Behind the scenes at Zingerman's Mail Order

ANN ARBOR – We recently had the opportunity to take a tour of Zingerman's Mail Order. 

The delivery service was started in 1996 when managing partner Mo Frechette was working as a cheesemonger at the deli and was asked one simple question: "Can you ship this?"

He immediately saw the business opportunity and found a way to deliver Zingerman's specialty products to homes across America.

To say it operates like a well-oiled machine would be an understatement, but we were also surprised to find it so human-driven.

Staff pulling orders on the production line (Photo: Meredith Bruckner)

In a world where artificial intelligence is making leaps and bounds of progress, so much so that some industries are already seeing robots replacing people in the workforce, it was refreshing to find a successful business relying more on human efficiency than machines.

Zingerman's Mail Order uses the Toyota Production System, a "lean production" model that focuses on efficiency, respect in the workplace and constant improvement.

"From a business standpoint, some of the fundamental aspects of our success is our commitment to continuous improvement, open book management, and utilizing the intelligence of the people that work here," said Spike Oliver, lead concierge in the professional presents department -- and our tour guide for the day.

Spike Oliver leads a "huddle" with department heads to gather real-time stats and forecast the number of boxes to be shipped, orders to come in and revenue for the next week (Photo: Meredith Bruckner)

"After years of adapting Toyota Production philosophies we have fostered our culture to commit to the mantra, 'We can do better,'" he said. 

Much of the work relies on visual cues. For instance, there are paper cards everywhere. This way, workers really see what needs to be done and grasp the scope of the tasks.

World-famous New York grocery Dean & Deluca, Ann Arbor's Motawi Tile and La Tienda have all visited its warehouse to learn the secret to its success.

Zingerman's Mail Order can receive, pack and ship an order within an hour.

Daily tasks are mapped out with cards (Photo: Meredith Bruckner)

What's unique about it is its "pull" system. Shelves are stocked for box-packers to pull just the right amount they need. You won't see much excess of stock here.

Division of labor is super specific, ensuring no time is wasted. Since the system is based on Japanese concepts, you'll hear Japanese words on the floor as part of the company's lexicon. 

"Our niche is that we ship stuff, and that means our customers are across the entire country, not just the folks who can walk through our doors like the other Zingerman's businesses. In a philosophical way, what makes us unique is our culture of constant improvement. We never rest on our laurels or think we've got it figured out and the improvements we see are driven by the folks doing the work." - Marketing manager Brad Hedeman

The business's call center is equally impressive. There is a system that tracks live calls, and customer service representatives pick up the phones, never a machine.

There are samples of oils and honey, for instance, around the call center, and representatives will frequently taste items while on the phone with customers to convey to them the flavor of that specific product. 

(Photo: Meredith Bruckner)

'Our customers are not present face-to-face with us," explained Oliver. "We could be separated by ten miles or a thousand miles. The in-person experience is much different than the over the phone experience. We have to push ourselves to up our energy so that is conveyed a certain way via phone, email, and live chat."

He told us it's not unusual to see call representatives searching for products to taste in real-time while on a call. In this sense, the customer feels more like they're speaking with a trusted friend than a salesperson.

Product samplings are common because Zingerman's wants their representatives to know how their products taste. They are conducted once daily; twice daily during the holiday season.

A custom gift box is packaged for shipping (Photo: Meredith Bruckner)

On the topic of the holiday season, Mail Order practically becomes a different business in those weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

"Without going through the experience it is hard to convey how night and day it really is," said Oliver.

On an average day, Mail Order ships 100-200 boxes. In holiday season? Up to 20,000 boxes per day. 

Yes, you read that correctly. 

Mail Order hires hundreds of extra employees to cope with the massive uptick in demand, and in an industry where it's all about speed of filling orders, they know they have to get it right.

"The holiday is about doing the work as opposed to improving the work," explained Oliver. "In the holiday we are hiring, training and managing more people and need to make sure we are giving them all of the resources they need in order to be successful and in turn give great service."

(Photo: Meredith Bruckner)

The revenue generated in those weeks makes Mail Order arguably the most lucrative business under the Zingerman's umbrella.

So who are Mail Order's customers?

According to marketing manager Brad Hedeman, University of Michigan alums make up a substantial amount.

"The fact that tens of thousands of people come to Ann Arbor every year for school, fall in love with Zingerman's and Ann Arbor, then move away with fond memories, creates a population of potential customers that will never run out. We ship a lot of gifts for folks who want to remember their time in Ann Arbor or who have a love for the University," he said.

One element we found surprising is that it ships fresh loaves of bread from the Bakehouse every day across the country. Bread? Seems like a strange thing to have shipped to your home when you can buy it down the street.

Loaves of fresh bread from the Bakehouse ready to be shipped (Photo: Meredith Bruckner)

But Oliver told us that U-M alums and others who used to frequent the deli miss that hearty flavor. Enough so that they order scores of loaves every day.

For those who have never been to Ann Arbor but have come to hear about Mail Order through its catalog or other marketing efforts, Hedeman shared this anecdote:

"We'll talk to folks in other states who think the Bakehouse is behind the Deli, and the Creamery is in the basement, the Coffee Co. roasts in some closet and so on ... and that's fine to me. Zingerman's is many different things, but really only one thing to customers: quality." 

(Photo: Meredith Bruckner)

Mail Order is in a warehouse on the south side of town bordering Pittsfield Township. It's detached from the Zingerman's industrial campus of businesses and the Kerrytown deli, but upon entering, you're still greeted with that familiar, quirky artwork.

We recommend stopping by -- they're friendly folks who love to share their unique story.

Read about Mail Order and see its catalog here.

Related reading

A chat with Zingerman's Ari Weinzweig

Motawi Tileworks: From garage to renowned studio in Ann Arbor

A chat with Frank Carollo and Amy Emberling of Zingerman's Bakehouse