Limited Run Shipping Initiatives 2023

Limited Run Shipping Initiatives 2023

Now that 2023 is in full swing, we want to highlight some ways we want to do better as a company and for our community of fans.

Over the last few years, our customers have noticed that our production and fulfillment period has slowed down considerably. Orders that once took only a few weeks to fulfill now may take several months. In some cases, those waits have ballooned into undesirably long delays.

This is a fact that we acknowledge, and we want to extend an apology to our fans and customers. We are taking active steps to reduce these long wait times. We want to be transparent about all the things we’re doing to make this happen while keeping the integrity and quality of our products intact.

Follow along with us and see some of the changes we’ve made—and will be making—this year to shorten the gap between you and your games.

Production

The Production Period is the time it takes to go from a digital-only product to a finished physical product. Several factors go into the length of our production periods:

• Product approvals between the developers of a game, rightsholders & Limited Run
• Sampling prototypes, proofing paper goods, and correcting any quality issues
• Manufacturing of bespoke components
• Assembling everything together once all components are finished & approved

Working with Others

We’re always looking for ways to improve. One easy change we’re working on is enlisting help on booklet creation. Outsourcing this task to a trusted partner with more dedicated resources means that this time-intensive part of development will pass more quickly.

In addition, we are also leaning more on our game developers, rightsholders, and manufacturing partners to be ready to begin the manufacturing process before pre-orders begin. This looks a little different depending on who we’re working with, whether it’s making sure a game maker delivers all the art assets we need for a game cover to a factory proving that they can build what we need in time. In the future, you can be assured that the cart is not going before the horse, so to say—we’re committing to having everything we need to start manufacturing the moment a pre-order period ends.

Smarter Components and Partnerships

We are sick to death of the phrase “pandemic delays” as much as you are. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown light on serious inefficiencies in the manufacturing process, especially with complicated components. Moving forward, we will craft our Collector’s Editions with items we can acquire without complications, all while keeping the integrity and creativity that goes into a great Collector’s Edition.

In addition, we are diversifying and increasing the number of vendors, manufacturers, and assemblers we work with. This will give us more options and flexibility to keep projects moving, even when competing with other businesses for manufacturing slots.

Standardization of Collector’s Edition Boxes

On that note, we are moving towards standardizing the format for a lot of our Collector’s Editions. Our Collector’s Editions range in various shapes and sizes, adding extra time to the design, sampling and manufacturing processes. We have developed a new, hard plastic clamshell case to house future Collector’s Editions to cut down on this time.

These new collector shells feature high-quality, custom foam inserts that carefully house and protect your game and components. This sturdy case resists damage better than a cardboard box, so it is less likely that your item will be damaged in transit.

Not all of our Collector’s Editions will use this new case. We’ll still be creating some awesome large Collector’s Editions that Limited Run is known for!

Fulfillment

Once a completed item arrives in our warehouse, it enters the fulfillment stage. At that point, our team does the following:

• Inspects the final product for manufacturing errors
• Adds the item to a shipping queue
• Picks and packages customer orders
• Transfers the packaged goods to mail and shipping partners for final delivery

Investing in New Tools and Software

Our number of sales is continually increasing. We are no longer an operation that can hand-pack, tape, and move out every order without the risk of falling behind. Because of this, we are investing in new tools, more efficient software, and automation to handle our workload.

Trading Cards

After much deliberation, we have decided that our numbered Limited Run releases will no longer include a free trading card. This is not something we take lightly, but it is a necessary step we must take to increase our fulfillment speed. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, trading cards could be manufactured in weeks. However, a boom in demand for trading cards from new collectors caused printers to be pushed to their capacity. As a result of this increased demand, our card manufacturer was purchased by the Pokemon Company, pushing us to locate new suppliers. Because of this, trading card runs can now take 3 to 5 months to complete.

As our production time for Standard Edition games has sped up, we have seen a new problem. Many of our Standard Edition games now arrive before the cards have been printed. They may sit in our warehouse for weeks while waiting on cards. We don't feel this is acceptable. Our customers and fans deserve their games when they are complete.

Any Limited Run numbered release that opened pre-orders before April 1st, 2023 will still come with cards as promised. No existing orders made before that date will be impacted!

Enlisting Extra Help

Even with automation, we can sometimes use a little extra help. When many new items arrive in a large wave, hiring extra help to get those orders out of our warehouse becomes necessary. Starting this year, we will work with an agency to supply a steady supply of workers as needed. This way, business can continue as usual even when the products flood in.

LRG Europe - Coming 2023

Finally, the most exciting change we’re making is implementing our European shipping branch to better serve our customers across the Atlantic. We’re partnering with GOE (Game Outlet Europe) out of Karlstad, Sweden, which will handle our warehouse and fulfillment operations. Alongside the new fulfillment center, Limited Run will launch a Europe-facing website around the same time.

We’ll have more details to share in the coming months, but you can expect our European operations to launch in 2023!

A Thank you…

As we move deeper into 2023, you’ll start to see the effects of these efforts, with faster production times and swifter fulfillment. We know waiting for your order is frustrating, and we want to do everything possible to reduce those wait times.

We thank our community for their patience, feedback, and support. We’re always listening and striving to be better. A big part of that is listening to our community. This company was built with your support, which has helped us grow and allowed fans to see their favorite games get brought to life in an all-new way! We thank you for the support and look forward to many more years together. #ForeverPhysical

-LRG Team