CASE STUDY: HUPPINS
111 year-old company finds success in new fulfillment options
Huppin’s has been in business since 1908. Starting as a tailor shop, they’ve since evolved to sell consumer electronics and high-end kitchen accessories across a variety of channels, on and offline. Always on the forefront of new technology, they began selling their products online in 1994 – before Amazon existed. In 2004, Huppin’s began selling in Amazon’s stores after a former Amazon employee encouraged Huppin’s management to test out selling on Amazon’s site. “That turned out to be a great decision,” says Larry Frankel, Director of Business Development at Huppin’s.
Working with the Strategic Account Services team feels like working with family.Larry FrankelHuppin’s
In keeping with the tradition of being an early adopter, Frankel and Huppin’s signed up for Strategic Account Services as soon as it became available in early 2018. Frankel was familiar with account management services having been part of an earlier iteration of the program, and was already sold on its value. “I wanted to make sure that I maintained an advocate inside Amazon to help when we needed it,” Frankel said. That advocate was Sonja V. who has been Huppin’s Strategic Account Services account manager since they first enrolled in Strategic Account Services. Says Sonja: “Larry and I have learned a lot from one another and worked together to drive positive change for Huppin’s; Larry is always willing to try new things.”
One of the areas in which Frankel has continued to evolve is with fulfillment operations. “We’ve tried everything Amazon’s offered. We got into FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon)* as an early adopter and, more recently, we’ve realized real success with SFP, (Seller-Fulfilled Prime)** which Sonja suggested we try.” However, mid-2018, Sonja recommended that Frankel transition some of his inventory from SFP to a brand new program called FBA Onsite.*** “I saw that FBA Onsite would give Huppin’s the ability to fulfill more of their orders via two-day Prime. In addition to being able to reach more Prime customers, FBA Onsite felt like a better fit for Huppin’s since they could transition some of the customer service operations to Amazon freeing up time for Larry and team to concentrate on growing their business,” said Sonja.
“Working with the Strategic Account Services team feels like working with family,” says Frankel. “It feels like they’re coworkers in our own company and they’re out to help our interests and trying to help our business grow. In many cases, they’re as valuable as or more valuable than our own employees.”
For more information on Huppin’s, visit their store
One of the areas in which Frankel has continued to evolve is with fulfillment operations. “We’ve tried everything Amazon’s offered. We got into FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon)* as an early adopter and, more recently, we’ve realized real success with SFP, (Seller-Fulfilled Prime)** which Sonja suggested we try.” However, mid-2018, Sonja recommended that Frankel transition some of his inventory from SFP to a brand new program called FBA Onsite.*** “I saw that FBA Onsite would give Huppin’s the ability to fulfill more of their orders via two-day Prime. In addition to being able to reach more Prime customers, FBA Onsite felt like a better fit for Huppin’s since they could transition some of the customer service operations to Amazon freeing up time for Larry and team to concentrate on growing their business,” said Sonja.
“Working with the Strategic Account Services team feels like working with family,” says Frankel. “It feels like they’re coworkers in our own company and they’re out to help our interests and trying to help our business grow. In many cases, they’re as valuable as or more valuable than our own employees.”
For more information on Huppin’s, visit their store
