Nature’s Seed, a leading provider of premium grass, wildflower, and pasture seed for residential, commercial, and agricultural use, manages a vast selection of native and specialty seed blends. The company has grown to become one of the leading suppliers of agricultural, reclamation, and turfgrass seed in North America. With thousands of seed varieties and seasonal demand fluctuations, efficient inventory management and order fulfillment are crucial to maintaining customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.  

Manual inventory tracking and inefficient order management processes were creating bottlenecks, leading to order delays, stock discrepancies, and increased labor costs. To optimize their operations and scale effectively, Nature’s Seed turned to Fishbowl for an integrated, automated inventory solution.  

Challenge  

Before implementing Fishbowl, Nature’s Seed faced significant challenges in inventory control and order fulfillment. Managing thousands of seed varieties required precise tracking, but their previous system relied heavily on manual data entry, leading to frequent stock discrepancies. Warehouse staff struggled to maintain accurate inventory counts, resulting in overstocking of slow-moving items, and understocking of high-demand products.  

Order fulfillment was a labor-intensive process. All seed was stored in the warehouse in bulk and packaged on an order-by-order basis.  Without real-time visibility into stock levels, having pre-configured sizes and varieties stocked, and visibility to what those right stocking levels should be, orders were often delayed due to unexpected shortages which were magnified during increased seasonal ordering demand.  

“With our old system, we lacked visibility into what products needed to be ready to meet demand for our customers. That led to backorders, delayed shipments, and excess stock sitting in our warehouse,” Marinna Fuentes, Director of E-commerce for Nature’s Seed 

Nature’s Seed needed an automated solution to improve inventory accuracy, optimize stock levels, and streamline order fulfillment.  

Solution  

To address these challenges, Nature’s Seed implemented Fishbowl’s inventory management system. Fishbowl provided real-time inventory and order tracking, automated reorder points, and enhanced reporting capabilities to improve inventory accuracy and improved operational efficiency.  

Fishbowl also integrated seamlessly with their website, which they migrated from Adobe Commerce to WooCommerce and integrated with Fishbowl.  This allowed them to directly import orders as soon as they are received, update fulfillment with tracking details as soon as they are shipped, and provided real-time stock visibility to reduce fulfillment delays due to stockouts.  

One exciting feature they are excited to leverage in the business is Fishbowl’s kitting ability.  In Fishbowl, products can easily be bundled together to optimize sales and promotions. This is especially helpful for them as they receive items in bulk and sell in smaller, individualized packages. Fishbowl’s ability to convert units of measure to buy and sell in different sizes of packages has worked well with the kits they now can offer their customers to increase their sales.  

“Fishbowl has completely transformed our inventory management. We now have real-time data on stock levels, which means we can fulfill orders faster, reduce waste, and avoid expensive stockouts,” Marinna Fuentes, Director of E-commerce for Nature’s Seed 

Results  

Since implementing Fishbowl, Nature’s Seed has significantly improved its inventory accuracy and order fulfillment processes, leading to better customer satisfaction, and reduced operational costs.  

  • Improved inventory accuracy: Real-time tracking and automated cycle counting reduced stock discrepancies, improving overall efficiency.  
  • Reduction in order fulfillment time: Barcode scanning and automated stock updates streamlined picking and packing, reducing order processing delays.  
  • Improved stock optimization: Data-driven insights helped balance inventory levels, preventing overstocking and stockouts.  
  • Better forecasting for seasonal demand: Reporting tools provided insights into purchasing trends, allowing for smarter procurement decisions.  

“With Fishbowl, we have visibility and control we never had before. We can track inventory in real time, fulfill orders faster, and optimize stock levels to match demand,” said Marinna Fuentes.  

By automating inventory management and order fulfillment, Nature’s Seed has improved operational efficiency, reduced waste, and enhanced customer satisfaction. With Fishbowl’s scalable solutions, the company is well positioned for future growth and expansion.