3PL really helps scaling e-commerce stores

I don’t know if anyone here runs an e-commerce store, but if you do, you know the struggle. I started my store a couple of years ago as a side hustle—just something fun to keep me busy during lockdown. It took off way more than I expected, which is amazing, but scaling up has been a f- nightmare.

For the longest time, I was doing everything myself—packing orders in my living room, scheduling daily UPS pickups, and basically drowning in cardboard boxes. It worked fine when I was getting a few orders a week, but as things grew, it became unsustainable. I was staying up until midnight to pack shipments, missing out on time with friends, and stressing every time I got a big sale.

I finally hit a breaking point last year when I had over 200 orders to ship in a single week. Looked into fulfillment centers and 3PL’s and chose Nitro Logistics. It really solved that issue for me, and in the aftermath it has allowed me to scale better. Since they’re just handling all the warehousing, picking, packing, shipping etc, it’s easier for me to focus on things that actual help my business grow. 

Anyways, moral of the story: If you’re running a business and trying to save money by doing everything yourself, it’s probably not going to work out in the long run. At some point, the cost of doing it all yourself—whether it’s fulfillment, marketing, or whatever—starts outweighing what you’re saving, especially if you’re not good at those things. For me, outsourcing fulfillment has been one of the best investments I’ve made. So yeah, just a quick rant about that:)