As appeared in Transportational Logistics International Magazine – Winter 2014. Story by Alan Dorich:
Customers are increasingly looking for customized logistics services and a2b Fulfillment is an ideal position to meet those needs, President Ayal Latz says. “We’ve become very successful due to our ability to offer customizable solutions (for) a growing and diverse client base,” he says.
Based in Greensboro, Ga., a2b offers order-fulfillment, contact center solutions and distribution support services, including kitting and assembly, order-management, returns and refurbishment, and ambient and climate-controlled warehousing. It began as a small toy firm that the Latz family founded in 1994.
“The product line revolved around dinosaur-related educational toys,” Latz says. “During the day-to-day operations of that company, we had warehousing capabilities and saw that other companies (like) ours could really benefit from third-party fulfillment services.”
When a2b began offering the services to toy companies, most of the orders were on a business-to-business (B2B) level. “Toy stores would call our clients and place orders for wholesale-level orders for the toys,” Latz recalls. “We would distribute them, and in some cases, handle the whole back office (operatons for our clients).”
Latz’s father, Gary Latz, vice president of marketing, adds that this work also gave a2b experience that would pay off in the future. Because the toy industry was highly seasonal, “We learned how to ramp up and ramp down operationally, and became very efficient,” he says.
Eventually, a2b saw more potential in warehousing and it moved out of toy manufacturing. Today, it also serves clients in the personal care, book, electronics and DVD markets. And yes, there are still some toys to be found in the a2b Fulfillment warehouse.
“We still offer fulfillment services on a B2B level where we ship to retailers,” Ayal Latz says. “However, our business over the years has drifted more and more towards the consumer-direct side. We do a lot of work in the e-commerce and As-Seen-On TV spaces.”
View the full story within Transportation Logistics International Magazine:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/phoenix/tli_2014winter/index.php#/148
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