Are you interested in coming into business with Gorilla Warehouse?
Here you will find detailed information about our services – how they work, who they are suitable for and what is important to consider before you make a decision...
Managing your products (product receipt, hosting, delivery and distribution) is one of the most important (and complex) aspects of running an online store or wholesale.
In recent years, order lead times have been shortened and customer demands have increased. This poses a new challenge for shoppers as it is increasingly difficult to meet consumer expectations – or offer better than competition.
It's possible to "take care of everything" yourself when projects are in the works, but as your business grows and the volume of orders increases – the best way may be to outsource the product side to experts – in order to maximize performance but also to make better use of your time.
We at Gorilla Warehouse specialize in handling products and handle everything from receiving shipments from the manufacturer to inventory, processing orders and distribution to customers.
Our experience with over 150 companies since 2018 has shown us that we can simplify our customers' operations while at the same time helping them improve delivery times and reduce operating costs! If you are interested in knowing more, please read on and book a free chat with us. We hope to hear from you!
So, what do you want to know?
1. What does a gorilla warehouse do, exactly?
Gorilla Warehouse handles the product side for you from A-Z.
But what does that mean?
One way to explain is that you never really need to see your products! And for the sake of argument, there are a number of customers who have used the service for years and have never ever come close to their products... Amazing!
We take care of the product side or the physical side of your business so you have the flexibility to be anywhere in the world, work whenever it suits you and be free from the hassle of running your own warehouse or having a large number of people on your payroll.
We handle product hosting and inventory, product receipt, order processing, wrapping, shipping to customers, receiving returns and more!
In addition, we give you access to our own warehouse software where you can view real-time inventory from anywhere in the world, as well as track your order status, create orders, access a wealth of helpful reports and more.
Hereis a more detailed list of your warehouse tasks and how we solve problems for you in your day-to-day operations:
Product Hosting:
You ship items directly to the warehouse from the manufacturer. We handle product receipt, quality control, counting and check-in of your products. The correct inventory levels will automatically appear in the online store and in your own backend. All tools, tools and equipment are available and included.
The warehouse is monitored with a complete security system, staff follow rod procedures, and Gorilla Warehouse has all the necessary permits from the Occupational and Health Administration for the warehouse of all kinds of products.
To Handle Orders:
Accurate and elusive delivery of all orders.
As soon as a customer places an order, warehouse personnel start finding the right items, packing and shipping off to the customer. All deliveries are done by trained staff and through warehouse software with hand scanners which ensures 99.8% correct handling. Delivery is the same day for orders received before 13:00.
You don't have to be there, you never have to drop off at the post office, and you don't have to worry.
Packing:
Wrapping orders in boxes, envelopes or mailbags is an important step before a shipping ticket is taped to an order and shipped out of the house. Outer packaging protects orders from knocking, wetness or dirt, and a barcode on a shipping label allows us to 'track' an order from the moment it leaves the warehouse until it arrives in the hands of the recipient.
Equipment and materials for wrapping are included in the service. In addition, special mailbags are included, but you can also bring your own packaging that we use for your products.
Shipments to customers:
One of the many functions of the warehouse is to monitor trends and developments in repatriation. We want to ensure that our customers have access to the best and cheapest shipping routes in Iceland at any given time.
We help you connect with shipping agents, provide you with better prices, register shipments with distributors for you and make sure orders are delivered on time.
Returns and exchanges:
Returns and barter are an integral part of commerce, but it can be a big headache to handle these if there are no good procedures in place. Gorilla Warehouse receives returned items for all customers and returns them to inventory or disposal – whichever is applicable. Details here.
For some, trusting others to manage their products can sound risky or even uncomfortable. But we want to be a true partner, an extension of your own company. We are here to help you succeed. It is important for us to have close and trusting relationships with our customers.
"Our company took a turn after we moved the stock to Gorilla. Customers are receiving better service, sales have increased and the customer base has grown. What stands out is good communication with the gorilla staff. You feel they are on your side and they care about your company."
2. How much does a gorilla warehouse service cost?
The Gorilla Warehouse tariff is extremely simple and there are only a few fees paid for. Our goal is for the tariffs to be simple, predictable and flexible. Thus, no cost should surprise you, and you can also expand with us without having to invest in a larger warehouse, more staff, expensive equipment or other similar growth pains.
The cost of Gorilla Warehouse services depends entirely on the volume of shopping each month. For example:
- Number of orders to be processed
- The size of the on-hand to store
- Number of shipments that must be delivered to customers
The Gorilla Warehouse tariff is divided into three currencies and these are as follows:
A. Product Hosting:
The amount of space your goods take up in the warehouse is paid for per day. This gives you 100% flexibility to expand or shrink as you need – without committing to renting a large home of your own.
→ Compartment (50x50x40cm) = 45 kr. per compartment per day
→ Pallet space (120x80x150cm) = 171-203 kr per pallet per day
B. Services:
You only pay for services when your goods are delivered in (received goods) or out (order processing).
Instead of hiring staff with the commitment and fixed costs involved, you have access to all warehouse staff but only pay for them when you really need them.
→ Front desk from 282 kr. per order
→ Goods reception from 1550 kr.
→ The minimum threshold for services is ISK 35,000 per month.
C. Distribution/shipping costs:
The cost is per shipment and depends on the shipping route, order size and postal code of the recipient. But you always save on the shipment with us.
We ship hundreds of orders every day, and by virtue of their numbers, we get special deals from distributors – which we pass directly on to you.
"Not only were we able to reduce the number of steps and focus on the most important things, but we were also able to reduce fixed costs substantially thanks to the fair price list of the gorilla. The team is highly commended for their helpfulness and quick and good workmanship! Our customers usually receive their shipments very quickly, which is of paramount importance to us. THANKS GORILLA"
3. Benefits of shedding the product side to a gorilla
There are many reasons why it's wise to outsource the product side to third parties instead of being expert in everything yourself. Here are some common reasons from our own customers:
A. Trouble around warehousing is history to...
Whether you have your own warehouse, shopping space, or have your home full of boxes, you're probably familiar with the troubles that can come with storing inventory.
Product hosting problems are one of the most common problems we hear about when talking to new customers – whether it's lack of space, high rental costs, hard work, or people wanting space in their home again.
Revenues can vary from season to season, and the volume of product hosting can fluctuate greatly. This can result in you needing more space under the inventory when there is a lot to do, and then you're stuck with the cost of a larger space than you need in quieter months.
When you shed product hosting to a gorilla, you have access to as much or as little space as you need at any given time – but only pay for the space you actually use.
This way, you can expand without obstacles – or shrink during quieter times and lower costs at your convenience. Plus, we take care of organizing your inventory, counting products, and ensuring that all safety features are first class.
You have full access to everything that is happening without sacrificing your own time or space in your home. All you have to do is order in before your products are sold out!
The cost of hosting goods should not eat away at corporate profits, but housing is truly one of the biggest challenges facing companies in Iceland today. The real price index of commercial real estate has never been higher (2023), and "low availability and high prices are the characteristics of the commercial real estate market at present," the Governor said in an interview with an insider.
We believe that, among other things, more and more companies are seeing their advantage in shedding product hosting and getting more flexibility and less commitment.
"The service is exemplary and gives us time to take better care of other aspects of the business. This makes the business much easier! We couldn't have grown so quickly and efficiently without working with the gorillas."
B. You do not have to process orders all day or fire to the Post Office with packages ...
If you have handled orders yourself, you should be familiar with these daily tasks:
- Search for a box or bag that fits all your products
- Play Tetris to arrange the goods in a box
- Manually register a consignment or print out a shipment ticket
- Fire with deliveries to the post office before closing
- ... and must be on site every day to process orders on time
It is time consuming to take care of these tasks yourself and ultimately we have to ask ourselves, what is your time worth and how can you make the best use of it?
If you have difficulty handling orders yourself because the volume or number of orders has increased, this is a good indication that now is the right time to hire a warehouse to handle the product side for you.
You can certainly also hire your own staff, but you'll also be stuck with all the other "hidden costs" associated with handling orders in-house.
It comes with a sea of hidden costs to rent your own warehouse and run your own business. You need to start by hiring permanent staff, having staff facilities, buying or renting equipment, packaging materials and last but not least, you need to take care of the business and be responsible for ensuring that everything runs smoothly, for example staffing the shift when staff are late, sick or going on vacation.
We don't want to make it sound like it's impossible to run your own warehouse, because it's not right. But it is truly a long-term commitment and requires both more resources and knowledge if it is to go well.
We are not completely neutral... But we think the route described above is a bit 1995. Today, you can outsource your business to professionals – and everyday jobs become more reliable, better, and even cheaper.
C. You can grow faster if you focus on what matters most
While the tasks related to the product side are essential, they are definitely not the reason you started in business... And these projects just get bigger and bigger as your business grows.
Many entrepreneurs and executives say that time is their most valuable resource. You can spend your time packaging and shipping instead of focusing on selling more or expanding your target audience, which could make your business get stuck in the same rut.
Shedding the product side takes responsibility off your shoulders and frees up a lot of time you can spend on what is really important at any given time – for example, product development, marketing, branding or something only you can do.
The warehouse is not a net cost but a tool to increase revenue by meeting customers' toughest demands and providing excellent service every time a customer orders.
D. You benefit from the experience and scope of the warehouse
Gorilla Warehouse processes 500-1000+ orders every day and we have worked with over 150 online stores and wholesalers since 2018.
By working with Gorilla Warehouse, your business gains access to solid infrastructure, technology, and staff with expertise in delivery and inventory. We can help you optimize workflows around the product side and are on your team. Others have probably faced the same challenges as you, so let us pass on the experience. You don't have to invent the wheel!
Gorilla Warehouse has 10 employees who process orders for 100 companies every day. Do you think it's better to run your own warehouse with permanent staff – or pay from $280 per checkout?
NULL Location in Reykjavík
This point is especially for companies that are located in rural areas.
We regularly admit companies that want to use the services of Gorilla Warehouse, first and foremost because of the efficiency that can be achieved by moving the warehouse to Reykjavík. Keep in mind:
- Shipping costs from the port of Reykjavík to warehouses in the countryside
- Shipping cost from rural warehouse to customer in the southwest corner (85% of Icelanders)
Gorilla Warehouse is located 10 minutes from the main importers and we ship the same day to 85% of the population residing in the southwest corner of Iceland. Enjoy living and working from anywhere in the world – but keep your products closer to the market. Faster lead times plus double savings on shipping costs that count fast when taken together.
NULL Access to technology, transparency and reports that help you expand
When individuals or organizations handle the product side internally, the process is usually very manual.
When you deploy the product side to us, you're not only getting a trusted partner in charge of handling orders – but you're also getting full access to a warehouse system that we use to work for you every day.
Among other things, you can use our warehouse management system to:
- Monitor inventory levels in real time – anytime, anywhere
- Create orders or monitor order status
- Get timely notifications before items are sold out or on any update from the warehouse
- Tracking of sensitive products such as due to a recall, date or for other reasons
- Get numerous reports related to costs, item movement, and so on
"It was very lucky to find a gorilla warehouse at the time. Our company was expanding rapidly and it was accompanied by growth pains. In the first week, we had to send out hundreds of orders, which would never have been possible without the help of the wonderful gorilla employees.
The collaboration has given us time to pursue other important projects within the company and we look forward to being able to grow in both domestic and foreign markets with their assistance".
4. When is Gorilla's service an absolute 'No Brainer'?
We love helping businesses do better and solve problems. And the most fun we like when we can solve big problems! That's when we can make things much cheaper, better or simpler.
Here are three examples where companies contact us and we can help businesses so much that the example becomes a complete "no brainer" 🚀
A. When a company has its own warehouse and employees
When companies have fixed rental costs AND warehouse or shop assistants employed, we know that our services can completely overturn the business.
It is quite common for the cost of hosting in a Gorilla Warehouse to be comparable, compared to the rental cost of your own home. The difference, however, is that at Gorilla, a company has the flexibility to expand and never runs out of space. Similarly, there is the possibility of reducing inventory during quieter times and instantly saving rental costs. Apart from this, all costs and time spent on operation, maintenance and equipment are in their own premises.
In cases where a company stops employing its own staff and outsources product delivery to us, it often saves hundreds of thousands of dollars per month. At Gorilla Warehouse, companies do not pay fixed labor costs, but only for movements of their products. This saves an incredible amount of time and money – a real no brainer!
B. When there are many orders!
For stores that have a good number of orders, it is usually very advantageous to utilize the services of Gorilla Warehouse for product handling. Multiple orders mean several hundred to a thousand orders per month. Furthermore, it is equally important that responsibility is shed elsewhere, so that no time is spent solving problems that may arise with product handling.
There is no need to find and hire staff with the hassle and expense involved. In addition, there is no need to maintain staff facilities, purchase delivery equipment, wrapping equipment or otherwise.
By virtue of the numbers, each order will be really advantageous, usually around 280-350 kr per order. All orders are processed automatically and the same day, regardless of whether the number of orders is 10, 100, or 1,000 that day.
C. When warehousing is small
Some companies simply have very little inventory.
For example, there may be companies specializing in a highly specialized or limited range of products with a small catalog or companies with small products (e.g. cosmetics, skin care products, CBD products, jewelry, vitamins).
Since product hosting is often a large share (if not the largest part) of the cost of a central warehouse, this can make the service very cheap.
Gorilla Warehouse is servicing a number of businesses where the cost of product hosting is only a few thousand dollars per month – and that naturally makes the operating environment very affordable!
"We are immensely pleased with the service provided by Gorilla Warehouse. Our company has grown rapidly and we no longer saw ourselves being able to perform all tasks without buying an extra car and hiring an employee to handle deliveries.
A gorilla can take care of everything we needed help with, and for only a fraction of the costs we would otherwise be incurred. It's an absolute luxury to be able to process orders from anywhere in the world and therefore be able to go on a welcome and worry-free vacation."
5. Who shouldn't shed goods delivery to a gorilla...
As has been repeatedly stated above, there are many great reasons to deploy the product side to professionals. But it's also possible that outsourcing to third parties isn't right for you...
It may not be suitable for you to shed inventory and services if these things apply to you:
A. If you want to have 100% control over every step of the business
If you have difficulty trusting others or if you want to control exactly how you store items, pick items into orders and pack orders. This may be a good idea, for example, if your products are particularly fragile, poorly labelled, or if each order needs a separate assembly.
In addition, if you or someone in your company has a lot of experience with product handling/logistics and you have established very good in-house workflows, you may not need to shed product handling, at least for some time.
B. If you want special gift wrapping or "doula" wrapping
If you want to ship your goods in special packaging or even get special packaging for orders – whether it's a handwritten card, gift wrapping, decorative paper, bow tie or similar doulas – those requirements may go beyond what a warehouse can offer you.
Gorilla Warehouse's services include environmentally friendly mailbags, but we also invite companies to bring their own mailbags or boxes that we use for their orders. We offer businesses some flexibility in product packaging, but this can affect handling costs.
If there are strict packaging requirements, it may be more appropriate not to shed goods handling.
C. If each product is unique
Individual products, such as artwork, branded products, or other "one of a kind – made to order" products may not be as suitable for the warehouse. That's primarily because each individual item needs to be logged in separately and needs its own location in the warehouse – making delivery and hosting more expensive.
In our experience, it pays much more to shed product delivery if companies sell the same product over and over again. For example, this applies to clothing, cosmetics, consumer goods and specialty goods rather than works of art produced only in one edition.
D. If your inventory is large but orders few
It sometimes occurs that companies servicing Gorilla Warehouses have large stock (multiple item numbers or large items) but few orders. This more often than not means that the cost of hosting is relatively high, while revenue from orders is low.
Unfortunately, that account doesn't turn out well, no matter how it's summarized. If your inventory is bulky but orders are few, it's best to try to get into as cheap a place as possible – or revise your company's operating budget.
E. If there are not many orders and you can still handle the delivery yourself
If there are relatively few orders and you can easily handle goods handling yourself, it is not foolish to continue. Handling orders yourself when a store is still small is the cheapest option financially, but costs you time instead.
We often recommend for smaller stores to self-serve until the number of orders has increased and it has become a problem to process all orders correctly and on time. Then there is a high probability that Gorilla Warehouse can solve that problem with fast service and efficiently.
I want to work with Gorilla Warehouse, what are the next steps?
Great! We look forward to hearing from you.
The best, next step is to book an introductory meeting with us here and in the process you fill in answers to a few simple questions that will help us understand the task at hand.
If you're not ready to book a meeting right away, you can also send us a message here and we'll be back immediately. Good luck!