How We Work With Brands on 3PL Selection & Operational Optimization

1) Philosophy

Q: What’s your guiding philosophy?

We believe great operations are built on clarity, collaboration, and mutual respect—not just data. Our role is to help build the right long-term partnership between a brand and its 3PL, grounded in transparency and trust.

We don’t just bring brands to great 3PLs. We also bring great brands to great 3PLs. That balance matters because sustainable partnerships require commitment on both sides.

We work best with teams that are looking to build profitable, durable businesses, not just short-term savings. We’re selective about both the 3PLs and the brands we work with, focusing on long-term fit over transactional deals.

2) Why Brands Run by Experienced Founders and Operators Still Find Working With Us Beneficial

Q: Why do experienced founders and operators still find working with Operating Crew beneficial?

Even highly capable operators benefit from having a partner who lives and breathes the 3PL market every day. Most teams run a 3PL search only once every few years - it’s like finding your own apartment: you know what you want, but you’re not the agent who tours new buildings every day.

We run multiple RFPs every month and meet with 30–40 new 3PLs each year, many of which we ultimately don’t recommend. That constant exposure gives us a real-time view of how the market is shifting—from pricing models and technology stacks to service levels, leadership changes, and operational consistency.

That perspective helps us continuously refine which partners we recommend and which we no longer do, ensuring that the options we bring forward reflect what’s working in the market right now, not what worked three years ago.

Even seasoned founders and operators find that valuable. A mid eight-figure supplements brand we worked with recently ran its own RFP alongside ours. They reviewed six 3PLs; we reviewed three. When they compared the results, our recommended partner came out on top not just on cost, but on operational design, technology, and cultural fit.

As one experienced operator put it, 3PLs “can all look the same, but are so different once you dig in.” Those differences, in team quality, process discipline, and account management,only become clear after seeing dozens of implementations. That’s the pattern recognition we bring to every engagement.

3) Expertise

Q: What experience does your team bring?

Our team comes from the brand side - we’ve led and scaled operations for category-defining consumer companies.

Collectively, we’ve:

  • Led operations and fulfillment for brands scaling from $50M to $800M in annual revenue

  • Managed 3PL transitions supporting tens of thousands of daily orders

  • Designed warehouse layouts, workflows, and SOPs to improve throughput and accuracy

  • Launched new fulfillment nodes in Canada to reduce duties and improve cross-border performance

  • Managed complex retail and B2B accounts for major retailers

  • Optimized packaging and parcel strategy to drive freight savings and better customer experiences

Because we’ve sat on both sides as brand operators and as advisors, we understand how to align internal priorities with external capabilities to create lasting, scalable operations.

4) Process

Q: What’s your end-to-end 3PL RFP process?

We run a structured, collaborative process that helps brands and 3PLs align efficiently:

  • Discovery & Objectives

    • Understand your current volumes, SKU mix, DTC vs. wholesale split, seasonality, and growth plans

    • Identify operational challenges and key trade-offs (cost, accuracy, speed, flexibility, scalability)

  • Curated Shortlist (2–3 Partners)

    • Introduce pre-vetted 3PLs we know deeply and have long-term relationships with

    • Select partners for proven strength in your category and scale—such as consumer, lifestyle, fashion, beauty, food, or cold chain

    • Begin conversations at the right level: specific, not introductory

  • RFP Package & Data Preparation

    • Review and refine your data so each 3PL can model your business accurately

    • Help both sides—brand and 3PL—optimize the process, ensuring fair and comparable proposals

    • Combine qualitative context with quantitative data to surface operational fit

  • Cost & Operational Analysis

    • Normalize all proposals into apples-to-apples comparisons across fulfillment, storage, inbound, returns, systems, and account management

    • Analyze order and SKU distributions to find efficiency levers, such as high-frequency order combinations that can be fulfilled more efficiently

    • Help high-performing 3PLs stay cost-competitive while maintaining sustainable operations

  • Deep Dive & Negotiation

    • Facilitate detailed discussions between your team and 3PLs on process design, technology integrations, and peak planning

    • Avoid pure price competition—focus instead on value creation and long-term stability

    • Review and negotiate contracts that are fair to the 3PL and position your brand for long-term success with clear, high-standard terms.

  • Decision & Site Visits

    • Conduct facility tours, meet account teams, and review real SLA data, including peak season performance

    • Assess fit across performance, communication, and culture

  • Onboarding & Go-Live

    • Stay involved through implementation, SOP review, and early shipments

    • Support brands shipping thousands of orders on Day 1 with no disruption

  • Post-Launch Optimization

    • Continue with quarterly reviews, packaging and shipping optimization, long-term performance tracking and ad-hoc troubleshooting

5) Cost Optimization & Sustainability

Q: How do you help brands optimize costs while ensuring 3PLs remain sustainable?

We focus on mutual optimization—helping both sides succeed. Instead of driving rates down, we look for process efficiencies that keep the 3PL healthy while delivering measurable savings to the brand.

Examples include:

  • Reworking pick paths or batching to reduce labor per order

  • Simplifying packaging and carton mixes to lower parcel costs

  • Adjusting routing logic to minimize transit zones and parcel miles

This approach produces sustainable savings, higher service quality, and stronger long-term partnerships.

6) Data Requirements

Q: What data helps 3PLs best understand our needs and operations?

For accurate modeling and pricing, we typically request:

  • 12 months of order-level data by line item (including channel and SKU)

  • Package-level shipment details: origin and destination ZIPs, weights, dimensions, carrier, and cost

  • Master SKU list: descriptions, characteristics, and how items arrive (e.g., master cartons, inner cartons, pallet or floor-loaded)

  • Operational SOPs: packout, returns, and B2B processes

  • Inventory snapshot with notes on compliance or storage requirements

This information allows 3PLs to design accurate, actionable solutions aligned with your real operational flows.

7) Exclusivity & Focus

Q: Why do you typically run exclusive RFPs?

Our focus is on long-term success and comprehensive evaluation, not volume of quotes. We work closely with a small, vetted group of 3PLs whose leadership, performance, and systems we know well.

A proper RFP requires depth—verifying data, modeling costs, understanding capabilities, and aligning expectations. Even a two- or three-partner process takes 60–80 hours of detailed work between us, the brand, and the 3PLs.

Casting a wide net with 10–15 participants rarely creates clarity. If a brand’s goal is to drive a price war, we’re not the right fit. But for teams that value thoroughness, transparency, and a strong long-term outcome, this process consistently delivers better results.

8) Performance & Outcomes

Q: How do you evaluate performance?

We evaluate both the operational and account management performance of the 3PLs we work with, based on data, consistency, and responsiveness.

We review weekly SLA reports—fulfillment timeliness, accuracy, and exception rates—across multiple brands and seasons, including peak periods. Having seen these teams perform over time, we can contextualize their results and identify where they truly excel or where more attention is needed.

Q: What kinds of results have you seen?

  • Smooth transitions: brands shipping thousands of orders on their first day post-switch

  • Material savings: combined packaging, fulfillment, and carrier improvements delivering multi-million-dollar annual savings

  • Operational uplift: redesigned workflows around high-frequency order profiles reducing labor time and stabilizing rates

  • Sustained reliability: 99%+ on-time fulfillment maintained through clear planning and strong account management

9) Partnership Structure

Q: How are you compensated?

Our fees are paid by the 3PL, typically from their sales and marketing budget. We act as an extension of their business development team, connecting them to qualified, well-prepared brands that are genuinely ready to scale.

This structure doesn’t add cost to the brand. It replaces the 3PL’s spend on events, outreach, and prospecting with something more efficient: well-matched partnerships. It’s an essential part of how we create value on both sides.

Q: What happens after selection?

We stay involved through onboarding, integrations, and early operations to ensure the partnership functions as expected. Many brands continue working with us afterward on packaging, and broader operational optimization.