In the early days of e-commerce, brands could get by with simple logistics setups, often a single warehouse and a basic shipping contract with one of the major last-mile carriers. Delivery was slower and more expensive, but consumer demands were lower and operations were less complex.

That world no longer exists.

Over the last decade, consumer expectations have been permanently reshaped by Amazon Prime and the rise of next-day everything. Today, brands are under pressure to provide fast, free, and seamless delivery and returns. More than 80% of shoppers expect same-day delivery and nearly a third want it at no additional cost.¹ Even B2B buyers, once tolerant of longer lead times, are demanding one- or two-day fulfillment. Delivery speed and cost are now defining elements of the consumer experience, the same way a retail storefront once was.

At the same time, operational complexity is mounting. Logistics teams are in a constant state of adaptation due to volatile shipping costs, shifting tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty, and macro headwinds. Sales channels have also multiplied, so brands now must coordinate fulfillment across DTC storefronts, online marketplaces, wholesale retailers, subscription programs, and brick-and-mortar locations—each with its own requirements, timelines, demand patterns, and standards for a best-in-class delivery experience.

We believe that this combination of rising expectations and operational sprawl has made fulfillment one of the most difficult and highest stakes functions for modern brands. It is no longer just about moving product from point A to point B. A single stockout, delay, or poor delivery experience can send a customer to a competitor with one click. One survey found that nearly 80% of shoppers will not return after a negative delivery experience.² As loyalty is increasingly earned after the point of purchase, these moments now directly impact a brand’s revenue and retention.

Our research shows that many brands lack the scale, complex infrastructure, time, and internal expertise to meet these expectations on their own. Outside of Amazon, we have not observed any dominant fulfillment solutions built for the broader internet. For the vast majority of brands, replicating that level of customer experience in house may not be feasible. In our conversations with e-commerce operators at companies doing hundreds of millions in revenue, most shared the same view: building fulfillment in house is simply not worth it. It is expensive, operationally complex, and far removed from their core focus. Historically, only the largest enterprises could justify the investment needed to build and manage a national logistics operation. For everyone else, fulfillment has meant stitching together a patchwork of third parties, tools, and manual processes. But that model is starting to break down.

Years ago, fulfillment could be an afterthought. Today, we believe it is a major competitive risk and, increasingly, where a brand’s reputation is won or lost.

Commerce has changed. Fulfillment hasn’t.

While there are existing third-party logistics (3PL) providers and off-the-shelf software options, many legacy fulfillment setups are struggling to keep pace with today’s demands. Many brands still rely on cobbled together operations of regional 3PL warehouses, ad-hoc software tools, spreadsheets, and manual processes. This fragmented approach can lead to gaps between systems, poor visibility, and, ultimately, a disjointed customer experience.

A typical mid-sized or early enterprise brand might use one vendor for warehousing, another for transportation, a separate order management system, plus a handful of point solutions for returns, tracking, and inventory. These systems rarely integrate well out of the box, and often do not provide what consumers want—a clear delivery promise, great tracking, and simple returns. In many cases, brands need to pay a separate provider to build custom integrations between tools. Inventory lives in silos by region or channel, and order data often gets lost in translation. Operations teams are left to stitch it all together manually, spending valuable time reconciling data, chasing errors, and managing vendors. Even something as basic as launching a new sales channel or entering a new region can require integration of multiple new partners, each with their own systems and SLAs. This can result in complexity, delays, and constant firefighting in a time when brands need speed and agility.

Some incumbents have proven they can scale with brands and maintain operational rigor. But, even among the best traditional 3PLs, the customer experience can often fall short. Many still run on outdated or off-the-shelf software, which limits visibility, slows down execution, and makes it difficult to tailor workflows to the unique needs of modern brands. While they may excel at moving products, traditional 3PLs were not designed with digital native or omnichannel operators in mind.

At the other end of the spectrum are newer, tech-forward startups that emphasize software but lack operational depth. These platforms can work well for early-stage DTC brands with low SKU counts, but tend to break down with higher order volumes, more complex inventory structures, or B2B requirements. Most avoid supporting both DTC and wholesale altogether, leaving growing brands to choose between flexibility and functional reach. There is a clear gap in the market, particularly for mid-sized brands seeking a best-in-class experience. 

We believe that incremental improvements to the old models are no longer enough. What the market needs is a fundamentally different approach: One that combines executional scale with software depth in a single, unified platform. Just as AWS reshaped the way companies scale infrastructure by removing the need to build and manage their own servers, we believe the same transformation is underway in commerce. Brands no longer want to build the stack themselves. They want to plug into one that just works. And they need a partner that can deliver speed, visibility, and reliability from day one.

That is the future we see, and it is what drew us to Stord. 

From fragmented to full stack

When we first met Sean, Jacob, and the team at Stord, it was clear they were tackling one of the most complex and overlooked challenges in modern commerce. Sean’s interest in fulfillment was sparked the summer before his freshman year at Georgia Tech, when he interned at a global metal processing company. Later that year, he launched Stord, raising a $2.5M seed round and hiring employees while still in college, before embarking on the Thiel Fellowship and leaving school. Over the past nine years, he has steadily transformed his vision of an end-to-end commerce enablement platform into a working system trusted by hundreds of today’s leading brands. When we first met with Sean, it was not just the clarity of his vision that stood out—it was also the quality of customer feedback. Operators described Stord as the “central nervous system” of their fulfillment stack and spoke in terms more often reserved for core platforms than logistics vendors. We saw a company delivering real impact through operational scale, software innovation, and a deep understanding of brand needs.

So what does this actually look like in practice?

Stord serves as a single integrated partner from cart to customer. As soon as a consumer clicks “buy,” Stord takes over. They manage everything from inbound freight and inventory storage to order fulfillment, shipping, returns, and post-purchase experiences. The entire process is orchestrated by Stord’s proprietary software stack, which includes its own Warehouse Management System (WMS), Transportation Management System (TMS), and Order Management System (OMS). Each tool is purpose built and deeply integrated to work together in real time. Through a single dashboard, brands can view across inventory, orders, delivery status, and performance across all locations and channels.

This is where Stord’s software is differentiated. While many logistics providers rely on off-the-shelf tools or loosely connected platforms, Stord’s stack is fully owned and engineered to drive precision at scale. Their WMS powers both Stord-owned and partner facilities, optimizing pick and pack workflows and inventory slotting. Their TMS integrates with more than 20 carrier networks and intelligently selects the most cost-effective shipping option for each order. Their OMS serves as the brain of the operation, enabling seamless routing across channels and systems, whether orders are fulfilled in a Stord warehouse or elsewhere. And their consumer experience (CX) software reflects this back to the consumer, seamlessly in real time.

By controlling the full software layer, Stord is able to drive measurable gains in speed, accuracy, and labor efficiency—up to 30% improvement in warehouse productivity after migrating from third-party tools.³ More importantly, their software gives brands the flexibility to adapt quickly. CX features like delivery date estimates, branded tracking pages, and self-serve returns are built directly into the platform. And with native support for both DTC and B2B flows, brands do not have to compromise on functionality to scale.

Stord’s physical footprint complements their software solution. They operate more than 10 of their own fulfillment nodes and 50 partner sites, all running on their WMS. This hybrid model gives brands national reach with the flexibility to add capacity on demand—critical during peak seasons or geographic expansion. Today, their network can reach 99% of U.S. households within two days without brands incurring the overhead of leases or equipment.

The result is a logistics stack that offers Amazon-like speed and visibility without Amazon-like investment. Instead of managing vendors, reconciling data, or troubleshooting fragmented systems, brands can plug into a single, efficient platform. One partner. One platform. One point of accountability.

Stord has grown more than fivefold since 2022, reaching around 11.5% of U.S. households and achieving profitability in 2024. In our experience, this kind of growth is rare in any category—and even rarer in one as operationally demanding as fulfillment.

From quip to AG1 and Seed Health, hundreds of brands trust Stord to power their pre-cart through post-delivery operations. Among them:

• The Zero Proof  is a leading non-alcoholic beverage online retailer. They were scaling rapidly to meet the outsized demand for non-alcoholic beverages—the third-fastest growing category in US markets. But with this velocity came challenges, including expensive mispick errors. By partnering with Stord to improve fulfillment operations, The Zero Proof reduced mispick error rates by over 85% and increased order volume and speed, driving a 3.5x year-over-year growth.
• Jolie’s shower filter is beloved by thousands of customers across the US. To deliver on the ever-growing demand for their product, Jolie partnered with Stord to manage end-to-end DTC and B2B order fulfillment and order and inventory management. Stord’s solutions allowed for real-time visibility into Jolie’s supply chain, optimized order routing, and faster delivery, enabling 6x year-over-year revenue growth.
• quip is an award-winning oral wellness company. Through a partnership with Stord, they radically simplified their B2B and DTC operations and mitigated parcel delays that would have cost millions, unlocking new global growth opportunities for the brand.

Looking ahead: The infrastructure layer for modern commerce

As e-commerce matures, fulfillment is no longer just a cost line, it is a critical part of how brands are experienced. Speed of delivery, the quality of unboxing, ease of return, and proactive communication all help to shape how customers perceive value. And in a market where alternatives are one click away, those moments matter.

We are witnessing that mindset shift in real time. More brand leaders are rethinking fulfillment not as an operational backend, but as a core extension of their product and brand. They are reexamining how inventory is distributed, how promises are made at checkout, and how logistics can be used to unlock growth.

That is the future Stord is building toward.

We believe Stord is a truly game-changing solution for brands navigating scale, complexity, and rising consumer expectations in e-commerce today. We are proud to partner with Sean, Jacob and the rest of the Stord team as they continue to build the future of modern commerce infrastructure.