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Wine Engine needed a specialist 3PL that could handle alcohol, nearly 1,000 SKUs and a rapidly growing order volume. fulfilment.com connected the business with a perfect-fit partner just five miles away, unlocking the capacity to more than double revenue and order volume.
Highlights
Wine Engine was fulfilling orders in-house, limiting capacity to 15–20 boxes a day.
A local, alcohol-licensed 3PL capable of managing nearly 1,000 SKUs was required.
fulfilment.com connected Wine Engine with a specialist 3PL just five miles away, a partner the team hadn't been able to find through online searches.
Orders grew by 181%, bottles shipped increased by 355%, and Wine Engine more than doubled its revenue.
How outsourcing fulfilment made room to grow
Wine Engine, founded by Matt Ovenden, is one of the UK's fastest-growing wine subscription businesses.
With nearly 1,000 wines available across one-off purchases and subscriptions, the business gives customers plenty of choice. Its AI sommelier also learns customers' preferences to make increasingly personalised wine recommendations.
But behind the scenes, fulfilment was becoming a bottleneck, and before moving to a 3PL, Matt was packing orders himself from the office. At most, the team could fulfil around 15 to 20 boxes a day, a process that took up most of the morning and left little room to grow.
Wine Engine needed a fulfilment partner, but its requirements were highly specific.
The 3PL needed to:
Hold an alcohol licence
Be located nearby for easy access to stock
Manage nearly 1,000 SKUs
“I was looking for one that had an alcohol licence, that was nearby, and also we have a large number of SKUs. A lot of ecommerce brands might have 10 or 12. We're at nearly a thousand.” — Matt Ovenden, Founder, Wine Engine
Wine Engine searched online and spoke with other providers, but struggled to find a partner that ticked every box.
A perfect-fit 3PL; just five miles away
Wine Engine came to fulfilment.com after already searching independently for a 3PL.
After speaking with the team about its requirements, fulfilment.com made an introduction to a specialist partner. The first introduction was the right fit. And the warehouse was just five miles away.
“The first one they came up with was perfect, actually. It was very close by. I was actively searching on Google Maps and on Google for 3PLs in my area, and I wasn't finding this one.”
For Matt, the experience showed that the right partner isn't always the easiest one to find through a standard online search.
“You might think, ‘Oh, I could just find it on Google,’ but I couldn't. You guys had it.”
181% more orders and 355% more bottles shipped
The move to a 3PL gave Wine Engine the capacity to grow. In February, before moving into the fulfilment centre, Wine Engine shipped 175 orders and 695 bottles.
By August, those numbers had grown to:
491 orders (+181%)
3,161 bottles (+355%)
The business has also more than doubled its revenue and order volume since moving to the 3PL.
For Wine Engine, outsourcing fulfilment wasn't simply about saving time. It removed a capacity ceiling that was actually holding the business back.
“We wouldn't have been able to scale without the 3PL. There was nowhere for the business to go unless I had a partner like that.”
More than picking and packing
The partnership has also taken work off the Wine Engine team's plate beyond fulfilment.
The 3PL now handles customer enquiries related to deliveries, including questions about where orders are and when they'll arrive. That means fewer unnecessary handovers between Wine Engine and its fulfilment partner.
“There's no point in those coming to me and then me going to them. I'm just the middleman at that point. It's better that they field those directly.”
With the 3PL handling fulfilment and delivery-related customer service, the Wine Engine team has more time to focus on growing the business.
What Wine Engine learned
Wine Engine's search showed how difficult it can be to find the right fulfilment partner when your requirements are more specialised.
For Matt, the biggest challenge wasn't simply finding a warehouse. It was finding one that could meet the business's requirements around licensing, location and SKU complexity, and the right partner wasn't necessarily the one that was easiest to find online.
His advice for other brands is to think beyond picking, packing and shipping when choosing a 3PL. Factor in what other services could make sense for your business, including customer service and phone support.
“Consider whether you might want them to do the customer service, answer the phone and that sort of thing, because they will often do that.”
Wine Engine's experience with fulfilment.com was highly positive, and Matt said he would use the platform again.
“You're very well connected, clearly.”
How we can help
Specialist requirements make finding the right 3PL even harder. Need a provider with a specific licence, the capability to handle a large or complex SKU range, or in a location close enough for easy access? Standard online searches often fall short, just as they did for Wine Engine.
We connect brands with 3PLs that match those exact requirements, including partners you won't find through a Google search. Whatever your needs, we'll help you find a partner that removes the ceiling on your growth, not just the first one that says yes.
