In the age of lightning-quick Internet shopping and ultra-convenient mobile apps, it’s all about instant gratification. But distributors and decorators can’t rely on speed alone to distinguish themselves from competitors. “Speed is now the ante to the poker game,” says Mark Ziskind, chief operating officer at CSE (asi/155807). “You have to overlay that with great ideas, quality and customer service.”

And never sacrifice accuracy on the altar of speed. CSE, for example, builds quality control into its pick-pack process, using a digital system that shows an image of the items to be pulled to help workers. Plus, the people who pick the items aren’t the ones who pack them, meaning there’s an extra set of eyes on each order leaving the warehouse, Ziskind says.

Another way the distributor ensures accuracy is through a recurring bonus program. Each quarter, CSE reserves a pool of $50,000 to be split evenly among workers. However, every mistake that’s made during that period deducts from the total, and mistakes that the client sees cost double. All errors are shared at company meetings, though individual names are not mentioned. “It forces people to slow down and take a breath,” according to Ziskind. “We saw dumb mistakes go down 64%.

An added benefit? The program encourages a team mentality, because nobody wants to be the one who cuts into the bonus pool. “Everyone is looking out for everyone else … all for one and one for all,” Ziskind says.

Read more in the Speed Issue of Wearables, coming in January.