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MIDWEST FACILITY
Centrally located in Elgin, Illinois, our fulfillment center offers shorter transit times, lower shipping costs and greater efficiency in serving multiple time zones. A short drive from O’Hare International airport, the facility is close to major State highways (Routes 14, 31 and 176) and Interstate I-90.
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B2C FULFILLMENT
MAI offers e-commerce, product, literature, premium and direct response fulfillment services to all sizes and types of business. Our business model is simple: we receive orders via any method you require – internet, email/mail, phone or marketplace partner such as Amazon.com – and process accordingly. We can also provide live assistance via phone, chat or email and handle payment and returns processing. Average turn around time is 24 hours. Our proprietary technology provides up-to-the-minute shipment and order status along with real-time reporting to keep you in sync with daily order processing and fulfillment activities.
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SPECIAL SERVICES
MAI specializes in unique packing and assembly programs.Our sophisticated kitting and backorder management system allows precise management of every program component whether we’re dealing with product sampling kits or larger-scale product suites. We also handle custom projects such as product packaging/assembly, DVD assembly, merchandising display pack outs and more.
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RETURNS
Mis-managed returns can turn an already unpleasant and costly endeavor into an outright nightmare. Beyond cost, poorly managed returns can affect future orders and result in negative word-of-mouth advertising. MAI helps you mitigate the cost of returns while maximizing speed and efficiency for the consumer. Our capabilities include: inspection/testing, fluff-and-buff services, re-kitting/packaging, parts replacement and more based on your needs.
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INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Received inventory is inspected and reported upon arrival, then moved to a designated location while all required information such as Item, SKU, Case Quantity, etc. is entered into our proprietary web-based application (MARS) to facilitate tracking and inventory maintenance. MARS is fully customizable to meet specific client requirements. It includes automatic reorder, receiving, shipping, adjustment, return and/or kitting alerts and can be integrated with existing corporate enterprise systems (SAP, JD Edwards, etc.). Monthly cycle counts with reconciliation documentation are also standard.
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B2B FULFILLMENT
MAI can help you meet the EDI fulfillment and routing requirements of retailers throughout America. We understand retail fulfillment is deadline sensitive and that there is no acceptable error margin. We support all EDI services and manage all Vendor Compliance requirements. From purchase order receipt, advance ship notifications (ASNs), compliant barcode/parcel labels and invoicing, MAI handles it all.
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FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
Our team knows exactly how to find the best shipping method to get your goods where they need to go, quickly and economically, domestically and internationally. Whether delivering direct to consumer or bulk to distribution centers, we’re experts at minimizing in transit times and maximizing shipping discounts.
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REPORTING
MAI works hand-in-hand with clients to establish reporting protocol for inventory levels, inventory turns, aged inventory, orders shipped, back orders, warehouse and fulfillment KPIs, etc. Our proprietary MARS/MARSWeb application provides full flexibility to deliver virtually any type of reporting required and offers real-time accessibility at any time from any place.
Case Studies
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ALLSTEEL®
Custom literature fulfillment application streamlines complex kitting requirements and backorder management.
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DOMINO SUGAR
Custom application provides superior reporting and data management capabilities.
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KASKEY KIDS
Customized web-based application consolidates receiving, warehousing, order processing and distribution.
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MUSTELA USA/CANADA
Expanding distribution to the Canada market requires scalability, flexibility.
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MUSTELA USA
Customized web-based application consolidates receiving, warehousing, order processing and distribution.
recent news
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MAI is named contact center of record for mattress giant Serta International!
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MAI has been named a Multichannel Merchant Top 3PL for 2020, included in a listing of leading third-party logistics providers.
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Abe’s Market, a growing online resource for natural products, chooses MAI for product distribution.
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Hickory Farms engages MAI for seasonal B2B outbound sales support.
We Think Outside the Box
MAI specializes in designing and managing integrated solutions to meet your unique fulfillment needs. While others try to make client programs fit into their system, MAI believes in tailoring our capabilities around what’s best for your business. It’s this customized approach that ultimately delivers cost savings, process optimization and higher degrees of customer satisfaction.
It may not be glamorous, but as the closing act in customer transactions, fulfillment does play a leading role in your company’s success. That’s why MAI thinks outside the box to bring you fulfillment solutions that save time, money and headaches. Among the things we can help you streamline:
- POS Distribution
- Literature Distribution
- Training/Education Fulfillment
- Product Distribution
- Product Sampling
- EDI Integration
- End-to-end eCommerce Management
- Bulk Distribution
- Kitting/Custom Assembly
- On Demand/JIT fulfillment
- Inventory Management
- Custom Web Services
Customer Service
MAI’s fully-integrated, state-of-the-art contact center supports the customer experience 24/7/365. Our goal is to never disappoint a customer. When questions arise, you can be sure we’ll have the right answers. Our ability to manage both B2B and B2C programs is enabled by leveraging technology, agent-performance tools, analytics and various other tools. We’ll work with you to define the support parameters and service metrics your program requires:
- 24/7/365 operations with an uptime guarantee
- Leading-edge communications technology supported by experienced IT and marketing professionals
- Midwest location (Taylorville, IL) facilitates management of different time zones and offers neutral accent staff
Speed, Simplicity and Savings…
Effective warehousing and inventory management processes are essential for making sure your fulfillment operation is running as efficiently and flawlessly as possible. At MAI, we turn logistical challenges into seamless solutions that meet your needs. We can coordinate your freight shipments and customs deliveries, offer real-time inventory reporting and handle complex projects such as advanced kitting, labeling and more.
Receiving – All inventory shipments are received, verified and entered into our proprietary web-based MARS application which facilitates real-time reporting via a secure client-accessible website hosted by MAI.
Inventory Control – Inventory is tracked and maintained through MARS to provide a fail-safe manner to maintain inventory at a near perfect levels. Automatic inventory alerts can be pre-set to include reorder points, receiving, shipping, adjustment, return and/or kitting alerts.
Monthly Cycle Counts – Monthly cycle counts are conducted and submitted to the client along with all reconciliation documentation. Hard copy records including packing slips, Bill of Ladings, Received Inventory Forms and our own Receiving Form are stored by MAI.
Technology-Driven Solutions
When existing CRM applications weren’t robust or flexible enough to satisfy client needs, MAI took it in stride and developed its own proprietary MARS application. Designed to integrate with existing corporate enterprise systems (SAP, JD Edwards, etc.), MARS utilizes the latest Microsoft technology and is powered by MS SQL Server. Since MARS was developed and is owned by MAI, it can be customized to accommodate:
- Ad hoc reporting needs
- Training
- E-commercing
- Market research
- Document manager
- Marketing service portal
- IT support
- …and more!
Process, Product and People
Order management is a seemingly simple term for what is actually a complex process made up of many separate actions. At MAI, we take a holistic approach to order management to ensure that all the checks and balances are in place to result in a successful outcome for every order we manage on your behalf.
Tracking and Reporting
Our MARS intranet CRM application takes the guesswork out of knowing where orders and inventory are at any given point in time. It can be customized to include the features most relevant to your program and accessed from anywhere, anytime so you’ll always have real-time information at your fingertips. Among the myriad tracking and reporting capabilities MARS can accommodate:
- Real-time inventory management
- Loose parts inventory management
- Automated re-order alerts
- Automated order receipts/shipment notifications, etc.
- Kitting module application
- EDI Integration
- Custom Web Services
- Event tracking (inbound calls, White Mail, Web-Chat, email, etc.)
- Customer history/profile
- Address verification
- Contact manager
- Dynamic scripting
- Integrated back office
The Art of Carrier Selection
MAI works with UPS, Fedex, USPS, Purolator and hybrid delivery services such as Fedex SmartPost and UPS SurePost to obtain optimal pricing and performance for your program. We go the extra step to uncover the fastest, most cost-effective ways to get your materials and/or products delivered to your customers. Our technology and infrastructure provides a cost-effective distribution and fulfillment solution to pick-pack-and-ship orders from your inventory stored at our facility.
- Customized solutions support your brand strategies and requirements
- Scalable to handle seasonal peaks and promotional activity
- Real-time tracking and inventory management
Central Midwest Location=Less Time in Transit, Lower Costs
Our convenient Chicago-suburban location in Elgin, Illinois, provides most companies with an ideal distribution point for shipping needs. We’ve also negotiated substantial shipping discounts by leveraging our client base and pass these savings along to you.
