Bend Brothers
Smart Send bends over backwards for Bend Brothers in streamlining their shipping solutions
As a leading fabrication and motorsports supplies business, Bend Brothers distributes parts in all shapes, sizes and weight. Their main products range consists of components for making high-performance exhaust systems and other associated pipework, including parts such as bends, tube, fittings and flanges. With such diversity in their product range, Bend Brothers required a reliable and cost-efficient shipping partner that was an authentic extension to their business. The answer was Smart Send.
As a relatively new business, founded in 2017, David Taylor, CEO, Bend Brothers, was determined to connect with a shipping solutions expert that was able to not only keep up with the 150 plus orders per month, but also get the packages to their customers on time and in pristine condition.
"I believe Bend Brothers set itself apart in the industry by offering unique products, an unbeatable purchasing experience and a high level of customer service. This is why Smart Send is such a great fit for us as their commitment to customer service is top tier."
"Smart Send is very helpful with my business with its easy-to-use interface, powerful packing/shipping calculator, near seamless integration with my Shopify store and its high attention to customer service."
"80-90 per cent of orders are dispatched with Smart Send, some orders for more remote locations or faster shipping times are sent with Australia Post express satchels and <1kg international orders are regularly more cost effective to be sent via Australia post international."
"With continued growth and expansion, we hope to continue to work with Smart Send."
boardRAX
Matt has been a fine detailed carpenter specialising in federation and delicate timber work for over 18yrs, with a history of building fine detailed rustic furniture. Six years ago, Matt decided to leave the building industry to start his own business, specifically to use his woodworking skills to his best advantage. Being passionate about the ocean and a lifelong surfer, Matt began building freestanding surfboard racks, originally selling his product on Gumtree.
His business took off quickly and subsequently he began branching into other product ranges covering; paddleboard, longboards, skateboards, snowboards, kayaks, wakeboards and wall racks. boardRAX also offers custom garage fit outs and the occasional acentric requests such as coffin lid racks!
He realised he wanted a known brand and started his website www.boardrax.com.au. Around this time Matt's sales began too significantly increase and he was finding shipping items increasingly difficult. His shipping provider was not willing / or unable to provide clear communication when shipping issues arose, leaving Matt incurring additional expenses, as well as lost customers and sales. Matt realised he needed a partner with a reliable shipping service, one that could provide proactive assistance, reliability, tracking and communication with customer service if issues were to arise.
Matt chose Smart Send due to our approachable Customer Service team. "I like to build relationships with the partners I deal with and Smart Send came to the party. If shipping issues occur, my Smart Send contacts are happy to jump on the phone and help resolve the issue. I also love the fact they help on weekends if required. Pricing is an important consideration, with their website selecting the best and cheapest prices from a range of courier companies provided on their listings, in addition with having goods delivered on time and in working order. I also like Smart Send's website and features making it easy to get the right shipping option for my requirements and compete the booking quickly"..
Matt has had offers from large corporations to jump on board with Boardrax, however he is happy to continue growing the business sustainably at his own pace which helps the growth and understanding of success mainly through the joys of learning. The future is looking bright with the rise and growth in sales. With new products to be realised, larger factory facilities and staffing. International sales are also on the agenda. Above all Matt prides himself on product and service excellence, with a fine eye for perfection and detail, which is why he has partnered with Smart Send to ensure the shipping side of his business runs smoothly.
Cash Converters
Converting eCommerce requests to efficient deliverables
Australia's favourite place to buy and sell second-hand goods, personal loans or pawnbroking, Cash Converters, needed to find a reliable shipping solution for some of the larger items that could not be delivered by their preferred supplier.
With more than 150 stores around the country, Cash Converters offers a suite of quality goods at affordable prices, complete with a 90-day warranty. Their eCommerce offering continues to grow in demand where Australians go online to purchase goods.
The answer was Smart Send.
Since mid-2017, Cash Converters has joined forces with Smart Send to transport a suite of larger items around Australia, which could range from one item to as many as 10 a week.
According to Rebecca Crosby, eCommerce Manager, Cash Converters, some items are unable to be delivered by our preferred supplier to our customers, therefore in these instances,we use Smart Send to find the best courier for our job and ensure our customers' all over the country can receive items from our stores.
"Overall, the Smart Send experience has been wonderful. We have had the opportunity to send items that we were previously unable to send because it was too large to be sent by our preferred supplier which has increased our online product offering, especially within our musical instruments and power tools department."
"Whenever there have been issues with the couriers used, such as items not being collected on time, the Smart Send team has been very easy to deal with in terms of contacting the couriers and making that side of things seamless."
"It's important for Cash Converters to be able to send items from our stores to customers regardless of where they live within Australia."
Empowered Auto Parts
Smart Send empowers Australian auto parts business to fast track shipping efficiencies
Australia's largest online brake parts specialist, Empowered Auto Parts, which ships out thousands of parts per year, demands shipping services which are cost effective, timely and reliable. Leading Australian premium shipping solution, Smart Send, fits the bill perfectly.
Since 2014, Empowered Auto Parts has worked closely with Smart Send to finetune their delivery strategies, so their expansive client base receive their auto parts in first-rate condition and on time.
Kevin Mailer, National Manager, Australia/New Zealand, Empowered Auto Parts, knows too well the intricacies and challenges in creating a robust and effective shipping system with products which come in various weights and dimensions.
And while Kevin uses other courier suppliers, Smart Send outshines the pack with their efficiencies, consistency, ease of use and professionalism.
"With Smart Send, we don't have to set up multiple accounts so the partnership is streamlined and reliable. Our customers demand steadfast service delivery and we know that Smart Send is unwavering in their commitment in doing that. Smart Send is a fundamental extension to our business, especially with their incomparable customer service, so we look forward to Smart Send in continuing to enhance their technologies so we continue to grow alongside them."
Get Fit
Dean Piazza is one of Australia's leading personal trainers and a former world class triathlete. For over 15 years Dean has trained thousands of clients and helped them achieve their body image goals.
As part of his personal training business, Dean saw the opportunity to begin an ecommerce venture selling associated gym and fitness equipment; initially beginning on eBay 10 years ago and now on his websites homegymequipment.com.au, www.endurancetreadmills.com.au and Amazon.
From Smart Send's experience, deliveries to apartment blocks, gated communities for heavier items like these can be tricky. In some cases Tail-lift Truck deliveries are required also.
"I partnered with Smart Send because of the high level of support I receive when delivery issues occur. I've used lots of delivery services and Smart Send customer service meets all my needs with their prompt and knowledgeable replies" says Dean.
"Shipping pricing is also important for my industry and with Smart Send's competitive pricing across a broad range of couriers and freight companies I get the best pricing available for my products."
For the future, Dean aims to focus on the mid-range market, providing value for money products to the average private user.
Mustard Made
Becca Stern's story began in handmade jewellery sold at local markets. Although this was a source of income it was time consuming and difficult to grow sales quickly.
Becca also had another love, a love of vintage lockers. The problem with most lockers though is they are impractical, old or worn and coloured in shades that aren't overly enticing.
She began a lengthy research period on how to start an ecommerce business, sourcing products and travelling to China to find manufacturers, locating a 3rd party warehouse to pick/pack/despatch her products in Australia and the best Australian trade shows to attend for her new startup.
The products were an instant hit at the trade shows and the advance orders from wholesalers began rolling in. Next up was the need to find a suitable ecommerce platform for her burgeoning business. After further research, Becca settled on Shopify, mainly because she could do a lot of the setup herself without the need for an expensive developer or 3rd party hosting (Shopify hosts the website for you).
The container was on it's way from the manufacturer and the final piece of the puzzle was shipping. Becca needed a competitive delivery option to easily ship the cartons and longer flat packs being sold to her wholesale customers and consumers.
Becca rightly realised early on she needed a seamless solution that integrated with her Shopify webstore, so she began researching and testing many shipping apps through the Shopify App Store. She chose Smart Send and our Smart Send Shipping - Premium app because of the simple/easy installation process, approachable phone support to help with any questions when setting up the shipping app, competitive 'real time' shipping quotes that appeared at checkout on her store (via the app) and a seamless quick fulfillment process when orders needed to be shipped to customers.
"As a growing business there are a lot of roles to cover so being able to streamline the shipping while offering great shipping rates frees up much needed hours in the week. The Smart Send Shipping - Premium app for Shopify just saves me so much time when sending out my orders. It allows the shipping to take care of itself so I can concentrate on the essential and creative side of Mustardmade" says Becca. "I also appreciate all the helpful shipping experience and information provided by Smart Send's team. I started this journey with no understanding of shipping larger goods around Australia so having the Smart Send team and their wealth of knowledge on my side is enormously valuable. I now have realistic expectations around delivery of my product which I can also relay onto my customers."
What is the next step for Mustard? "We have grown so quickly in less than a year. The next step is to hire new staff, move into a commercial office (and out of my home office), add new product lines and expand to the USA" says Becca.
Racecraft
Smart Send fast tracks Racecrafts shipping efficiencies
One of Australia's leading performance exhaust parts specialist, Racecraft, prides itself in offering a myriad of products, boasting high end finish, coupled with a competitive price tag. Shipping a suite of products around Australia per month, warranted a premium shipping service that ticked all the boxes when it came to timeliness, cost effective and dependability. The answer was Smart Send.
Since 2017, Racecraft has joined forces with Smart Send, which is one of Australia's premium shipping solutions. The importance in having a reliable shipping partner was paramount to align with Racecraft's commitment in supplying quality products in the Performance Exhaust Industry at an affordable price.
According to Gregg Mathieson, Racecraft, it was imperative to connect with a shipping service which had a similar high customer service ethos, who was also consistent and proactive in their performance and offering.
"With Smart Send, we ship everything from snapback caps, hoodies and stickers to full exhaust systems. Smart Send is responsible for 90 per cent of our non-satchel orders. We use small express satchels for our Clothing range primarily. We have used Smart Send for at LEAST one item per day for the last couple of years."
"All items needed to be weighed and measured in order to be entered into the online database for the shipping calculator. The integration was relatively seamless and the help we received from the outset was excellent!"
"Smart Send is reasonably priced and very effective at generating shipping calculations on the fly for our customers at checkout. Most orders are seamlessly fulfilled via the Smart Send shipping app on our webstore, however it also helps to be able to manually enter shipments in the Smart Send website whenever we have a custom order which uses a a custom carton."
"The shipping calculator at checkout is literally priceless. It eases the mind knowing that you have a stable system which Is aiding your sales 24/7."
For Gregg and the team at Racecraft, choosing Smart Send was simple.
"We are a major distributor within WA and nationwide on certain products. It is imperative that we do not lose sales at checkout nor do we overcharge. I feel that Smart Send has been excellent at nailing both of these aspects."
Ultimate Sporting Memorabilia
Matthew Moore had a love of horse racing from an early age. To get involved in the industry he worked for a bookmaker in his twenties. Around that time, eBay was becoming popular in Australia and Matt had an itch to become an entrepreneur. He asked some popular jockey's of the time to sign photos of themselves and Matt began selling the signed memorabilia on eBay.
Matt realised he was on a winner and engaged professional photographers and he expanded to more jockeys and horses. As competition built, Matt diversified into other sports like the NRL, AFL, tennis, car racing, etc, which is where he finds himself today.
Early on in his business life Matt was using a courier directly to ship his goods but found the bulk purchase of courier coupons was a drain on his cash flow. He also trialed a competitor of Smart Send's and found he was not receiving adequate customer service when issues arose with deliveries.
He gave Smart Send a go in 2014 and has never looked back - he could use Smart Send's 'pay as you go' payment structure and only pay for shipments when he needed to send them, allowing him to keep his money in his bank account. However Matt's biggest benefit with Smart Send was the experienced, expert customer service available to him.
"I stay with Smart Send because of their invaluable Customer Service. I have high value products that need to arrive quickly and on time, when issues arise buyers aren't prepared to wait forever for resolution. I consider Smart Send a trusted partner; Chris and her team provide me with answers quickly and their experience & knowledge of transport is unheralded."
What's on the horizon for Matt? More niche & exclusive products are in the pipeline to allow him to differentiate in a more increasingly competitive industry. Also on the agenda is the need to improve automation in his logistics processes & technology.
Roll Cycles
Roll Cycles is a longstanding premier bike retailer in Tasmania with two stores in Hobart and Launceston. In business for over 15 years they specialise in bike sales and repairs for Tasmanian bike enthusiasts.
Byron Wallis, Manager at Roll Cycles explains that due to COVID and Tasmania being closed off to much of the country for the past couple of years, growth in their business has only recently begun due to Tasmania now opening up from COVID in early 2022. Due to changes in dealer agreements they expect to see a spike in online sales moving forward.
This is where Smart Send comes in. For over 7 years, Smart Send has helped Roll Cycles ship complete bikes, forks and bike accessories to their customer base. With the ever growing e-bike category increasing potential for sales, Smart Send's newly released lithium battery transport service helps bike retailers ship e-bikes and all other mid-to-large range products (including fully assembled bikes) to customers Australia-wide or globally.
The major issues Byron has seen over the years is consolidation of freight coming into Tasmania which has caused unfortunate delivery delays.
"We find Smart Send a convenient way of shipping our products without requiring accounts with all the courier or freight companies. We can ship B2B or B2C with Smart Send through a range of Road or Express services which provides us with competitive shipping options for our customer base and allowed us to ship products we previously weren't able to send due to their size" says Byron.
If you're in Tasmana and need a bike service, advice or new ride Byron and Roll Cycles are the go to bike retailer. They can be contacted via their website link below.
Urban Pedaler
Urban Pedaler in Bentleigh Victoria has built a community of customers focused around cycling, great brands, reliable service levels, bike fitting/servicing and even car racks.
Gabe Sullens, founder of Urban Pedaler spent ten years managing successful bike shops in California before a multi-year sales management role with Cannondale Bikes in Australia. He jumped at the chance to become the Bayside dealer for Cannondale Bikes seven years ago and hasn't looked back.
When it comes to shipping, Gabe's issues over the years have included lost product (with difficulty obtaining reimbursement) as well as difficulty getting tracking details from providers when shipping goods. "With Smart Send the quoting process is convenient and the tracking number is sent to our clients as soon as I book the shipment. Previous providers we used were convoluted and it was difficult to get quotes and make bookings easily," says Gabe.
Urban Pedaler's new ecommerce store launched recently and there is already a steady increase in sales. Utilizing the 'Smart Send Shipping - Premium' app for Shopify has helped provide real time shipping quotes at checkout to streamline the checkout process for customers and ensure Urban Pedaler doesn't lose out on shipping charges for bikes or larger items (particularly for regional deliveries).
With recent favourable changes in the retail bike industry and the ability to ship bikes to consumers (including e-bikes containing lithium batteries) the only way is up for Urban Pedaler.
Velo Cycles
Velo Cycles has been a long standing fixture of the Capital City Trail, one of the busiest bike paths in Melbourne. They're known by every bike enthusiast in the Carlton North area for their 'local-bike shop mentality', great range of independent bike brands and customer service.
For the past 3 years Velo Cycles has used Smart Send to help ship and deliver predominantly bikes to their customers. Stuart Armstrong, Manager at Velo Cycles says they've seen enormous growth of around 400% during the COVID period. With e-bikes becoming a growing factor and only becoming more prevalent in the future, their need to ship lithium batteries (classified as dangerous/hazardous goods for shipping purposes) at an acceptable price is paramount to their growth curve.
Smart Send is proud to announce we have just released our new lithium battery transportation service available now to any bike retailer in Australia, using premium services to ensure your brand receives positive feedback from your customers.
If you need expert advice or new biking equipment, Velo Cycles can be contacted via their website link below.
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Please send all testimonials to sales@smartsend.com.au
Bend Brothers
"Smart Send is very helpful with my business with its easy-to-use interface, powerful packing/shipping calculator, near seamless integration with my Shopify store and its high attention to customer service."
Boardrax
"I like to build relationships with the partners I deal with and Smart Send came to the party. Pricing is an important consideration, with their website selecting the best and cheapest prices from a range of courier companies."
Cash Converters
"Overall, the Smart Send experience has been wonderful. We have had the opportunity to send items that we were previously unable to send because it was too large to be sent by our preferred supplier..."
Empowered Auto Parts
"Our customers demand steadfast service delivery and we know that Smart Send is unwavering in their commitment in doing that. Smart Send is a fundamental extension to our business..."
Get Fit
"I partnered with Smart Send because of the high level of support I receive when delivery issues occur. I've used lots of delivery services and Smart Send customer service meets all my needs ..."
Mustardmade
"I started this journey with no understanding of shipping larger goods around Australia so having the Smart Send team and their wealth of knowledge on my side is enormously valuable."
Racecraft
"Smart Send is reasonably priced and very effective at generating shipping calculations on the fly for our customers at checkout. Most orders are seamlessly fulfilled via the Smart Send shipping app..."
Ultimate Sporting Memorabilia
"I stay with Smart Send because of their invaluable Customer Service. I have high value products that need to arrive quickly and on time, when issues arise buyers aren't prepared to wait forever for resolution."
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