pro-mail®: Fulfilling Fulco Fulfillment Inc. From Their First to Their Twenty-Seventh Client

Fulco Inc., a circulation fulfillment company in New Jersey, has offered subscription renewal services since 1981. After twenty-one years of circulation fulfillment Fulco Inc., noticed a growing demand from their clients to offer more than just circulation fulfillment services.

In November of 2001, Fulco Fulfillment Inc., located in Dover, NJ, was created as a separate division of Fulco Inc., to meet this demand. Anthony Rossi, Jennifer Mathiesen, Jim Duffy, Bob Boyken and Gary Marcello were the five experienced professionals entrusted with overseeing the creation. With at least 100 years of combined experience in fulfillment services, direct mailing and printing industries, each member of this executive team knew what was necessary to succeed in this industry.

The Challenge

Fulco Fulfillment Inc., first needed a warehouse facility that was able to accommodate a variety of inventory items ranging from premium and literature items to products. “We found a warehouse facility in Dover N.J. with over 110,000 square feet of available space. That was the easy part. The more daunting task was finding a software system sophisticated enough to provide the superior service we wanted to give,” Anthony Rossi, a former CEO of Direct Mail Services, Inc., said.

Rossi, Matheison, Duffy, Boyken and Marcello composed a list of 35 fundamental aspects they wanted in their fulfillment software. “We got together and came up with 35 requirements. We all had over 20 years experience in this industry. We knew what worked and what we wanted,” Rossi said. Among this list were: kit-packing and contract kit assembly capabilities, version application control and inventory organization tools. Particularly important was that the software be Web browser based and utilized the most-up-to-date technology.

“It seemed likely that we would need to develop our own system,” recalled Jennifer Mathiesen, also a Direct Mail associate. Yet, to be on the safe side Fulco FulfillmentInc., interviewed five companies and thoroughly perused their respective fulfillment software, in the hope of finding one which met Fulco's standards.

Software Marketing Associates, Inc. (SMA), and pro-mail® was the only one which met our requirements,” Rossi said.

The Solution

Within one month The pro-mail® Fulfillment Solution fluidly transitioned Fulco Fulfillment Inc., from a diversification brainchild into a reality. “We started with an empty warehouse and pro-mail® helped us to organize and grow faster than we ever imagined,” Rossi said. The pro-mail® Fulfillment Solution expertly systemized the 110,000 square ft. warehouse to handle back-end processing in a timeefficient and accurate manner. Likewise Fulco was able to effectively manage the front-end operation of order capture, control and processing. “We offer 'expert fulfillment service',” Rossi said, “This is not just a motto, rather an exact mission.”

The pro-mail® Fulfillment Solution’s kit-packing and contract kitting capabilities were crucial to Fulco as their list of clientele had yet to be determined. “We had an idea of the type of industries we would service, but it was central to our growth that we had an all-inclusive software system from a company willing to work together with us,” Rossi recollected.

SMA's knowledgeable support staff quickly acquainted Fulco's associates with the user-friendly Web browser based pro-mail® Fulfillment Solution.

The Results

The pro-mail® Solution has aided Fulco Fulfillment Inc., from their first to their twenty-seventh customer. “We would not have as many clients as we do, especially in this short period of time, without using The pro-mail® System,” Matheison said.

Currently, Fulco Fulfillment Inc., estimates that daily over 1,000 of their clients and their clients' customers use The pro-mail® System. “The Web based version is very user-friendly. We have not had one complaint from any of our customers who use the system,” Matheison added.

SMA assisted Fulco as their clientele base expanded and more diverse industries were represented. “The support team is especially helpful when our clients give us a new requirement. They show us how we can enhance or add a new feature to meet the needs of our clients,” Rossi said.

Some of Fulco's clients require customized order processing and control. pro-mail® enables Fulco to customize its applications to better manage the distribution, packaging, and shipping requirements of each specific client. “pro-mail®’s flexibility allows us to easily cater to different clientele's needs,” Rossi praised.

pro-mail®'s kit-packing capabilities have been extremely beneficial, “One client has over 200 items to choose from for just one kit. pro-mail® enables this to be done in the most time-efficient manner,” Matheison said. “It is also beneficial to have a system which easily utilizes the collating and shipping of kits,” Rossi furthered.

Additionally, pro-mail® has been an influential marketing tool for potential customers. “A major part of our prospective client presentation is to demonstrate all of pro-mail®'s capabilities,” Matheison reported, “Even our own Web site has a pro-mail® demo to show the superior service we offer.”

pro-mail® will continue to systematically organize Fulco Fulfillment Inc., as they expand their warehouse with an additional 50,000 sq. ft. The 160,000 sq. ft. of inventory space allows Fulco to offer one of the most affordable storage options in the northeast area.

“pro-mail® allows us to quickly get our clients up and running. In turn, we are rewarded by building sales, revenue and client loyalty,” Rossi concluded.