Case Studies

Customer Profile

Kaskey Kids, Inc. markets a variety of sports-themed action figure toys for children. Orders for the toys from individual consumers as well as large retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Amazon, Learning Express and Zulily among others.

Market:

U.S.

Industry:

Toys

Challenge:

Streamline product receiving, inventory management and direct product fulfillment to customers.

"Shipping product to our customers quickly and accurately is an important part of our business. MAI takes such great care of all of our shipping needs, I am able to focus on everything else that needs to be done. When we have a shipment with special requirements, we always know MAI will handle it without a problem.”
Christy Kaskey, Kaskey Kids, Inc.

KASKEY KIDS Sports Action Figures for Kids

SCENARIO

Started in 2002, Kaskey Kids, Inc. markets a variety of sports-themed action figure toys for children. As demand for Kaskey Kids products grew, the company made the decision to partner with an outside resource for fulfillment which would allow its marketing team to focus on sales and new product development. MAI offered a start-to-finish solution with:

  • Consolidated order processing
  • Real-time inventory management and reporting
  • Dynamic staff capabilities (for seasonal business spikes)
  • LTL shipments
  • EDI capabilities
  • Special labeling requests

APPROACH

Using its proprietary web-based application (MARS) as a starting point, MAI created a customized inventory management system for Kaskey Kids that consolidates receiving, organizing and warehousing container loads of product from China along with processing of all e-commerce orders through one system. As orders are received, they are printed, picked, packed and shipped with 99.8% accuracy. Orders come from a variety of sources, including individual consumers and large retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Amazon, Quidsi (YoYo.com & Diapers.com), Learning Express and Zulily among others.


MAI’s dynamic staffing capabilities allow literally hundreds of orders per day to be picked, packed and shipped accurately and efficiently during peak holiday ordering seasons. This scalability was also called upon to quickly resolve a manufacturing error when “Buckeyes” was misspelled on an entire order of playing fields and labels. MAI organized a team to re-label and repack the inventory correctly.

BENEFITS SUMMARY

  • Real-time inventory management and reporting – Kaskey Kids management has access to all account activity in real time thanks to MARS (Marketing Alternatives Response System).
  • Streamlined order entry – all e-commerce orders are processed through MARS which helps speed fulfillment and improve accuracy.
  • Lower shipping costs and faster delivery times – Midwest warehouse location reduces shipping costs and time in transit.
  • Consistent customer service – strict adherence to established service metrics and quality control processes ensure efficiency and order accuracy to 99.8%.