How US Based Fitness Showrooms Leveraged Twill to Expand Their Operations
Talking with Fabio Ravasi, Owner of Fitness Showrooms
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Fitness Showrooms was established in 1992 in Long Island, NY. It expanded to 13 stores across 6 states to become one of the leading companies in the fitness and gym equipment industry. Their requirement for a reliable partner to support their international logistics operations enabled them to come across Twill. Read more now.
Executive Summary
Fitness Showrooms: Gym and Exercise Equipment in the US
Being in the market for more than two decades, Fitness Showrooms is a renowned name in the fitness industry in New York, USA. Specializing in gym equipment, they started Hudson Steel in 2007 to provide cost-effective products with good strength.
They needed high-quality fitness gear like treadmills, weight plates, kettlebells, dumbbells, benches, bars, racks, flooring, and conditioning accessories with regular import volumes from China. For the same, Fitness Showrooms needed efficient logistics solutions to handle their import requirements.
Their partnership with Twill as a digital logistics enabler helped them build Fitness Showrooms and Hudson Steel into a more prominent and bigger brand.
The Challenge
Fitness Showrooms Did Not Have a Logistics Partner
The company previously employed third-party intermediaries for its import needs. As multiple parties and providers were involved, the entire process was unregulated.
Their major challenge was being unable to confirm bookings without any clear interactions. Due to this, they had no control over their shipments. And they didn’t know anything about the whereabouts of their containers and associated timelines.
As there wasn’t a single logistics partner, different service providers gave them different freight rates, causing uncertainty over budgets. Moreover, Fitness Showrooms didn't have proper timelines for obtaining rates and were susceptible to supply chain volatilities.
Poor customs clearance procedures and no customer service support were other problems they faced. Result? Miscommunication, unstable profit margins, no planning, and inefficiency in the entire logistics process.
That’s where Twill came in as their digital logistics solution provider.
"[We had] zero communication with zero control on shipments, which moved on hope and a prayer.”
— Fabio Ravasi,Owner of Fitness Showrooms
The Logistics Solution
Instant Freight Rates and Confirmed Booking With Twill
Fitness Showrooms started working with Twill in 2021, shipping containers from China to Newark. They mainly use Twill for ocean shipping solutions, customs clearance support, and value protection. Twill made significant impacts, as follows:
Instant Pricing
Twill provided them competitive rates with a sleek pricing structure for their import needs. Instant quotes helped them get a broad overview of ongoing shipping prices for multiple dates in advance, so they could plan their shipment timelines and associated budgets.
Reliable Suppliers
Initially, Fitness Showrooms struggled with adding suppliers, communicating shipping instructions, and having clarity about charges. However, they overcame these seeding challenges with Twill’s regular usage. The more times they went with the same supplier, the easier it got for them in terms of communication, usage, and reliability.
Simple Booking
With an easy booking system for multiple services, Twill provided confirmed bookings to Fitness Showrooms, thus, removing the uncertainties over their shipments. Maersk’s utmost sales support and network further strengthened Ravasi’s confidence in Twill.
Container Shipping With Twill
Twill Offered Reliable Sales and Customs Service Support
Shifting to digital logistics was new for Fabio Ravasi as he was used to working with multiple providers with the traditional way of communication.
Ravasi says: “There is a learning curve. It took time working with the platform and understanding what was required. It was not intuitive in the beginning but that has changed with usage.”
But, Twill’s support team was always there for Fitness Showrooms.
The platform changed everything for them by addressing a crucial pain point: offering constant sales and customer service support. Twill gave them timely communication, efficient processes, and transparency in freight rates.
With end-to-end logistics experience, Twill provided them the much-needed control and stability over their import processes. Now, Fitness Showrooms have clear visibility on their shipment journey to manage all their shipping tasks, documents, and bookings from any device, at any time.
“There is a relief when you complete a sale with your customer, and two minutes later, you know when it will move and what it will cost.”
— Fabio Ravasi,Owner of Fitness Showrooms
The Result
Fitness Showrooms Expanding with Twill As Digital Logistics Partner
The partnership of Fitness Showrooms with Twill led them to ship more than 70+ containers in less than a year. Twill reduced shipping and operational costs for them, both directly and indirectly.
Due to the improved logistics solutions and efficient supply chain operations, Fabio Ravasi hopes to double his business in the future and continues to expand further. He recently opened two new stores in Connecticut!