Established in 1998, Tamworth Camping is a family owned camping shop and online retailer that specializes in caravan, motorhome and camping equipment.

As they expanded their online business, Tamworth Camping started looking for a system that would be able to manage their inventory across multiple selling channels. Rob Adderley, IT manager at Tamworth Camping explains, “We sell on Amazon, eBay, our website and few other channels so we needed a platform to seamlessly integrate everything across these channels.”

Challenges: Keeping on top of orders during busy periods

In summer periods, Tamworth Camping process a large amount of orders. With a small team, they quickly realized they needed a platform that would automate processes and be able to keep up with high orders. This is where Linnworks came into the picture.

Rob reiterates the unpredictable nature of orders and demand: “In peak periods it’s quite common to be welcomed in the morning to 600 orders on the system out of nowhere. Also, the warehouse team could be working through 35 orders and another 15 could be added by the time they finish.”

Camping holidays took off during the pandemic of Covid 19 as people in the UK had no choice but to take local vacations. The demand for camping equipment has also become a favorable choice in the recent uncertain economic climate. Many consumers are more price conscious and want to save money by not going on holiday abroad.

This peak in demand has been excellent for business at Tamworth Camping but the unpredictable British weather can also mean unpredictable busy periods. In true British style, as soon as the sunshine comes out, sales soar for Tamworth Camping. Because of this, it’s extremely important for them to have an inventory system in place to be able to keep up with fluctuating demand and keep their warehouses organized.

Solution: Expanding sales channels with Linnworks support

Over the years, Tamworth Camping has expanded the channels they sell on following recommendations from the Linnworks team. One of those being Mountain Warehouse, an outdoor clothing equipment retailer and marketplace.

Before using the Linnworks and Mountain Warehouse integration, Rob and his team were having to manually add listings and process orders which was manageable to begin with but became unsustainable as orders grew. Rob says, “One day we got 50 orders from Mountain Warehouse and our team couldn’t handle the amount of orders without doing overtime. Now with the integration, manual intervention isn’t required.”

Rob and his team built the integration with Mountain Warehouse using the Linnworks API. Customers can also integrate with Mountain Warehouse using Fulfillin’s 3rd party Mirakl app. Linnworks users can connect with over 190 Mirakl marketplaces to sync inventory and order routing alongside all other selling channels. Tamworth Camping uses this integration to sell on other well-known UK household brands, including Decathlon and B&Q.

Tamworth Camping are continuously adding more products to the Mountain Warehouse marketplace. The team has noticed the untapped demand available and when they upload new products they get sales quickly. Rob states, “The partnership wouldn’t have happened without Linnworks’ recommendation.”

One of the reasons Tamworth Camping are allowed to sell on Mountain Warehouse and other Mirakl based integrations is because of Tamworth Camping’s amazing Amazon metrics. These have been recognised by Amazon and they were amongst the first companies in the UK to be enrolled on their seller fulfilled prime program when it was still in the pilot phase.

Rob explains, “Linnworks has played an absolutely crucial role in securing and maintaining these metrics, alongside the efforts of our hardworking warehouse team.” Tamworth Camping’s warehouse operates at a very high level of quality and service which is reflected in their metrics. Rob confirms, “This is in large part thanks to Linnworks keeping our operations efficient and organised.”

Results: Fewer human errors and improved inventory accuracy

Tamworth Camping has been using Linnworks for so long now that it’s become an integral part of the business operation. Rob reiterates: “Linnworks is the brain of our business because everything we do is in some way related to it. Everything works effortlessly with Linnworks bringing all the different channels together and automating processes.”

Functionality such as barcode scanning has become a necessity for the team at Tamworth Camping: “When we were looking at other platforms, we had to rule out the majority because they didn’t have barcode scanning functionality and it would have disrupted the workflow.”

Barcode scanning – also known as pickwaves in Linnworks – allows warehouse staff to quickly and efficiently find and pick the correct items. It improves order fulfilment times, ensures inventory accuracy and minimizes human errors.

In Rob’s previous customer service role, picking errors were a common occurrence. Rob explains, “We used to have a few picking errors a week. Where people were so busy, it was easy to make mistakes and input the wrong thing. Now, barcode scanning eliminates picking errors completely.”

There’s also an impact on customer service: “If you think about how much money a business wastes on picking errors and the time it takes to get the item back in the right place, it all trickles down to the customers and ultimately affects their experience.”

Now with Linnworks, the team has peace of mind that the risk of errors are drastically reduced. And the way the interface is set up makes it easy for the warehouse team to pick the correct items as quickly as possible.

Rob summarizes: “The way in which our warehouse works and is set up, staff would struggle using any other software than Linnworks now.”

Rob has also used Linnworks API to build a custom dashboard that shows how many orders need to be picked for that specific day and for what courier. This feature enhances operations by making it easier for the warehouse staff to keep on top of things and instills a sense of urgency to complete tasks in the given time period.

This has been particularly beneficial for seasonal temporary staff that are employed for peak periods. Rob explains, “We need to train seasonal staff quickly so this dashboard provides a quick view of what needs to be packed for that day and they can easily understand what needs to be done without having to train them fully on Linnworks. It’s great that Linnworks gives the ability to do that because of the API flexibility.”

Rob compliments the API access Linnworks provides, “It’s a very easy to use API and it’s great that you can design stuff to suit your business needs and requirements. For a lot of APIs nowadays, you have to complete a very complicated authorization process whereas Linnworks is very easy to connect to.”

Future: Continued expansion

Looking ahead, Rob and his team are looking to expand their products on existing marketplaces such as Mountain Warehouse but are always on the lookout for new opportunities to expand their customer base and increase revenue. Rob frequently checks the Mirakl app and Linnworks app store to

With Linnworks, customers can have an unlimited amount of integrations at no extra charge and the set ups are straightforward. The team at Tamworth Camping feel confident expanding on to new marketplaces, knowing they have an inventory and order management solution in place that can keep up with increased orders and demand.

Want to learn more about selling on Mountain Warehouse with Linnworks? Request a demo here.

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