Linden Square
Learn how this up-and-coming specialty business saved over 20% on shipping costs by joining Una’s group purchasing platform.
Introduction
Linden Square is a specialty company creating curated gifts for clients via worry-free custom gifting programs that are designed to celebrate life’s special occasions.
Located in the Midwest, Linden Square offers full-service corporate gifting and international gift concierge programs, complete with personal branding, packaging, fulfillment and shipping.
Faced with rising shipping rates and surcharges, Linden Square was seeking a way to reduce costs while still delivering a thoughtful and beautifully inspired product.
Una’s discounted shipping programs were the perfect fit, allowing Linden Square to stay on top of delivering high-quality gifts and start saving quickly, without missing a beat.
Read on to learn more about Linden Square’s success with Una.
CASE STUDY
LINDEN SQUARE
Specialty company creating curated gifts via custom gifting programs that are designed to celebrate life’s special occasions.
LOCATION:
Midwest, USA
FOUNDER:
Amanda Klingenberger
INDUSTRY:
Service Industry, Luxury Goods
About Linden Square
Founder and Chief Curator Amanda Klingenberger, started her company based on the belief that taking care of people and showing appreciation for their talents is what matters most – both in your personal life and in the corporate world. With an extensive background in event management, healthcare and marketing, Amanda sought to start a business that creates a way for organizations to thoughtfully recognize the value of their people, while tastefully elevating their brand’s reputation in the process.
From boxes filled with snacks and treats, candles and coffee to packages with the fixings for a cocktail or game night, Linden Square has it all. Their robust catalog of carefully selected gifts ensures businesses of any kind will be able to find something to pass along to valued employees, customers, and clients.
As nice as it is to be on the receiving end of a gift, Linden Square believes the act of giving should be just as enjoyable. And, as Linden Square continues to grow, they’ve made it their mission to donate a portion of their proceeds to local charities and nonprofits that foster the empowerment of women and children, education, and entrepreneurship.
Linden Square's challenges
Over the course of the last year or so, businesses have seen shipping and freight costs rise dramatically, with customers seeing an increase in excess of 9% when calculating expanded carrier rates and surcharges. Linden Square is in the business of sending and delivering products and shipping was by far their largest area of spend.
Although growing, Linden Square is still considered a small company in the eyes of a supplier, and they knew they’d be unable to negotiate and secure discounted pricing on their own.
Additionally, their team was putting all of their energy into curating gifts amidst supply chain disruptions and product shortages – navigating shipping contract negotiations was not something they were equipped to handle at this point in time.
Once in contact with the Una team, Linden Square was quickly able to take advantage of existing discounted shipping programs with several vendors in order to start saving on shipping costs.
Why partner with Una?
Having worked with a group purchasing organization in the past, Amanda knew the quickest way to realize savings within certain categories was to partner with a GPO.
However, past experiences in the GPO space left her skeptical about turnaround times and the level of customer service offered.
Amanda started her research, finding Una’s website and downloading content that discussed what Una membership entailed. When she was ready for next steps, Amanda completed Una’s free sign-up process and was contacted by an Una team member within 24 hours.
The initial discovery call unveiled the challenges Linden Square was facing and allowed the Una team to put together a plan to deliver cost savings quickly and efficiently.
Una’s sense of urgency and dedication to responsiveness, speed, and savings won Linden Square’s trust.
"Our reps are very hands-on, which [had] not been our previous experience. They're always working to get the best pricing and to make sure our interests are well taken care of.”
Una's response
Una’s process for connecting members with suppliers is seamless. After the initial discovery call with Linden Square, it was clear we needed to tackle the shipping category first. It was their largest area of spend, they were short on resources, and as prices continued to rise, savings needed to happen sooner rather than later.
Our ability to run a cost analysis based on Linden Square’s real shipping data allowed us to present an accurate depiction of the savings they’d be able to capture by participating in Una’s discounted shipping programs. The initial cost savings analysis showed a savings of more than 26%.
The best part? Linden Square was connected to the program and taking advantage of the discounted pricing within 8 weeks of joining Una.
Linden Square's initial cost analysis showed a savings of more than 26% on shipping spend.
An ongoing partnership
Linden Square is now supported by Una’s Member Experience Team. The goal of Member Experience is to ensure companies like Linden Square see continued success in all areas of business. Regular calls and quarterly check-ins allow for Una to keep a pulse on the needs of members and help identify other savings opportunities.
“Our team has been the absolute best- Kris, Crystal -she's a literal rockstar - and Cindy [have been] rocking it out from the beginning!"
We’ve moved forward with Linden Square to get them connected to additional contracts in other categories so they can continue to save money, time, and effort. In turn, the support Linden Square receives from us allows them to focus on what matters most: growing their business and taking care of their customer base – which now includes Una!
That’s right, just like Linden Square saw the value in a relationship with Una, our own team realized the quality of their products and has used their services to provide curated gifts to some of our own associates.
While we can’t hand-pick our members like Linden Square carefully and personally selects items that go into their gift boxes, we are honored to have them as part of our GPO. This company is a prime example of a business that truly benefits from utilizing a group purchasing organization like Una.
We are excited to continue our partnership with Amanda and her team, and do our part to help Linden Square achieve their goals.
Additional resources
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Membership is always free and there are never any purchasing requirements or exclusivities.
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