Apart from grocery and personal items, home furnishings are among the top purchases that shoppers have checked out the most in the last three to six months of 2021. Hence, the rise of trending home themes such as “Team Puti” versus “Team Kahoy” and “Team Classic” versus “Team Modern” in popular online groups like Home Buddies. Members of this page thrive on exchanging home renovation or redecoration tips and tricks. Joining the fray to spice up the homes of vintage piece lovers is the online furniture store Little Mountain, and helping it is LOCAD, an end-to-end fulfillment solution, who brings these items right to customers’ doorsteps, wherever they may be.
Starting from the foot of the mountain
Finding the best home decor that fits one’s aesthetics and home design goals can be daunting these days, especially for those who are moving homes or are new to the country. This was the case of Nikki Fan, owner of Little Mountain who, at that time, had no choice but to import her furniture from China. This difficulty, however, inspired her to start an e-commerce furniture and décor business of her own, amid the pandemic and despite a lack of prior knowledge of the industry.
Although starting her business was fulfilling, doing it solo became a huge challenge in fulfillment and operations-wise.
“I’m selling furniture and bulky items which are hard to lift, so before, my friends would sometimes help me pack them because I wouldn’t be able to do it alone,” she says.
She also recalls, “The hiring process for employees was quite complicated.”
Initially, Fan was only in search of a warehouse to store her products. But that need posed yet another difficulty as she first met a fulfillment company that does not store big items similar to what she has. Left with no other option, Fan continued Little Mountain’s in-house fulfillment which only allowed her to pack four to five orders a day.
Fortunately, a friend recommended that she try cloud logistics company LOCAD. Known for offering fast, flexible, and affordable services to simplify logistics and operations, LOCAD combines an integrated technology platform for local and regional e-commerce fulfillment and product warehousing.
Behind the Little Mountain
Fan immediately noticed LOCAD’s professionalism and capacity to handle her products. Its involvement, including its additional help in monitoring her inventory, allows her to work “more fluidly” than before. With LOCAD’s fulfillment centers, she can store big and bulky items, and she does not have to worry about the complications of hiring locally as a professional team of fulfillment and operations experts are handling her products.
“After working with LOCAD, there is nothing to worry about fulfillment, like the airway bill and the packing. Also, because of the LOCAD Control Tower, I can easily find my inventory, as well as sell data, and follow up on the fulfillment steps. It's very easy to work with,” Fan says.
Her sales have since grown by 10% and Little Mountain’s customer feedback also greatly improved, with customers noting how secure the items were packed upon receipt.
Fan described the turnaround: “Before, I didn’t get that many orders. But since working with LOCAD, my sales have increased, sometimes more than ten orders a day. And when we are doing campaigns like online sale events, it reaches up to 20,” Nikki shares.
Trekking towards the mountain top
With fulfillment no longer her concern, Fan now has more time to devote to the business’ other facets such as product research. She is particularly mindful of the quality of the items she sells, and she also wants “to test the market in the Philippines” since home décor is trending both among consumers and as the topic of online conversations.
Fan recognizes that LOCAD’s services are crucial, especially for businesses like hers that sell bulky items like chairs, tables, and carpet products, among others. She is also happy to note LOCAD’s system upgrades which help her in her efforts to “grow with the brand.”
“LOCAD has given me more free time to do promotion and more online campaigns to increase the awareness and appeal of my products to customers,” Fan says. “I no longer worry at all about offline concerns on fulfillment because LOCAD does it very well and professionally.”
No mountain is too high for e-commerce entrepreneurs like Nikki Fan, and with Little Mountain’s growing success, Filipinos who are looking to style their homes are always supported.