Key Takeaways / TL;DR
- Pipe17 gave Made In the freedom to adapt fast and scale globally.
- Made In gained control over multi-channel fulfillment, order management, inventory management, and virtual product bundles and kits.
- Pipe17’s open architecture and strong customer support enabled low-friction problem solving and agility their previous OMS couldn’t.
- Inventory miscounts, delayed orders, and manual fire drills vanished after switching to Pipe17.
Introduction
Made In Cookware was founded with a bold vision: to bring the tools of the world’s best chefs into home kitchens. Inspired by generations of restaurant experience and a belief in premium craftsmanship, the brand partners with multi-generational manufacturers across Europe and the U.S. to produce high-performance cookware and kitchen essentials that blend tradition with innovation.
Since its launch, Made In has evolved from a Shopify-first direct-to-consumer startup into a beloved culinary brand trusted by Michelin-starred chefs and passionate home cooks alike. Their product line spans everything from carbon steel pans and chef knives to glassware and tableware, all designed to elevate the cooking experience. Known for obsessive attention to quality, thoughtful design, and a customer-first approach, Made In now serves over 2,000 professional kitchens and hundreds of thousands of households globally.
As their reach expanded across wholesale, retail, and international markets, Made In needed an order management solution that could match the agility and precision of their products. That’s where Pipe17 came in.
Challenges
As Made In’s order volume scaled from thousands to hundreds of thousands, and with expansion into international markets and B2B retail, problems that could previously be brushed off as growing pains were becoming too costly for them to ignore. These challenges included:
- Legacy OMS was limiting growth as it couldn’t keep up with their pace of change and required expensive modifications to extend capabilities.
- Inventory accuracy was bad, even with daily (hourly during peak season) manual adjustments to their OMS, resulting in constant overselling and underselling
- Expanding from pure DTC to B2B, B2B2C, and retail required a more robust system.
- 3PL relationships were inconsistent, and Made In needed more agility so they could add or swap out providers.
- Virtual bundle creation was cumbersome and inventory management often inaccurate.
Made In needed a flexible, reliable order management solution that could move as fast as they do
Solution
Kara and her team chose Pipe17 as their OMS alternative to bring agility and reliability into their growing commerce operation. Key selection criteria included:
- OMS Flexibility. Made In customized order routing logic, warehouse mappings, and rule-based fulfillment logic to suit rapidly changing needs.
- Inventory Accuracy. With Pipe17 as their inventory source of truth, the team drastically reduced manual adjustments and improved bundle accuracy.
- Control. Pipe17’s ease of use and business friendly UI gave Made In back control of their order operations; they were no longer held hostage by their OMS vendor.
- Speed of Execution. In one case, Made In migrated to a new warehouse and re-established WMS connections in under four weeks; a feat that would have taken quarters if not a year with their previous OMS.
- Partnership Support. The proactive and collaborative approach of Pipe17’s onboarding and support teams has been a night and day difference from prior vendors.
Results
Pipe17 has enabled Made In to scale smarter with previously unimaginable agility, clean inventory management, operations friendly administration and complete control over multi-channel fulfillment operations without engineering or IT bottlenecks.
- Scaled order volume > 50% annually.
- Launched a new warehouse in under 4 weeks – in time for Black Friday 2024.
- Achieved 1-day average click-to-ship and sub-5-day delivery goals.
- Reduced support tickets and fire drills by owning OMS logic in-house.
- Brought fulfillment and customer experience in-house for better quality.
| Metric | Impact |
|---|---|
| Order Volume | Grew annual orders from 300K to 450K+ |
| Fulfillment Speed | Average 1-day click-to-ship & sub-5-day delivery |
| New Warehouse Onboarding | Onboarded, tested, & fulfilling orders in < 4 weeks |
| Manual Inventory Fixes | Down from daily fixes to near-zero |
| Customer Experience | Complete control with OMS managed in-house |
Why Pipe17
Kara emphasized Pipe17’s balance of functionality and usability. “I feel like a power user now. At first, the system felt overwhelming because so much is exposed, but once you spend time with it, it just makes sense. You can do a lot quickly with no engineering background needed.”
“With our previous OMS, every small change meant submitting a ticket or paying for a $50,000+ statement of work. With Pipe17, we can just go in and do it ourselves. That control is invaluable. We’ve been able to launch new sales channels, adjust fulfillment logic, and support high-volume spikes like Black Friday without needing an in-house dev team.”
Kara Strasser, Senior Director of Supply Chain at Made In
Operational Impact
When a key warehouse partner told Kara’s team they had to move facilities just six weeks before Black Friday, Made In was able to:
- Migrate their entire inventory
- Stand up a new warehouse
- Configure OMS and WMS integrations
- Begin fulfilling > 1,000 orders per day, within weeks
That kind of agility wouldn’t have been possible under their legacy OMS, which would have required a months-long project and hefty service fees.
The Power of Customization Without Complexity
While many OMS platforms require dev teams or consultants to implement changes, Pipe17 enables Made In to:
- Create and edit routing rules based on zip codes, freight rates, or SLAs
- Quickly onboard new sales channels and fulfillment partners
- Customize fulfillment and warehouse logic without needing to write any code
“The UI just makes sense,” said Kara. “I can troubleshoot, configure, and even test rules on the fly. It’s intuitive.”
Channel Expansion and International Growth
Made In has expanded into multiple B2B and retail channels using Pipe17’s flexible logic and custom mappings. Integrations include registries like Zola and Joy, and retailers like Bloomingdale’s. Despite differing order formats and requirements, Kara’s team handles them with ease.
“Even if every new channel looks different, we can normalize everything with Pipe17 and make it seamless for our warehouse team.”
Kara Strasser, Senior Director of Supply Chain at Made In
Pipe17 enables:
- Dynamic order routing based on Shopify tags, customer attributes, and inventory availability
- Automated addition shipping instruction to warehouses based on line item SKUs, total order price, and customer attributes
- Accurate handling of prepaid freight accounts and third-party billing
International growth is the next big focus for Made In. With Shopify storefronts for the US, Canada, and the UK, the Made In team is preparing to centralize their international order flows into Pipe17, making it easier for customer service agents to track and manage everything in one place.
Final Word
Pipe17 allowed Made In to scale operations while staying nimble; an essential trait for modern brands navigating high growth, global logistics, and complex selling channels.
“It’s the freedom to solve problems ourselves, not wait on a vendor. That’s the real value of Pipe17.”
Kara Strasser, Senior Director of Supply Chain at Made In
