Goods delivery
It all starts with the delivery of the goods. Just like the journey of our products, Fridge and Alex's day began in the delivery lock, where many pallets full of goods reach our warehouse every day. This is where we receive the deliveries from the brands - just like some of Fridge's & Alex's favourite snow outerwear like Coal or Volcom. As soon as the goods were unpacked, the boys were able to label them directly (aka "slap on some barcodes") to prepare them for the next step. To ensure that our stores are also stocked with enough products, the goods are sorted and it is decided what stays in our warehouse and what goes straight to our stores. This lead us directly to the next area.
B2B
We then moved on to the B2B area. B2B stands for "business to business". As the name suggests, this step involves distributing the goods in the warehouse to all our stores. However, before the products are sorted ready for shipping, all products must first be secured. This way we are able to relieve our store colleagues of some of the work in-stores, as the goods can be sold right out of the box. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to start a "race" between Fridge and Alex. The two of them had to distribute the products to our stores in the shortest possible time. Despite the "race", our experienced colleagues were slowed down rather than helped by the two of them, as the conveyor belt became fuller and fuller instead of emptier. This was also the first time that Fridge and Alex realised how much practice this work requires. Although they took the "race" very seriously, they had no chance at all against the employees on site. Perhaps this was also due to the fact that they found time in between to pack a few presents for their local Blue Tomato shop in Oslo, Norway.
B2C
In the business-to-customer sector, or B2C for short, we pack deliveries directly to you. In other words, all the products you order from your couch at home, on the train or during a boring lecture at university.
Your online orders are received here, collected and prepared for shipping. Alex and Fridge were first familiarised with the organisation of our warehouse by our colleague. As it turned out, this was not as easy as expected. For our customers' orders, they then tried their luck at "picking" - collecting the ordered products. Finding the row of shelves was one challenge, as there is a very specific system behind the order in the warehouse that you first have to get to grips with. Once again, we challenged Alex and Fridge to see who was faster at picking. On top they were also able to put their skateboard skills to the test. Although this shortened their time searching for the ordered products, there was a catch - on the way back they had to land a skate trick on our flatrail. Don't worry - our regular employees don't have to do that for every order.
Packing
Packing and shipping is the last step before the packages make their way to your home. Here too, Fridge and Alex were allowed to slip into the role of our colleagues in the warehouse. As with the distribution of products to the shops, despite the strict control of our warehouse supervisor, they managed to include some personal messages and vouchers with some of the day's orders before they were picked up by our shipping partners in the evening. If you received an order with an anecdote, Alex and Fridge would love to hear from you on Instagram!
Photo studio
After Fridge and Alex got to know our distribution center, there was another part to discover. Not only is our warehouse located in Graz, but also our photo studio, where all products for the Blue Tomato web shop are modeled and photographed. That's why we couldn't miss taking a little detour with Fridge and Alex. To understand the whole process in the studio even better, Fridge and Alex were able to try out for themselves what it's like as a webshop model to be in front of a camera. Their many years of experience in snowboard shoots definitely came in handy - the two of them were able to show their best side in their sponsors' products. Fridge showed the newest Coal outerwear and Vans snowboard boots while showcasing his favorite Lobster snowboards in the best possible light. Alex was able to present his Bataleon snowboard favorites of this season wearing Volcom outerwear and Deeluxe snowboard boots. Fridge wouldn't be Fridge if he hadn't given free rein to his creativity and left us a work of art on our photo backdrop.
To give you an insight into our distribution center and to admire Fridge’s creative work, we have created a vlog of this entertaining day. Make sure to check it out!
