How to Turn Fulfillment into a Growth Engine: Patrick Allard’s Playbook
What You’ll Learn:The enduring priorities in fulfillment despite two decades of industry change: focus on the end-consumer experience and aligned people/processThe definition and strategic value of connected commerce as a frictionless end-to-end ecosystem across sales channels and fulfillmentWhy tech integration across OMS, WMS, TMS and digital marketplaces remains the biggest hurdle to unified fulfillmentHow Essendant repositions fulfillment from cost center to growth enabler, leveraging digital teams and marketplace expertiseWhen to accelerate 3PL expansion versus stabilize and optimize existing operations, anchored on clear value and identity assessmentThe realities and opportunities around Seller Fulfilled Prime, including network scale, inventory optimization, and performance requirementsKey operational metrics beyond OTIF, including inventory health and profitability by channel, critical in managing complexityPeak season outlook: early marketplace promotions, supply chain stability, and the goal to flatten the demand curve for better operational controlHighlights00:00 – Guest Introduction & Industry Background01:00 – Consistencies & Changes Over Two Decades in Fulfillment03:00 – Defining Connected Commerce & Its Strategic Objectives 05:00 – Common Fulfillment-Tech Challenges & Silo Breakdown07:00 – Unlocking Fulfillment as a Revenue Lever, Not Just Cost Center 10:00 – When to Accelerate vs. Stabilize 3PL Operations14:00 – Procurement & Evaluation Dynamics in Mid-Market Deals17:00 – Seller Fulfilled Prime: Market Demand & Execution Challenges22:00 – Focused Operational Metrics to Drive Business Outcomes28:00 – Peak Season Predictions & Advice 30:30 – Closing Thoughts & Contact Info Quotes:[00:02:00]: “The things that remain consistent would certainly be focusing on the end consumer... building the right team around us to align with that strategy and then making sure that we had the right processes.” - Patrick Allard [00:04:00]: “Connected commerce to us is really about creating that frictionless end-to-end ecosystem... from product discovery through the purchase cycle, all the way through fulfillment, delivery, final mile returns.” - Patrick Allard [00:10:00]: “How do we know when to pour gas on the fire and really go for expansion, and when is it time to maybe take a step back, pause, and get the house in order?” - Dan [00:19:00]: “There's still quite a bit of pain for the larger brand retailers that might have a really good dominant market and brand recognition, but where they want the prime badge, but having that inventory all locked up in Amazon...puts them in a financial challenge.”- Patrick Allard [00:23:00]: “There’s a million things you can track and it is data overload... but the key is focusing on promise metrics, inventory health, and profitability by channel.”- Patrick Allard About the Guest:Patrick Allard is President of Fulfillment Services at Essendant, driving the transformation of a traditional B2B distributor into a connected commerce powerhouse. With over 20 years in e-commerce and logistics, Patrick has held leadership roles at Newgistics, Pitney Bowes, and Radial. His expertise spans M&A integrations, fulfillment scalability, multi-channel retail logistics, and leveraging fulfillment as a revenue growth lever rather than simply a cost center.Links Mentioned:Essendant Fulfillment Services: https://www.essendant.com/ Patrick Allard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-allard-04657111/
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