How OpsNinja inspects 10,000 units per month for Hash Stash

The Mindful Collective (TMC) is a fast-growing independent brand in the spiritual and wellness industry specializing in creating holistic products like candles, crystals, card decks, and more.

Founded in 2020, TMC has been on an impressive growth trajectory, ticking off a significant milestone of becoming a 7-figure business in a few years. Aiding their journey since their inception has been OpsNinja, a software company specializing in enhancing supply chain efficiency.

“OpsNinja has been with us since day one. They’ve been there since we sold our first product, and they’ve played an important role in our growth over time.”
- Aidan Tropiano, co-founder of TMC

If there’s anyone who understands the value of conducting inspections, it’s Aidan. He initially considered skipping inspections altogether, questioning whether it was worth the money and extra step in his brand’s production process.

“Initially, I thought inspections were a waste of money, but thankfully a few mentors of mine convinced me otherwise,” he recalls.

Given how fast TMC has grown, from being an upstart during early COVID to where it’s at now, Aidan has felt the pain of quality being a bottleneck for his business, and had he ignored that step in the process, it would have reflected horribly on his P&L, especially during Q4, their busiest time of year.

But that’s not to say he hasn’t been on the wrong side of inspections, too.

“Last year, we noticed one of the card decks we were selling wasn't arriving to our customers as we wanted it to. We’d recently updated the deck's product designs, and that, coupled with employee turnover from our supplier, meant the new managers were missing key parts of the inspection process.”

And it’s often the tiny details that can significantly influence customer satisfaction. In Aidan’s own words:

“It’s always the little things you don't think about that affect customers the most. Stuff like: Is the wax the right level? Are the crystals placed in the right areas? Are they the right quality? Is everything burning correctly? These things go a long way.”

TMC’s trust in OpsNinja has never wavered, and Aidan sees the inspection investment as a preventative measure.

With OpsNinjas QC software, TMC could effectively manage their purchase orders and ensure the consistency of their products. The software’s simplified communication with the suppliers ensures that no design or specification changes slip through unnoticed.

“OpsNinja has caught countless issues that our suppliers have otherwise missed, and in turn, we've made big changes to our product development because of it.”

As a fast-growing business, you need more than someone who will follow the script. You need a partner willing to act on your behalf and make recommendations to drive your business in the right direction.

“The quality and consistency of our inspections have given us a very low refund rate, and we credit OpsNinja for that,” says Aidan.

It really can be that easy.

Aidan’s belief in OpsNinja’s product offering is a testament to the power of building a concise, streamlined tool that entrepreneurs can use to make their lives easier.

“Being simple and to the point is what businesses need. You don't need to overcomplicate things. And that's what I've always loved about OpsNinja… the dashboard is simple and to the point; even a beginner could log on and find their way around.”

But for Aidan, it’s not simply about ease of use. It’s also about proactively catching issues before they arise, and that’s where OpsNinja’s specialty lies. It’s about identifying and addressing those issues head-on, making recommendations based on each use case, which mitigates the risk of product defects down the line.

“I've loved working with OpsNinja since the start of our journey… I love everything about this business. I love their systems, their team, their precision, and how fast they move. As a small business, I feel looked after by them.”

If you try to save money now, you’ll pay later.

But if you invest upfront, you’ll save in the long run.