How Dunn-Rite Products Saves Over $100,000 Annually With Cahoot
“Cahoot is the partner we wish we had years ago. The savings and efficiencies are just unmatched.”
~ Teddy D., Dunn-Rite Products
Annual Savings
$100,000+ annual shipping cost savings
Man-hours saved
6 hours of labor saved per day on shipping label generation
Faster, cheaper shipping
Nationwide 1 – 2-day delivery at ground rates without fully outsourcing fulfillment
Dunn-Rite’s Success Snapshot
Dunn-Rite Products, a leading brand of poolside basketball and volleyball sets, faced sky-high shipping costs for their oversized products and a growing operational burden. After a costly and frustrating attempt with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), they turned to Cahoot.
The results?
- $100,000+ annual shipping cost savings
- 6 hours of labor saved per day on shipping label generation
- Nationwide 1 – 2-day delivery at ground rates without fully outsourcing fulfillment
“Some days printing all our shipping labels takes less than 5 minutes. Even when we have an unusually high number of bad addresses or complex requirements, it’s under 30,” said
The Challenge: Oversized Products and High Shipping Costs
Dunn-Rite specializes in premium poolside recreation products, including popular oversized SKUs like the AquaVolly Pool Volleyball Set, the PoolSport Swimming Pool Basketball Set, and the Splash & Shoot Clear Pool Basketball Hoop series. These large, bulky items created constant headaches with shipping costs and storage constraints. And, when the busy season heats up, there’s not enough room to stock the inventory needed to keep up with demand.
“We tried FBA for a year, but costs were too high for our oversized products, and storage constraints made it impossible to scale,” Dunn-Rite explained.
While their Indiana and Colorado warehouses helped them serve central U.S. customers, every order shipped to Zones 5 – 8 meant paying astronomical ground shipping rates. They were stuck: either sacrifice margin or lose sales to faster competitors and risk customer satisfaction with slower delivery.
The Cahoot Solution: Network Optimization + Smarter Software
Cahoot’s team began with a warehouse network analysis, pinpointing where Dunn-Rite could position inventory to minimize Zone 5–8 deliveries. Cahoot’s Southern CA, Dallas, Miami, and Philadelphia warehouses instantly expanded Dunn-Rite’s reach, covering the entire U.S. with affordable ground shipping.
“Cahoot identified the optimal warehouse network to achieve more Zone 2 – 4 deliveries, which is a game changer for oversized products,” Dunn-Rite shared.
The Results: Big Savings and Leaner Operations
Cahoot has delivered dramatic improvements for Dunn-Rite:
1. $100,000+ Annual Shipping Cost Savings
By reducing high-cost Zone 5 – 8 shipments and using Cahoot’s exceptional ground shipping rates, Dunn-Rite has saved over $100,000 each year.
“The savings are very real. It’s over $100,000 a year, and that’s just the hard shipping cost. It doesn’t even count the time savings,” said Dunn-Rite leadership.
Visual: Bar chart comparing annual shipping spend before and after Cahoot.
2. Massive Time Savings
Before Cahoot, Dunn-Rite’s staff spent 6 hours per day creating labels and dealing with carrier issues. Today, they spend 5 – 30 minutes daily using Cahoot’s label software, even on busy days when special orders or address issues arise.
3. Nationwide 1 – 2-Day Delivery at Ground Rates
Dunn-Rite can now confidently offer customers fast delivery for oversized products without absorbing air shipping costs.
“While our customers didn’t notice a speed increase because we were already meeting performance metrics, most sellers would see delivery times reduced by 50% or more because most sellers do not have multi-warehouse operations,” Dunn-Rite noted.
4. Reduced Operational Burden
Unlike traditional 3PLs, Cahoot didn’t force Dunn-Rite to relinquish control. They continue to ship local orders from their own Indiana and Colorado warehouses, while Cahoot handles distant orders from its network.
Client Perspective
“We were looking for a way to reduce shipping costs without losing control of fulfillment. Cahoot gives us the best of both worlds. It’s saves us over $100,000 a year [two years in a row] and freed up our staff’s time so they can focus on growth, not shipping problems.”
Conclusion
Dunn-Rite Products transformed its shipping operations with Cahoot:
- Over $100,000 in annual shipping cost savings
- Lean operations with a fraction of the staff time
- Nationwide fast delivery without expensive air shipments
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