How Survival Frog Regained Profits with ShipStation, Synergy, and Feedonomics

Survival Frog is an outdoor retailer focused on providing customers with the resources they need to make preparing easy. Their selection of survival gear ranges from canned and dehydrated food to camping supplies. Seven years ago, Survival Frog began their ecommerce store. At first, their operations were very manual. But implementing ShipStation allowed them to automate their fulfillment and shipping process. This automation was part of what helped their business grow into the online retailer they are today. 

Serving such a niche market, Survival Frog faces a unique set of business challenges. Demand for survival products fluctuates significantly based on various factors and can make budgeting for operations difficult. A few years ago due to a dramatic decline in demand, Survival Frog lost two-thirds of its revenue. They were forced to restructure and simplify their operations in order to cut costs. Through the optimization of their fulfillment process, they were able to cut unnecessary costs and bring profits back up to pre-downturn levels. 

ShipStation has been Survival Frog’s shipping solution from the very beginning. As Survival Frog’s business has transformed and changed, ShipStation has helped them evolve their order management and fulfillment process—filling in gaps while also adapting to their new processes and tech stack needs. A big change for Survival Frog was the transition from shipping products in-house to using a third-party logistics provider (3PL). Byron Walker, CEO and Founder of Survival Frog, said ShipStation “played a pivotal role” in switching to a 3PL. 

Synergy Logistics, a third-party logistics provider and ShipStation partner, was the company’s first choice for its inventory and fulfillment solution. Walker said part of their reasoning for choosing Synergy was the connection with ShipStation: “We didn’t have to change which system we’re using, it was still ShipStation. And then, of course, all the other factors: reputation, cost structures, the list goes on and on when it comes to choosing a 3PL.” Outsourcing their inventory and fulfillment operations allowed Survival Frog to close down their warehouse and save on critical costs. 

Another solution Survival Frog adopted to simplify and improve their business operations is Feedonomics: a full-service product feed platform that optimizes and lists product data on multiple selling channels with accurate inventory levels. Survival Frog said Feedonomics enables them to list products to various channels and reflect accurate information quickly: “it’s going to show that a certain product is out of stock right away, not wait for the 24-hour updates or uploads.” This helps reduce overselling and wasted ad spend. 

When Survival Frog faced a downturn in demand, they had to adapt their business in order to provide for their customers and remain profitable. Incorporating various solutions like ShipStation, Synergy, and Feedonomics allowed the company to cut excess costs and create a sustainable business.