Volume 8, Issue 1

Welcome to the latest issue of Nutraceutical News from IFS. In this issue, we are delighted to profile Health Advantage, an outstanding IFS client that provides all-natural supplements to restore and maintain good health for adults of all ages. In the Marketing Column, we explain how important it is to focus on meeting the expectations of today's savvy consumer. In the Customer Service Corner, you'll learn an effective way to establish better long-term customer relationships. And finally, our Fulfillment Tips provide a quick look at the benefits of outsourcing your fulfillment services.

For more information about the content found here or about any of our products and services, you can always visit our web site, www.ifssolutions.com. To share your feedback about this newsletter, please click here. To unsubscribe, please use the link at the end of this issue.

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Client Profile: Health Advantage, Inc.
• Marketing Tip: Are You Positioned to Satisfy Today's Sophisticated Shopper?
• Customer Service Corner: The Value of Building Strong Customer Loyalty
• Fulfillment Tips: The Trend Toward Healthier Products Intends to Impact the Growing Obesity Epidemic
• About IFS: For More Information, Contact Us

Health Advantage, Inc. - which offers a complete line of all-natural supplements - has been steadily growing over the years, expanding its line of products that help consumers restore and maintain good health. Some of those popular products include:

• Sharp Mind - an all-natural supplement that is clinically shown to improve memory, enhance cognitive functioning and speed information processing;
• Follinex - a powerful supplement that safely and naturally restores thinning hair for men and women of any age; and
• ONE - an advanced formula that contains 28 high-potency nutrients specifically combined to maximize the beneficial effects of each extract, vitamin and mineral within the formula.

According to Health Advantage spokesperson Richard Rubin, when the company was searching for a new fulfillment provider in 2005, he and his partners wanted a full-service firm that could:

• provide reliable and dependable service;
• manage inventory;
• provide appropriate, accurate reports;
• ensure efficiencies; and
• continue to support the growth of the company.

Since selecting Innovative Fulfillment Solutions (IFS) as its official service provider, Rubin said the company has been very pleased with the service it has received. Plus, with so many Health Advantage customers now on an auto-ship process, they appreciate how efficient it is to use IFS. "Life has become so much easier since the company started working with IFS," Rubin explained. "We have the security of knowing that IFS can handle whatever volume of orders we generate. That flexibility is imperative to our business and to our ability to continue to grow our customer base."

As Health Advantage has aggressively expanded, IFS' ability to adapt to its growing volume of orders has provided the company with the assurance that its products and customers are well cared for.

"The team at Health Advantage is very smart, and they've built a very successful business," said IFS President Keith Milburn. "It has been our pleasure to work with their team for more than five years and we look forward to our partnership continuing for many years to come."

For more information on Health Advantage, Inc. visit www.healthmd.com.

Gone are the days when the channels of communication between a merchant and a customer were confined to traditional mail, telephone and face-to-face interaction. In today's fast-paced world, consumers have the ability to not only interact with their favorite retailers via multiple channels, they also can compare prices and access product and customer service reviews from numerous online resources.

With multiple search engines, consumer blogs and other social media outlets available, consumers today have multiple opportunities to learn about the products they purchase. Make sure your customers have confidence in your company through interaction with knowledgeable Call Center staff who can answer all of their questions and point out product benefits that they need to know.

It is important to maintain adequate inventory to meet customer demands throughout the year. With so many product sources available today, if your inventory levels don't support customer demand, buyers will look elsewhere for products similar to yours.

Does your ordering system make it easy for your customers to make a purchase? From the moment a consumer decides to purchase your product, it is imperative that the experience is pleasant, that the product is shipped quickly and accurately, and that all key back office systems are supporting your e-commerce functions.

No one likes unpleasant surprises, especially when it involves receiving an order that is incorrect or waiting for a product that never comes. Having customer service personnel who can "make good" on a fulfillment error can literally be the difference between losing a customer and turning a bad experience into a thumbs up for your company on Facebook, Twitter or other online rating site.

Let's face it; while consumers seem to appreciate the empowerment that technology has given them regarding quick access to information and expanded choices for making purchases, they still value reliable customer service and an assurance that they will get what they ordered, when they expect it.

An experienced fulfillment provider that has all of these back-end systems in place and is committed to exceptional customer service will make your company look like a winner in the eyes of your customers. Because when all is said and done, if their needs are met not only will they keep coming back, they will also broadcast their satisfaction to their friends and family about you the next time they are online.

Any e-commerce business that has survived the past three years of economic challenges knows full-well the value of building strong customer loyalty. With advertising and marketing budgets slashed to balance the reduction in consumer spending, word of mouth recommendations have been the saving grace for businesses of all sizes.

By taking the time to do small things to address the needs and preferences of existing customers, you can rely on their continued business in most cases, and often benefit from the new business they refer from their circle of family, friends and colleagues.

By listening to your customers, you can find out how satisfied they are with your products and services, or learn about any new features they would like to see implemented. Armed with this information, you can update your processes to improve the shopping/purchasing experiences.

For instance, have you gotten feedback that your customers would be interested in receiving product shipments automatically? This can be easily accomplished with a fulfillment provider that offers an auto-ship program to automatically generate a replenishment order. This ensures that your products are shipped exactly when your customers are due for a refill. With flexible delivery options, easy opt-out procedures and follow-up communications that keep your customers apprised of order confirmation and tracking, you can build long-term customer loyalty while increasing your revenue.

When an e-commerce company first launches, it is often easier for the owners and/or company management to do everything in-house. After all, this helps to keep costs down and allows management to track every aspect of the business. As far as fulfillment goes, this is pretty easy to do in the beginning with initial volume being minimal.

But as a company grows - and the business demands more time to plan and implement such things as product development, marketing, sales, logistics and possibly growth strategies - it makes sense to consider outsourcing the all-important fulfillment part of the organizational process. By doing so, you can free up a great deal of your time while experiencing a host of benefits; such as the following:

1. Turning your fixed costs into variable costs
   As your order volume grows and you need additional resources to ensure adequate product inventories, are you prepared to:
   • sign a long-term lease for warehouse space and pay monthly rent, regardless of your current volume;
   • hire additional employees to maintain the in-house fulfillment process; and
   • acquire the equipment needed to operate a shipping operation
   In addition to these expenses, you also will be faced with the cost of utilities, insurance, Workman's Compensation, employee benefits and payroll taxes, just to name a few.
2. Concentrating on growing your business
   By outsourcing your fulfillment and other "back end" office issues, you won't be required to spend your time focused on such responsibilities as staffing a Call Center, managing your database, monitoring your inventory and tracking your shipments. With these important tasks in good hands, you can spend the bulk of your time growing your business. Plus, you can rest assured that you have an expert capturing and keeping track of valuable customer information that is much too important to let slip through the cracks.
3. Accommodating rapid growth and/or seasonal spikes
   If you are planning for rapid growth, due to significant media coverage or seasonal spikes, the responsibility for keeping up with your order volume will be on your fulfillment provider, not you. A seasoned fulfillment services company should have the team in place that knows how to ramp up for a growing business or seasonal surge. Plus, they have the ability to adjust their staffing levels at various times of the year to meet your needs. After all, fulfillment is what that company does day-in, day-out, 12 months a year.
4. Flatten your learning curve by turning to the professionals
   As with all true professionals, a quality fulfillment services provider has experience in all of the many variables that take place in an operation and can react quickly - and more knowledgeably - to the constant demands of your business.

IFS is a world-class, full-service fulfillment operation with a track record of success. We proudly serve some of the country's most respected corporations. With a special expertise in the fulfillment of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, we can help you run your business more efficiently and more cost effectively. We appreciate your comments and welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular needs.

Volume 8, Issue 1

Welcome to the latest issue of Nutraceutical News from IFS. In this issue, we are delighted to profile Health Advantage, an outstanding IFS client that provides all-natural supplements to restore and maintain good health for adults of all ages. In the Marketing Column, we explain how important it is to focus on meeting the expectations of today's savvy consumer. In the Customer Service Corner, you'll learn an effective way to establish better long-term customer relationships. And finally, our Fulfillment Tips provide a quick look at the benefits of outsourcing your fulfillment services.

For more information about the content found here or about any of our products and services, you can always visit our web site, www.ifssolutions.com. To share your feedback about this newsletter, please click here. To unsubscribe, please use the link at the end of this issue.

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Client Profile: Health Advantage, Inc.
• Marketing Tip: Are You Positioned to Satisfy Today's Sophisticated Shopper?
• Customer Service Corner: The Value of Building Strong Customer Loyalty
• Fulfillment Tips: The Trend Toward Healthier Products Intends to Impact the Growing Obesity Epidemic
• About IFS: For More Information, Contact Us

Health Advantage, Inc. - which offers a complete line of all-natural supplements - has been steadily growing over the years, expanding its line of products that help consumers restore and maintain good health. Some of those popular products include:

• Sharp Mind - an all-natural supplement that is clinically shown to improve memory, enhance cognitive functioning and speed information processing;
• Follinex - a powerful supplement that safely and naturally restores thinning hair for men and women of any age; and
• ONE - an advanced formula that contains 28 high-potency nutrients specifically combined to maximize the beneficial effects of each extract, vitamin and mineral within the formula.

According to Health Advantage spokesperson Richard Rubin, when the company was searching for a new fulfillment provider in 2005, he and his partners wanted a full-service firm that could:

• provide reliable and dependable service;
• manage inventory;
• provide appropriate, accurate reports;
• ensure efficiencies; and
• continue to support the growth of the company.

Since selecting Innovative Fulfillment Solutions (IFS) as its official service provider, Rubin said the company has been very pleased with the service it has received. Plus, with so many Health Advantage customers now on an auto-ship process, they appreciate how efficient it is to use IFS. "Life has become so much easier since the company started working with IFS," Rubin explained. "We have the security of knowing that IFS can handle whatever volume of orders we generate. That flexibility is imperative to our business and to our ability to continue to grow our customer base."

As Health Advantage has aggressively expanded, IFS' ability to adapt to its growing volume of orders has provided the company with the assurance that its products and customers are well cared for.

"The team at Health Advantage is very smart, and they've built a very successful business," said IFS President Keith Milburn. "It has been our pleasure to work with their team for more than five years and we look forward to our partnership continuing for many years to come."

For more information on Health Advantage, Inc. visit www.healthmd.com.

Gone are the days when the channels of communication between a merchant and a customer were confined to traditional mail, telephone and face-to-face interaction. In today's fast-paced world, consumers have the ability to not only interact with their favorite retailers via multiple channels, they also can compare prices and access product and customer service reviews from numerous online resources.

With multiple search engines, consumer blogs and other social media outlets available, consumers today have multiple opportunities to learn about the products they purchase. Make sure your customers have confidence in your company through interaction with knowledgeable Call Center staff who can answer all of their questions and point out product benefits that they need to know.

It is important to maintain adequate inventory to meet customer demands throughout the year. With so many product sources available today, if your inventory levels don't support customer demand, buyers will look elsewhere for products similar to yours.

Does your ordering system make it easy for your customers to make a purchase? From the moment a consumer decides to purchase your product, it is imperative that the experience is pleasant, that the product is shipped quickly and accurately, and that all key back office systems are supporting your e-commerce functions.

No one likes unpleasant surprises, especially when it involves receiving an order that is incorrect or waiting for a product that never comes. Having customer service personnel who can "make good" on a fulfillment error can literally be the difference between losing a customer and turning a bad experience into a thumbs up for your company on Facebook, Twitter or other online rating site.

Let's face it; while consumers seem to appreciate the empowerment that technology has given them regarding quick access to information and expanded choices for making purchases, they still value reliable customer service and an assurance that they will get what they ordered, when they expect it.

An experienced fulfillment provider that has all of these back-end systems in place and is committed to exceptional customer service will make your company look like a winner in the eyes of your customers. Because when all is said and done, if their needs are met not only will they keep coming back, they will also broadcast their satisfaction to their friends and family about you the next time they are online.

Any e-commerce business that has survived the past three years of economic challenges knows full-well the value of building strong customer loyalty. With advertising and marketing budgets slashed to balance the reduction in consumer spending, word of mouth recommendations have been the saving grace for businesses of all sizes.

By taking the time to do small things to address the needs and preferences of existing customers, you can rely on their continued business in most cases, and often benefit from the new business they refer from their circle of family, friends and colleagues.

By listening to your customers, you can find out how satisfied they are with your products and services, or learn about any new features they would like to see implemented. Armed with this information, you can update your processes to improve the shopping/purchasing experiences.

For instance, have you gotten feedback that your customers would be interested in receiving product shipments automatically? This can be easily accomplished with a fulfillment provider that offers an auto-ship program to automatically generate a replenishment order. This ensures that your products are shipped exactly when your customers are due for a refill. With flexible delivery options, easy opt-out procedures and follow-up communications that keep your customers apprised of order confirmation and tracking, you can build long-term customer loyalty while increasing your revenue.

When an e-commerce company first launches, it is often easier for the owners and/or company management to do everything in-house. After all, this helps to keep costs down and allows management to track every aspect of the business. As far as fulfillment goes, this is pretty easy to do in the beginning with initial volume being minimal.

But as a company grows - and the business demands more time to plan and implement such things as product development, marketing, sales, logistics and possibly growth strategies - it makes sense to consider outsourcing the all-important fulfillment part of the organizational process. By doing so, you can free up a great deal of your time while experiencing a host of benefits; such as the following:

1. Turning your fixed costs into variable costs
   As your order volume grows and you need additional resources to ensure adequate product inventories, are you prepared to:
   • sign a long-term lease for warehouse space and pay monthly rent, regardless of your current volume;
   • hire additional employees to maintain the in-house fulfillment process; and
   • acquire the equipment needed to operate a shipping operation
   In addition to these expenses, you also will be faced with the cost of utilities, insurance, Workman's Compensation, employee benefits and payroll taxes, just to name a few.
2. Concentrating on growing your business
   By outsourcing your fulfillment and other "back end" office issues, you won't be required to spend your time focused on such responsibilities as staffing a Call Center, managing your database, monitoring your inventory and tracking your shipments. With these important tasks in good hands, you can spend the bulk of your time growing your business. Plus, you can rest assured that you have an expert capturing and keeping track of valuable customer information that is much too important to let slip through the cracks.
3. Accommodating rapid growth and/or seasonal spikes
   If you are planning for rapid growth, due to significant media coverage or seasonal spikes, the responsibility for keeping up with your order volume will be on your fulfillment provider, not you. A seasoned fulfillment services company should have the team in place that knows how to ramp up for a growing business or seasonal surge. Plus, they have the ability to adjust their staffing levels at various times of the year to meet your needs. After all, fulfillment is what that company does day-in, day-out, 12 months a year.
4. Flatten your learning curve by turning to the professionals
   As with all true professionals, a quality fulfillment services provider has experience in all of the many variables that take place in an operation and can react quickly - and more knowledgeably - to the constant demands of your business.

IFS is a world-class, full-service fulfillment operation with a track record of success. We proudly serve some of the country's most respected corporations. With a special expertise in the fulfillment of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, we can help you run your business more efficiently and more cost effectively. We appreciate your comments and welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular needs.