The past year was unlike any other, 2020 saw some industries struggle while others were met with an unexpected increase in demand. eFulfillment Service (eFS), an ecommerce fulfillment center located in Traverse City, Michigan saw a year of growth unlike any that came before it. As new generations of consumers began relying heavily on internet retailers – many for the first time – the third-party logistics company (3PL) was up for the challenge of expanding their team to meet the new demands of a world relying on online orders rather than physical stores.
The holiday season is always the busiest time of year for the fulfillment center and hiring more hands is essential to make the end of the year a success. This year called for a forty-percent increase from regular holiday hiring for the fulfillment center. Without the abundance of people to work in the ecommerce fulfillment warehouse, gifts and essential products would not make it to the front doors of consumers all over the globe.
“This single year saw growth in the ecommerce fulfillment industry that would normally take years to achieve.”
“We decided to spread the party over the course of two afternoons, having each department come into our party space one at a time,” explains Hawley. “We had four departments each day celebrate at their designated times. Each group had had time together, socially distanced of course, to eat, pick out their gifts and celebrate their part in this unprecedented year. Each group would then head back to work in the order fulfillment warehouse and we would have fifteen minutes to sanitize the space for the next department to come celebrate.”
When a department would enter the space they would be met with the opportunity to pull a random ornament that was colored either red, green or gold. The color determined which area they would be able to choose a gift from. Gifts ranged from cash, to a grill, to home decor, and more. After selecting a gift, team members were invited to help themselves to a wide assortment of treats. While social distancing, each department had the opportunity to celebrate the end of another successful holiday season of fulfilling online orders.
“We take great pride in fulfilling every internet order that comes through our doors and doing it well.”
“We saw about a forty-percent increase in online retailer orders this holiday season,” shared eFS Chief Operations Officer, Steve Bulger. “This single year saw growth in the ecommerce fulfillment industry that would normally take years to achieve. While COVID definitely threw some unexpected curveballs our way, it’s amazing team members like you who made this year possible despite those challenges and changes. You all should be very proud.”
“What our team does here in the fulfillment center everyday, matters. Their hard work through this year and this holiday season ensures that our clients in the ecommerce marketplace like Amazon, Shopify and Etsy can continue supporting their families especially during a time where that isn’t as guaranteed as it may have previously been,” says Bulger. “We take great pride in fulfilling every internet order that comes through our doors and doing it well. My hope is that this appreciation party shows our team how much their role on this team matters not only for our success as an internet fulfillment company, but for that of our ecommerce retailer client’s success as well.”
