A true entrepreneur doesn’t sit back and say, “I’m going to be an entrepreneur.” What it comes down to is either you’re a person that’s driven and passionate about a project, an opportunity, or a business concept, or you’re not. “Being an entrepreneur is to take an idea that solves a pain point and does something with it,” says Jeff Peterson. Jeff is the Co-Founder and CEO of Geneva Supply Inc.
Geneva Supply Inc. assists businesses in expanding their online presence through Amazon and other online platforms. The company’s a la carte service menu enables it to help a vendor in any capacity. “Our strength is in our experience and flexibility,” the business claims.
Geneva Supply grew out of a business opportunity that Mark, Jeff’s business partner, and he noticed while working for a big tool wholesaler. The most serious issue was that manufacturers were struggling to adjust to the new e-commerce environment. The brick-and-mortar businesses were outspoken in their opposition to Amazon’s platform and its possible influence on their company. Geneva Supply Inc. stepped in to help. The pair assisted manufactures in selling on Amazon. Despite their opposition to the platform, the manufacturers preferred to deal with the team rather than directly with Amazon. Jeff says, “We slowly started building their trust and showing that both brick-and-mortars could coincide with e-commerce. From there, it was easier to understand and define the needs of manufacturers, and what we needed to continue innovating for the e-commerce market.”
As a 3PL Provider
“I think it’s important to realise in third-party logistics, the manufacturers are counting on you and using you as the experts to ship their products correctly,” Jeff emphasizes.
Geneva Supply Inc., according to Jeff, has taken a typical third-party logistics firm that levies an almost infinite number of potential penalties. He says, “We’re transparent in what we can do, and the fee structures that are behind it. Being a 3PL company means you need to help your client build consumer trust with consistency. We make it a key strategy to show what we do. Show breakage, show returns that come back through, which allows them to see it minimised to a percentage, or a percent of a percent. From giving transparency, it shows how much we care about their partnership with us. That’s where that confidence is built.”
Following New Trends to Efficiency
According to Jeff, the Geneva Supply Inc. team gathers data and information from manufacturers, as well as trends that are continuously emerging, and what’s going on with new offers and campaign offerings, both on and off the Amazon platform. Because of all the work they perform as logistical partners, brand management partners, e-commerce strategy partners, and content optimization partners, the teams have an almost unfair edge as an agency. They get to see so much more than a manufacturer would on their own. Because there is so much more than a traditional agency is exposed to on its own, being able to sit down and work with all of the teams in one space is critical. Jeff says, “When you have that collaboration, that’s when you stay ahead of the curve. I don’t think there’s any magic pixie dust that helps you stay ahead, we do it because we live in it. We simply do it.”
The Biggest Achievement; Putting Smiles on Faces
Jeff really makes a note of every payday on his Outlook calendar. He did so because he realised something as the firm grew that he didn’t have the finances to pay employees when the firm started, but they still came over to work because they trusted Mark and Jeff so much.
Jeff sits back and goes, “holy cow, we have 200 employees.” That means 200 families are benefitting financially from the success of Geneva Supply. He states, “It’s not that we got to a certain level of business (those are cool, and I’m proud of them), but when you talk about the proudest moment, it comes when you realise that you have all of these people that are a part of a company that you started.”
Vision for Geneva Supply and Keeping Consistency in Current Growth
Jeff says, “We don’t force change, we adjust and flex according to the challenges and pain points that manufacturers face in this fast paced, ever changing e-commerce business” Per Jeff, some of that is not foresight on his part, some of that is maintaining that flexibility of infrastructure at Geneva Supply. He states that he has a lot of faith in how the team adapts and grows and changes every six months. He asserts, “I do know that we are going to have more 3rd party logistics facilities throughout the country. In 2022 alone, we will be adding at least 3 additional locations; Colorado, Washington, and Pennsylvania.”
Geneva Supply purchased Interstate Music (previously known as Casio Interstate Music) last year, a 75-year-old brick-and-mortar retail business that wanted to be acquired, as well as all of the intellectual property, and turned it into an e-commerce potential. Because a lot of the music makers were focused on the retail/brick-and-mortar sector, the company is encouraging them to think of a new approach, getting them where they needed to be, getting their content where it needed to be, and obviously being a logistical solution. E-commerce comes in a variety of packages, strategies, content requirements, and categories, all of which Geneva Supply can provide. The company states, “We like going into industries that have been a bit slower to react to e-commerce and go in there and put our twist on it.”
