Everyone that works for us goes through that experience,” she said. That’s a feeling that still sticks with Sue Kerber more than a decade after the first bars of soap came out of her basement. “This is a product these guys can be really proud that they’re working on day in and day out,” Mandsager said, “because they get to go to the store and see it there.” It also gives the Pine Ridge employees the rare chance, given the agency’s other partners, to see a product they work on out on store shelves. The partnership is just a few months old, but for both the little soap company that could and the agency that gives opportunities to a group of people who are so often overlooked, it’s been ideal. “But,” Sue Kerber added, “he didn’t make us feel like it was. I don’t think I understood how risky it was until we really got into it.” “Any kind of partnership, there’s always some risk. “We knew there was a risk these guys were taking to come to us,” Mandsager said. While Pine Ridge has done plenty of e-commerce work in the past, Mandsager said that taking on RAD Soap as a partner was the business’ biggest venture yet on that front. RAD Soap’s move came with a huge number of holiday orders, and Mandsager said that eight or nine of Pine Ridge’s 65 employees were spending “all day, every day” labeling, packaging and shipping products. There was plenty of on-the-fly adaptation that had to be done to get everything running just right. “I was hesitant, because I started 11 years ago in my basement,” she said, “and these guys had it set up in a week.” I have to be careful and I always double-check them.”Īs the partnership began, Sue Kerber was amazed with how quickly Pine Ridge got operations up and running. “I want to make sure we’ve got the right products that we need,” Gabriel said, “so the customers won’t get mad. “He does a lot of the picking and packing of the products that need to go in particular orders, and ensuring that the customers are getting their proper orders.” “Especially on our e-commerce side, fulfilling those orders,” Mandsager said. Gabriel’s attention to detail and quality control has made him an invaluable part of the operation, according to Mandsager. I do love it there,” said Pine Ridge employee Zach Gabriel. The workforce at Pine Ridge has appreciated the partnership as well. “Customers should be most excited that they are helping to empower a workforce that is often overlooked in our own community,” Zak Kerber said. Another thing it shows me is that I’m giving back to a community that I love.” “I think what they are doing is amazing and creative. “The community helps workers have a place to go, make a difference and contribute to society as an equal,” she said in a press release highlighting the partnership. Kerber has a daughter with Down syndrome and is intimately aware of the importance of finding employment opportunities for people with disabilities. It was an ideal partnership for both sides, not just because of the logistical part of the operation, but through Pine Ridge and Schenectady ARC’s role in the community. “They fill all of our orders and they do a great job,” Sue Kerber said. RAD Soap wanted to move its fulfillment operations to Pine Ridge’s space in Glenville just in time for the rush of the holiday season, and Pine Ridge had a partner set to move out of its space at the facility at the end of October.īy the second week of November, the contents of RAD Soap’s old fulfillment center in Menands were cleared out as now all of the company’s labeling, packaging for retail and wholesale, e-commerce and shipping are handled out of Pine Ridge. “We wanted it the week after, so we just moved on it.” “When we started talking, we realized how it could be such a good connection that we said, ‘We’ll set this up right away,’ ” Sue Kerber said. Pine Ridge was looking for a new partner and RAD Soap needed a company with just the capabilities that Pine Ridge had. Both sides quickly realized it was a perfect fit.
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