Meet Starworks Packaging and Assembly, a fantastic social enterprise providing employment for adults with developmental disabilities in Vancouver, BC. Part of the Developmental Disabilities Association (DDA) Starworks generates much of its operating expenses from their pick and pack assembly and fulfillment business. I originally met with Starworks over 3 years ago when I launched Saul Good seeing great potential for a social enterprise partner to take on various fulfillment tasks in our Vancouver gift basket and corporate gift business.
Attention to quality
On our tour we conducted a few spot checks to make sure the corporate gifts looked as per our specifications, all the products we defined were included and the placement of our greeting and story cards were all in the right places. It's no surprise that organizations such as BC Hydro, Finning, Tourism BC and VISA all work with the social enterprise for various fulfillment needs.
Efficient operations
Starworks is fast! They were able to go through 21 pallets of product and fulfill our 750 gift order in just 2 days! They turned our order around very quickly to meet our schedule. Starworks employs a couple production coordinators who manage the assembly teams, ensuring that everyone understands their tasks and is well suited to it. They understand lean manufacturing strategies and develop simple, clear and balanced production between the team members to ensure the production line flows. They definitely know what they're doing and I'm confident in their ability to perform.
Everyone was so friendly!
Both Alex and I had a great time talking with the staff and employees on our Starworks tour. Some of the employees were quite chatty and engaged us in interesting conversations. We got to practice our German and Hebrew which took us both by surprise and left us with the understanding that its a mistake to underestimate the capabilities of developmentally disabled individuals.
Top 3 things we like about Starworks
- Creates social good with every gift assembled. Starworks creates meaningful employment for adults living with developmental disabilities in Vancouver, BC. The workers were really happy completing their tasks and enjoy their work, even the sometimes tedious and repetitious work of the assembly line.
- Friendly atmosphere. We felt really comfortable on our tour of their facility and found everyone very personable.
- Delivery on time. No over promising, Starworks pulled it off, without a hitch!
Looking forward to our next opportunity to work with the team at Starworks!
