Podcasts about 3pl

In this episode, hosts Ted Stank and Tom Goldsby welcome Wally Shaw, CEO of Red Stag Fulfillment, to explore how a purpose-built 3PL is carving out a competitive edge by focusing on what others avoid.Shaw shares how Red Stag built its model around big, bulky products—an overlooked segment of the fulfillment market—and why that specialization enables stronger service performance, tighter quality control, and meaningful differentiation. He also discusses the company's distinctive approach to service guarantees, including zero tolerance for shrinkage and financial accountability when service levels are missed.The conversation spans how leading 3PLs are navigating today's most pressing challenges: AI adoption and automation readiness, geopolitical uncertainty, tariffs, and shifting global sourcing patterns. Shaw also offers perspective on why customer selectivity and long-term decision making  can lead to better outcomes for both providers and brands.The episode was recorded virtually on June 9, 2026.Related links:Complete the Annual 3PL Study survey for 2027Register for virtual SCM Academies in Leadership, Finance, Procurement, and TechnologySave the date for the Fall Supply Chain Forum, Nov. 10–12 Download free white papers from UT experts Become a GSCI partner to learn, network, and recruit with the top supply chain education institution in North America  Join the Advanced Supply Chain Collaborative to explore advanced concepts in SCM with top industry experts and scholars   Fill out Tom Goldsby's survey on warehouse automationFollow GSCI on LinkedIn   Subscribe to GSCI's monthly newsletter    Read the latest news and insights from GSCI Text the Tennessee on Supply Chain Management team!

Welcome to this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, where Kevin chats with Rodney Galeano, Founder and CEO of Loki 3PL. Loki 3PL helps importers distribute and fulfill products across the United States, supporting both B2B and e-commerce operations. Since launching the company just a year and a half ago, Rodney has grown the business into a new 100,000-square-foot facility in East Brunswick, New Jersey. In this conversation, he shares down-to-earth lessons from scaling a 3PL, what brands should look for in a logistics partner, and why customer service remains the most important differentiator in a crowded market.Learn more about our sponsor Dexory's Storage Health here. Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube.Support the show

Ben Hartman is back for his third visit to the PricePlow Podcast in Episode #221, and Morphogen Nutrition has never been in a stronger position. Ben walks through everything: the second rebrand’s full backstory, a never-before-told story about a failed acquisition that nearly sold the company, the financial reckoning that followed, and how selling the building and moving to a 3PL model finally cleared the slate. He calls this the best formula work Morphogen has ever done, at the healthiest margins in company history. The conversation covers AlphaGEN’s return to 10g L-Tyrosine, why PRIME is the anchor of the entire health line, details like how he navigates AstraGin® and BioPerine® across a multi-product stack, and the surprising origin of CALM. Then comes the main event: the Nick Walker equity partnership, explained in full, including some of the financial structure the internet has been speculating about. The episode closes with a frank look at the longevity wave ahead, the natural-vs.-enhanced debate, and a nostalgic look back at the golden age of stimulants. Subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your favorite platform and sign up for Morphogen Nutrition news alerts before diving in. https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/ben-hartman-morphogen-nutrition-221 Video: Morphogen’s Second Rebrand, Nick Walker Equity, and the 10g Tyrosine Return https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1avyjD3spOk Detailed Show Notes: Ben Hartman on Morphogen’s Rebrand, the Nick Walker Deal, and Where Supplements Are Heading (0:00) – Introductions (0:45) – The Second Rebrand: What Triggered It (3:00) – The Failed Acquisition: First Public Account (5:00) – David DeMesquita: The Missing Third Partner (8:45) – Business Lessons: Termites at the Foundation (12:30) – Best Formulas Ever, Healthiest Margins Ever (13:15) – Hero vs. Backup Ingredients: Supply Chain and Formula Thinking (18:30) – Diminishing Returns: “Racing to the Bottom” (20:30) – Breaking the Debt Cycle: PO Discipline and the Move to 3PL (27:45) – ALPHAGEN Reborn: The 10g L-Tyrosine Decision (30:15) – Eria Jarensis, Manufacturing Partners, and Label Honesty (35:15) – PRIME: Origin Story and the Anchor Health Product (40:30) – AstraGin® and BioPerine®: Choosing Absorption Enhancers Wisely (46:30) – CALM: From Bodybuilding Contest Prep to Gen Pop (51:15) – “I Don’t Listen to My Customers” (54:45) – Blood Work, Hormones, and Realistic Self-Assessment (1:01:30) – The Nick Walker Partnership: How It Actually Happened (1:04:30) – Equity, Not a Paycheck: “We Gave It to Him” (1:11:30) – Nick’s Feedback, Carb Fuel, and PROTEGEN on the Way (1:16:45) – From Bodybuilding Brand to Health and Wellness (1:21:30) – The Longevity Wave: NMN, Urolithin A, and Mitochondrial Health (1:27:00) – Natural vs. Enhanced: An Honest Reassessment (1:35:00) – The Supplements That Actually Moved the Needle (1:38:00) – Stimulant Nostalgia: DMAA, Ephedrine, and What’s Still Available (1:40:45) – Dedra Hartman (CFO) and Closing Thoughts Where to Follow and Learn … Read more on the PricePlow Blog

In this episode of Retail War Games, I sat down with Gary Mac Herring, owner of Mary Mack's Inc., for a conversation rooted in pure entrepreneurial grit. Starting with a 19-year-old's payphone-operated snow cone stand, Gary explains how the lawless freedom of a 1980s childhood shaped his business philosophy: giving teams the room to make mistakes, get messy, and hustle is the only way to build resilience. Gary pulls back the curtain on cutting out middlemen, sharing the wild story of flying blind to the 2008 Canton Fair to secure direct, handshake-driven relationships with suppliers that established their 20-year manufacturing moat. We also break down a massive retail achievement: how Mary Mack's vertically integrated team successfully launched two entirely separate CPG brands into Target nationwide and a third of Walmart within a single two-week window. From the stark logistical realities of managing national 3PL fulfillment to the humbling "crickets" that often follow a seemingly perfect major industry trade show, Gary drops a phenomenal, low-key masterclass on what it truly takes to sell fun in a box and build an indestructible commercial brand.  

Is owning your own warehouse worth the headache? Or is it a siren song that will slow your growth? Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case and Lomi), Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern), and Curtis Matsko (CEO, Portland Leather Goods) dig into two of the most expensive decisions in ecommerce. Should you own your warehouse or outsource fulfillment to a 3PL? Can a founder ever truly step back from the company they built? They break down the owned warehouse versus 3PL debate, covering when flexibility beats cost savings, and why high-growth brands get burned by leases. From there, the conversation shifts to founder identity and succession, what Tim Cook's Apple exit and Doug McMillon's Walmart departure reveal about leadership transitions, and why the skills that built your company can quietly become the thing holding it back. Powered ByFulfilhttps://9ops.co/fulfil Saras Analyticshttps://bit.ly/4a3gzVvPostscripthttps://9ops.co/postscriptRichpanelhttps://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeamhttps://www.northbeam.io/Aftersellhttps://9ops.co/4i3bb5Operators Newsletterhttps://9operators.com/

How can transportation professionals sustain success and maintain clear visibility when the threat of operational risk looms large? Let's hear today's returning guest, Cheema Freightlines' CEO, Harman Cheema, talking about the critical shift toward higher standards in the trucking industry, and his unfiltered look at the major challenges defining today's market, including the FMCSA's registration system overhauls and the operational risks surrounding the high-stakes practice of buying and transferring authorities. We also discuss why the digital transformation of freight transactions must not completely replace the fundamental human connection required to prevent fraud and cross-border vulnerabilities. For modern brokerages and asset-based carriers trying to master risk mitigation and avoid the pitfalls of "broker math," this episode provides indispensable strategies for aligning lane pricing, managing customer expectations during rate volatility, and safeguarding cash flow while investing back into driver retention and aging fleet equipment!   About Harman Cheema With over 20 years of experience in the logistics industry, Harman Cheema has been at the helm of Cheema's growth, transforming the company into one of the nation's premier providers of Asset and 3PL solutions. Under his leadership, Cheema Freightlines LLC and Cheema Logistics LLC offer a comprehensive range of services, including dry and temperature-controlled truckload, intermodal, and LTL solutions, catering to clients of all sizes across diverse industries. As an accomplished leader in the transportation sector, Harman has forged and nurtured long-term relationships with customers, partners, and stakeholders, ensuring their sustained satisfaction and loyalty. His deep expertise in marketing, business development, and operations has enabled him to craft and execute strategic transportation plans that drive profitability, optimize equipment utilization, and enhance team productivity. In addition to his leadership role at Cheema, Harman can be found at many of the industry events including and also serves on the board of the Trucking Profitability Strategies Conference, where he advocates for the advancement of the trucking industry and supports initiatives that promote its growth and sustainability.   Connect with Harman Website: https://cheemafreightlines.com/ / https://www.teamcheema.com/  

NFI's 3PL Growth, Real Estate Strategy, and Tech Adoption with Michael Landsburg (IAMC Little Rock) Live from the IAMC conference in Little Rock, the Industrial Advisors podcast interviews Michael Landsburg of NFI about the company's scale and strategy in the 3PL world. Landsburg explains NFI is a 94-year-old, privately held, family-owned supply chain company operating primarily in the US and Canada, with about 80 million square feet in its portfolio (about 17 million owned), roughly 18,000 employees, 5,000 trucks, and 14,000 trailers, serving shipments from Asian ports to home delivery. He discusses how NFI decides between customer-held leases, NFI-held leases, and owning facilities for control, speed, flexibility, and family investment diversification. This includes a shift after the global financial crisis toward leasing more space to third parties. He touches on submarket-by-submarket leasing conditions, NFI's strong performance versus the industry since 2022, a reduced risk posture in matching leases to contracts, ongoing data centralization to enable AI, warehouse automation with fully autonomous robots, and uncertainty over whether Asian-based 3PL growth represents net-new demand or market-share shift. 0:00 Intro and NFI overview 2:10 The history of the 94-year-old family business 4:15 Strategy behind owning vs leasing assets 6:30 Diversifying the portfolio after 2008 8:45 Current industrial market trends and softness 11:00 Leveraging data and AI in logistics 13:15 Autonomous robots in the warehouse 14:50 The impact of Asian 3PL growth 16:00 Closing thoughts and wrap up

Kate Assaraf is the CEO and founder of dip sustainable, a plastic-free haircare brand she launched in 2021 that hit seven figures within 18 months without running a single paid ad. Before starting dip, she spent 20 years inside the beauty industry, long enough to see the deceptive marketing practices that eventually pushed her to build something completely different.Most DTC beauty brands launch with paid social, influencer seeding, and a race to acquire customers fast. Kate did the opposite. She cold-called refill stores, traveled across the country to meet sustainable retailers face to face, and built distribution through brick-and-mortar before she ever thought about digital advertising. Today, dip is carried in all 50 states and has sold over 300,000 bars by word of mouth alone.The conversation covers why Kate chose physical retail over digital-first, how she thinks about authentic customer marketing in a category overrun by sponsored content and AI-generated testimonials, and why she built her own factory after her contract manufacturer went bankrupt. That last decision, vertically integrating manufacturing and fulfillment under one roof, turned out to be the most consequential call she made as a founder.Kate also takes on the sustainability conversation directly, pushing back on the moralizing that she believes drives people away from the movement rather than toward it. Her version of sustainability is inclusive, economics-driven, and grounded in saving customers money, not lecturing them. She explains why the dip conditioner bar, at $32 and lasting close to a year, is a stronger pitch than the environmental argument alone.Founders in CPG, beauty, and retail will come away with a rare perspective: what it actually looks like to build a consumer brand slowly, deliberately, and without the typical playbook.Website: https://www.vimmi.netEmail us: info@vimmi.netPodcast website: https://vimmi.net/commerce-untold/Eitan Koter's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eitankoter/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VimmiVideoCommerce/featuredGuest: Kate Assaraf, CEO & Founder, dip sustainableKate Assaraf's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-assaraf-b25a741a7dip sustainable: https://dipalready.comWatch the full Youtube video here:https://youtu.be/c9hCsejvcX8Key Takeaways:• Seven figures in 18 months, zero paid ads. If the product solves a real problem and you understand the customer from the inside, distribution follows• Real paying customers outperform influencers in haircare and skincare because results are too easy to fake• Moralizing drives people away from sustainability. Framing it as inclusive and economically smart converts more people than shame ever will• The $32 conditioner bar saves customers up to $500 a year. The environmental pitch is secondary to the financial one• Gifting product builds a hollow first wave. Real retention only comes from people who spent their own money• When her contract manufacturer went bankrupt, Kate built her own factory. It removed 3PL costs, protected the formula, and became the best decision she ever made• Returns largely end up in landfills. Local retail reduces return rates and creates accountability that e-commerce cannot replicateChapters:00:00 Seven figures, zero ads00:16 Introducing Kate Assaraf00:54 Values beyond work03:09 Why Kate left the beauty industry04:22 Dip's marketing: real customers only07:59 Fast beauty, sustainability, and unlearning consumerism14:24 Seven figures without a single ad15:36 How Dip launched: refill stores and road trips21:51 Giving back and reinvesting profits25:41 When the contract manufacturer went bankrupt27:51 Advice for founders29:54 Where to find Dip

In this episode, Luciano sits down with Axel Monsaingeon to discuss what separates successful projects from costly failures. They explore the importance of being involved early in the planning process, the value of boots-on-the-ground project management, and how value engineering can create significant savings without compromising quality. Luciano also shares lessons learned from major projects, including large-scale developments involving Walmart, Decathlon, and Lufa Farms, while explaining why strong relationships, experienced teams, and hands-on leadership remain essential despite the rise of AI and technology.   This episode is sponsored by ClickSpace. Click Space is redefining the future of office space in Montreal with turnkey offices, storage, 3PL, conference rooms, lounges, and niche communities for ecommerce entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, and AI-focused businesses. Spaces start at just $550/month, and paid referral partnerships are available for brokers. Learn more: https://clickspace.ca/   Topics

2026 Industrial Outlook: Market Rebalancing, Big Box Demand & Nearshoring Live at the IAMC conference in Little Rock, hosts interview Stephanie Rodriguez, who leads Colliers' industrial platform, about her people-focused approach to client and team relationships and her extensive travel (over 300,000 American Airlines miles last year). She discusses Colliers' positioning and performance, noting an uptick after Q1 in industrial deal and revenue counts and a stronger start to 2026, plus continued talent recruitment. Rodriguez highlights regional market dynamics: low-vacancy, conservative development and steady rent growth in the central region; strong Southeast demand driven by population growth and onshoring/nearshoring; and West Coast stabilization tied to ports. Growth drivers include steady e-commerce, dominant 3PL leasing activity, reshored advanced manufacturing (chips, pharmaceuticals), and capital-intensive data centers. Institutional owners remain focused on build-to-suit, with selective return to speculative development in low-vacancy markets and renewed big-box demand, including increased Amazon activity. 0:00 Intro and Guest Introduction 2:15 Colliers Platform and Regional Trends 5:10 Growth Sectors: 3PLs and Manufacturing 7:00 Institutional Perspectives and Spec Development 8:20 Big Box Trends and Upcoming Conferences

What does it take to crack down on cargo theft, chameleon carriers, and unregulated dispatch services? In this episode, Chris Burroughs from the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) is back to discuss the real cost of silence on Capitol Hill and why your voice matters now more than ever! We're diving straight into the Build America 250 Act, what the Supreme Court's Montgomery v. Caribe ruling actually means for broker liability, and how the FMCSA's new MOTUS registration system is set to purge fraudulent entities from the marketplace. If you want to protect your freight business, stay ahead of tightening carrier vetting standards, and learn how to manage risk in a shifting legal landscape proactively, you can't afford to miss this conversation on why the brokerage community must band together and control the narrative   About Chris Burroughs Chris Burroughs is the President and CEO for the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA). He brings over 18 years of Congressional affairs experience to TIA. As the former Vice President of Government Affairs for TIA, he led the Government Relations department including the legislative, regulatory, PAC, and internal policy committee functions. Chris served as the staff liaison for the Highway Logistics Conference, the Intermodal Logistics Conference, and several other policy committees within TIA. Chris additionally served on the Board of Directors for the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) as the Subcommittee Chairman of Industry Advisory Subcommittee and sole representative of the 3PL industry. During his time on Capitol Hill, Chris gained invaluable knowledge of the legislative process. He began his career working on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee in 2006 and then later the House Natural Resources Committee. In 2009, Chris joined the Twenty-First Century Group, a bipartisan government affairs firm, as their Director of Government Affairs. In this position, Chris advocated on behalf of multiple clients involved in the transportation, telecommunications, health care, tax, and defense arenas. Additionally, he represented TIA on their issues of interest on Capitol Hill. Chris lives in Gainesville, Virginia with his wife Stacey and children Kelly, Christopher, and Connor. Chris earned a BS degree in Political Science from Shepherd University located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.  

In "From Strategy to Scale: The ODW Logistics Approach to Growth" Joe Lynch and Phil Schmidbauer, Vice President of Solution Design at ODW Logistics, discuss how middle-market brands can scale by optimizing their entire supply chain network rather than just chasing low freight rates. About Phil Schmidbauer Phil Schmidbauer is the Vice President of Solution Design at ODW Logistics, where he specializes in creating optimized transportation and integrated supply chain strategies. A dynamic and innovative leader, Phil brings extensive industry experience focused on driving process efficiencies, eliminating waste, and delivering significant value to clients. Recognized as a top industry innovator—including being named a "Pros to Know" award winner—he excels at building strategic bridges across complex supply chain networks. Phil works closely with businesses to align their comprehensive logistics frameworks with overarching financial and operational goals. His expertise spans advanced supply chain analytics, cargo security, and network optimization studies, making him a trusted authority in helping growth-minded brands design custom-engineered solutions that reduce complexity and successfully position their businesses to scale. About ODW Logistics ODW Logistics is a top-tier, integrated third-party logistics (3PL) provider dedicated to enabling collective growth for its clients, associates, and the industry. With over 50 years of experience, ODW Logistics delivers end-to-end supply chain solutions that combine strategic warehousing, distribution, and advanced transportation management. The company serves a diverse range of industries, including food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, health and beauty, and industrial manufacturing. As an approved consolidator for major retail networks, ODW specializes in retail consolidation, strategic inventory load planning, and automated workflows that control costs and improve on-time delivery. Driven by core values of respect, trust, team, and opportunity, ODW Logistics operates as a seamless extension of its customers' businesses, providing the technology, infrastructure, and continuous innovation necessary to scale operations effectively. Key Takeaways: From Strategy to Scale: The ODW Logistics Approach to Growth In "From Strategy to Scale: The ODW Logistics Approach to Growth" Joe Lynch and Phil Schmidbauer, Vice President of Solution Design at ODW Logistics, discuss how middle-market brands can scale by optimizing their entire supply chain network rather than just chasing low freight rates. Integrated 3PL Solutions for Middle-Market Growth: ODW Logistics leverages over 50 years of experience to provide end-to-end warehousing, distribution, and managed transportation solutions, operating as a seamless extension for middle-market companies that lack the internal resources to manage complex supply chains alone. A Consultative, Total-Network Focus: Rather than just chasing the lowest transaction rate on a truck lane, Phil Schmidbauer emphasizes a consultative approach that designs and optimizes the entire supply chain, aligning warehousing and transportation around each other to reduce hidden costs, fines, and lead times. High-Frequency Retail Consolidation: ODW specializes in retail consolidation (serving major networks like Walmart and Target) by combining smaller multi-pallet shipments into full truckloads. This ensures high-frequency deliveries, which reduces lot sizes, minimizes inventory requirements, and drives better overall service. Mitigating the Cost of Stockouts: Keeping products on shelves is critical to brand survival. Stockouts cause severe financial penalties and permanent brand-loyalty loss when consumers switch to competitors—making consistent supply chain execution vital for sales growth. Managing the Hidden Costs of Excess Inventory: Influenced by his background with Toyota's world-class manufacturing processes, Schmidbauer highlights that excess inventory carries heavy hidden liabilities, including high warehousing fees, multiple touchpoints, and obsolescence or shelf-life expiration risks. The Power of a Dual-Node Network: ODW operates 27 facilities nationwide, utilizing a highly efficient dual-node setup between Southern California and Columbus, Ohio. This center-of-gravity strategy allows brands to easily meet next-day delivery demands for a massive portion of the U.S. population. Bridging the Omni-channel Divide: As retail and ecommerce models increasingly blend, ODW supports brands navigating both channels, helping companies scale and transition their operational structures from online-only to brick-and-mortar retail fulfillment seamlessly. Learn More About From Strategy to Scale: The ODW Logistics Approach to Growth Phil Schmidbauer | Linkedin ODW Logistics | Linkedin ODW Logistics The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

In this episode, Donna and Tom welcome Jay Strother, president & CEO of the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA), and J.C. Capron, director of strategic initiatives for IWLA, to discuss a groundbreaking research initiative that will quantify the economic and workforce impact of 3PL warehouses across North America. Jay and J.C. explain how IWLA serves its diverse membership, from household names like UPS and FedEx to multi-generational family-owned operations, through education, advocacy, and industry-leading resources like their popular podcast. The conversation centers on the ongoing 3PL Warehouse Impact Study, a collaborative effort with Penn State Smeal's Center for Supply Chain Research designed to provide credible, aggregate data that tells the industry's story with authority. Takeaways: IWLA's mission to support 3PL warehouse operators through education, advocacy, and research The importance of the 3PL Warehouse Impact Study in benchmarking industry contributions How the Warehouse Advocacy Fund supports critical industry initiatives Why participation from companies of all sizes matters for credible, protected data Stay connected with CSCR on LinkedIn (Center for Supply Chain Research) and Instagram (@pennstatesupplychain), and be sure to follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you are tuning into Unpacked: Insights hosted by the Penn State Smeal Center for Supply Chain Research™. Thank you for joining us!  Visit our website: https://www.smeal.psu.edu/cscr  Guest Bios: Jay Strother serves as president & CEO of the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA), a position he has held since 2023. Strother joined IWLA in 2011 as vice president and executive director of IWLA Canada before assuming his current role. Strother brings decades of association management, communications, and marketing experience to the position. Prior to IWLA, Strother held senior roles at SmithBucklin and the Association of Legal Administrators, where he oversaw editorial, advertising, and design functions and helped shape the association's digital presence. He also served as director of communications at the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce early in his career. He holds a bachelor's degree with honors in English and communications from the University of Tulsa.   Jay Capron (J.C.) serves as the director of strategic initiatives for the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) where he provides leadership in advocacy, marketing and communications, and strategic planning to advance the association's growth initiatives. Capron brings more than 20 years of experience as a professional broadcaster in the radio industry, along with extensive leadership experience in the manufacturing and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining IWLA, Capron served as director of communications and government affairs for ND Paper, the U.S. subsidiary of Nine Dragons, one of the world's largest containerboard manufacturers. In this role, he developed and strengthened relationships with key government stakeholders while leading the execution of a comprehensive strategic communications program.

In this episode, Josh interviews Nathan Resnick, founder of Y-Combinator a sourcing platform. Nathan shares expert advice on negotiating with manufacturers, building strong supplier relationships, and managing payment terms. He discusses the importance of understanding your value to factories, balancing primary and backup suppliers, and regularly re-evaluating product costs. Nathan also offers practical tips on warehousing outside the U.S. to save on tariffs and improve cash flow. The episode wraps up with actionable takeaways for business owners looking to optimize their supply chain and sourcing strategies.Chapters:Introduction to Nathan Resnick and Sourcing (00:00:00)Josh introduces Nathan Resnick, his background, and the Sourcing platform's mission and achievements.Negotiation Tactics and Understanding Factory Value (00:01:00)Nathan explains how to assess your business's value to a factory and leverage it for better payment terms.Factory Cash Flow and Forecasting (00:02:01)Discussion on factory cash flow challenges, importance of forecasting, and mutual understanding in negotiations.Choosing the Right Factory and Negotiation Leverage (00:02:58)Advice on evaluating if you're the right customer for a factory and when to consider switching.How to Find Out Your Importance to a Factory (00:03:55)Nathan shares practical ways to determine your share of a factory's business and the value of building relationships.Building Relationships and Guanxi (00:05:27)The importance of personal, transparent relationships with manufacturers, especially in Chinese business culture.Balancing Primary and Backup Suppliers (00:06:19)Strategies for maintaining a primary manufacturer while having backup options and when switching is worthwhile.Re-evaluating Product Costs and Sourcing Quotes (00:08:31)How to revisit product pricing, get competitive quotes, and the realities of sourcing platforms like Alibaba.Three Actionable Takeaways (00:10:42)Josh summarizes key takeaways: building relationships, revisiting unit costs, and warehousing outside the US.Warehousing and Tariff Strategies (00:13:43)Advice on warehousing in Mexico to save on tariffs and improve cash flow, including 3PL recommendations.Closing and Contact Information (00:14:30)Nathan shares how listeners can connect with him and learn more about Sourcing.Links and Mentions:Tools and Websites  "Sourcify": "00:08:47"  "Alibaba": "00:10:23"  "Global Sources": "00:10:23"  Key Concepts  "Guanxi": "00:05:35"  Actionable Takeaways  "Build a Relationship with Your Manufacturer": "00:11:29"  "Revisit Product Unit Costs Regularly": "00:12:33"  "Start Warehousing Products Outside the U.S.": "00:13:43"  Contact Information  "Nathan Resnick" on LinkedIn: "00:14:44"Transcript:Josh 00:00:00  Today I am super excited to introduce you all to Nathan Resnick. Nathan is the founder of Sourcify, the fastest growing sourcing platform backed by Y Combinator that helps hundreds of companies manufacture products around the world. In the past, Nathan has brought dozens of products to market, ran three e-commerce companies. He's even sold one of them and has been part of projects on Kickstarter, raising over seven figures. He writes for media outlets like entrepreneur, The Next Web Business. Com, and can frequently be seen on CNBC. Nathan also used to live in China and he speaks Mandarin fluently. So with that introduction, welcome to the show, Nathan.Nathan 00:00:41  Josh, thanks so much for having me on.Josh 00:00:43  I'm sure with your experience you have probably some good negotiation tactics. you've probably have a few case studies of people that you've helped, navigate getting better payment terms with their manufacturer. So would you mind just kind of diving in and sharing more there?Nathan 00:01:00  Yeah, totally. I mean, I think first off, you got to understand how valuable your business is to your factory.Nathan 00:01:06  Right. So I would do that by really trying to understand, you know, you make up most of their production output, you know, of all the factories, production volume that you work with, what percentage are you? Is it 30%, 10%, 50%, 80%. You know what? What is it? And then you kind of understand where you're at from a negotiation position, right? Because if you're a brand that makes up the majority of a factory's output, obviously you have a much stronger lever to pull if you're a kind of minority customer for them or a smaller customer for them, then, you know, maybe that's not even the right factory for you to be working with because you don't have a strong lever to pull. So I think, you know, number one, you've got to see eye to eye to eye with them in terms of forecasting and helping them better understand. Well, hey, you know, this year, this is how many units I'm planning to produce. And I think there's a big disconnect between supply chain teams and factories when it comes to forecasting, because a lot of supply chain team members don't understand.Nathan 00:02:01  There are a lot of brand owners don't understand. You know, that factory has to go purchase raw materials to produce your products as well, so they have their own cash flow challenges when it comes to, you know, making sure they have enough factory workers to produce your product, making sure they have the raw materials to produce your product, and then they aren't getting paid, you know, for 30 or 60 days to produce your product if you're negotiating your terms. Well. And so you've got to understand it from their standpoint as well of, you know, hey, how is this going to help their factory grow? Because it can also put them in a cash flow position, which is challenging. And so that's something you need to be aware of when you go into your negotiations. So I think number one, I would just make sure you're seeing eye to eye with that factory that you're working with to understand, you know, how big of a customer am I for them? You know, what does their cash flow look like? And have I done a good job making sure they understand my forecast? And that's when I would go into the negotiation of saying, hey, you know, we're trying to grow and to grow.Nathan 00:02:58  We need more, you know, cash flow to scale up our ads, to get more customers right. And so that's how I would approach it. I think if you're a brand that is, you know, a smaller customer like sub 10% of a factory's output, it's going to be really hard for you to negotiate that. And honestly, in that position, I might actually, you know, kind of take my option to of, you know, trying to ask yourself, am I the best customer for this factory? And can I find a factory where I'm, you know, a much larger customer that I can grow with more? so that's that's another kind of question that I would ask of, trying to understand, like if you already know your small customer for this factory, are they even the right factory for you? and then, you know, it's just.Josh 00:03:41  Real quick, before you continue on that, my question would be on that. How do you have that conversation to say, hey, by the way, how much of your business do I make up, right? Like, that could be an awkward conversat...

Host, Eitan Koter is joined by Leo Rodriguez, Vice President at River Plate Inc., a fulfillment company with over 33 years of experience helping brands ship smarter. River Plate works with everyone from beauty and toy brands to influencer-led lifestyle companies, so Leo has seen pretty much everything. In this episode, Leo talks about why your 3PL should feel like a partner, not just a vendor, how to spot when something is going wrong before it becomes a bigger problem, and what fast growing brands usually get wrong when they start scaling. He also gets into how bundling, returns, and data dashboards all connect back to keeping customers coming back.If your fulfillment partner feels more like a vendor than a partner, this episode will tell you exactly why that's costing you.Website: https://www.vimmi.net Email us: info@vimmi.net Podcast website: https://vimmi.net/mastering-ecommerce-marketing/ Talk to us on Social:Eitan Koter's LinkedIn | Vimmi LinkedIn | YouTube Guest: Leo Rodriguez, Vice President, River Plate, Inc.Leo Rodriguez's LinkedIn | River Plate, Inc.Watch the full Youtube video here:https://youtu.be/U3NQCo3KvakTakeaways:Price is the worst reason to pick a 3PLGet your 3PL involved before you're ready to shipMulti-carrier shipping saves real money at scaleYour fulfillment data is a goldmine, start using itSlow returns processing loses you customersTrack speed, accuracy and chargebacks, everything else is noiseProactive beats reactive every single timeChapters:00:00 Introduction to River Plate and Logistics02:00 Choosing the Right 3PL: Common Mistakes06:25 Optimizing Shipping Costs and Customer Experience12:03 Creating High-Performing Fulfillment Operations14:37 Scaling Operations for Fast-Growing Brands17:41 The Role of 3PLs in Customer Retention20:09 Key Performance Indicators for Logistics22:12 Identifying Red Flags in 3PL Performance25:30 Future Trends in Logistics and E-commerce27:32 Target Customers for River Plate30:46 How to Connect with River Plate

Jensen Cipriano Brehm is the co-founder of Ombraz Sunglasses — the armless, cord-based eyewear brand that started with a broken pair on a camel safari in India and turned into one of the more distinctive product stories in the outdoor industry. In this conversation, Jensen walks through the founding journey, how Ombraz found their first customers in the ultralight backpacking and bikepacking worlds, their approach to building in-house content and media, raising a small round of funding while retaining equity, and how he and co-founder Nikolai run the whole operation remotely.TopicsOrigin story: broken sunglasses on a camel safari in India, four years of wearing a MacGyver'd pair, then building the companyFinding initial traction in ultralight backpacking and then exploding into bikepackingKeeping all content creation in-house — why agencies produce soulless, interchangeable outdoor contentRaising a Series A in 2020 — retaining equity while gaining runway for inventory and hiringDelegating early: 3PL, customer service, and letting go of egoOmbraz's 9 core brand pillars as a decision-making filterCo-founder dynamics with Nikolai — complementary skill sets, business coaching, and the Positive Intelligence frameworkRunning the business fully remote via Slack and monday.comDefining success as low stress, staying creative, and having funLinksOmbraz websiteSarah Swallow on InstagramRonnie Romance on InstagramGOSO CookwarePositive Intelligence by Shirzad ChamineFor more about the KORE Outdoors Podcast, visit https://koreoutdoors.org/podcast/The KORE Outdoors Podcast is supported by the Province of British Columbia.

Welcome to the eCommerce Lab Podcast! In this episode, we feature a special guest: Krushna Patel, CEO of Awesome Solutions. We'll be discussing the importance of partnering with a 3PL (Third-Party Logistics) provider to efficiently scale your business.During the conversation, Krushna shares his experience leading logistics operations and explains how a 3PL can help you optimize costs, improve delivery times, and focus on growing your brand without the burden of managing inventory and shipping.If you are building or scaling an eCommerce business, this episode will provide a clear perspective on why integrating a logistics partner can make all the difference in your operations.#ecomcy #Amazon #amazonfba #amazonseller #amazonbusiness #amazonfbaseller #amazonppc #amazonadvertising #amazonsellercentral #amazonppctips #amazonprivatelabel #amazonselling #amazonseo

CMPC moves pulp, lumber, plywood, and industrial and consumer packaging from 16 manufacturing sites across South America into North America. Roughly 10,000 TEUs and 300,000 tons of breakbulk annually, touching every Incoterm. Charlie sat down to break down what it actually feels like to run that supply chain through live tariff uncertainty, legacy system inertia, and a Manifest conference floor full of vendors asking for 25 minutes to understand how he procures freight.This conversation was originally recorded on March 11th 2026Connect with Charlie and CMPCCharlie's LinkedInCMPC WebsiteCMPC LinkedInWatch this episode on YouTubeOther episodes mentioned: Charlie's visibility panel at Manifest, which Blythe moderatedEiL's Shipper POV series Happy Robot Series B Raise and their founder Pablo Falafox on EiL -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Most e-commerce founders see the fuel crisis in the news and think it's someone else's problem. But if you're shipping products right now, it's already showing up in your bills — and if you're still running last year's shipping model, you're bleeding margin without realising it. Here's the problem: this isn't one cost squeeze. It's three hitting at the same time — carrier rate hikes, fuel surcharges, and geopolitical disruption — and the effective rate increase for most e-com brands right now is sitting between 8 and 12%. In this episode, I walk you through the four moves I'd make right now to protect your margins, from rebuilding your AOV strategy around your new shipping threshold to the packaging audit most founders never think to run. Here's what you'll take away: The actual numbers: what USPS, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, and Australia Post surcharges mean for your cost per order right now How to use the threshold gap strategy to raise your free shipping threshold without killing conversion Why product bundling done right can lift AOV by 30 to 70% — and the real-world example of how a sleep tape brand is doing it with digital add-ons When to seriously consider switching to a 3PL — and the volume crossover point that makes it a no-brainer The dim weight formula and why most brands are literally paying to ship air Why nearly 50% of cart abandonment comes down to surprise shipping costs — and how radical transparency fixes it If you're absorbing these cost increases without a plan, this episode will show you exactly where to start — and how the brands that come out ahead during downturns are already thinking about this differently. If you're loving this solo series, I'd love to hear your feedback. Email me directly at nathan@foundr.com — I read every reply. Hope you enjoy it. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/operators⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast⁠

Today, in episode 324, Adrian is rewinding one of our most popular episodes ever: breaking down the New Product Introduction (NPI) process and why it's the difference between a smooth product launch… and a costly failure. If you've ever: Rushed into tooling too early Hit quality issues in production Faced unexpected delays or rising costs There's a good chance your NPI process wasn't solid. In this episode, Renaud and Adrian walk through what NPI actually looks like in practice, not theory, and how it helps you validate your design, test assumptions, and reduce risk before scaling production. What you'll learn What the NPI process really is (and what most people get wrong) The key stages: requirements → feasibility → prototyping → tooling → pilot run → mass production Why skipping steps leads to expensive problems later How to balance speed vs risk depending on your product and volume Real examples of what goes wrong without a structured process Why this episode matters Too many companies treat NPI as optional, or rush through it to “save time.” In reality, that's usually what creates: Quality failures Supplier issues Cost blowouts Delayed launches This episode explains how to avoid that.   Episode Sections: 00:00:12 — Introduction 00:02:24 — Rewind to the NPI Process 00:05:04 — Understanding the NPI Process 00:08:09 — Prototyping and Feasibility 00:12:57 — Tooling and Production Samples 00:18:01 — Pilot Run and Testing 00:20:56 — Assessing the NPI Process 00:26:08 — Balancing Risks and Quality 00:26:31 — Closing Remarks and Future Topics   Related content… The NPI Process (Includes graphic) Analysing the (NPI) New Product Introduction Process & its Benefits [Podcast] The New Product Introduction Process Guide (Long Read) Remember, we can help you develop and manufacture your new product following our structured NPI process to reduce your risks, and more.   This episode is brought to you by The Sofeast Group and includes links in the show notes to our blog posts and resources, and recommended books. For help with manufacturing in Asia, inspections, auditing, new product development, contract manufacturing, 3PL warehousing and fulfillment, visit sofeast.com.  Get in touch with us Connect with us on LinkedIn Contact us via Sofeast's contact page Subscribe to our YouTube channel Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB

Check out the TIES Sales Showdown at www.tx.ag/TIES Visit The Sales Lab at https://thesaleslab.org and check out all our guests' recommended readings at https://thesaleslab.org/reading-list To listen to The Sales Lab Podcast on your favorite apps, visit https://thesaleslab.simplecast.com/ and select your preferred method of listening. Connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/saleslabpodcast Connect with us on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesaleslab Subscribe to The Sales Lab channel on YouTube at  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp703YWbD3-KO73NXUTBI-Q

In this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, Kevin chats with Dave Harriger, CEO and Founder of Swifthouse, about the evolution of his 3PL business and the journey to implementing a new WMS. Based just outside Philadelphia, Swifthouse supports e-commerce brands with fulfillment services from pick and pack to shipping and tracking. Dave shares how early growth, major client shifts, and operational challenges forced him to rethink his strategy. The conversation explores why defining your niche, building strong processes, and saying no to the wrong clients can ultimately drive better, more sustainable growth.Learn more about our sponsors here: Ocado Intelligent Automation, MPC & IFS Softeon Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube.Support the show

Getting your product to market is one thing. Making sure it's profitable is another. In this episode, Adrian is joined by Paul Adams to break down how product costs really work, and why so many teams get it wrong. From BOM and tooling to logistics and hidden costs, they walk through what goes into your final unit price and how to avoid nasty surprises before launch. They also explore practical design-to-cost strategies, including value engineering, supplier decisions, and smart trade-offs that can significantly reduce costs without compromising quality. If you're developing a product and want to protect your margins, this episode will help you think about cost the right way: early, holistically, and strategically.   Episode Sections: 00:00:12 — What Is Design-to-Cost? 00:00:49 — Why Costing Is Often Overlooked 00:01:55 — The 4 Core Cost Drivers (BOM, NRE, Tooling, Logistics) 00:05:24 — Value Engineering & Smarter Design Decisions 00:08:54 — Reducing Assembly Cost & Complexity 00:10:10 — Supplier Strategy: Cost vs Quality Trade-offs 00:12:20 — Tooling Costs & Budget Pitfalls 00:15:04 — NRE Explained: Hidden One-Time Costs 00:19:40 — Logistics: The Most Underestimated Cost 00:22:52 — Design for Cost: How to Reduce Product Cost 00:28:08 — Why You Must Think About Cost Early 00:31:47 — Biggest Costing Mistakes to Avoid   Related content… Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Why Product Idea Validation Is Crucial Before Spending Big on Development Product Design Cost: 10 Factors That Affect Electronic Products The Benefits of a Feasibility Study (during new product development) 7 Must Do New Product Introduction Tasks For Successful Product Launches The Design for X Approach: 12 Common Examples   This episode is brought to you by The Sofeast Group and includes links in the show notes to our blog posts and resources, and recommended books. For help with manufacturing in Asia, inspections, auditing, new product development, contract manufacturing, 3PL warehousing and fulfillment, visit sofeast.com.    Get in touch with us Connect with us on LinkedIn Contact us via Sofeast's contact page Subscribe to our YouTube channel Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB

This episode is sponsored by ⁠eFulfillment Service⁠, a family-owned 3PL that has been in the business for over 25 years. They handle everything from FBA prep and Amazon overflow warehousing to direct-to-consumer fulfilment, and have built their entire model around making things simple for growing sellers.In this episode, we explore the art and psychology behind the unboxing experience. From first impressions to lasting brand impact, we'll dive into why thoughtful packaging and presentation matter more than ever. Join us as we uncover how a great unboxing moment can turn customers into loyal fans.

This week's episode dives into the massive ripple effects of the Strait of Hormuz closure, which has resulted in Asia-US West Coast ocean spot rates surging by 29%. We explore how shippers are reacting to severe port congestion in Asian transshipment hubs by aggressively paying premium rates to secure desperately needed capacity for the future. Next, we discuss the recent financial boost for Echo Global Logistics, as debt rating agencies Moody's and S&P Global upgraded the 3PL's outlook from stable to positive. This upgraded outlook follows their acquisition of ITS Logistics, which analysts project will significantly improve Echo's free cash flow and boost its EBITDA by over $114 million. Finally, we cover the staggering $4 billion investment by Mercedes-Benz to upgrade its historic assembly plant in Vance, Alabama by 2030. This massive manufacturing expansion will lock in a vital, long-term pipeline of finished vehicle freight for Norfolk Southern, which handles the plant's inbound and outbound logistics. Follow the FreightWaves NOW Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of China Manufacturing Decoded (Ep. 322), host Adrian is joined by Renaud to take a high-level, practical look at product compliance. Many hardware teams think about compliance too late. By the time testing starts, the damage is already done: failed certifications, redesigns, delays, and unexpected costs. In this episode, we break down what product compliance really means and why it needs to be considered from the very beginning of product development. You'll learn: What “compliance” actually covers (it's more than just CE or FCC labels) Why designing without compliance in mind leads to expensive rework The key compliance areas: safety, chemicals, EMC, and more How requirements change depending on your target market (EU, US, etc.) Real ways companies get caught out, and how to avoid it   Episode Sections: 00:00:03 – Introduction & why compliance timing matters 00:01:23 – What product compliance actually means 00:02:24 – Why compliance must be built into design & sourcing 00:04:48 – What happens when products fail compliance testing 00:06:06 – The cost of redesign loops after failed tests 00:08:30 – Compliance explained: beyond CE & FCC labels 00:11:10 – How requirements vary by market (EU, US, global) 00:13:30 – Key compliance categories (chemicals, safety, EMC) 00:16:00 – CE marking, EU rules & US differences (UL, FCC) 00:18:52 – Additional requirements: toys, packaging, batteries 00:21:28 – Common compliance mistakes & supplier pitfalls 00:26:00 – Final takeaway: think about compliance early   Related content… CE Compliance for Manufacturing in Asia: A Beginner's Guide 11 Common Electronic Product Certification And Compliance Requirements Why Smart Devices Fail CE RED or FCC Testing & How to Prevent It Common Compliance & Recall Risks for IoT Devices Sold in the EU & UK US Consumer Electronics Compliance Basics Your Product is NOT Compliant in the EU or UK if You Don't Have All of its Technical Files Reliability vs. Compliance: Both Matter Equally for Your New Product Launch   This episode is brought to you by The Sofeast Group and includes links in the show notes to our blog posts and resources, and recommended books. For help with manufacturing in Asia, inspections, auditing, new product development, contract manufacturing, 3PL warehousing and fulfillment, visit sofeast.com.  Get in touch with us Connect with us on LinkedIn Contact us via Sofeast's contact page Subscribe to our YouTube channel Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB

A 3PL moving 5,000 containers a year can bleed about $120,000 in avoidable detention and demurrage. Tyler Hughes says the fix is not another pretty dashboard. It is cleaner data, better reconciliation, and fewer blind spots when the container hits drayage.In this episodeWhy ocean visibility still breaks even when everyone says they have dataHow Vizion cleans carrier, vessel, terminal, rail, and truck events into something usableWhy standards matter less than the ugly backend work of mapping bad source dataThe real cost of dirty ETA data, including avoidable detention and demurrageWhat Tyler sees in the 2026 container trade outlook, from China to Southeast AsiaWhy drayage is still the biggest black box in end-to-end visibilityHow predictive ETA helps teams move from reactive updates to proactive planningWatch the episode on YouTubeLinksLearn more about Vizion: https://www.vizionapi.com/Follow Tyler Hughes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerlh/Feedback? Ideas for a future episode? Shoot us a text here to let us know. -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

Sam Moore, founder of PYRA, has built one of Australia's most exciting challenger brands by blending technical outdoor apparel with streetwear DNA. After early roles at General Pants and Culture Kings, and a first brand that didn't quite go to plan, Sam launched PYRA with a clear vision: bridge the gap between performance gear and fashion. What followed was rapid growth inside Culture Kings, a complex buyback, and a full reset into a DTC-first global brand.Today, we're discussing:Building PYRA inside Culture Kings and buying it backThe shift from wholesale to a 90% DTC model Why niche positioning beats broad appeal in ecommerce Turning a brand into a UGC machine Using entry products (like hats) to drive LTV Scaling globally through Meta and Shopify Markets Product development in technical apparel Managing supply chain, 3PL, and global logisticsConnect with SamExplore PYRASMS us to request a guest!Support the showWant to level up your ecommerce game? Come hang out in the Add To Cart Community. We're talking deep dives, smart events, and real-world inspo for operators who are in it for the long haul.Connect with Nathan BushContact Add To CartJoin the Community

What does it actually take to grow a product business to eight figures? In this episode, Kareem Raslan, Co-Founder of BrainGain, shares how he built an adjustable dumbbell company into an eight-figure business in just five years. The secret? Focusing on supply chain optimization, conversion rates, profitability, and doing the hard things most founders avoid. Listen in to learn how Kareem balanced building a business while working in banking, why making the first order profitable is critical, how to increase conversion rates, and how to expand into international markets like the UK and Europe. We also discuss finding your competitive advantage, choosing the right 3PL partner, using customer surveys to improve your business, and why focusing on the highest-impact activities is one of the most important skills a business owner can develop. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/mu697n6h  Interested in our Private Community for 7-Figure Store Owners?  Learn more here.   Want to hear about new episodes and eCommerce news round-ups?  Subscribe via email.

Kevin chats with Vincent Fletcher of Carton Cloud, alongside Shaun Hagen, live from Manifest 2026 in Las Vegas. Carton Cloud offers a combined warehouse and transport management system built from real 3PL operations. The conversation centers on how 3PLs are navigating rising volumes, labor constraints, and shifting customer demands. Fletcher and Hagen share how Carton Cloud is helping operators stay flexible and scale effectively, especially as workflows evolve from traditional B2B models to high-volume e-commerce fulfillment.Learn more about sponsors here: EPG, iAutomate, Big Joe Forklifts, Surgere, Ocado Intelligent Automation Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube.Support the show

Some teams try to reduce product costs too late, after the product design is already locked in. That's when options are limited, margins get squeezed or totally blown, and difficult trade-offs start to appear. In today's episode (321), our host Adrian and Sofeast's CEO, Renaud Anjoran, break down why cost is largely decided in the early design stages, and how a design-to-cost approach helps you hit your target price from the start, without sacrificing quality or functionality. They explain how to set a realistic cost target, work backwards from your retail price, and make smarter decisions on components, features, and manufacturing methods. Along the way, they highlight common mistakes that lead to expensive redesigns (or even product failure), and share practical strategies to keep costs under control throughout development. We hope that this episode will help you rethink how and when cost decisions should be made.   Episode Sections: 00:00:03 – Introduction & industry context 00:01:15 – Why reducing cost late rarely works 00:02:09 – How costs get locked in early 00:04:58 – What “design to cost” really means 00:06:59 – Designing within cost constraints 00:10:29 – The biggest cost reduction levers 00:11:29 – Cutting features without losing value 00:14:35 – Main drivers of product cost 00:19:04 – Common mistakes that increase costs 00:26:19 – Why simplicity improves cost and reliability 00:27:19 – Practical design-to-cost strategies 00:30:29 – Case study: the Coolest Cooler failure 00:31:49 – Final takeaway: design for cost from day one   Related content… Design for Manufacturing (DFM) The New Product Introduction Process Guide The Benefits of a Feasibility Study (during new product development) 7 Must Do New Product Introduction Tasks For Successful Product Launches The Design for X Approach: 12 Common Examples Elon Musk's New Product Introduction Philosophy: What Can We Learn? [Podcast] Crowdfunding Failures: 4 Great Prototypes That Failed To Launch   This episode is brought to you by The Sofeast Group and includes links in the show notes to our blog posts and resources, and recommended books. For help with manufacturing in Asia, inspections, auditing, new product development, contract manufacturing, 3PL warehousing and fulfillment, visit sofeast.com.  Get in touch with us Connect with us on LinkedIn Contact us via Sofeast's contact page Subscribe to our YouTube channel Prefer Facebook? Check us out on FB

In this session from the Retail Collective Summit, founders and CEOs from Rags, &Collar, Beard Club, Caddis Sports, 47G and Spreetail dissect the shifting balance between D2C and marketplaces like Amazon and TikTok Shop.  The conversation reveals the raw reality of channel profitability, comparing high D2C gross margins against the lower acquisition costs and fulfillment efficiencies found on Amazon.The panel explores tactical "Trojan Horse" plays—using marketplaces for demand capture and customer acquisition, then driving that traffic back to branded sites for premium experiences and long-term loyalty. From navigating the "nerves" of TikTok Shop to the importance of "lean and mean" operations, these leaders share why being where the consumer already exists is the ultimate competitive advantage. Finally, the group discusses the future of retail operations, including the strategic use of 3PL partners and the role of AI in streamlining creative testing and SEO. Whether you're building a brand moat or optimizing for higher LTV, this episode provides a masterclass in staying nimble in a volatile market.  

In this “hump day” edition of WHAT THE TRUCK, host Malcolm Harris takes the wheel solo while co-host Michael Vincent is on vacation. The episode dives deep into the “black hole” of the supply chain—the yard—and explores the evolving landscape of logistics recruiting and company culture.KEY TOPICS & SEGMENTS:• Modernizing Yard Logistics: Darin Brannan, CEO of Terminal Industries, discusses the shift from traditional Yard Management Systems (YMS) to advanced Yard Operating Systems. He explains how Terminal Industries uses AI and computer vision to eliminate paperwork and streamline processes, aiming to solve the “gate math” problem that often leads to massive traffic jams and wasted time for truckers.• The Future of Logistics Talent: Ryan Paul, President of Logitalent joins the show to discuss the past, present, and future of logistics recruiting. The conversation covers the importance of people and culture in the 3PL and brokerage space, as well as how companies are navigating a changing workforce. Watch on YouTube Visit our sponsor - JJ KELLER Subscribe to the WTT newsletter Apple Podcasts Spotify More FreightWaves Podcasts #WHATTHETRUCK #FreightNews #supplychain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this “hump day” edition of WHAT THE TRUCK, host Malcolm Harris takes the wheel solo while co-host Michael Vincent is on vacation. The episode dives deep into the “black hole” of the supply chain—the yard—and explores the evolving landscape of logistics recruiting and company culture.KEY TOPICS & SEGMENTS:• Modernizing Yard Logistics: Darin Brannan, CEO of Terminal Industries, discusses the shift from traditional Yard Management Systems (YMS) to advanced Yard Operating Systems. He explains how Terminal Industries uses AI and computer vision to eliminate paperwork and streamline processes, aiming to solve the “gate math” problem that often leads to massive traffic jams and wasted time for truckers.• The Future of Logistics Talent: Ryan Paul, President of Logitalent joins the show to discuss the past, present, and future of logistics recruiting. The conversation covers the importance of people and culture in the 3PL and brokerage space, as well as how companies are navigating a changing workforce. Watch on YouTube Visit our sponsor - JJ KELLER Subscribe to the WTT newsletter Apple Podcasts Spotify More FreightWaves Podcasts #WHATTHETRUCK #FreightNews #supplychain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allison Lee, founder and CEO of Revive, chats with Jenny Fielding, GP of Everywhere VenturesIn episode 112 of Venture Everywhere, Jenny Fielding, managing partner at Everywhere Ventures, talks with Allison Lee, co-founder and CEO of Revive — a turnkey virtual tailoring solution that helps fashion brands reduce returns and dead stock by refurbishing and reselling garments. Allison shares how a pandemic-forced pivot exposed a damages problem every brand was quietly absorbing but no one was solving. She discusses how Revive challenges the industry consensus that damaged inventory is a write-off, instead unifying item-level inspection, refurbishment, and resale into one system that recovers value brands didn't know they had.In this episode, you will hear:Replacing SKU-level inventory systems with item-level inspection and decisioning.Bridging the gap between brand needs and 3PL capabilities.Refurbishment as a higher-recovery alternative to donation and liquidation.Live commerce as the resale channel for Gen Z shoppers.Human-in-the-loop operations where AI augments rather than replaces physical inspection.Learn more about Allison Lee | ReviveLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonhyeinleeWebsite: https://www.byrevive.com/Learn more about Jenny Fielding | Everywhere VCLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyfieldingWebsite: https://everywhere.vc/

Most people see a Ryder truck on the highway and think "trucking company." That's not wrong — but it's missing 100 million square feet of warehouse space and 2,000 autonomous robots.Gary Allen is the VP of Supply Chain Excellence at Ryder, and he stopped by the Everything is Logistics podcast booth at Manifest to talk tech selection, the build vs. buy debate, and what it actually takes to navigate a market with thousands of freight tech vendors when you're operating at this scale.Spoiler: it takes a team of 90 data engineers, a VC fund, and a willingness to evaluate 400+ companies before you commit to anything.——————————————IN THIS EPISODE——————————————□ Why asset ownership doesn't change the fundamental tech questions you need to answer first□ How Ryder evaluated 400+ warehouse automation companies in 3 years (and what makes the cut)□ Why Ryder runs ~30 different WMS systems across its network — and why that's a problem they're actively solving□ The Baton acquisition, Ryder Ventures VC fund, and why they decided to build what the market couldn't provide□ The "product mindset vs. project mindset" shift that changes everything about how you deploy tech□ Agentic AI real talk: what's actually working (call centers, document extraction, labor planning) vs. what's still early□ The warehouse automation ladder: AMRs → autonomous forklifts → storage/retrieval systems → humanoids□ What the timeline on lights-out warehouses might actually look likeWatch this episode on YouTube——————————————LINKS & RESOURCES——————————————□ Connect with Gary Allen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/grallen1/□ Learn more about Ryder: ryder.com□ Ryder Ventures: https://www.ryder.com/en-us/ryderventuresPrevious Ryder episodes: □ VP of Supply Chain Ops Kristy Killingbeck□ Baton's Nate RobertFeedback? Ideas for a future episode? Shoot us a text here to let us know. -----------------------------------------THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!SPI Logistics has been a Day 1 supporter of this podcast which is why we're proud to promote them in every episode. During that time, we've gotten to know the team and their agents to confidently say they are the best home for freight agents in North America for 40 years and counting. Listen to past episodes to hear why.CargoRex is the search engine for the logistics industry—connecting LSPs with the right tools, services, events, and creators to explore, discover, and evolve.Digital Dispatch maximizes and manages your #1 sales tool with a website that establishes trust and builds rock-solid relationships with your leads and customers. 

In this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, Kevin chats with Abby Nawrocki, CEO and Founder of Stock. Abby brings deep experience in operations and logistics, having worked with companies like DHL, Radial, Shopify, and Flexport. Her company, Stock, focuses on solving a growing supply chain problem: excess 3PL inventory. Through a marketplace model, Stock connects warehouses and brands with nonprofit organizations that can use surplus goods. The conversation explores how excess 3PL inventory builds up, why traditional liquidation often fails, and how alternative channels, such as donation, can create both financial and social value for modern warehouse operators.Learn more about sponsors here: EPG, iAutomate, Big Joe Forklifts, Surgere, Ocado Intelligent Automation Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube.Support the show

Welcome to a brand new edition of WHAT THE TRUCK?!? with your hosts Malcolm Harris and “The Dude,” Michael Vincent. In this episode, we dive deep into the massive shifts happening across the supply chain, from blockbuster rail mergers to high-stakes international trade lawsuits.Guest Lineup:• Tim Crawford, CEO of Tenstreet: Tim returns to the show to discuss the critical operational side of the industry. We explore the latest trends in driver hiring, retention, and how fleets are staying ahead of safety compliance and changing risks.• Jonathan Briffa, Managing Director at Republic Partners: Jonathan joins us to break down the current Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) landscape. We talk through the trends in the 3PL space and what buyers are actually looking for in today's market—hint: it's all about profitable growth.Episode Highlights:Episode Highlights:• The Union Pacific/Southern Merger: We discuss the controversy surrounding Jim Vina's “blockbuster” rail merger. Is this a move toward much-needed modernization, or will it cause the same service disasters seen in past consolidations?• Nintendo vs. The U.S. Government: Why is the gaming giant filing a lawsuit over billions in tariffs? We break down the legal battle over the use of emergency authority (IEEPA) and what it means for companies importing from China and Vietnam.• Magenta is the New Green: You might notice a color change in the studio! We're celebrating our new supporting sponsor, T-Mobile for Business, and discussing why “magenta” is the theme for the month. Watch on YouTube Visit our sponsor - JJ KELLER Subscribe to the WTT newsletter Apple Podcasts Spotify More FreightWaves Podcasts #WHATTHETRUCK #FreightNews #supplychain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, recorded live from Manifest 2026. Kevin chats with Michelle Harris, a leader at Our Serviceworks (OSW), a Dallas-based 3PL providing outsourced customer care and fulfillment services. With roots going back to 1988, OSW has evolved alongside its customers, expanding from customer care into fulfillment while keeping culture and experience front and center. In this conversation, Harris shares how carrier strategy, operational discipline, and people-first hiring shape the fulfillment experience brands and customers actually feel.Learn more about sponsors here: EPG, iAutomate, Big Joe Forklifts, Surgere, Ocado Intelligent Automation Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube.Support the show

Welcome to a brand new edition of WHAT THE TRUCK?!? with your hosts Malcolm Harris and “The Dude,” Michael Vincent. In this episode, we dive deep into the massive shifts happening across the supply chain, from blockbuster rail mergers to high-stakes international trade lawsuits.Guest Lineup:• Tim Crawford, CEO of Tenstreet: Tim returns to the show to discuss the critical operational side of the industry. We explore the latest trends in driver hiring, retention, and how fleets are staying ahead of safety compliance and changing risks.• Jonathan Briffa, Managing Director at Republic Partners: Jonathan joins us to break down the current Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) landscape. We talk through the trends in the 3PL space and what buyers are actually looking for in today's market—hint: it's all about profitable growth.Episode Highlights:Episode Highlights:• The Union Pacific/Southern Merger: We discuss the controversy surrounding Jim Vina's “blockbuster” rail merger. Is this a move toward much-needed modernization, or will it cause the same service disasters seen in past consolidations?• Nintendo vs. The U.S. Government: Why is the gaming giant filing a lawsuit over billions in tariffs? We break down the legal battle over the use of emergency authority (IEEPA) and what it means for companies importing from China and Vietnam.• Magenta is the New Green: You might notice a color change in the studio! We're celebrating our new supporting sponsor, T-Mobile for Business, and discussing why “magenta” is the theme for the month. Watch on YouTube Visit our sponsor - JJ KELLER Subscribe to the WTT newsletter Apple Podcasts Spotify More FreightWaves Podcasts #WHATTHETRUCK #FreightNews #supplychain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sustainability became his unfair advantage on Amazon. A veteran textile designer reveals the data-first moves, fee-saving AWD shifts, and the tester story behind the explosive growth.

The old DTC playbook is dying. And most brands don't even realize it yet.In this episode, Nik sits down to talk about how DTC has evolved, why lean and profitable is the new thing, and what the next five years of ecom will actually look like. Nik explains the shift toward what he calls performance branding, where brand and measurable performance work together instead of competing for budget. They break down the real growth ceilings brands hit at $5M, $20M, and beyond - and why performance marketing alone eventually stops working. They also cover tariffs, shipping arbitrage, hidden 3PL fees, inventory risk, app bloat, Shopify's evolution, and why context and operator skill will matter more than ever. If you're building a brand in 2026 and beyond, this episode is a blueprint for staying lean, fast, and culturally relevant in a world where everyone has access to the same tools. Roku pioneered streaming on TV. We connect users to the content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising.roku.com/limitedsupply⁠⁠⁠⁠. Want more DTC advice? Check out the Limited Supply YouTube page for more insider tips.   Check out the Nik's DTC newsletter: https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ   And if you're looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the Limited Supply Slack Channel for Nik's most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts.   Follow Nik: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why retail is now a demand chain, not a supply chain How AMRs deliver 6–12 month ROI in high-variability e-commerce Why robotics-as-a-service changes peak capacity planning The real bottleneck in AI adoption: structured WMS data Why dashboards are dying and exception-based orchestration is rising How consolidation will reshape 3PL economics Why operational excellence remains the ultimate differentiator HIGHLIGHTS 00:01–00:12 | Consumer expectations and the “fast + free + cheap” reality 00:12–00:15 | AMRs, ASRS, RaaS, and 6–12 month automation ROI 00:15–00:16 | Buy vs build: what's commodity vs “secret sauce” 00:16–00:19 | Agentic AI in warehouse ops: labor planning + execution 00:19–00:22 | AI proof, case studies, and demand planning as the next frontier 00:22–00:24 | Dashboards vs operators: turning analytics into actions 00:24–00:28 | Operator advice: efficiency, mechanization, and competition shifts 00:29–00:31 | Manifest trends: retail channels evolving + tech-driven 3PL future QUOTES  [00:04:10] “One of the biggest changes is you used to have a choice. You could either have it fast, you could have it free, or you could have it cheap. The consumer today wants all three.” – Jeff Wolpov [00:05:10] “We as logistics supply chain companies need to lean in and figure out how to do more with less. Today it's a necessity.” – Jeff Wolpov [00:07:30] “You need automation... We need to be faster and more flexible. Peaks have gotten much higher.” – Jeff Wolpov [00:16:00] "The hard part isn't building AI or using AI. It's what do you do with the results?" - Gary Allen [00:16:50] “Operators shouldn't hunt dashboards, they should get alerts, exception-based triggers. AI takes analytics to the next level.” – Gary Allen [00:23:00] "Reporting is the death of analytics." - Gary Allen  ABOUT THE GUESTS Jeff Wolpov Jeff Wolpov is Senior Vice President of E-commerce and Ryder Last Mile at Ryder System, Inc., where he leads the vision and strategy for omnichannel fulfillment and big & bulky home delivery. Previously, he served as CEO of Whiplash (formerly Port Logistics Group), achieving nearly 30% year-over-year revenue growth before its acquisition by Ryder in 2022. Earlier in his career, Jeff founded Distribution Solutions, scaling it from a startup into a $50 million regional logistics firm that became the foundation of Whiplash's national network. He holds a degree from the University of Michigan. Gary Allen Gary Allen is Vice President of Supply Chain Excellence at Ryder, overseeing Solution Design, Continuous Improvement, Data Analytics, and Automation across the supply chain organization. With more than 32 years of experience, he previously led EY's logistics consulting practice and held leadership roles at DHL and FedEx in product innovation, solution design, sustainability, and operations. Gary helped launch and co-author the “Annual Third Party Logistics Study” with Dr. John Langley of Penn State University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Materials and Logistics Management from Michigan State University. LINKS MENTIONED Ryder report: https://www.ryder.com/en-us/insights/white-papers/e-comm/2025-ryder-e-commerce-consumer-study Ryder website: https://www.ryder.com/en-us Subscribe and Keep Learning!If you're a logistics leader looking to scale sustainably, don't miss out! Subscribe for more expert strategies on tackling modern supply chain challenges.Be sure to follow and tag the eCom Logistics Podcast on LinkedIn and YouTube

In this episode of the Grow A Small Business Podcast, host Troy Trewin interviews Daniel McDonnell co-founder of Maple Movement, shares how severe gut health issues during his professional Ironman career led him to discover the power of maple syrup as a natural fuel source and launch Maple Movement. What began as a house-deposit gamble quickly evolved into a fast-growing gut-friendly energy gel brand now stocked in 125+ stores across Australia and New Zealand. Daniel opens up about bootstrapping the business, learning margins from scratch, managing rapid growth from his living room, and transitioning to a 3PL. He dives into brand positioning, organic content strategy, subscription revenue, and building a lean, aligned team. It's a raw, practical story of turning personal pain into a scalable FMCG business with purpose and momentum. Why would you wait any longer to start living the lifestyle you signed up for? Balance your health, wealth, relationships and business growth. And focus your time and energy and make the most of this year. Let's get into it by clicking here. Troy delves into our guest's startup journey, their perception of success, industry reconsideration, and the pivotal stress point during business expansion. They discuss the joys of small business growth, vital entrepreneurial habits, and strategies for team building, encompassing wins, blunders, and invaluable advice. And a snapshot of the final five Grow A Small Business Questions: What do you think is the hardest thing in growing a small business? According to Daniel McDonnell, the hardest part of growing a small business is keeping up with rapid growth before scalable systems are fully in place, especially during big sales months when demand spikes beyond operational capacity. He shared how he and his wife were packing nearly 95 orders a day from their living room while trying to maintain a personal brand touch, highlighting that the real challenge wasn't generating sales but managing growth sustainably while building the right infrastructure to support it. What's your favorite business book that has helped you the most? Daniel said his favorite business book that's helped him the most is "Built to Sell" by John Warrillow — a practical guide about structuring and scaling a business so it's not dependent on the founder and becomes sellable. He's mentioned it shaped how he thinks about systems, value creation, and building something that can run beyond him. Are there any great podcasts or online learning resources you'd recommend to help grow a small business? According to Daniel McDonnell, one podcast he highly recommends for small business growth is Chew the Fat by the Greive brothers, where they share real, relatable stories after building and exiting Realbase. He values listening to founders who have scaled and exited businesses, as their practical lessons help avoid costly mistakes. Daniel also emphasizes learning directly from experienced mentors and operators rather than figuring everything out the hard way. For him, real-world business conversations and founder-led insights have been the most impactful learning resources. What tool or resource would you recommend to grow a small business? Daniel McDonnell would point to a tool that helps you systemize and scale without chaos, and one he personally recommends is Notion — it's where he organizes products, SOPs, content calendars, order processes, and more in one place so nothing slips through the cracks. He also emphasizes tools for automating the parts of your business that don't need manual work, like Mailchimp or Klaviyo for email automation, and Shopify + a good 3PL integration to handle orders cleanly as volume grows. For analytics and ads, basic dashboards like Google Analytics and Facebook/Meta Business Suite help you make smarter decisions instead of guessing. The key, he says, isn't having every tool under the sun — it's picking the ones that actually save you time and help you standardize your processes so the business can scale. What advice would you give yourself on day one of starting out in business? According to Daniel McDonnell, on day one he would tell himself to raise far more capital than he thinks he needs, understand margins and cash flow from the start, and build scalable systems early—because growth can come fast, but without enough cash and structure, it becomes far more stressful than it needs to be. Book a 20-minute Growth Chat with Troy Trewin to see if you qualify for our upcoming course. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your small business to new heights! Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey.     Quotable quotes from our special Grow A Small Business podcast guest: Solve a real problem and the market will pull you forward - Daniel McDonnell When the team wins in their own lane the whole brand moves faster - Daniel McDonnell Build systems early because growth exposes every weakness - Daniel McDonnell      

Scott Dancy is the founder and CEO of Azuna, a fast-growing brand in the natural air freshener space. With a background in staffing, technology, and several entrepreneurial ventures, Scott started Azuna in Buffalo in 2019, scaling the business from hand-packaging orders to becoming the world's largest purchaser of tea tree oil and achieving significant success in both DTC and Amazon channels. In this episode of DTC Pod, Scott shares his journey of launching Azuna, from navigating supply chain challenges and product R&D to unlocking consistent growth and managing cash flow as order volumes soared. He covers the pivotal product decisions, strategies for boosting AOV, lessons from high-profile partnerships, and Azuna's approach to retail expansion. Scott also offers practical advice for founders on knowing their numbers, avoiding expensive mistakes, and building a team that's invested in the brand's success. Episode brought to you by Stord - 3PL for Commerce Episode brought to you by EMF Radar - Health Starts with EMF Safety in mind Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack. On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover: 1. Scott Dancy's entrepreneurial background and Azuna's origin story 2. Early-stage bootstrapping: packaging, fulfillment, and ad writing 3. Scaling operations: manufacturing, 3PLs, and hiring expert talent 4. Product and packaging strategy: sustainable materials, bundling, and raising AOV 5. Building a brand moat with proprietary tea tree oil sourcing 6. Subscription economics and customer retention strategies 7. Navigating cash flow, funding growth, and working with MCAs 8. Knowing key metrics: revenue, gross profit, AOV, and cash allocation 9. D2C vs Amazon vs retail channel strategy 10. In-house vs agency operations and pitfalls 11. Brand marketing and influencer partnerships 12. Lessons learned from sports and celebrity partnerships 13. Timing retail entry and optimizing product mix for channels 14. Importance of customer service and product quality 15. Entrepreneurial learnings: failures, details, and staying data-driven Timestamps 00:00 Scott Dancy's background and founding Azuna 03:05 The “aha moment”—tea tree oil product discovery 04:10 Early days of hand-packaging, first sales, COVID impact 05:36 Scaling up: building the team, manufacturing, growth in Buffalo 07:14 Transition to 3PL and challenges of scaling past $10M 08:10 Product development, bundling, and packaging strategy 10:05 Target audience and tea tree oil sourcing 13:41 Growth channels: Meta, Google, and influencer seeding 15:53 Subscription model economics and retention 19:03 Funding growth: inventory buys, cash flow, using Clearco 22:24 Data-driven decisions and knowing your numbers 26:25 Channel mix: Amazon, DTC, retail launch, pricing strategy 32:00 Learning from agency mistakes and shiny object syndrome 35:06 Retail timing, product mix, and learnings from entering stores 42:02 Brand partnerships: AKC, NFL, influencer marketing 46:44 Final lessons and what Scott would have done differently 47:50 Where to find Azuna and connect with Scott Show notes powered by Castmagic Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.   Additional episodes you might like: • #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth • #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content • #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views • #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands • #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook • ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands ----- Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you. Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox? Check out our newsletter here. Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for Content Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Scott Dancy - CEO & Founder of AzunaBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

In this episode, host Josh interviews Afolabi Oyerokun, co-founder of Honu Worldwide, about his journey building successful Amazon brands. Afolabi shares key lessons he'd apply if starting over: focus on innovation, automate processes, and prioritize time for rest and strategic thinking. He emphasizes creating unique products, niching down, and protecting intellectual property through patents and copyrights. Afolabi also discusses using data-driven research for product development and effective listing strategies. The episode offers actionable insights for entrepreneurs aiming to scale and protect their e-commerce businesses.Chapters:Introduction & Guest Background (00:00:00)Josh introduces Afolabi Oyerokun, his background, and achievements in product development and Amazon businesses.Lessons Learned & The Importance of Freedom (00:00:56)Afolabi discusses lessons from his Amazon journey, emphasizing the original goal of freedom and challenges faced.Three Key Takeaways: Innovate, Automate, Rest (00:02:21)Afolabi outlines his three main takeaways: innovate, automate, and allocate more time for thinking and rest.The Power of Innovation & Niching Down (00:04:58)Afolabi explains the importance of innovation, creating unique products, and niching down to dominate categories.Protecting Intellectual Property (00:08:30)Discussion on the necessity of protecting product designs with patents and copyrights, and the types used.Case Study: Copyright Enforcement on Amazon (00:10:24)Afolabi shares a real example of using copyright to remove copycats and restore sales on Amazon.The Value of IP in Brand Exits (00:12:19)Afolabi describes how intellectual property increased the value and appeal of his brands during exit.Finding Design Inspiration & Trend Analysis (00:14:08)Afolabi details how they research trends, combine successful patterns, and create standout product and packaging designs.Product Listing Strategy: Variations vs. Standalone (00:16:20)Afolabi explains their approach to listing products as separate items rather than variations to maximize search visibility.Closing & Future Topics (00:17:11)Josh thanks Afolabi and hints at future discussions on supply chain topics.Links and Mentions:Tools and Websites  "Honu Worldwide": "00:03:00""Data Dive": "00:14:30"Concepts and Ideas  "Innovation": "00:04:58"  "Automation": "00:04:58"  "Thinking Time": "00:04:58"  "Design Patents": "00:08:37"  "Utility Patents": "00:08:37"  "Copyrights": "00:08:37"  "Intellectual Property (IP)": "00:12:19"  Key Takeaways  "Niche Down and Innovate": "00:06:45"  "Protect Your Ideas": "00:08:30"  "Create Unique Designs": "00:14:30"  Notable Quotes  "Your business is in your IP.": "00:12:19"  "If you don't have any IP, you don't have a business.": "00:12:19"Transcript:Josh 00:00:00  Today I'm really excited to introduce you to Afolabi Oyerokun. He is the co-founder of Honu Worldwide and Innovative Product Development, Sourcing and 3PL company based in Pennsylvania. Afolabi has always been a has always been passionate about finding things, haggling and negotiating prices. His obsession with finding good quality products at bargain prices led him to help several seven and eight figure brands increase their profits and scale rapidly by buying smart from Asia and the US. He is behind the successful launches of several multi-million dollar products on Amazon and other retail channels. An entrepreneur at heart, Afolabi owns and has sold a few seven figure private label brands. He loves helping people design, develop and manufacture innovative products. Welcome to the show.Afolabi 00:00:53  Thank you Josh. I'm happy to be here. I'm excited.Josh 00:00:56  You know, if you were to restart on Amazon, which I think that's what you're doing now, is you're creating some new brands and launching them on Amazon. What are some of those lessons, actionable takeaways that you can give to other sellers to say, hey, here are the challenges that we faced at different points in the business, that I'm going to make sure that we don't go through these same challenges again in the future.Josh 00:01:20  If you wouldn't mind breaking some of those lessons learned for us. Breaking it down.Afolabi 00:01:25  I'm going to, if I were to start all over again, I'm also going to weave some stories and past experiences into it. So when somebody goes into E-comm, you're starting your e-commerce or you're starting your Amazon business. Sometimes we forget the reason why we started in the first place. We forget the reason why we quit our jobs and we went into e-commerce. For me, my main driver was freedom. I wanted freedom, I wanted to be. I wanted to be able to control my time. I wanted to be able to be there for my family any day, any time. I wanted to be able to take off. If I want to take off, I want to take off, you know? Yeah. So you start this e-com business and you're married to it. You know, you're you're you're waking up 3 a.m. in the morning. You're, you know, you're sleeping late at night. So eventually it defeats the purpose of why you started in the first place.Afolabi 00:02:21  So we found ourselves caught up in all those things. You know, me and my business partner, we would fight each other. You know why? Why? You know why are we running out of stock? I'm like, I didn't know that product was going to run out of stock, you know? You know, we didn't have a good system in place and we didn't have the freedom or anything. So going back now, looking back to where we came from to now, there are three things I'm going to do differently this time. First, I'm going to innovate. Second, I'm going to automate. Third, I'm going to have a lot of free time to think. Because for me, I believe that thinking time is a very creative time. I believe that your rest time is very important. People ask me, you know, you know, jokingly, maybe I'm speaking to Norm, I mean, Norm. You know, there's my business partner on you. You know, he picks, you know, he picks up on me a lot.Afolabi 00:03:19  He's like, hey, I love you. What did you do this weekend? I'm like, no, I did nothing. I just sat on my couch and I was watching soccer all day. I was not doing nothing. You know, sometimes he calls me. I said, I'm going to stop disturbing me. I'm on the field with my son. We're playing soccer here. Please. You know. Yeah.Josh 00:03:41  So, yeah.Afolabi 00:03:42  Freedom. Time to spend time with your loved one is very important. So I'll make sure that this time I automate so that I can free up myself to do whatever I want whenever I wanted to do it. I don't want anything just pressuring me down all the time. Because when I'm thinking I'm creating things that are so valuable in my rest time. Yeah, I could be sitting on a lounge. I mean, on a on a on a recliner. And you, you know, you when you're relaxed, when your mind is at rest, you so many creative ideas come to you and you can look into your business and, and actually spot all the things you are doing wrong when you're in a relaxed mode, you know?Josh 00:04:26  Yeah.Josh 00:04:27  So you're you're kind of three takeaways then, right? If you were to restart would be to innovate, automate and then have more time for thinking and just downtime in general. Right. So...

In this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, Kevin chats with Drake Meyer, VP of Operations at Atomix. Atomix is a fast-growing 3PL with locations in Milwaukee, Salt Lake City, and Baltimore, and it operates on its own in-house WMS. Drake shares his path from forklift driver to executive leadership and explains how warehouse continuous improvement drives performance. The conversation covers culture, WMS strategy, robotics, AI, and practical lessons from large-scale operational transformations. From reducing audit labor to building a data-first mindset, Drake offers grounded insights for warehouse leaders focused on sustainable growth.Learn more about Sonaria here. Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube.Support the show

In "An Insider's Guide to Small Parcel Shipping", Joe Lynch and Glenn Gooding, Founder of Gooding Supply Chain Advisors and host of the Chain of Command podcast, discuss strategies to navigate today's complex multi-carrier landscape and reduce costs through data-driven optimization. About Glenn Gooding Glenn Gooding is the Founder of Gooding Supply Chain Advisors and host of the Chain of Command podcast. With 40 years in supply chain and logistics, Glenn brings a rare combination of carrier-side and shipper-side expertise to every engagement. He spent 21 years at UPS in Operations, Industrial Engineering, and Enterprise Pricing before spending 19 years helping shippers optimize their transportation networks — delivering over $500 million in quantified savings across Fortune 50 companies, high-growth eCommerce brands, and third-party logistics providers. Glenn specializes in small parcel, LTL, and truckload optimization, and is known for his carrier-agnostic, data-driven approach to supply chain strategy. About Gooding Supply Chain Advisors Gooding Supply Chain Advisors helps shippers develop and maintain best-in-class supply chains. Founded in 2025 and built on four decades of industry experience, the firm provides comprehensive optimization services including carrier agreement analysis, rate benchmarking, accessorial cost mitigation, carrier mix optimization, and ongoing contract monitoring. GSCA operates as an extension of the client's team — performing deep analysis, developing negotiation strategy, and building carrier-facing business cases while the client maintains direct carrier relationships. The firm's performance-based fee structure aligns its success with its clients', and its carrier-agnostic approach ensures recommendations are always driven by data, not carrier affiliations. Key Takeaways: An Insider's Guide to Small Parcel Shipping In "An Insider's Guide to Small Parcel Shipping", Joe Lynch and Glenn Gooding, Founder of Gooding Supply Chain Advisors and host of the Chain of Command podcast, discuss strategies to navigate today's complex multi-carrier landscape and reduce costs through data-driven optimization. The "Cube-Out" Revolution: Small parcel shipping has shifted from "weighing out" (hitting weight limits) to "cubing out" (filling volume). Because ecommerce packages are often light and bulky, Dimensional (DIM) Weight pricing is now the primary driver of cost. If over 50% of your shipments are billed at DIM weight rather than actual weight, your packaging is unoptimized. The End of the UPS/FedEx Binary: The days of choosing only between UPS and FedEx are over. The 2026 market may require a multi-carrier strategy that includes super-regionals (like OnTrac), postal aggregators, and gig-economy delivery services. Technology now allows shippers to "agnostically" choose the best carrier for every individual package. Zone Skipping for High-Volume Shippers: For subscription boxes or high-density shippers, Zone Skipping is a game-changer. By consolidating orders and trucking them closer to the final destination before handing them off to a local carrier hub, you can bypass expensive long-haul zones and significantly reduce shipping costs. 3PLs Must Evolve Beyond "Rate Reselling": Third-party logistics (3PL) providers are often viewed skeptically by carriers who think they just "cannibalize" margins. To succeed, 3PLs must bring value back to the carrier by providing "efficient" freight—better packaging, lower average zones, and high-density induction—rather than just asking for deeper discounts. The "Opaque" Reality of Rate Increases: General Rate Increases (GRIs) are often marketing numbers. A "5.9% increase" might actually cost a specific shipper 8% or 10% depending on their specific profile (e.g., lightweight vs. heavy, residential vs. commercial). You must analyze activity-based costing to understand how surcharges and accessorials impact your specific bottom line. Shipping as a Branding Tool: Transportation can represent up to 20% of an ecommerce company's expenses. However, the delivery experience is the "final mile" of customer service. High-growth brands are using AI-curated buying experiences coupled with transparent delivery choices (speed vs. cost) to drive customer lifetime value. Mastering the Cold Chain: Shipping perishable or temperature-sensitive goods (like fresh meals or frozen treats) requires a "surgical" induction plan. Success depends on using refrigerated truckload moves to specific hubs on specific days to ensure products never sit in a warehouse over a weekend, which would otherwise destroy product integrity. Learn More About An Insider's Guide to Small Parcel Shipping Glenn Gooding | Linkedin Gooding Supply Chain Advisors The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube  

Send a textWhen evaluating WMS systems for 2026, it is essential to recognize that this is a structurally best-of-breed category rather than an extension of ERP or eCommerce platforms. This analysis deliberately excludes lightweight warehouse workflows embedded in broader systems, which are primarily designed to pass transactions downstream into a true WMS and lack the functional depth, orchestration complexity, and automation readiness required by serious distribution operations. True WMS platforms represent a category in their own right, with broader suites, richer integration patterns, and materially different architectural demands. Compounding this complexity is the diversity of operational models the category must support, from 3PL-centric environments focused on billing logic, client segregation, SLAs, and rapid customer onboarding, to manufacturing- and retail-centric value chains that prioritize production staging, kitting, reverse logistics, store replenishment, and omnichannel fulfillment. These differences are further reinforced by the technical segmentation of the category into WMS, WCS, and WES layers, with some vendors offering unified suites and others remaining purely transactional without deep integration into ASRS, robotics, conveyors, or advanced warehouse technologies—distinctions that materially affect long-term system fit and scalability.In this episode, our host Sam Gupta discusses the top WMS systems in 2026. He also discusses several variables that influence the rankings of these WMS systems. Finally, he shares the pros and cons of each WMS system.Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78YHLvbCbuARead: https://www.elevatiq.com/post/top-wms-systems/Questions for Panelists?

He quit Amazon, then launched One TikTok Shop SKU to 7-figures. Our guest breaks down content systems, creator outreach, FBT, cash flow, and scaling his product into the US.