3PL Transition & Sephora Launch in 6 Months

In early 2026, a beauty brand faced three converging pressures.

1. Fulfillment challenges with their existing 3PL required an immediate transition.
2. Sephora had accepted their prestige beauty line, with shipments due to begin in July.
3. Their lean operations team was managing both D2C channels (including TikTok Shop) and inventory planning for a non-turnkey manufacturing model involving component-level fill-and-assembly across vendors in Korea and Italy.

The timeline was compressed: four months to select a new 3PL, execute migration, build retail operations infrastructure, and be launch-ready. One execution gap meant a damaged Sephora relationship before the partnership had started.

The operational foundation was fragmented. Orders flowed through Shopify to a fragmented tech stack with no real-time inventory visibility. Inventory planning relied on manual spreadsheets across multiple suppliers and manufacturing partners. There was no EDI implementation, no chargeback prevention framework, and no retail compliance workflows. The team had no margin for delays.

Our Approach

We deployed a three-phase operating model, embedded with the team, compressed into six months.

Phase 1: Stabilization & Transition (February–March)

The brand had selected their new 3PL partner as the engagement started. We built a detailed transition roadmap with go/no-go gates, treating the exit from the existing provider as a separate workstream with its own budget and risks, not an afterthought. We conducted financial analysis to understand transition costs and benefit case.

We identified a critical June-July inventory gap driven by growth forecasts and Sephora's initial volume. We coordinated expedited PO placement with vendors in Korea and Italy, managed inbound freight scheduling, and ensured inventory arrived post-cutover but before launch. We took over weekly vendor calls, PO tracking, and customs management, freeing their team to focus on retail preparation.

Phase 2: Retail Launch Preparation (April–June)

We configured EDI with Sephora using TrueCommerce and built separate order processing workflows for D2C and B2B (Sephora) fulfillment, integrating across Shopify, Stripe, and QuickBooks. We designed component-level inventory planning (BOMs, safety stock, replenishment rules) to replace the manual spreadsheet model and support rapid SKU expansion.

The 3PL cutover ran in parallel. April-May: First inventory inbounds received at the new facility. Item master was uploaded after resolving missing mandatory fields, the critical path item. Late May: ASN entry training was completed and ownership moved to the brand, a critical step taken about 10 weeks before cutover when stakes were still low. June: End-to-end floor walkthroughs with the full warehouse team, first D2C and Sephora orders flowing through the new 3PL, GS1-128 label certification passed on the third attempt (we couriered a physical sample overnight after two failures).

The go-live date moved four times before settling on August 18 for D2C. Each delay traced back to one of three things: inventory not yet received, an integration not yet certified, or a business rule not yet decided. We committed to dates we could hold and were ready to launch earlier. This meant pulling dates forward was always possible; pushing them back was avoidable.

Phase 3: Launch Support & Optimization (July–September)

Sephora's first orders went live in July with full EDI compliance. On August 5, order transmission to the existing provider stopped at 1:00 p.m. ET. Shipping from the new 3PL began August 6. We chose a mid-day, mid-week cutover: if something broke, we had the rest of the week to fix it. Daily stand-ups ran through launch week with the warehouse and the brand's teams. We monitored 3PL performance metrics, refined component planning based on Sephora demand signals, and documented lessons learned in a comprehensive playbook for future transitions.

The Outcome

• Sephora launch executed on time with full EDI compliance. First shipment arrived complete and on schedule.
• Zero fulfillment disruptions during the cutover. Not a single D2C order was delayed or mishandled.
• Sephora retail orders ramped smoothly from July through September. Invoicing was accurate, chargebacks managed, compliance protocols working as designed.
• Their team now operates both D2C and retail channels independently with documented processes, trained staff, and proven systems.
• A replicable playbook delivered. 18 best practices distilled from 17 weekly implementation meetings, covering structure, governance, inventory risk mitigation, label certification, cutover strategy, and QC workflows.

The transition required no business disruptions. The beauty brand protected its buyer relationship, met seasonal commitments, and positioned itself for growth beyond the initial launch. The engagement ran February through September 2026, stepping back once systems stabilized and the internal team demonstrated independent capability.