Access to outdoor learning spaces benefits young children’s physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. A well-maintained and equipped playground can enhance these benefits and help your child care center stand out to prospective parents and families. However, with typical playground delivery timeframes, ordering and receiving new equipment for your outdoor spaces can take five or more months.
You do not have time to wait when you need to replace old and worn-out playground equipment. With longer delivery timelines, you may worry that your playground will not meet state guidelines and regulations as it should. You may worry the lack of quality outdoor experiences will inhibit child growth and development and make families want to enroll their children elsewhere. You also worry that you will lose grant funding opportunities if your equipment is not delivered within the spending deadlines.
When you need to replace old playground equipment, you want to order and receive your items fast.
We at Kaplan recognize this need, which is why we partner with third-party vendors to provide child care facilities with speedy delivery of high-quality outdoor learning and play equipment. This article will introduce you to Kaplan’s Quick Ship, how it works, and a few of the items you can purchase with this delivery feature.
What Is Kaplan's Playground Quick Ship?
The Playground Quick Ship feature provides a speedier delivery for outdoor learning and play items. Typical shipping time frames on playground equipment can take two to five months (or more). With Kaplan’s Quick Ship, your order will ship to your child care facility within four to eight weeks.
This delivery feature is only available for specific outdoor learning and play items, which you can browse through below.
How Does Quick Ship Work?
When you shop for playground equipment on the Kaplan website, all eligible items will have a Quick Ship graphic located on the product image. Any item without this graphic is not eligible for speedy shipping. You can also use the “Quick Ship” search filter on our website to quickly find eligible items to purchase.
You can make your Quick Ship purchases through our website or with the help of a Kaplan Playground Customer Service Representative. Once you place your order, one of our reps will contact you to give you an exact delivery date and any details you should know before your order arrives.
What Playground Equipment Options Include Quick Shipping?
We offer a variety of outdoor learning and play materials that include the Quick Ship delivery feature, including:- Different size sandboxes featuring connected seating platforms that give children more room to dig and build in the sand
- Playground benches that provide a restful space for young children to escape boisterous play areas
- ADA Wheelchair Ramps that make your outdoor learning spaces accessible for all children at play
- Dramatic play equipment that promotes cooperation, problem-solving, and creative thinking
- Chalkboard Flowers that mount to your fence make a cheery addition to the playground and allow children to express themselves through art
- Toddler Musical Flowers that add a sculptural aesthetic to the playground and emit a gong sound when struck
- Huckleberry Knob, a large play structure for children ages 2-5 years that includes climbing structures and three single slides
- Circle Cycles that provide an opportunity for cooperative play and gross motor development
You can browse our full selection of Quick Ship outdoor learning and play equipment options by visiting our website. If you need help finding items that fit your playground space, budget, and the needs of the children in your care, please connect with a Kaplan Playground Customer Service Representative. They have a thorough knowledge of playground guidelines and regulations and will gladly help you choose age-appropriate equipment for your child care facility.
Are There Any Factors That Slow Down the Delivery of Quick Ship Playground Equipment?
Kaplan works with various playground vendors who manufacture and ship the playground equipment you buy on our website. Sometimes, a vendor will run out of the materials needed to build a piece of equipment. When this happens, they must wait for those materials to arrive at their facility before assembling and shipping your order.
Our vendors are great about updating our Playground Customer Service Representatives about delays and updates to shipping timeframes as soon as they occur. We do our best to update the list of Quick Ship items on our website as soon as these notifications come through. Our representatives will also reach out to you regarding any playground order that is affected by a vendor shipping delay.
They will work with you to cancel, update, or change those orders to better fit your playground delivery needs.
Can I Cancel a Quick Ship Order?
Yes! When you place a playground Quick Ship order, our third-party playground vendor will receive your purchase order within 24 hours, as long as there are no issues with your payment or missing delivery information.
Once the vendor receives your purchase order, they will contact our Playground Department within five business days to give us an estimated shipping time for your order. This timing could change depending on the vendor and time of year you place an order. A Playground Customer Service Representative will contact you to share your estimated shipping timeframe.
If this date does not fit your assembly schedule, or you need to change your order, you have ten days to cancel with no penalty. Our playground vendors will charge a restocking fee on all orders canceled after ten days from the date they receive your purchase order.
Can I Use Grant Funding for Quick Ship Orders?
Absolutely! Many Kaplan customers use grants to fund the purchase of playground equipment and materials. With our Quick Ship delivery method, you can rest assured that your items will arrive before the grant spending deadline approaches.
To ensure speedy delivery of your playground equipment, our customer service representatives will ask you to provide a “deliver by” date for your order. We will attach this to the purchase order we send to our third-party playground vendors. If a vendor cannot meet your “deliver by” deadline, they will do their best to alert our Playground Customer Service Representatives within five days of receiving your order form. The representative will then contact you so that you can make changes to your order within the ten-day cancellation window.
Is Installation Included With My Quick Ship Order?
Unfortunately, we do not include installation in the cost of Quick Ship orders. However, Kaplan does offer this service as a separate fee for all playground orders. Installation of playground equipment has the potential to cost 60% of your total order, but this amount is subject to change based on the labor and other charges involved.
Next Steps for Ordering Kaplan Quick Ship Playground Equipment
Quality outdoor learning and play equipment enhances the development of young children. Whether you need to replace worn-out equipment or order something brand new, Kaplan’s Quick Ship delivery method will help you receive your playground equipment in eight weeks or less.
Browse our website to view our full selection of outdoor learning and play equipment options. If you need help ordering appropriate items for your playground, please connect with a Kaplan Playground Customer Service Representative. They have a thorough knowledge of playground guidelines and regulations and will be happy to help you choose age-appropriate equipment for your child care facility that is Quick Ship approved!