Hello,
We wanted to take a moment to share a brief update on our journey and what lies ahead.
Back in the early 2000s, before officially launching our business, our family began importing products that were otherwise unavailable in Australia. By bringing these items into the country, we made a range of previously inaccessible products available to Australian consumers for the first time.
To help reduce costs and streamline deliveries, we established a commercial agreement with AccessUSA (now MyUS), allowing us to consolidate shipments. This meant we could store multiple orders and have them dispatched together, saving significantly on shipping costs — savings which we passed directly on to our customers. I still remember when USPS offered various flat-rate international boxes; the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of that model left a lasting impression on us.
When we launched our business, one of our day-one priorities was to offer this kind of consolidated shipping service to our customers. We’re proud to share that nearly 25,000 orders have now been fulfilled using our consolidated shipping system.
While the initial version of this service was somewhat rudimentary and required significant manual processing, we’ve worked hard over the years to improve and automate it. That said, we recognise that in the past 12 months, as our customer base has grown and requests have become more complex, delays have occurred. Some consolidation requests have taken longer than they should… and for that, we sincerely apologise.
Our vision has always been to offer a customer-facing experience on par with the comprehensive service AccessUSA provides. However, increased demand and complexity led to processing bottlenecks. In response, earlier this year we launched Version 1 of our Shipment Center.
So how does it work?
Previously, customers would email us to request order consolidation, which would trigger an internal workflow for our logistics team. This manual process, often involving address updates, order splitting, HS code declarations (a challenge in itself!), and special instructions, was time-consuming and prone to delays.
With Shipment Center V1, customers can now log in, view all their stored orders, select the items they wish to consolidate, and generate a shipping invoice in real time — all within our website. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re grateful for the valuable feedback many of you have provided.
As a family-owned and operated business, we genuinely listen. Based on your feedback, we’re pleased to announce the release of Shipment Center Version 1.1, which includes several subtle but meaningful improvements to further enhance the user experience.
Finally, we just want to say thank you for your patience, your feedback, and your continued support. Your input drives our improvements, and we’re committed to providing a service that reflects the trust you’ve placed in us.
Warm regards
Rob
