The Golf Ball Guys specialise in receiving, grading, and supplying high-quality second hand golf balls to players across the country. Like many sports and outdoor brands, their business model navigates highly seasonal demand, with order volumes surging dramatically throughout the spring and summer months. As the company expanded its operations from a local warehouse in South Wales, managing these seasonal spikes internally rapidly transformed from a routine task into a logistical bottleneck.
"Our business was growing quickly, and we were starting to struggle to fulfil orders within our same-day dispatch timeframe," explains Ash from The Golf Ball Guys. Managing the intense volume on Mondays and immediately following bank holidays became especially challenging. Wary of hiring extra staff just to cover temporary seasonal gaps, the team realised they were
"spending more and more of our time dispatching orders and not enough time focusing on growing the business."
Finding a reliable third-party logistics provider initially felt like a "minefield" filled with confusing proposals. When approaching nationwide 3PLs, the team found that "there was no real way of knowing exactly what the final cost of each parcel would be once it left the 3PL." The turning point came through local proximity and clear communication. After an initial visit from Eirios to understand the intricacies of their product preparation and grading, Ash visited the Eirios facility to see the operation firsthand. "After our first meeting with Luke and seeing the unit for ourselves, we had made up our minds," Ash notes.
A primary deciding factor was the straightforward commercial structure. "For our pricing and profit calculations, I know exactly what our fulfilment costs are going to be, which has helped massively," says Ash. The technical transition was equally smooth, with the Eirios team linking their Shopify store to the Helm warehouse management system "in no time at all... From start to finish, it was a seamless experience."
"Working with Eirios has given us the breathing space to focus on growing the business. In a small company, so much time can be spent on dispatch, and it's not until you outsource fulfilment that you realise just how much time is freed up by letting someone else handle it."
Ash, Founder
Today, the partnership empowers The Golf Ball Guys to dedicate their time to their core competency: sourcing, grading, and preparing inventory. The accuracy of their shipments has "improved massively," effectively eliminating the dispatch errors that previously occurred during busy periods. As Ash reflects on their transition, the impact on their operational health is clear: "Overall, our first year working with Eirios has been excellent, and outsourcing our fulfilment has been one of the best decisions we've made for the business."
