How DCL Helped Shokz Increase Revenue and Elevate Customer Experience with Gift Messages

Shokz (formerly branded as AfterShokz) is a high-growth ecommerce brand, changing the way people listen with its unique use of bone conduction technology. Through a suite of proprietary audio technologies and a signature open-ear design, the company’s award-winning audio products deliver premium sound and a promise of safety and comfort that is second to none. 

Through their partnership with DCL Logistics, Shokz has been able to implement creative solutions that boost their profits, elevate their customer experience, and lowered their overall freight spend by 20%. Brian Harrist, Inventory Control Manager at Shokz says “As we continue to grow, I’m confident that DCL is the right partner for us.” 

Ecommerce Case Study: Shokz

As a high-growth ecommerce brand with premium products, the Shokz team is always looking for innovative ways to increase overall profits while giving their customers a premium experience. One of their biggest successes was adding custom gift messages for a limited time. Here’s how the project worked for the Shokz brand.

• Problem: Shokz Needed a Creative Way to Boost Revenue and Attract Customers
  
  Shokz was having a year of big growth, heading into the holiday planning season they knew they needed to capitalize on thier momentum. Their team wanted to delight customers but also help grow their overall profits. Working closely with DCL, they decided to offer a few holiday gift options to customers.
• Solution: Adding Custom Gift Messages with DCL’s Flexible Fulfillment Model
  
  The custom gift options they chose included a simple gift bag or custom gift messages added to an order. These add-ons cost slightly more for the customer (driving profits), but provide a personalized experience for Shokz fans giving products to loved ones form the winter holiday season. They worked with the DCL operations team to set up these custom features.It was a lot of planning, but with DCL’s modern technology tools, worked beautifully throughout peak season. Brian explains, “Because the message is put into the actual physical package on the DCL shipping line, it took a lot of work, both from DCL and Shokz to execute that.”
• Results: Shokz Increased Revenue and Delighted Customers
  
  The gift messages took off. Customers loved the limited edition option, because it provided personalization and made the unboxing experience special for the holiday season. The Shokz brand reported an increase in year-over-year order volume and a the revenue boost they were looking for.”We sent thousands of gift messages or gift bags over the course of our holiday sales. It’s great, it’s an upsell. We’re happy DCL was able to execute that because it elevates customer experience and ultimately increases our profits,” says Brian.

Read more below about how Shokz works with DCL to improve and scale their business, keeping customer satisfaction at the forefront of their brand strategy.

Custom Fulfillment Leads to Customer Satisfaction

When Shokz decided they wanted to add a few special holiday flourishes to their packages, they immediately started strategizing with DCL. The teams worked closely together to create the parameters for the project, test it, and streamline fulfillment for simplicity during the busy season. 

While adding customization may not seem like a big deal, implementing them seamlessly and accurately are actually a big operational feat. There were a lot of steps involved in the planning. Shokz had to source the materials like the gift bags and create a new SKU for each additional part that would go in. DCL had to ensure the new items were coded into the system and that folks on the floor were trained on how to fulfill the orders to spec.

Brian says, “It took over two months to plan, which is actually a relatively quick turn around for somewhat of a prototype. It’s impressive what we accomplished. It was really something big.”

DCL offers custom solutions to all companies we support. When we execute these special projects it helps us scale the solutions for other companies as well. Brian says, “DCL was completely transparent about wanting to do this with us as a sort of beta test, so they can now offer the same service to our other clients. It’s good that we’re able to work together and be partners like that. It allows both of us to succeed. That’s the fundamentals of a good partnership.”

Reduced Freight Rates by 20%

Lowering any costs per order is the name of the game in shipping and logistics. However, lowering costs too significantly could lead the end-customer to believe that there’s a lack of service or speed, making disappointment more likely. Finding the middle ground is essential for maintaining end-customer satisfaction. Brian explains, “You don’t want your packages to take two weeks to get to your customer, but you don’t want it to be too expensive either.”

Finding the right shipping materials, carrier service, and rate strategy requires constant analysis. The team at DCL is consistently looking to support our sellers by analyzing their current spend against other options in the field. “It was a mutual decision to change, DCL and Shokz worked together to make it happen,” says Brian. “Initially we were utilizing a higher priced service that might have offered a quicker transit time. But when we changed to a new service, we netted a savings of about $2 per shipment. When you do big volumes even $2 can quickly add up.”

“That flexibility is really where DCL shines. Having a product sold out on our website—receiving it at 8am and then having it back on the website and fulfilling orders by noon—that’s what makes us really happy.”

Modern Technology Equals Responsive Operations

eFactory (DCL’s proprietary fulfillment platform) is one of the reasons brands are able to have true flexibility with their fulfillment. Brands are empowered to make real-time updates which allows them to be responsive to the needs of their company and customers. 

Brian and his team have full visibility of their orders through DCL’s fulfillment management platform, eFactory. “We have the ability to create ASNs and tell DCL when a product’s going to arrive. At Shokz we operate on very fast turnarounds, so we have a rush system where DCL has made the arrangements and is able to put some of our shipments in a rush category.”

At the end of the day, it’s this close communication between Shokz and DCL that allows brand growth year-over-year. Brian says, “DCL has seamlessly handled anything that we’ve thrown at them, whether it was several thousands of orders shipped in a single day, they’ve been able to do that for us. I think they are a little larger than where we’re at, but that’s great to know for the future. We know that DCL will be a partner for many years to come.”

At DCL Logistics we strive to provide brands with customized solutions that match their growth and innovation. Read more case studies or get in touch if you’re looking for 3PL support.