Learn What Makes Ware2Go an Innovative Workplace

Fast Company recently named Ware2Go one of the One Hundred Best Workplaces for Innovators, so we compiled a list of the top five innovative initiatives – spearheaded and executed by our innovative employees.

1. Carbon Offset Shipping

Ware2Go could not ignore the environmental impact of the ecommerce boom. In fact, experts predict that ecommerce will increase the number of final mile delivery vehicles on the road by 36% and greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030.

What’s more, sustainability matters to consumers. 88% of consumers say sustainability is important to their purchasing decisions, making it a competitive differentiator for many small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs).

Ware2Go’s network is intentionally built to decrease time in transit (TNT) on final mile deliveries, which lowers a shipment’s carbon footprint. However, Ware2Go doubled down on their commitment to sustainability by creating their Carbon Offset Shipping Network.

Through a partnership with Pachama, Ware2Go is taking a data-driven approach to carbon offset shipping. On a quarterly basis, Ware2Go’s data analysts calculate the carbon footprint of every shipment that passes through the network, from LTL to small parcel to Next-Day Air. Learn all about the data analysts’ process in the video below.

Ware2Go purchases carbon credits through Pachama to fund reforestation and old growth forest preservation projects. Pachama verifies the validity and effectiveness of all of its programs through the use of remote sensing and artificial intelligence.

All Ware2Go merchants are automatically enrolled in the program, making sustainability an integral part of doing business with the company. Sustainability is hard-wired into the Ware2Go business model so merchants don’t have to compromise their values to deliver excellent customer service.

2. Empowering Black Entrepreneurs

Through a partnership with UPS & the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship (RICE), Ware2Go is working to build warehousing and fulfillment for  Black entrepreneurs. The program aims to accelerate growth of Black-owned small businesses by giving the business access to resources they need to scale (warehousing and fulfillment is a key need). 

Ware2Go is giving Black entrepreneurs free access to its platform, FulfillmentVu, an enterprise- level supply chain tool that will serve as a digital connection point between their sales channels and their supply chain to support their growing businesses. They will have access to business intelligence and insights that will help them not only deliver their products to their end customers, but measure the profitability of their sales, make smarter procurement decisions, and improve their customer experience.

Jay Bailey, the CEO of RICE, addressed the Ware2Go team at its second quarter collaboration event and said, “Intelligence is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. With Ware2Go’s partnership, RICE will be able to provide entrepreneurs with access to technology to accelerate that opportunity and, more importantly, make them believe it’s possible.” 

The vision of RICE is to be “a place of deep belonging and purpose – intentionally designed to be a tool for our business owners to grow.”. 

3. AI-Powered Network Planning

While many merchants see the benefits of inventory distribution to improve delivery times and decrease fulfillment costs, knowing exactly where to stock your inventory can be half the battle. Ware2Go decided to solve that problem by creating a network planning tool powered by machine learning and AI.

The tool, NetworkVu, is free for any merchant to use (whether they are a client of Ware2Go or not), and it uses historical shipping data to determine a merchants’ highest pockets of consumer demand. It then makes warehouse recommendations for two scenarios: a two-warehouse network and a three-warehouse network. The recommendations include per-shipment price comparisons and average time in transit (TNT).

A similar analysis performed by a consultant would cost tens of thousands of dollars and take weeks to complete, but using machine learning, Ware2Go’s team of developers created a tool that is completely self-service, free, and creates a full analysis in a matter of minutes.

Merchants can upload their own data on the NetworkVu platform, or connect via the BigCommerce or Shopify app stores. Watch the demo below to learn more, or try it for yourself.

4. Solving Seller Fulfilled Prime

Ware2Go solved one of Amazon’s most complex requirements for sellers by empowering a cross-functional team to build a network mapping tool. The tool applies data science and machine learning to make the Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) program attainable for Amazon sellers.

Amazon is a key marketing channel for ecommerce brands. Even if they sell on their own site or in retail stores, they need a presence on Amazon for brand awareness and exposure to new customers. However, Amazon Prime’s fulfillment and delivery standards are hard for many small to mid-sized sellers to meet. Most often, they must outsource fulfillment to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which limits their access to valuable customer data and dilutes their brand.

SFP allows merchants to fulfill their own orders while keeping their Prime status. Managing their own fulfillment gives them direct access to their customers for remarketing campaigns to drive them back to more profitable sales channels like their ecommerce site. If they can meet Prime delivery requirements, SFP is an opportunity to use Amazon as a tool to grow their D2C sales.

Ware2Go was the first fulfillment provider to go to market with a solution for SFP sellers, attracting new clients throughout the year including, the world’s largest Amazon Aggregator. Overall, SFP services drove multi-million-dollar revenue numbers for the organization and continue to support mid-sized merchants growing their business on Amazon. 

5. A Diverse Team

Diversity breeds innovation. At Ware2Go, people of all backgrounds bring their unique perspective to the table to better solve problems and find innovative solutions. In the past year, Ware2Go has seen a 25% increase in women in executive leadership, and the Diversity and Inclusion Committee has joined forces with the Culture Committee to make DE&I an integral part of office culture. This has led to office events and discussions supporting the diverse backgrounds of our team members. 

Diverse hiring has also become a key initiative of our HR team. Our Chief Technology Officer attended the HackerX Diversity in Tech Career Fair and to spread awareness among minorities in tech about Ware2Go’s growing product and engineering team.

Are you an innovative thinker looking for your next career opportunity? Check out our careers page for current openings.