# 076: Warehousing, Fulfillment, and Shipping to Customers

- Show: [Product Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup)
- Published: 2021-05-19
- Length: 33m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-19-076-warehousing-fulfillment-and-shipping-to-customers
- Listen: https://productstartup.com/

## Summary

Bill Carlin, founder of ShipMate Fulfillment, explains how startups and small manufacturers can leverage third-party logistics (3PL) to handle warehousing, fulfillment, and shipping. He details the operational lifecycle, including receiving inbound freight, managing continuous inventory via API dashboards, and executing kitting and bundling services to meet retailer demands like Costco. Carlin emphasizes that outsourcing fulfillment allows founders to focus on sales while avoiding the operational bottlenecks of scaling from garage operations to volume production.

## Chapters

- [0:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-19-076-warehousing-fulfillment-and-shipping-to-customers#t=49) Introduction: Bill Carlin and ShipMate Fulfillment
- [2:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-19-076-warehousing-fulfillment-and-shipping-to-customers#t=141) Warehousing Terminology and Facility Overview
- [6:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-19-076-warehousing-fulfillment-and-shipping-to-customers#t=361) Inbound Receiving Processes: Parcels vs. Containers
- [9:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-19-076-warehousing-fulfillment-and-shipping-to-customers#t=594) Inventory Management: Continuous vs. Static Reporting
- [14:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-19-076-warehousing-fulfillment-and-shipping-to-customers#t=842) Kitting, Bundling, and Packaging Flexibility
- [16:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-19-076-warehousing-fulfillment-and-shipping-to-customers#t=980) Startup Dashboards and Forecasting Challenges
- [23:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-19-076-warehousing-fulfillment-and-shipping-to-customers#t=1434) Returns Management and Reverse Logistics
- [26:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-05-19-076-warehousing-fulfillment-and-shipping-to-customers#t=1603) Cost Breakdown and Value of Outsourcing

## Topics

- [Logistics & fulfilment](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/logistics-and-fulfillment)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- ShipMate Fulfillment (company)
- Mako Design + Invent (company)
- Amazon (company)
- Costco (company)
- Lululemon (company)
- Shopify (other)
- UPS (other)
- FedEx (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [#251 - Scaling the Brand: Ops, Systems, and Simplicity with Mezcla and Doss](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-06-02-251-scaling-the-brand-ops-systems-and-simplicity-with-mezcla-and-doss) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#227 - Operations Ask-Me-Anything with Jamie Valenti-Jordan](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-12-16-227-operations-ask-me-anything-with-jamie-valenti-jordan) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#134 How to Make and Scale Your Product with Jamie Valenti-Jordan, Catapult Commercialization Services Part 2](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-21-134-how-to-make-and-scale-your-product-with-jamie-valenti-jordan-catapult-commer) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Bonus: Finding the Right Freight Partners for your CPG Brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-02-21-bonus-finding-the-right-freight-partners-for-your-cpg-brand) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [26: Putting a Bow on the Glif](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2017-05-11-26-putting-a-bow-on-the-glif) (Thoroughly Considered)

## Citing this page

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