The rising number of customers who expect same-day or next-day service makes his job more challenging, says Pace. "But we are committed to keeping a very high service level, so if faster delivery is what the customer wants, we are happy to take on the challenge."

That level of service comes with a higher cost, however. Pace notes that the company's location in Waukesha, Wis., means that even the farthest U.S. point is within a three-day shipping window. "It is quite a bit more expensive to get something there overnight," he says.

The Green Design Center's line of healthy building materials moves to 150 dealers across the country mostly via less-than-truckload shipments, arranged through a third-party logistics provider, Pace says. The company also has a large direct-to-consumer online business, which uses mainly the postal service and FedEx. Recently it also has started selling into some foreign markets, including South Korea, Japan, Australia and parts of the United Kingdom.

There is a big push right now for green operations, but people often confuse “green” with “healthy,” says Pace. “They are not the same thing at all. We focus on truly healthy products, which means products that are more organic, with zero toxins and no solvents. These products are more expensive to manufacture and sell, but there is a growing demographic that places a high value on using non-toxic products in their homes.”

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