6 River Systems (6RS) is an industry-leading Fulfilment solution which has fast-acting, innovative products that generate immediate and lasting value for its customers. Through an award-winning combination of collaborative robots, artificial intelligence (AI), and operational expertise, 6RS makes the entire fulfillment workflow more efficient. The business was founded in Waltham, Massachusetts in 2015 and then, in 2019, it was acquired Shopify Inc., the global commerce company.
Founders Jerome Dubois and Rylan Hamilton were previously executives at Kiva Systems, which is now known as Amazon Robotics. And, since developing their solution, the 6 River Systems product has been fulfilling millions of units each week for companies in the U.S., Canada and Europe, for companies such as Lockheed Martin, CSAT Solutions, ACT Fulfillment, DHL, XPO Logistics, and Office Depot.
The European market is highly relevant for 6RS and the Netherlands is of particular interest. As one of the main European port countries, the Netherlands has a large volume and high density of companies that are active in fulfillment, logistics and warehousing.
Within 6RS, Aaron Rissler is the Head of Business Development. Rissler: “We were seeking a partner that could help us to extend our reach into the Netherlands in a fast, effective and cost-efficient manner. This would really be a strategic endeavor for 6RS, where we had the aim of establish a long-term engagement from day one. In our business, things don’t happen overnight. Since we are focusing on large enterprise deals, sales cycles can be long and complex. We needed a partner that understood this and that could be our guide into the Dutch market. We ran a selection process and Aexus came out on top. They obviously bring a wealth of experience and have a strong track record in the domains that are relevant for us. Besides, it certainly helps that they are local, understand the culture and speak the necessary languages.”
When the partnership started, the onboarding was not as sophisticated as it is today. Rissler: “The onboarding of Aexus as a new partner was a great learning experience. What we learned was how to create a well-defined, smooth process for bringing on new team members. And, soon after the start of the engagement, Aexus began booking meetings for us. Their SDR team is focused on bringing in leads that meet specific criteria in order to qualify as Sales Accepted Leads. Not only is Aexus helping us to set these meetings and penetrate new accounts; they’ve also helped to create more uniformity across the globe in our lead generation process. The curve is definitely up!”
So, where does Aexus make a real difference for 6RS? Rissler: “First of all, Aexus ensures that 6RS is on the radar screen of people that are managing and operating warehousing systems in the Netherlands every single day. This has not only significantly increased our brand awareness here but has also helped us to obtain more operational intelligence on the European theatre. For example, we found out that the higher costs of real estate in the Netherlands means that multi-level pick options are much more common. If we have a better understanding of the market, we can strategize and plan much better. But most importantly, Aexus is helping us to build a funnel. At 6RS, we are very business oriented. Aexus plays a vital role in extending our funnel. Also, our pipeline progresses much better now than it did before.”