Behind the Gloss: What It Really Takes to Scale Operations in Modern CPG
In the early days, operations often look like spreadsheets, supplier WhatsApps, and a bit of duct tape. But scaling? That’s a different beast.
As brands grow and especially when retail and DTC sit side-by-side, the job of operations moves from managing process to architecting performance.
Over the years, we’ve sat in that seat. Building the machine. Rebuilding it again. Running the tightrope between cost control and customer experience. And seeing up close how fast a strong brand can stumble without tight operational grip.
So here’s what actually matters when you’re building operational infrastructure in a high-growth CPG brand and what most people overlook.
Growth Isn’t Just Volume It’s Complexity
More channels = more risk.
More SKUs = more things to get wrong.
More revenue = more pressure on systems.
Most growing brands feel the pain when the back-end isn’t ready for front-end momentum. The DTC channel starts missing SLAs. Retail execution is patchy. Founders get stuck in supply chain firefighting. This isn’t just about inefficiency it’s about reputation and margin.
We learned this the hard way. When we scaled our own food brand - retail partners had high expectations. “On Time In Full” wasn’t a nice-to-have it was survival. And any misstep cost us far more than the invoice.
Margin Lives in the Middle
You don’t create margin in the P&L spreadsheet. You find it in the day-to-day.
We’ve worked with brands that looked great from the outside, but bled cash through bloated fulfillment costs, poor planning, and under-leveraged supplier terms. Trust me we’ve seen it all!
The fix wasn’t sexier packaging or a new campaign, it was renegotiating MOQs, tightening warehouse processes, implementing stronger forecasting, and focusing on net landed cost per unit across all channels.
The most sophisticated ops leaders know this: margin is a team sport. And finance, ops, and marketing need to speak the same numbers.
Your 3PL Is Not Your Ops Team
Outsourcing fulfillment is a smart move. But abdicating operational responsibility to a 3PL? That’s the beginning of chaos.
You need someone inside your business ideally a COO or senior ops lead who knows how to manage partners, measure performance, and push for improvement. Not just fix problems after they happen, but build systems to stop them happening again.
During the pandemic, our team led real-time supply chain pivots, onboarding new co-packers, switching fulfillment hubs, and mapping entire logistics networks in a matter of days. Why? Because no one was coming to save us. And your partners will only move as fast as your internal leadership demands.
Systems Aren’t Sexy Until You Need Them
We’ve seen million-dollar brands still running on spreadsheets. It works until it doesn’t.
A robust system stack (ERP, demand planning tools, inventory visibility, cost tracking) doesn’t just keep you organized. It gives you control. And it builds the operational confidence you need to raise capital, scale efficiently, and sleep at night.
If we could go back and do it sooner, we would have implemented system infrastructure earlier. Not when we were already in pain.
Culture Shows Up in the Warehouse, Too
One thing we learned running a food brand through a global crisis? Culture isn’t just how you treat your HQ team. It’s how you handle your ops partners, your line workers, your delivery drivers.
When things go wrong, and they always will, the way you show up matters. Do you hide behind emails, or pick up the phone? Do you place blame, or look for solutions?
The best operators lead with clarity and calm. And they know that culture starts in the back-end not just the brand book.