174 | What are 3PLs or Fulfillment Centers with Allen Befort, Givington's

Fulfillment has been a hot topic in our Proof to Product communities lately so I wanted to bring on a special guest to chat about how fulfillment works from the 3PL side of things.

I was joined by Allen Befort of Givington's, a fulfillment company that pays attention to the small details so you can focus on the bigger picture of your business. Allen jokes that he kind of fell into starting this business with a friend. Seven years later they've seen great success and pride themselves on the relationships they've built with their customers and the genuine, personalized experience that they can create with their partners.

Allen and I covered a lot of ground in this episode and it's rich with information for anyone who may be considering outsourcing their warehousing and fulfillment process. We went over the logistics of working with a 3PL including how to know if you're ready, technology integrations they have, questions to ask when interviewing fulfillment centers and common pricing models. We also talk about why it's critical to build trust and relationships when outsourcing fulfillment.

ON TODAY'S EPISODE:

• What a third party logistics company or fulfillment center does
• How Allen got into this business
• The types of companies they usually work with
• Key indicators that you might want to outsource this part of your business
• How most of his clients have come to him
• What you can do to best prepare for outsourcing fulfillment
• How having barcodes helps to reduce human error
• How pricing works for fulfillment centers
• The best platforms for automating the fulfillment process
• Using 3PLs for marketplace selling
• Questions you should ask when considering outsourcing
• Misconceptions that people have when it comes with working for 3PLs
• How his company works with customers who have bulk, once a month shipments
• What's coming next for his business

RESOURCES:Shopify WooCommerce WordPress Squarespace

MEET ALLEN: Married to Meg, with two cute blonde-haired kids and a third on the way. We live in Fayetteville, AR, an amazing town with a great community of friends. We kind of fell backwards into helping start and build Givington's in 2013 when one of our best friends was launching it and asked if we wanted to come along for the ride. 7 years later...we're still here. Personally, I have a deep love for Chipotle and Tottenham Hotspur soccer.

CONNECT WITH ALLEN:

Website: https://givingtons.com

Instagram: @givingtons

Facebook: @givingtons

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Proof to Product is hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, Proof to Product has worked with thousands of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!