Company: Sugarwish

Headquarters: Denver, CO

Category: Online Retailer

Identified Need: Light Production Solutions

Sugarwish Business Overview:

Sugarwish specializes in choices.  Their unique gifting process allows the purchaser to go online and select a category of gift in the form of candy, cookies, wine, popcorn, etc., that they want to send to a friend, colleague, college student, really anyone!  The “Sugarwish” is then sent to the recipient, and the gift receiver can go to the Sugarwish website and make their own selection from a huge variety of choices.

Every Sugarwish gift is sent out with a high quality “Thank You” card that includes the product description, and a small promotional ad.  At the time they contacted ABT, Sugarwish was outsourcing all of their print media.  Not only was it expensive, but outsourcing their printing limited their ability to make quick change or corrections to the format as they needed.  They were essentially “stuck” with what came back from the print shop, unless they wanted to delay shipment for modifications.  Modifications cost them time, but also they were also pricey, decreasing margins in each shipment.

Growth is good, but scaling can be challenging, especially with the global supply chain issues!

ABT Case Study | Sugarwish | Online Retailer

The Director of Operations at Sugarwish found his choices limited when it came to their printing options.   Sugarwish had experienced dramatic growth during Covid lockdowns, as consumers found a sweet way to gift contact-free.  The volume of gift fulfillment had reached a point where they had realized the value of bringing the printing of their stationary production in-house.  They were looking for an enterprising print solution that could produce high quality printing in-house, potentially optimizing production workflow and shipping and materials costs. 

What do you do when dramatic growth to your retail business becomes an overwhelming problem?  Partner with a dynamic problem solver!   

That is just what the Director of Operation at Sugarwish did when he found the ABT website and was connected to our Senior Account Executive Brian.  Sugarwish not only found an enterprising print solution, but print capabilities that optimized their workflow, and lowered their production and shipping costs as well.   

Automated Business Technologies is an authorized dealer for Canon, Kyocera, Xerox, and HP.  Each line offers a light production solution.  As fluctuations in the supply chain limited options with one manufacturer, other comparable printer options were on hand, ready to deliver. Brian was able to help Sugarwish find the perfect device to handle the thick paper stock they used for their quality “Thank You” card. 

Additionally, by taking the time to really understand all the printing and imaging needs of Sugarwish as well as the way Sugarwish did business through ABT’s Risk Free Environment Assessment, Brain was able to do more than just save them money on their outsourced printing. By listening and getting an understanding of their comprehensive needs, he was able to help Sugarwish create a workflow optimization strategy.   

The conversation started with the possibility of bringing in a printer that could handle the thick stock of their cards and produce the image quality to match that of the out-sourced product; as the conversation expanded, they collaborated on ideas, discussing the potential to use a thick page of perforated letter size paper to include not only the Thank You card, but to add a peel-off shipping label and the packing information for their fulfillment team. 

The Thank You card could then be separated from the workflow instructions and placed in the box right before shipping.  Their process was streamlined because the Thank You card remained attached to workorder, with all its pertinent information for completion through the entire fulfillment process. 

The prior process took a lot more coordination, effort and tracking to ensure everything ended up in or on the correct gift with a greater risk of fulfillment error.  An error is the last thing you want when fulfilling a wish.   

After showing them that the Xerox Versant 180 could handle the thick perforated stock and produce images that were better than what they were getting from a print shop, all for about 50-60% of their current operating cost, this was a bit of a no brainer and an enterprising print solution wish come true!  

How to Find the Right Print Workflow Solutions for your Retail Store?

Is there a print management solution for your business which will lower cost and streamline workflow?  A few questions could help you know.  Feel free to reach out to the ABT team to discuss your retail business printing goals.  A few guaranteed questions  our team will ask to get you started?   

• What types of media printing are you currently outsourcing? 
• What print jobs can be brought in-house? 
• How much of media are you printing every month? Think of everything:  labels, marketing materials, consumer touches.   
• Gather samples of printed material…. All of it. 
• Are your current solutions empowering your business or are they in place to manage a singular task?

An ABT rep would love to see samples of your print needs.  They can help find which print option you have at what price point.   

Sugarwish saw the benefit and loved the idea, but solutions like this like this are measured by economies of scale in relation to cost.  They needed to ensure that they would be doing enough high-volume in-house printing to validate the operating costs proposed.  Sometimes this can be a difficult number to accurately pin down. 

How do you measure the value add of having the ability to make changes on the fly? 

They didn’t need to do a time analysis to estimate time saved in their new workflow.  That number of happy, repeat customers has steadily increased as orders have been sent out professionally and accurately each time.   

As a partner, we want to grow with you as you scale your business.

Post Solution Implementation: Scaling to Grow with Your Print Solution

We have now implemented the same solution in additional Sugarwish fulfillment centers located in Downtown Denver (CityPop), Detroit, MI (Divine Cookies), Sonoma, CA (Wine Country Direct), Coral Springs, FL (CityPop Florida).   

Because ABT has the ability to be adaptable and customize for each customer, ABT has begun implementing a solution using Xerox C8000 printers for some smaller satellite fulfillment centers in California and Ohio.  The C8000 printers are smaller than the 180B but designed to handle the thicker stock paper better than a traditional office printer.  Production quality is still very high and filled their needs perfectly.  These are floral and liquor store suppliers that have joined the Sugarwish online ordering platform. And are now ready for growth as well!