That’s where Shady Rays steps in. The online retailer sells sunglasses that are mid-priced and designed for active lifestyles. And if they are lost or broken, Shady Rays replaces them. (Up to two replacements per pair purchased.)

Rapid growth brought new challenges

Their rapid growth shows that active sorts like the idea and the product. The three-year-old company is growing so fast, in fact, that in early 2016, it decided it was time to hire a fulfillment firm to manage and ship its inventory.

“We had a team of one shipping all the orders, and we knew that was capping our growth,” said Chris, Shady Rays’ marketing director.

Looking local

The company was leaning toward some fulfillment firms in Chicago when it ran across Bluegrass Integrated Communications during a Google search.

Shady Rays is based in Louisville, and having its merchandise stored and shipped only 70 miles away at Bluegrass’ warehouse in Lexington sounded awfully good. Chris and his crew would be able to easily meet us face-to-face when they needed to, and drop in to check on inventory without taking much time to travel.

Detailed reports improve business

It’s proved a good move. We’ve made some suggestions that have helped Shady Rays be more efficient and collect more sales-related info. We do intensive inspections on their products, which has cut back on returns and improved customer satisfaction. By having us handle the things we are best at, Shady Rays staff has been able to focus on what they do best–selling some great sunglasses to sporty folks. The end result? Shady Rays sales are up 10 to 12 percent for 2016.