Subscription Automation Via Geolocation

3PL Simplifies Water Shipments

Hawaii Volcanic runs two different 3PL systems for fulfillment: one is for orders delivered to Hawaii and the other one is for mainland USA. Guidance had to ensure the system is set up in such a way that only the relevant orders are pulled into the 3PL solutions for fulfillment. Inventory added another layer of complexity to the puzzle: all products had to be managed not only per warehouse but also had to accurately fulfill outstanding/active subscriptions and pre-paid subscriptions. By using OrderGroove as the subscription management solution, the two unique 3PL services could fulfill subscription orders that flowed into their centers as OrderGroove creates new orders as each renewal becomes ready.

Shipping Accuracy Through Geolocation

Part of Hawaii Volcanic’s commitment to sustainability means fulfilling bottle sizing requirements in Hawaii and mainland USA. In order to recognize which state a customer is in when they place their order, GeoIP is used to suggest a shipping state. Usually this is a straightforward process but occasionally a customer shops in one state and ships to another state. To solve for this complexity, Guidance implemented logic to detect conflicting shipping location during checkout and perform identical product substitution in cart (each product has an equivalent Hawaiian/mainland USA version) as required by different shipment zip codes. While varying functionality within different regions or countries is not atypical, having to support different products by zip code required complex workarounds.

The requirement for zip code-based products met with unique solutions for location detection, shipping zones and furthermore complicated testing as most VPNs do not allow IP selection from within a certain state in a country. Ultimately, the ability to present different catalogs based on GeoIP state and their associated products by state from within the global catalog was a unique requirement met by the Guidance team with enthusiasm for a clever solution.

Subscription Automation with OrderGroove

 Hawaii Volcanic’s 4 different water bottles are sold in cases of 24 bottles as a one time purchase or as a subscription, either prepaid in full or with ongoing billing cycles. Guidance helped Hawaii Volcanic achieve subscription automation through OrderGroove. The solution has built a profitable recurring revenue source for Hawaii Volcanic as a substantial number of their customers prefer to set and forget their water bottle deliveries. Depending on the shipment frequency, OrderGroove creates a new shipment notification when water bottles are expected to be delivered to the customer. OrderGroove powers the seamless customer experience Hawaii Volcanic was looking for including subscription automation, reordering, memberships renewals and more. The combination of OrderGroove with the 3PL solutions has given Hawaii Volcanic the flexibility to allow subscription orders to flow easily into fulfillment centers in both principal locations.

Shoppable Feeds with Instafeed

Given the beauty of Hawaii’s natural resources, it makes sense that Hawaii Volcanic’s Instagram feed is equally stunning. With Instafeed, the company can now display custom shoppable Instagram images live from the feed on their webstore. Guidance helped Hawaii Volcanic implement this certified app that supports both image and video posts in a fully responsive widget. The minimal and elegant design is similar to the Instagram theme and the customer immediately identifies the images as a collection of shoppable Instagram images.

The solution allows Hawaii Volcanic to keep their content fresh as the app continually uses Instagram images to automatically drive new content to their website. This has given the company greater social proof for both their products and their charitable contributions to Hawaii culture. As such, Hawaii Volcanic has been able to extend their reach faster and farther in less time and they’ve gained new followers and likes in the process. Their marketing department can easily customize the feed and link posts directly to Instagram. Moreover, one of the greatest benefits is the ability to tag their products in lifestyle photos that create shoppable Instagram feeds quickly and easily.

More Than Just “About Us”

The “About Us” page showcases the company’s devotion to bottling a pristine natural resource while also giving back to the Earth in a Pono (Doing What’s Right) manner. So much more than a typical About Us page, this homage to Hawaii’s land and people is filled with stunning imagery, movement and balance. As the user scrolls through the page, images glide in and beautiful parallax design keeps the eye focused on the importance of their mission. Behind the scenes, Shopify Plus allows the company to quickly add content and rotate images as they participate in and create new sustainability projects. The centrality of their devotion to sustaining Hawaii’s natural resources is molded on each bottle of water captured in visually stunning imagery. The About Us page leaves the customer with no doubt that the company’s commitment to using recycled and upcycled materials is forefront in their mission to preserve the bounty of Hawaii.