When it comes to the crunch, Simply Granola and Oh Ship! Founder Nicola Pheiffer puts her faith in Bob Go. As a third-party logistics solutions provider, Nicola knows she can rely on Bob Go to deliver the efficiencies and cost-savings her ecommerce clients need, as she and her all-female team help small online businesses in South Africa grow and thrive.
1. Tell us who you are, where you come from and what you do
Hi! I’m Nicola Pheiffer, originally from the Garden Route but a Winelands lass for the last (almost!) 20 years. Although I qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant with CIMA, and worked as an analyst in corporate banking, the last 8 years I’ve spent hustling as an entrepreneur. I started Simply Granola in 2017 and spent the last 7 years baking and making all things granola. In 2023 we changed lanes and founded Oh Ship! – a 3PL (third-party logistics service) that’s dedicated to enabling SMEs to outsource their warehousing and distribution operations at a rate that won’t raise the hair on your back.
2. How did you get into this line of business?
Well pure chance to be honest, we started offering 3PL services to another friends in the industry as a favour, word kind of spread and we received more requests for similar services and from there I realised there is a significant gap in the market for small- to medium-sized ecommerce businesses who would LOVE to outsource their distribution operations but cannot find an affordable solution in the market.
3. Tell us more about your team and who is behind the scenes?
I’ve always believed in having a very lean team for Oh Ship, besides myself at the helm of our ship, we have an amazing COO, Jana, who has been with me in various capacities since 2020. If I was ever able to duplicate myself into a younger and perhaps even more efficient version of myself – it would be Jana! 🙂 Our team is rounded off by our darling Memory, who manages the packing lines and ensures that our warehouse runs smoothly. Mem has been with me for almost 12 years and she’s my ride or die. One day I’d like to be lowered into a double grave with this girl. When needed we get temp staff in but overall my team and I love working hard, having loads on our plates and then similarly, we wrap up early and rotate resting shifts when the workload is low.
4. Which parts of your business excite you the most?
Mhhh, quite a number of things but let’s lock it down to two:
- I love knowing that we’re enabling SMEs to shift away from working IN their business to working ON their businesses. Our entry level rate starts at R3500 per month, which shouldn’t be too big of a financial stretch for an ecommerce store running sub 100 orders per month. A solution like this definitely didn’t exist when I was running Simply Granola and similar solutions we looked at cost an arm and a leg. So knowing that we’re providing a cost effective solution to the market brings me a ton of joy.
- Since we have extensive experience in both the ecommerce and distribution worlds, I love that we get to add value to our brands. At Oh Ship! going the extra mile is a non-negotiable. I adore that we are able to suggest improvements or offer advice that gets implemented by our brands. Whether it be around pricing, system efficiencies, gaps that we’re spotting or new opportunities we think might be a good fit.
5. How do you see your business evolving in the next five years?
I would love for Oh Ship! to be at least 5 times bigger. If we can grow 100% year on year, we will be changing the landscape for so many SMEs out there and we will be able to add more members to our team, creating jobs and upskilling more women.
6. What qualities do you think are most important for a successful entrepreneur?
Oh. Haha. Perseverance, grit, determination with a side of dark humour. This sh!t ain’t for the faint hearted. All jokes aside, if you can manage to keep going when the going gets tough, you’ll be alright. Personally sheer determination, pocketsful of grit and the ability to remain adaptive and dynamic to a landscape that changes super frequently has served me well. I have been privileged to be surrounded by a team that makes the journey less alone and for the rest a good laugh at the manicness is highly recommended.
7. What tip(s) would you give young women who want to start their own business?
I think 2 years ago my advice would have been a bit different, with the economy where it is at, spending power that’s down and disposable income at an ultimate low – I would recommend doing proper homework around your offering, your competitors, your USP and whether you’re adding to a saturated market or offering something the market has not seen before.
Being a woman in business can be tough – you must be willing to speak up and be able to hold your own. I believe that women have a vast amount of resilience and an acute ability to endure tough times – you need to be able to draw from that which you’ve already got. Find a mentor, hustle hard, ask for help and advice and for the rest work at it like you have no other option but to succeed. Never accept the status quo – not all rules were meant to be followed in the first place.
8. How has Bob Go helped you in your journey?
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration when I say that without Bob Go the last 8 odd years of my life would have looked very different and filled with many inefficiencies and unnecessary costs. When we started using Bob Go, distribution costs were halved, our efficiency levels shot through the roof and the overall customer experience increased tenfold. Since then Bob Go has invested so much in their tech development, developed a myriad of additional offerings, all whilst maintaining excellent and individualised customer service and support. All in all, one of the most brilliant companies with the best service levels out there.
9. Which features and/or aspects of Bob Go do you like the most?
When compared to other distribution platforms, I have a renewed appreciation for the API that Bob Go built – I think it’s safe to say that it’s unmatched in the market. I love that we’re able to build rules that support us in our daily operations, the ability to bulk fulfil orders – knowing that our rule sets are serving us in this space, and then again, the incredible level of support. I have never felt like a number with Bob Go and I’m 100% confident that we never will. 10/10 team!
