you get information on the internet, or do you have to call. Can you search for an order by name or order number? Can you track packages to see if they’ve been delivered? The more information you have at your fingertips, the easier it will be for you to deal with inquiries.

Inventory
How is inventory tracked? Is it real time, and, if so, do you have access to the numbers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Some companies have sophisticated inventory management systems, and they make the information available to you on the internet in real time. Others have less sophisticated systems that are only available to their staff, or, worse yet, some have nothing at all, and the only way to get inventory figures is to request a count.

Re-Order Alerts
How do you know when inventory needs to be re-ordered? Some companies will send email when your inventory reaches a certain level. Some will even let you set the level on a product by product basis. Others will simply assume that you can monitor real time inventory and keep track of it yourself. Be sure to ask how you will be informed of inventory that’s nearing zero.

Summary
I truly love this business, but then I love challenges. The fulfillment business is a challenging, yet rewarding business to be in. I know that there are quite a few companies out there that share our enthusiasm and dedication to doing things right, but I also get to hear quite a few horror stories each week from people who are coming to us from other fulfillment houses.

But if you study your options, and ask the right questions, I’m confident that you’ll find a company that can do a great job for you, and when you do, you’ll find outsourcing your product fulfillment to be one of the best and most liberating decisions you’ve ever made.

While I’ve tried to cover everything, I’m certain that things will pop up that I failed to mention. When you find one, please let me know!! Send me a quick email at feedback@iFulfill.com.

LA Crew

2011-11-16T19:28:00.000-05:00

Over time the Capacity West team in LA has been refined like a fine wine: needs some time to breath, but packs a good punch once properly decanted. When visiting this week we took some time to document these tough professionals, who manage a building about half the size of our HQ with a team a small fraction of the one in Jersey. First up, here is the management and client services team, headed by Scott Minehart and Chris Copelan, with Andrea Zavala and Andrea Rayburn keeping them honest.

Then we have the veteran warehouse team, headed by Juan Hilario, Isidro Delgadillo, Bryan Spinney and Jonathan Silva, all veterans of our previous warehousing adventures in California:

The warehouse crew is growing, and here are just a few of those who made the squad: Edwin (also a veteran of earlier warehousing battles), Manuel, Israel, Jose, Raul, Sandra, Ray, and Steven.

reporting for duty: Claudia managing some weekend Assembly work

2011-10-10T17:38:00.002-04:00

This weekend Capacity had an impressive number of team members working well into Friday night and through to Saturday morning. We hammered out labels, assembly work, store deliveries, whatever keeps product flowing. Claudia Rodriguez is seen here taking a management enforced break (stop for a moment so I can take a picture, willya?) Nice job to all of those who worked through the night and into the weekend: we are very lucky to have a crew like you.

VMV Hypoallergenic NYC Store Opens!

2011-02-22T19:00:00.007-05:00

One of the great treats for the Capacity team is finding a client to work with who has everything: a great team, a great product, and the brains to take their offering to market. VMV Hypoallergenics (www.vmvhypoallergenics.com) has all that in spades: Dr. Verallo-Rowell and her talented team (whom she had the good sense to give life to - more on that in a moment) have created a truly outstanding product line which you can find out all on your own. We had the great fortune to be selected to work with VMV as they grew their business to include retail stores in America (they are from The Phillipines) and are excited by the fantastic job they did in refitting and opening a New York presence just off Union Square. As you can see from the images the place was packed - how many store openings have a line onto the street on one of the coldest nights of the year (which is saying something in NYC this winter...)

We were thrilled to see Dr. Verallo-Rowell and her wunderkinder CC and JP, who have been a pleasure to partner with and have been consummate professionals every step of the way. Perhaps like some of the Capacity partners who are recovering former finance industry veterans they have found their true calling in a business where you actually deliver a product to people and build a business by truly adding value: we call it insourcing. The event was a huge success and we salute the entire Verallo-Rowell clan and their continuing success. Bravo!

O What a Night

2010-10-22T14:01:00.009-04:00

We had a great time with much of the team out bowling last night, and it was a welcome respite from the hectic day-to-day of our busy season. Brunswick Lanes favored us with 4 of their seemingly endless lanes, and we had a ball. And the ride home, by train for those of us far afield, was amusing too. Gustav in particular outdid himself as a provider of well lubricated comic relief. Here's who we managed to get out:

The Nerd Herd
Jeff Kaiden
Gustav Andersen
Jason Merkel
Rohan Bhobe
Lauren Macchiaverna

The Ops Cops
Mark Featherman
Karim Fofana
Angela Cocho
Dawn Luciano
Anabel Pedroza

The Dogs & Ponies
Thomas Campbell
Nikil Prabhakar
Kevin Bernick
Asha Azhar
Michelle Duffy

The High Rollers
Arlen Fish
Linda Berkowitz
Julie Gonzolez
Julian Ochoa
Eniko Bartus

The Tipsy Dipsy Crew
(our non-bowling cheerleaders)
Tony Ruiz
Ruth Dimberu
Emily Siegert
Dawn Micale
Priya Jayaram
Shai Canaan

It's not clear who won, but I'm sure folks will have an opinion. I'd say that the Ops Cops put in a very good showing, as did the High Rollers, but everyone had an exceptionally good time. Thanks for coming out, and we'll be doing it again soon.

Capacity's MiniTriathlon

2010-08-12T14:59:00.004-04:00

So some of the Capacity team got their game on and went down to Belmar NJ to participate in a benefit mini-Triathlon benefit for Autism (http://www.dqtridu.com/belmar.htm), inspired by the hardcore new breed: Lauren Macchiaverna and Gustav Andersen, the experienced set. The old guys (aka partners Jeff Kaiden, Arlen Fish and Thom Campbell) agreed to participate and wild wagers were being hurled about, with team competition and other twists envisioned. In the end, it was every man and woman for themselves. The only bet was that Gus would beat a 10 minute spread over Lauren's finishing time. The bet was as follows: if he failed to beat the spread, his wager was he'd accept a chest waxing; hers was some creative hair color - some variation on the color red.

In the end, Shai Canaan came in as a last minute participant to pinch hit for Arlen, who had to step out with a rib injury. Furthermore, with exactly one day of specific training, he won the Capacity pool with an impressive time of 1:14:25 (#177 overall), OFF THE COUCH. Not bad for a man over 35. Next was Gus at 1:16:17 (#200), followed by Lauren Macc at 1:20:38 (#250) CLEARLY BEATING THE SPREAD OVER GUS. Finally, the old guys moseyed over the finish line: Thom came in at 1:25:59 (#291) and dear leader (now rechristened 'fabulous leader' in large part due to his performance), Jeff, finished in 1:34:09 (#335).

All in all, we had a great time: surprising for those of us who had never raced, much less in a triathlon. Next outing looks to be in Toms River October 10, and we hope you can make it to join the great cheerleading team of Arlen and Jeff's family.

Internal link to more images: \\T1\users\1triath
Video of why not to lose a bet against Lauren: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LoTmjkC57U

Happiest of Hours

2010-05-26T12:07:00.004-04:00

Last Friday some of the Capacity team convened in the Big Apple near our office to celebrate the birth date of a great American: Lauren Macc. While we had a wonderful time, our Dear Leader did have to shuffle off to Temple like a good MOT. Nikil Prabhakar from our Sales Team was none too pleased, but tried to put a good face on his disappointment, which Jeff shared...

Capacity rolling in the snow

2010-02-12T20:30:00.004-05:00

So all those tough truckers are not so tough it seems: many service interruptions did not prevent Capacity from making it to work to do our best to service clients during the Northeast's latest 'blizzard' (I wonder what Alaskans think about our standards there.) Even our intrepid CFO stuck in the snow did not prevent him and the more steadfast members of the team from making it to work. Here are a few shots, including Arlen's jeep stuck in front of the facility and his own more successful efforts behind the facility.

Capacity's New Website

2010-02-02T18:16:00.004-05:00

We're excited to announce our brand-new website! After many years in the able hands of webmaster (and Partner, and CFO, and packaging designer, and so on) Arlen Fish, we've finally decided to work with a great professional design group out of Tiverton, Rhode Island, Zeus Designs (http://zeusdesigns.com). And yes, the name appealed to our delusions of grandeur. So, sprung like Athena from Zeus's head, welcome to the new Capacity website! Comments are of course welcome. But be kind. We warehouse types are so sensitive.

Capacity Manhattan Office & Partner Off-Site

2009-11-11T11:46:00.004-05:00

You may think that Capacity's partners rarely step back from the day-to-day operations and responsibilities of a fast-paced third party logistics and order fulfillment environment. You may be right. However, once in a while we do pull back from the demands of the day-to-day to take time to assess how thing are going, where they should be going, and how the heck we're going to get there. Our partner and management off-sites have an illustrious history: the first one saw Arlen, Jeff and Thom at the latter's parent's house (cost-effective as always.) Arlen coined the Capacity name from a top-secret, undisclosed location there. Later management off-sites have included impressive sledding acumen, in particular Mike Devivo's stylish pre-snowboard schuss on an old plank down the Campbell family's favorite ski hill (not the one with pond at the bottom.)

For this off-site Jeff was kind enough to share his new spread at the foot of the Catskills. Minutes away from the lovely Ashokan Reservoir, the partners convened early this November. We talked about our beloved clients, trusted employees, darkest enemies (just joking), as well as our hopes and dreams. We discussed the prospect of having an actual dedicated sales and marketing group (?!!) in addition to the efforts of the partners, and how that would facilitate smooth client integrations and handing relationships off to client service. We discussed capital investments in our new facilities in New Jersey and California, as well as our new Manhattan office. We did have a few cocktails too.

Jeff frankly blew us away with his gourmet cooking. Lunch the first day was lollipop lamb chops on the grill, potato kale chorizo soup, and a small aperitif. Dinner that night was outrageous: stuffed Cornish game hens with greens and corn and cocktails, of course. After dinner we enjoyed a rousing bonfire under a nearly full moon, all of which facilitated lots of clear, strategic thinking. The next day brought a brief constitutional down by the reservoir and back to work. Lunch was Jeff's signature onion soup and then a scenic drive back to the Big Apple and our brand new (as yet unfurnished) offices at 53rd & Broadway.

We may not have changed the world but we did have a great chance to catch up, appreciate what we have accomplished with our employees, clients and partners, and look forward to new challenges with a fresh prespective and a little less bourbon in the world.

Capacity's got a brand new warehouse

2009-10-29T16:56:00.003-04:00

Capacity has just expanded into a new facility directly across the cul-de-sac (that's French for dead end per our polyglot Director of Operations M. Karim Fofana). Across from our HQ, affectionately called 'C1', we'll have easy access to an additional 140,000 square feet of high quality, high bay space. We will be calling 1101 Corporate Road "C2new" to avoid confusion with our other space in the area at 1600 Livingston Ave., at least for the coming months.

We've already got our latest project cooking in there: assembly of Thanksgiving meals for Fresh Direct (www.freshdirect.com) and the Robin Hood Foundation (http://www.robinhood.org/home.aspx). We are excited to be working with such great partners for this project and it seems like good karma to initiate our brand new building with this work. Here are some images of the team taking down the 'for rent' sign and working on the layout with our new Sales Engineer Gus Andersen, cutting his teeth on a big bite of order fulfillment and assembly work.

Capacity recognized by NJDOT as NJ Smart Workplace

2009-04-23T10:42:00.000-04:00

Yes folks, we made it. Due to the number of employees who ride the shuttle, we are a proud member: for immediate release:

“Governor Corzine and I congratulate you and your company for becoming a part of the 2009 NJ Smart Workplaces winner’s circle…This is a celebration of employers who, like yourself, have earned the NJ Smart Workplaces designation to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality with work-site based employee commuting options. It is a notable achievement that deserves recognition.

Congratulations on this outstanding achievement.

Sincerely,

Stephen Dilts, Comissioner
State of New Jersey Department of Transportation”

Capacity’s Dumpster Diving CEO

2008-11-20T10:32:00.001-05:00

Capacity client Berkshire Hathaway recently received a disturbing call. A retail mall had found boxes addressed to Berkshire’s subsidiary NetJets in the mall’s dumpster and wanted an explanation. Given the sensitive nature of the issue, NetJets’ Capacity relationship manager immediately elevated the issue to one of the co-heads of our Client Service team, Jeff Kaiden, who also happens to be our CEO. Since the dumpster was located near our headquarters in North Brunswick, NJ, Jeff and one of our facilities manager headed on over to see what they could find out about this unusual situation.

When they arrived there were a dozen different containers behind the retail mall where NetJets boxes had been reported. Enhancing his already legendary ‘street cred’ Jeff gamely traipsed around inside the dumpster’s construction waste until he found the flattened boxes bearing UPS labels with NetJets as the recipient – inevitably in the last dumpster he searched. He also located the Capacity WMS (warehouse management system) barcode and carton ID labels indicating which order they had shipped with and when, as well as some useful handwritten indications like ‘Precious items,’ ‘Kitchen,’ and ‘Dining Room.’ Apparently someone had used the boxes to move recently and slipped them into the contractors’ waste containers.

NetJets’ Director of Owner Communications was suitably impressed, amused and relieved, as were we.

Free Advice

2008-10-03T09:45:00.000-04:00

When we were fishing around for free advice prior to starting our business (www.CapacityLLC.com) my business partner and I visited a family friend, my brother’s godfather. Uncle Hal was and is still the perfect avuncular type – dapper, kindly, a successful owner of his own business, and willing to share some of his time. He was happy to answer our questions on anything from how he kept his Savile Row suits looking so immaculate (avoid excessive dry cleaning) to the pros and cons of various lightweight laptops. We even had some questions about our proposed venture, providing logistics services, including warehousing and order fulfillment. But there was one question he asked us which has been more of a driver to our own success than any of the answers he provided to our uninformed inquiries. That question was: “Can the business support you?” It was then the late 1990s when startups were like fungus on cow patties and about as intoxicating, so what may now seem like an obvious question to ask seemed less so then.

In our business plan we anticipated raising a substantial amount of money. A real estate down payment for a warehouse is large, as is the budget for a marketing and programming blitz required to quickly create the pre-eminent branded platform for third party warehousing and logistics. But by the time we had actually landed a client, almost two years later, the bubble had burst and easy money was long gone. At inception the partners had managed to pull together enough capital to hire our CEO away from his father’s design consultancy full time and buy a few laptops (cheap, not the nice one Hal sported). We found our first client. They already had a facility, but were in serious need of operational expertise and cost cutting. Because we were physically hosted by our first client, our business was cash flow positive initially, a benefit earned by cutting our host client’s costs by 40% in a matter of days, and more over time through the judicious use of technology and sweat. We made enough to provide modest salaries and begin payments on the investments in technology we hoped would differentiate our services over time.

Once I was working for myself for only slightly more than I earned upon graduating from college, Hal’s advice seemed a very sharp point, and we started hewing even closer to the revenue line to maintain positive cash flow. When our host client sold its business, overnight we went from cash flow positive to only three month’s rent on hand. We cut our own salaries in half. We set out to fill the empty third of our first warehouse, which had suddenly become several hundred thousand cubic feet of very expensive air. We made a hundred cold calls a day, sent out mailings, prowled trade shows, all the things you do when your next paycheck is waiting to be earned. I did nothing but think about finding, qualifying, and closing new business. My employees could all see me on the phone a dozen hours a day, and while they looked concerned, they worked even harder.

The key lessons for us, in terms of how to make sure the business can support you, were:

Be conservative and disciplined. Make the money before you take it out of the business. Stick to your core competencies before expanding your offering. Make a plan, work the plan, review and renew the plan, repeat the process.
Deploy capital wisely. Be careful with it when you have it, and when you don’t, get creative and compensate with hard work, and then some more even harder work.
Market and innovate (the Drucker directive). Spend a great deal of time and effort acquiring clients, and then twice as much time and tenfold the effort servicing them.

It paid off, eventually. We acquired more clients. We tweaked existing software platforms and enhanced and built proprietary technology aimed at continually improving our operations. We delivered the client service levels required to keep clients, which allowed us to succeed alongside them. We became profitable about five years ago and have just expanded our business from our facilities in New Jersey to another in California, an exciting market for what we do. We still like to be pretty thrifty – I was shocked when we recently got some very nice new laptops (turned out they were deeply discounted). The memories of leaner times are still vivid, along with Hal’s key question, the best free advice we could have hoped to have. When we recently updated Hal about our progress, he asked about further automation of the business: another excellent question I’m sure we’ll be addressing in the years to come.

Capacity goes live with a California warehouse

2008-05-22T11:29:00.004-04:00

Capacity has opened our latest fulfillment center in Compton, CA. We commenced operations on behalf of American Eagle Outfitters (http://www.ae.com/web/index.jsp) and are bringing additional clients live over the next two months. From our New Jersey locations, we service major corporations like Berkshire Hathaway’s (http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/) executive jet share division NetJets® (http://netjets.com/) and ADP® (http://www.adp.com/), the payroll and business solution company. We also have expertise with smaller companies who need high quality order fulfillment and assembly services.

Capacity has locations in Compton, CA and North Brunswick, NJ. All four facilities are close to the major ports of LA/Long Beach or Newark/NY. We offer third party warehousing and fulfillment. We provide distribution to US- and Globally-based companies ranging in size from startups to the well-established. Clients include major brands like A.P. Deauville (http://apdeauville.com/), the manufacturer of the PowerStick®, Freeze 24/7 (www.freeze247.com) and ZIRH Men’s Skincare (www.zirh.com). These and other Capacity clients are shipping health and beauty aids (HBA) to EDI retailers including Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora and dozens of other major retailers.

just passing along much appreciation...

2008-02-04T15:31:00.001-05:00

just passing along much appreciation and thanks for your company's supporting of our troops in iraq. we heard about this from Marcelle Shriver through our military myspace network. she had spoken with Mr Thom Campbell, and they coordinated the shipments of "silly string" to iraq to help detect trip wires for mines and ieds. mrs shriver had much difficulty finding a company to ship the product due to its aerosol propellant. the lives this product will save are countless, we thank Thom Campbell and all those at Capacity LLC that are helping make these shipmets a reality.

thank you and God bless.
former U.S. Air Force veteran Bill, Ada OK

I just had to add my voice to the chorus of Americans...

2007-12-18T15:50:00.001-05:00

I just had to add my voice to the chorus of Americans who are grateful that you stepped up to volunteer your services and your company's good will to ship the Silly String to Iraq. You have done much to help our troops and you make a fellow American, me, very proud. Thank you again. Sincerely,
Veronica, Ellicott City, Maryland

I just wanted to send a huge thank you...

2007-12-18T15:49:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to send a huge thank you to Thom Campbell for helping to get the silly string to the soldiers. My neighbor leaves for Iraq - tour number three, within the next couple of months, he is a Military Doctor, so you can only imagine what he has seen there. We worry about him and everyone there. I thank you, because what you are helping to do, with such a simple item, may save a lot of lives and it touches all of us on some level as neighbors or family members and as Americans. Sincerely,
Lori and Family, Carlsbad CA

I read about your co-operation and generous gift...

2007-12-18T15:48:00.002-05:00

I read about your co-operation and generous gift to send the Silly String to our troops.BRAVO! bravo. I work with a veteran of the war and he has said that the ingenious use of this kids toy had saved himself and his comrades many times. We need more guys like you. Thanks again. sincerely,
Rob, St. Louis MO

I just read the article on how you guys stepped up to the plate...

2007-12-18T15:47:00.002-05:00

I just read the article on how you guys stepped up to the plate and made the shipment of silly string to the troops in Iraq a reality. As the father of a Marine who has served 2 tours in Iraq already, I thank you. Patriotism is something that should be constant and never wane.
John PA

Congratulations and thank you for helping.

2007-12-18T15:46:00.002-05:00

Congratulations and thank you for helping
An ex Grunt Marine

Thank you for arranging for the shipment of Silly String to our troops.

2007-12-18T15:45:00.001-05:00

Dear Thom and Staff at Capacity:
Thank you for arranging for the shipment of Silly String to our troops. It is heartwarming to hear that people are still willing to help. If I had business to send your way, I would. Unfortunately, I don't. However, I'm sure you didn't do this for business reasons, and that's what really matters. You might want to add some information about this grand gesture to your website; I'm sure people just like me will be checking it to thank you. And for those who don't know about it before they reach your site, they should! Thanks again.
Katherine M. Buehler - A Mother of two teenage sons

I'm a veteran of the U.S. Navy Seal Team 2.

2007-12-14T23:25:00.001-05:00

I'm a veteran of the U.S. Navy Seal Team 2. I served 2 tours in Lebanon and my last tour was Grenada. I am inspired by the generosity of your company in helping Marcelle Shriver deliver the 80,000 cans of silly string. I can only imagine the expense both financially and emotional that it takes to do this. What a strong Woman Marcelle is and such a great company you have. Bob, Chicago, IL

Our son has served two tours...

2007-12-14T23:23:00.001-05:00

Our son has served two tours in the middle east including the last in Baghdad. I know your efforts are welcomed and appreciated by many. Our troops are so happy to see this kind of support from many good folks like you and companies like Capacity.

Tell Jeff I said hi and thanks to both of you for the support to our GIs.

Take Care,
Doug, Las Vegas, NV

this is just a note to thank you for taking on the shipping of the silly String to the troops.

2007-12-14T17:00:00.001-05:00

this is just a note to thank you for taking on the shipping of the silly String to the troops. It's bizarre that this had to be organised by a private citizen and a non-government company. Thank you for protecting our troops and showing that "support the troops" is more than a bumper-sticker or a slogan. Carol, Dublin, Ireland

thanks for the thanks

2007-10-30T14:07:00.000-04:00

Capacity has received lots of positive feedback for working with Marcelle Shriver to ship Silly String to the troops in Iraq. We wanted to offer our thanks to all of those who wrote, called or emailed us. We tried to contact everyone of you who took the trouble to reach us, but in the event we missed anyone - thank you all for your thanks. In particular we were very moved by those families who have members in the military, are retired members of the armed services, or on active duty. That kind or recognition meant the most to us. We greatly appreciate everyone who took the time to communicate with us.

We wanted to encourage all of you who remarked on how this was an example of how you can do something that matters. We did not know we would be able to help Marcelle with her very remarkable efforts, but we tried. We appreciated the chance to do something positive, and thank Marcell and the troops for giving us the inspiration.