How Xpress scaled to thousands of orders a day — and leveled the playing field — with GelatoConnect
“If we wouldn’t have partnered with GelatoConnect when we did, I fear we would have been very far behind our competition or our peers at least.” — Joe Wright, Director of Operations, Xpress
When demand took off for Xpress, Joe Wright wasn’t worried about print capacity. He was worried about staying competitive. Disconnected software, manual workflows, and expensive shipping were holding his business back — especially as larger PSPs pushed ahead with better shipping rates and better vendor deals.
To scale — and stay in the game — Joe needed a smarter foundation. One that would reduce complexity, cut costs, and give Xpress access to the same operational firepower as the industry’s biggest players.
The challenge: Small team, big ambitions, uneven playing field
Xpress was relying on five or six disconnected platforms just to manage daily operations. Each came with its own learning curve, overhead, and cost — making it harder to scale without growing the team.
“It requires five or six different applications, platforms, employees, and training to achieve what GelatoConnect does for you automatically — with very minimal technical expertise.”
It wasn’t just about efficiency. Competing on price and experience was getting harder. Larger shops could negotiate better shipping rates and onboard new products faster. Joe knew Xpress needed to close the gap — fast.
The solution: Enterprise infrastructure without the enterprise overhead
What changed for Xpress wasn’t just operational efficiency — it was access. With GelatoConnect, they gained the kind of supply chain and logistics capabilities that are typically reserved for massive enterprise PSPs and ecommerce giants.
“It gives us tools and access to rates and vendors that only the largest print shops used to have.”
Through GelatoConnect Logistics, Xpress now ships on rates comparable to major marketplaces:
“We couldn’t scale our business before because we didn’t have access to the kind of shipping rates that we now get through GelatoConnect.”
In fact, Joe says the rates are so competitive that they no longer use their own long-established carrier accounts — even after 25 years of volume-based negotiations.
On the procurement side, GelatoConnect opened doors to a wider, more cost-effective supplier network.
“There are products on GelatoConnect Procurement that aren’t in our normal supply chain, now available at very competitive rates. It puts us in a league with our peers, where operational costs are consistent across the network.”
For Joe, that’s more than a cost-saving — it’s a strategic differentiator. His team can now meet customer expectations set by ecommerce leaders.
“It delivers the total customer experience they expect from large commercial websites such as Amazon.”
By removing barriers to scale and surfacing infrastructure previously out of reach, GelatoConnect has made it possible for Xpress to compete on speed, cost, and experience — not just craftsmanship.
The results
In just a few months, Xpress saw transformational results — the kind of outcomes usually reserved for companies 10x their size:
Output scaled 10x, from 100 to 1,000+ units per day for certain product lines — without added complexity
Shipping costs cut by 40%, beating rates negotiated over 25 years
Paper waste reduced by 25% with automated imposition and gang printing
New product lines launched, including t-shirts, drinkware, and calendars
New sales channels opened including private web storefronts
Peak season scalability unlocked, growing calendar output from dozens to thousands daily
A strategic advantage: Competing like the big guys
With GelatoConnect, Xpress now operates on the same playing field as the largest PSPs — with enterprise-grade automation, pricing, and product capabilities, but none of the complexity.
“It’s very addictive. The more we push through GelatoConnect, the more we want to. We’re trying to roll more of our business onto the platform so we can sunset the old legacy systems.” “It’s elevated us onto a higher playing field.”
The bottom line
Xpress didn’t just fix their inefficiencies — they redefined what’s possible for a growing PSP. With GelatoConnect, they’ve traded legacy software for future-ready automation, expanded into new markets, and gained access to infrastructure that used to be out of reach.
They’re not just keeping up with the industry’s biggest players — they’re competing with them.