Starmark Pet Products, a leading provider of interactive pet toys and a custom line of pet treats for dogs of all breeds, has partnered with Davinci Micro Fulfillment to establish a forward-stocking micro-warehouse operation designed to improve speed to market, optimize inventory flow and margins and accelerate its sales over the TikTok Store and other online marketplaces.

Starmark has been in business for 30 years, founded initially as a professional dog training and boarding academy. Today, the Austin-based company runs a 400-acre ranch with some 200 kennels. The facility operates an international school for professional dog trainers teaching all things dog including basic obedience, agility, police K-9, search and rescue and other skills. “It’s the art and science of dog training,” explained Emily Benson, Starmark’s marketing director and the wife of Keith Benson, Starmark’s president and chief executive officer who helped found the company in 1995.

In 2002, the company expanded into product development, recognizing the need for scientifically designed toys and treats for dogs in the home. “Once the animals left our program, we wanted to provide owners with purpose-designed products to help promote desired behaviors and keep them busy and challenged in the home,” Emily Benson said.

Initially, Starmark adopted a traditional distributor-based sales approach. Starmark products are found in over 7,000 brick and mortar retailers across the U.S., along with a network of 30 distributors in the U.S. and internationally that sell direct to retailers, shipping in pallet-loads or case lots.

As consumers rapidly and aggressively embraced buying goods online, like many product companies, Starmark found it needed to evolve its sales strategy. “We were not set up to handle direct-to-consumer. It was clearly a growth opportunity we needed to explore,” Benson noted.

Getting set up in the TikTok Store, finding a fulfillment partner.

Starmark first engaged with BellNova, an agency specializing in helping companies establish and run omnichannel social commerce operations, find reliable partners, and build sustainable revenue across TikTok Shop, Amazon marketplace, retail, and direct-to-consumer channels.

With BellNova helping it develop its strategy and navigating the process of getting up and running on the marketplace, Starmark then needed to find a fulfillment partner. That partner had to do the hands-on (yet tech-enabled) work of actually holding inventory, accepting and filling orders and managing final-mile shipping. Starmark also needed accurate, timely reporting and analytics on product flow, order fulfillment quality, optimal merchandizing mix, delivery accuracy and landed cost.

Davinci was already a preferred BellNova partner. Starmark then tapped them to set up and run a “micro-site” fulfillment operation – everything from accepting orders digitally to selecting and executing the fastest and most cost-effective shipping solution.

“Davinci allowed us effectively grow into online sales opportunities, specifically selling to new customers in the TikTok Store,” Benson noted. “They provided the resources, technology and expertise so we could grow our direct-to-consumer sales.”

Streamlining, accelerating order fulfillment.

Initially Starmark is offering its popular Bento Ball and Everlasting Treats products through its TikTok shop. When an online customer closes out their purchase in Starmark’s (or TikTok’s) ecommerce basket, the order transmits directly into Davinci’s system. Using its AI-enabled rules-based decision engine, the Davinci system creates an optimal fulfillment and shipping plan. Orders are picked, packed and shipped either same day or next day.

“We could not have launched this without Davinci providing all the back-end product handling, order management and shipping,” said Benson. “It’s efficient and reliable; it’s helped us effectively grow the products we can sell online direct to consumer,” she concluded.

Today, Starmark manufactures and sells 27 different mental stimulation toys, 11 different treats and chews, and 11 interactive fetch play toys. Benson explained that the durable products are scientifically designed to help foster natural hunting and foraging behaviors and help prevent destructive boredom behaviors. The treats feature natural ingredients that are tasty and easily edible and can be used inside Mental Stimulation toys to create hours of mental and physical enjoyment for the animal, she noted.