SEKO’s diversity of service enabled Booktopia to expand off-shore and improve their bulk supply from international suppliers

Booktopia speaks to everything that is Australian success. From the floor of a garage in Sydney to local ecommerce notoriety, Booktopia has seen a lot during its 19+ years in business. As the only company to have been listed in the AFR/BRW’s Fast 100 eight times, scaling with growth has been all a part of the journey. Finding a supplier who can effectively manage both bulk shipments from international suppliers as well as individual packages to off-shore customers isn’t an easy task. Fortunately SEKO was up for the task.

Benefits of the SEKO solution

• An industry leading Australia to New Zealand delivery solution
• Global SEKO locations for managing international suppliers and shipping of bulk orders from overseas into the Booktopia Sydney warehouse
• Industry knowledge providing consultative insights of delivery solutions

The Challenge

The initial challenge faced by Booktopia when SEKO first approached them was that the daily order volumes from Australia to New Zealand were virtually non-existent. Unfortunately, traditional carrier pricing strategies are based on existing volumes, so the prices that Booktopia were receiving for a NZ delivery were prohibitive for books that often have quite a low price-point. Once the cost of shipping is more than the price of the order, it will be difficult to convert buyers.

The second challenge was around the understanding and negotiating of a national delivery solution without existing in-house experience and exposure to other carrier options.

The final challenge was in the management of supplier deliveries internationally and the movement of those deliveries from overseas back to Australia in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

The Solution

To tackle the New Zealand solution, SEKO put together a mutually agreeable pricing solution whereby the price for the AU to NZ deliveries would be based on a reasonable volume that Booktopia believed they could achieve and that they believed their customers would pay. There was a practical solution for both parties to share in the cost as volumes grew over time. From the first day, when 5 parcels were picked up from the Booktopia warehouse, to the present, where a pickup of several hundred parcels is the norm, SEKO has ridden the wave of growth with Booktopia.

With the domestic contract, SEKO wasn’t, at the time, a carrier/supplier of domestic delivery services. As such, SEKO, having several individuals in the business who have worked for final-mile carriers such as Australia Post and Toll, assisted Booktopia with their analysis. The recommendations and process that followed saw Booktopia arrive at a far-greater commercial outcome than had originally been thought.

Finally, with international supplier management and freight forwarding, SEKO's overseas facilities and “small enough to care, big enough to scale” mentality and capabilities came to fruition for both Booktopia and SEKO Australia.

The Result

Booktopia and SEKO have been close partners for over five years, with regular reviews to seek out opportunities for further mutual benefit through improved services, rates or efficiencies within the supply-chain.