The Step2 Company LLC (Step2), the largest American manufacturer of preschool and toddler toys, has announced the company has revolutionized it’s e-commerce logistics strategy to handle the expected 7x growth in shipments during the post Black Friday holiday period. As Step2 order volumes grew, they turned to the help of Redwood Logistics (Redwood), one of the fastest growing fourth party logistics (4PL) providers in North America. Step2 utilized Redwood Parcel to efficiently process tens of thousands of orders, print shipping labels and meet their largest retailers’ drop shipping requirements, ensuring streamlined operations and enhanced compliance.
“We have enjoyed a long and successful partnership with Redwood. From our initial engagement with Redwood for WMS implementation, it became clear that they were the ideal partner to address our e-commerce order fulfillment challenges. Redwood stepped up to solve our most complex issues and enabled us to scale our volumes, increase compliance and meet seasonal demand,” said Erich Lachman, CIO at Step2. “Redwood delivers a unique combination of technology expertise and hands-on logistics experience. Wherever the future takes us, we can count on Redwood to help evolve our systems and processes — and support our continued success.”
Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Streetsboro, Ohio, Step2 has more than 700 employees, serving retailers in over 40 countries. With a strong e-commerce presence, the company was faced with a growing demand for efficient order processing and label printing, particularly during peak shipping seasons. The need to customize labels for different retailers and print retailer-branded packing slips added complexity to their logistics operations.
To enhance their e-commerce expansion after successfully implementing Redwood’s WMS, Step2 incorporated Redwood Label, a plug-and-play WMS add-on, enabling seamless printing of inventory, product, and shipping labels. Further, to cater to Tier 1 retailer requirements, Redwood introduced Step2 to Redwood Parcel, a high-volume, WMS-integrated parcel shipping solution that simplifies the intricate process of e-commerce drop shipping.
“Our partnership with Step2 showcases the power of innovative logistics solutions to drive efficiency and compliance in the e-commerce landscape,” added Eric Rempel, Chief Innovation Officer, Redwood. “We’ve enabled Step2 to not only meet but exceed their logistics challenges. It’s a testament to the transformative impact a tailored logistics strategy can have on businesses, and we’re proud to have played a part in their continued success.”
Step2 now enjoys automated label printing and parcel execution systems that have significantly reduced shipping cycle times. The integration of Redwood solutions has improved efficiency and reduced errors during the pick, pack and ship process. Moreover, Step2 has achieved a higher level of compliance with complex Tier 1 retailer requirements for e-commerce drop shipping, managing multiple retailer carrier accounts, meeting unique labeling requirements, and printing retailer-specific branded packing slips. The company is now well-equipped to scale its shipping operations to meet peak seasonal demand and large drop shipment volumes.