How OpsNinja oversees inspections for one brand group's entire portfolio
Discover the secrets to successful niche product creation and online sales with entrepreneur Neil Ayton, as he shares insights on managing diverse suppliers and establishing quality control processes for his portfolio of e-commerce brands, including Caddent Golf, Karma Heart, and Luminate Press.
About
Neil Ayton knows how to create and market a niche product that will drive sales online.
But, managing multiple overseas suppliers and selling products across different categories is a complex task.
As an entrepreneur based in San Francisco, Neil has been running a portfolio of e-commerce brands that sell low-volume, low-competition, high-margin products primarily on Amazon.
His brands include Caddent Golf (a funny golf-lined journal), Karma Heart (natural bamboo yoga sticks), and Luminate Press (manifestation and pregnancy journals).
We chatted with Neil about his experience launching these brands from scratch and how he discovered the need to establish a quality control process for each of his businesses along the way.
The Challenge
After launching Caddent Golf and seeing initial success, Neil began to recycle his eCommerce playbook by building more brands. As his e-commerce product assortments grew, so did the complexities of managing the supply chain.
His team had also started working with manufacturers from China for the first time and needed to build processes to ensure the products were being made consistently and reliably.
At the time, Neil had adopted a basic approach to quality control, relying on services available through Alibaba and internal tracking on spreadsheets. This approach eventually proved inadequate and inefficient.
He needed a solution to streamline the inspection process and provide valuable insights to mitigate potential issues before they reached consumers. The team knew that maintaining quality control standards across product lines would lead to more 5-star reviews, happier customers, and more sales.
“We initially were very lax on quality control. It was all about just finding someone who could make the products. We started to use some quality control testing sites but the UI was a terrible experience.”
The Solution
Neil integrated OpsNinja into his supply chain management strategy, marking a significant shift in his approach to quality control. OpsNinja's intuitive interface and robust features gave Neil the tools to conduct thorough inspections and proactively identify potential product issues.
Unlike his previous methods, OpsNinja offered a comprehensive solution encompassing all aspects of quality assurance—from test identification to inspection scheduling to facilitating reorders and streamlining inspection processes.
With OpsNinja, Neil could conduct inspections efficiently and have access to insights that led to new tests and better business decisions.
“The OpsNinja team became a strong educational source for us - helping us figure out what to test for. It was our first time working with suppliers overseas, so they became a support system for our brands.”
The Results
Movley's adoption enhanced product quality and mitigated risks. By leveraging OpsNinja's inspection capabilities, Neil was able to identify and address product issues before reaching consumers, preventing potential negative reviews and safeguarding his brands’ reputation.
As Neil prepares to sell off his eCommerce brands over the next few months, he recognizes OpsNinja's value to supply chain management.
He intends to pitch OpsNinja to the new owners, emphasizing its role in maintaining the integrity of the supply chain and ensuring the brands' continued success.
