Wednesday April 8th, 1 PM EST
What Actually Breaks When a 3PL Scales
Growth in a 3PL is often celebrated, but the operational strain behind it is rarely examined. As volume increases, execution begins to crack and systems built for smaller scale start to fail. In the absence of strong structure, heroics quietly replace disciplined processes.
Understanding where these breakdowns occur – and spotting the warning signs early – is essential to scaling without losing control.
What Actually Breaks When a 3PL Scales
Growth is often celebrated. The operational strain it introduces is rarely discussed openly. This conversation explores the real inflection points where execution begins to fail as a 3PL grows, which systems tend to break first, and what leaders consistently underestimate as complexity increases.
What you’ll learn
- Where execution typically breaks during growth
- Why heroics replace systems as volume increases
- What early decisions compound into larger problems later
- How to recognize the warning signs before the damage is done
Our Guest Speaker
Michael DeFabis
Michael DeFabis is a senior leader at IDS Fulfillment powered by DHL Supply Chain who spent 15 years helping grow IDS from a regional $20M 3PL to a $100M national platform, culminating in its acquisition by DHL. His roles spanned business development, executive leadership, and revenue across the full arc of that growth journey. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Host
Vikrant Neb
Vikrant Neb has spent his career inside warehouse and logistics operations diagnosing inefficiencies, building systems, and helping 3PLs scale without losing control of execution.
He is the founder of Leanafy and Kurieta, and the author of Execution Under Pressure: The Hidden Reasons Why 3PLs Stop Growing and How to Fix Them. His work sits at the intersection of operational reality and systems thinking, built from years of hands-on experience with logistics organizations navigating growth and complexity.
Vikrant is based across Indiana and British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.
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