Operators, not observers.
DTC Supply Chain Ops is a small consultancy that audits and fixes the supply chains of direct-to-consumer brands. The people doing the work have run inventory, freight and fulfilment in-house for ecommerce brands, and still do.
Why we exist
Most DTC brands between $1M and $30M in revenue have nobody whose job is the supply chain. The founder does it between fundraising and marketing, or an operations manager does it alongside customer service. Meanwhile the 3PL invoice arrives with fees nobody agreed to, freight gets booked without a competing quote, and the best seller runs out in the week the ads are finally working.
Big consultancies won't touch brands this size, and the ones that will tend to sell software or a 3PL referral. We sell neither. We look at the invoices, the contracts and the inventory data, put a number on each leak, and either hand you the fix or do it with you.
What we do
Audits. A fixed-scope review of one or more areas: landed cost and duty, 3PL and fulfilment billing, freight and carrier spend, inventory and replenishment, or sourcing and supplier terms. You get the findings within 10 business days, with each saving sized and the fixes ranked by effort and return. How an audit works.
Consulting. Hands-on help to put the fixes in place: 3PL selection and contract negotiation, supplier terms, inventory planning and safety stock, freight routing, and the reports and alerts that stop the same problem coming back. As a project, or as a fractional COO arrangement for brands that need a standing operator. What consulting covers.
How we work
- Start with the data, not a workshop.We ask for 3 months of 3PL invoices, your freight bills, a sales and inventory export, and your supplier terms. That tells us more than a kick-off deck.
- Put a dollar figure on everything.Every finding comes with the annual value and what it would take to capture it. You decide what to do first with the numbers in front of you.
- Fix the biggest leak first.Usually that's the 3PL contract or the freight routing, not the thing you came in worried about.
- Leave something behind.Reorder points, invoice checks and reports that your team runs without us. We measure success by not being needed for the same problem twice.
Who we work with
Brands selling physical products direct to consumers, typically between $1M and $30M in annual revenue, on Shopify, Amazon or both. Most of our work is in health and wellness, beauty and personal care, pet, home and lifestyle, and consumer goods, selling in the US, UK, Europe and the UAE. If your products are imported, fulfilled by a 3PL or FBA, and your margins are tighter than the plan said they'd be, you are the brand we built this for.
What we don't do
- We don't take referral fees from 3PLs, forwarders or software vendors. If we recommend one, it's because the numbers said so.
- We don't sell software. The free calculators on this site are the tools we use ourselves.
- We don't run audits on retainer. An audit has a start, a finish and a deliverable.
- We don't work with brands that haven't shipped yet. Come back once there are invoices to look at.
Credentials
The team is APICS certified (CSCP) with Lean Six Sigma and business analytics training, and has held in-house supply chain leadership roles at DTC brands as well as marketplace analytics and program management roles across the US, Europe and the Middle East. We've placed sea and air freight from China to the US, selected and exited 3PLs, run Amazon FBA replenishment, and planned inventory through peak seasons. We write about this on the blog.
Where we are
We work remotely with brands in the US, UK, Europe and the Middle East, across time zones. Most engagements run over video calls and shared spreadsheets. Email [email protected] and you'll get a reply within one business day.
Want to know where your supply chain is leaking?
Tell us what you sell and where you fulfil from. The first call is free and takes 30 minutes.
Book a call