SMARTER SUPPLY CHAIN SERVICES
Helping companies store, package, fulfill, and ship more efficiently and transparently helped one company fuel triple-digit growth
Industry expertise, customized solutions, and technology innovation contribute to Visible Supply Chain Management’s continued growth. Market factors help, too. People are increasingly comfortable buying things—all sorts of things— online, and Visible benefits from the explosion of e-commerce brands. But the real driver is people—invested employees who take pride in their customers’ wins and in the role supply chain services played.
President Casey Adams explains that an opaque supply chain frustrates business owners. They need to understand what they are paying for so they can make informed decisions about fulfillment, packaging, and shipping and also maximize profitability while meeting customer expectations. With this need in mind, Visible built a technology suite that allows businesses to understand every element of their supply chains, and in turn, make intelligent choices. “For example, if a company wants customers to get products quickly, it is important they know the cost of doing so and whether the benefit exceeds that cost,” he explains.
EXPERTISE IN E-COMMERCE
Visible serves a variety of industries, but e-commerce is its bread and butter. Over its 25-plusyear history, it has honed its offerings to reflect the nuances of the space. For example, direct-to-consumer companies need professional shipping boxes to protect their packaging in transit to customer homes. So, this year, Visible began manufacturing its own solution—high-quality, customizable, corrugated boxes. It also opened a new research and development warehouse for testing software and automated solutions that could further improve B2C supply chains.
Many of its clients are small businesses, who need reliable, fast shipping to compete with bigger brands. But they don’t need the big-brand price tag. To offer customers flexibility, Visible partners with more than 8,000 carriers, including national ones like the United State Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx, as well as smaller, regional players. In 2018, Visible shipped 158 million parcels, a 20 percent increase from 2017. Thirty million of those parcels were shipped directly from Visible warehouses.
BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE CULTURE
Culture is also a big reason why the Salt Lake City, Utah-based company earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 for the second year in a row. That starts at the top. Adams and CEO Jared Starling are personal friends and longtime beach volleyball partners. They approach their relationship with trust, candor, and respect—a microcosm of how they want business conducted across the company. Adams describes a meritocratic workplace in which the best idea prevails, regardless of who it came from. Employees work together for the shared purpose of supporting their customers. The internal emphasis on transparency also mirrors their focus on transparency for clients.
Visible leadership continues to earn accolades for its achievements. While success is celebrated, no one is sitting in their office polishing trophies. The team has their sights on the next phase of growth. Adams likens it to mountain climbers who reach the top and almost immediately spot a higher mountain in the distance to climb. He is confident he, Starling, and their team will continue to reach their targets, no matter how high, by providing businesses with the transparent, flexible supply chain solutions they need to reach theirs.