Case Study
Bargain Boxes

The Challenge:
What does a company do when they want to be available 24/7 for their customers, but also want to maintain an active, involved family life?  When Bargain Boxes of Manassas, Virginia was faced with this dilemma, they came to MDA Technologies for help.  Rebecca and John Barnes knew they wanted to continue assisting clients with the packing and moving of their treasured household items; an endeavor that they had a great deal of experience with, and enjoyed.  But, they also wanted to find a way to disseminate useful information to their customers and potential customers when the client wanted it – whether at 5:00 a.m. in the morning, 11 o’clock at night, or anywhere in between.

When the Barnes’ sat down with MDA Technologies, they had a thumbnail sketch of where they wanted to go – they just needed help getting there.  They knew it was time to transition from a strictly brick and mortar business (large staff; warehouse; high overhead cost; lots of time on the phone) to an e-commerce operation that would allow them to help their customers get moving supplies fast and easily, as well as answer questions that might arise. 

The Solution:
Drawing on Rebecca and John’s 14 years of cumulative experience in the packing, shipping and moving industry, MDA Technologies designed a website that now provides one stop shopping for moving services.  Bargain Boxes remains a moving supplies company that specializes in both commercial and residential moves.  However, now customers can go on-line and order moving supplies, arrange for packing services, PODS (Portable On Demand Storage), self storage, long term storage and rental trucks.  In addition, customers can get in-home estimates, find reliable movers, and co-ordinate any relocation, whether it’s a do it yourself or a full service move, as well as access articles and tips.  Answering inquires previously occupied far too many hours either on the phone or faxing explanatory documents.  With the new website, inquiries are directed to the appropriate site location for quick, easy to understand answers and the concierge desk gives customers access to the many ancillary service offerings available  – without ever picking up the phone.

The Results:
By changing the business model, reducing staff, and not having a warehouse/store front to maintain, Bargain Boxes gained more than $2,000 per month savings.  As a result, Bargain Boxes can give better/quicker service to their customers; maximize their market focus and use money more wisely to benefit customers.  The reduction in staff has allowed Bargain Boxes to maintain a crew of well-qualified movers by offering highly competitive pay and benefits.  Conversely, customers can ask billing questions, use the “library” resources any time of the day or night, and even submit surveys efficiently on-line.

When asked Why MDA Technologies, Rebecca replied; “We chose MDA Technologies because we knew of their reputation and had confidence that this was the company to help us streamline our systems and make our processes easier.”  “They took the time to understand our business, ask the nitty-gritty questions and recognize that one size does not fit all.”