Rock-solid partnership

doTERRA is a direct sales company best known for the essential oils it sources from over 65 countries around the world. It offers a wide variety of skin care products, healthcare items, nutritional supplements, and diffusers. doTERRA is very proud of its core values: be leader-focused, be empowering, be customer-obsessed, be pure, and create a legacy. Radial supports doTERRA with fulfillment and last-mile distribution service.

Mark Wilkinson, the director of operations for the EMEA region at doTERRA, talked with us about the partnership between doTERRA and Radial.  

What are the latest trends in logistics that you find the most impactful?

Mark: The world of logistics is always changing. I think Amazon made the initial disruption with free two-day shipping, which forced every other company to elevate their logistics and supply chain activities. It’s very important for us to stay ahead of the trends and curves. We must ensure that we can deliver our products to customers living in the largest populated cities as well as the smallest rural areas. Having the right partnerships and services available at the right price is crucial for maintaining a competitive advantage.

Does doTERRA face logistical challenges?

Mark: Visibility stands out as the largest challenge. It encompasses all different aspects of our direct sales business. Having a system that can accurately track our inventory and order statuses ensures that orders progress as they should, ultimately shipping on time to our customers. Ensuring that we have the quickest strategy to deliver products to our customers on a continuous basis is essential to our success as a company and to our customers’ success in everyday living. If they don’t have access to these products, then we are ultimately failing our customers.

How important are innovation and technology to your business?

Mark: We’re the world’s leading essential oil supplier. It’s hard to be No 1. There’s always a target on your back with competitors. We try to stay innovative with the way that we service our customers. We provide them with world-class services, the fastest shipping, and the highest picking accuracy. Being at the leading edge with technology plays a big role in that development and our strategic road map as a company.

How do you choose your partners and suppliers?

Mark: We have a lot of high-level expectations with whom we partner with. Our brand means everything to us. Our brand means everything to our customers. The principles guiding our choices are very simple. We look for partners who can provide the best service, at the best cost, with enough capacity to support our direct sales business model but also provide us with opportunities to drive innovation and digitalization. Radial checks all these boxes. We have a strong partner that has a strategic vision. They differentiated themselves with the pricing model and the service level provided by their leadership suite and those who we work with on a daily basis.

What was doTERRA’s goal in deciding to partner with Radial in Poland?

Mark: In Poland, we serve over 70% of our customers across the European region. We had to have a solution that could support significant volume and reach across a large number of different countries within this area. One of our main goals was ensuring that we had the capacity and highly trustworthy level of service a reasonable cost for both the company and the customer. That we can deliver products with the highest level of confidence.

What benefits has your company gained with the partnership with Radial?

Mark: Radial helps us achieve the long term goals by opening doors to future opportunities and functionalities within the supply chain ecosystem, that would have been difficult to invest in ourselves. We can share valuable insights and knowledge between our companies to provide the best service for our customers specifically. This collaboration ensures we maintain the right capacity and cost-effectiveness. 

When we talk about the investment Radial made in the partnership, it includes installing automation.

Mark: The automation has increased our picking speed, allowing us to process an order within an average of three to six hours from the moment it’s placed to shipping. That’s a phenomenal turnaround time. Visibility into these activities through our Knapp systems and the reporting and dashboards available to us has been critical, significantly boosting our confidence in our business operations.

How would you describe the collaboration between Radial, KNAPP and your company?

Mark: Working with three different vendors can be challenging. At times, it feels like there are many hands in the same cookie jar. However, working with Radial, Knapp, and the resources within our company feels like a family project. We were all aligned with the same vision, the same goals, the same mindset. The leadership mentality of serving one another was always present. Our ability to partner and successfully execute on these projects has been one of our standout features. They’ve truly risen to the challenge of servicing our customers just like we would.

If you had to summarize the cooperation with Radial and KNAPP what would you say?

Mark: We have that trusting relationship. I would choose three words to describe it: rock-solid partnership. Faced with challenges in an ever-changing world, our collaboration brings problem-solving skills. This makes us stand out as a rock-solid partnership that is mutually beneficial.