Apollo Scooters faced a recurring challenge: demand surged during summer months, but factory production was over capacity because it served multiple brands, not just Apollo. This created a situation where orders were constantly backlogged, with scooters stuck on pre-order for 2–6 weeks.

Compounding the issue, shipments from China arrived at the port in British Columbia, but then had to travel by train across Canada to Montreal, adding ~2 extra weeks to lead time and raising costs. Stockpiling during winter was not viable because of warehouse limitations and excessive costs.

The solution I developed involved restructuring the supply chain with a two-step warehousing model:

1. China Consolidation Warehouse:

   • All scooters (from multiple factories) and accessories (from separate suppliers) were routed into a single Chinese warehouse.

   • This allowed Apollo to stockpile inventory during lower-demand months without overloading Canadian facilities.

2. 3PL in British Columbia:

   • From China, shipments went directly to a 3PL partner in BC, eliminating the costly and time-consuming cross-Canada rail leg.

   • Orders could be quickly distributed to customers across Canada as demand surged, with ~2 weeks saved in transit time.

This redesigned supply chain provided two major wins:

• Cost savings: By cutting out rail shipping to Montreal and optimizing consolidation, Apollo reduced overall logistics costs.

• Revenue protection: By improving lead time and availability, the company reduced cancellations caused by extended pre-orders, worth an estimated $200,000+ saved in lost sales.

Additionally, after being six months constantly on pre-orders due to COVID-era delays, Apollo was able to finally get back in stock and meet demand reliably.