ORDER FULFILLMENT AND MARKETING

PACKAGING AND SHIPPING

During setting up and running test orders, we encountered a setback. The stakeholder and I agreed to use USPS Priority Mail® to fulfill our shipping needs due to its relatively low cost. Unfortunately, none of the USPS Priority Mail® boxes fit our 3 3/8" x 2 1/2" x 13" bags. If we use a box that’s too big for the bags, it will bounce around inside the box. If we use a box that’s too small, it may burst before arrival.

Another drawback of USPS Priority Mail® boxes is the steeper shipping cost ($12.80 for medium boxes and $17.60 for large boxes). These rates prevent us to keep the coffee prices competitive. To keep the prices reasonable, we need discounted rates catered for businesses.

The solution is customizing our boxes and use Priority Mail Cubic (or "Cubic" as its commonly called). It is a sub-service of Priority Mail® that’s usually offered to businesses who ship at least 50,000 packages per year. But with a service called Pirate Ship, we can access the same rates with no minimum volume requirements.

By customizing our boxes dimensions, we can properly fit the coffee bags, and at the same time, incorporate our branding.