Over The Last 3 Years, We Have Realized A 10,000% Revenue Growth Rate [$6M/Year]

Tom Wicky

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Published: December 13th, 2022

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Tom Wicky

Founder, MyFBAPrep

$500K

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

MyFBAPrep

myfbaprep.com

from Coral Springs, FL, USA

started August 2018

$500,000

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Discover what tools recommends to grow your business!

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Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Pur... Tony Hsieh

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Want more updates on MyFBAPrep? Check out these stories:

1. We Built A $6M 3PL Company In 3 Years (2021) ➜

This is a follow up story for MyFBAPrep. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published about 3 years ago, check it out here.

Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.

Tom Wicky is back for more as I was asked to revisit the original article I wrote last September with a few updates.

I'm the Co-Founder and CEO of MyFBAPrep, an eCommerce warehouse network for enterprise brands, top Amazon sellers, and Amazon aggregators. We have more than 50 warehouses worldwide and over 12 million square feet of operating warehouse space.

MyFBAPrep Co-Founders Tom Wicky, Bart Boughton, and Taylor Smits

You can read that original piece here.

MyFBAPrep offers a full suite of eCommerce 3PL services including Amazon wholesale and private label, direct-to-consumer (DTC) fulfillment, packaging, and co-packing services, and B2B retail distribution. Powered by our technology platform Preptopia™, sellers get access to unified billing, analytics, business intelligence reporting tools, and real-time inventory views across multiple warehouses in the network.

Today, MyFBAPrep processes approximately 10 million units and moves more than $1 billion in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) annually.

If you’re going to overspend, do so on talent. At the end of the day, your business is only as good as your people's.

Tell us about what you’ve been up to. Has the business been growing?

MyFBAPrep has been on a rocketship ride pretty much since Day 1. Over the past three years alone we have realized over a 10,000% revenue growth rate which has been pretty fun to be a part of with the team.

Focus on Client Fit

One of the biggest changes we made in our business has been the purposeful selection of clients we work with to ensure our success. We found that by moving up-market and focusing on large- to enterprise-level customers put us in a very good position to help them scale and meet their logistics needs.

With our vast network and Prepopia™ platform, we found ourselves perfectly suited to help these clients execute. Focusing on large well known brands, private-label Amazon sellers, and Amazon Aggregators is what we have found works well with our high touch and dedicated account support model that alleviates some of the more common complaints about service levels.

We have also learned a lot about ourselves over this period. Specifically, we have found that we are very good at complex, manual-labor tasks like co-packing of goods, labeling, kitting, and bundling. This heavy VAS (value-added services) work is a particular sweet spot for MyFBAPrep.

We have leveraged this with several large clients including subscription boxes and Amazon merchandising strategies. Recently we received 50,000 dogbones and put them on retail J-hook hanging tags in 24 hours with all dog bones neatly packed out into master cases and shrink-wrapped onto pallets.

(50,000 dogbones packed-out in 24 hours)

Invest in Automation: Right Tools for the Job

We have also increased our warehouse automation and custom work. We stood up 3 dedicated warehouse facilities for a large customer in 90 days. That was an incredible accomplishment. The warehouses included automated shrink wrap machines, heat tunnels, conveyor belts, and lots of hustle. For that one partner alone we processed over 1 million units per month. (That’s a lot of labeling!)

Many of our DTC (direct-to-consumer) warehouses are full of automation including overhead scanning units and robotic picking solutions including the ones from Geek+ (below).

Double-down on Tech

We also invested heavily in continuing to build out Preptopia™ – our SaaS platform that connects our 50+ Independently owned and operated warehouses. The platform provides real-time order management and inventory levels for warehouses, clients, and MyFBAPrep account managers. Preptopia is a middleware software that connects to client ERPs, order management systems, and shopping carts.

We are currently one of the only companies handling global Amazon FBA fulfillment services at this level using an asset-light business model that allows companies to scale, manage inventory & consolidate nodes as they acquire new brands.

This means that through our warehouse network, we’re able to ingest large volumes of containers of inventory per month from coast to coast and beyond. This allows these aggregators to consolidate the number of 3PLs (third-party logistics companies) they are working with per brand acquired into one streamlined system where they can track inventory across all their nodes at a global level.

Warehouse monitoring station

On top of these changes on the business side, we’ve also expanded our marketing efforts over the last year to increase our visibility, site traffic, reach, and general brand awareness. Some of the strategies we’ve taken include:

Partner Program: We are all about helping our clients and eCommerce brands successfully streamline their operations. That’s why we’ve created a partner program with some of the leading companies and services in the industry to offer exclusive opportunities for MyFBAPrep sellers. Some of our current partners include ZonGuru, SoStocked, SmartScout, Seller Accountant, Maersk, Linnworks, Helium10, Empire Flippers, Teikametrics, Kaspien, eCommerce Chris, Channel Key, Riverbend Consulting, Profitable & more.

Guest Blogs: As a second step to our partner program, our marketing team often contributes guest blogs on behalf of MyFBAPrep that are then published on our partner’s blogs. This helps expand our credibility as experts and reach new audiences that we could potentially tap into as potential customers. Some of our recent guest blog posts include eCommBalance, Charmac, Escala Ventures and Altcoin Beacon and importer of record Zee.co.

Content: We've doubled down on our content strategy. We are looked to more and more as a leading authority on all things Amazon and our content strategy has shifted to reflect that. We have a massive newsletter that goes out to a largely eCommerce readership. We cross-post a lot of our content to Social Media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube).

Public Relations: PR is a valuable tool for companies of all stages as the editorial exposure can drive awareness and important 3rd party credibility. We have always chosen to be news-driven as opposed to spammy and that has worked well for us. We recently had a nice hit in Forbes.

What have been your biggest challenges in the last year?

Amazon Inventory Restrictions -

Amazon continues to wreak havoc on inventory levels of Amazon Marketplace sellers small and large. In April 2021, Amazon announced changes to the ASIN-level quantity limits (i.e. inventory restrictions) that were first enacted in July 2020.

Per a recent Amazon announcement: “Effective April 22, 2021, FBA products will no longer be subject to ASIN-level quantity limits. Instead, restock limits will be set at the storage-type level, offering you more flexibility in managing your shipments.”

But this has 2022 completely changed course again. The rumor mill had Amazon “overbuilding” facilities during the pandemic and then scrambling to shed this excess capacity earlier this year. This vagaries of Amazon inventory levels has led to high levels of frustration for Amazon sellers. To compound matters, Amazon has also announced increased pricing again for Q4 this year adding to the frustration.

Amazon is notorious for massively increasing storage rates heading into a peak. This broad sweeping price increase affects all sellers small and large and all ASINs in the catalog. Effectively quadrupling prices can often dramatically change the profitability of certain SKUs which carries its own set of challenges.

FBA Monthly Storage Fee Changes for 2022

Supply Chain Challenges Still Persist

It’s no secret that the global supply chain has been especially volatile coming out of the pandemic. With only 22% of companies having a proactive supply chain network and 43% of businesses reporting they don’t track their inventory, this has exposed a big vulnerability during the pandemic. Plus, with U.S. retail operations having a supply chain accuracy of only 63%, this has led to significant delays and restocking issues for a variety of goods and products across the country.

With MyFBAPrep offering access to 50+ warehouses internationally, along with a giant list of comprehensive eCommerce services for Amazon, DTC, and other marketplace sellers, Merchants can use as much or as little warehousing space and facilities as they need. This enables sellers who work with us to adjust their fulfillment volume quickly based on their needs.

Here’s How We Addressed These Issues

Omnichannel fulfillment: MyFBAPrep has the capabilities to fulfill across all channels, so merchants can reach their customer base with a single network and inventory pool.

Full suite of services: MyFBAPrep offers all the eCommerce services aggregators and enterprise-level merchants need to stay flexible as their business ebbs and flows.

Vast warehouse network: With more than 50 warehouses and 15 million square feet of operable warehouse space, merchants can place their inventory as close as possible to their buyers, across several different locations. This shortens the travel time for consumer goods and results in faster, more affordable deliveries.

Speed of service: Through its proprietary SaaS platform and dedicated account managers, MyFBAPrep ensures deliveries arrive efficiently and on time. This improves the buyer experience and ensures merchants meet key SLAs.

Fast Shipping: MyFBAPrep can offer its merchant 24-72 hour shipping, which is the new normal for consumers. eCommerce must be just as convenient, if not more so, than buying retail, with fast delivery and easy returns.

What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?

1. Nothing trumps customer service.

As the hockey stick growth curve continues for eCommerce and specifically Amazon sellers, the warehouse and 3PL provider landscape has also become more crowded and diluted. We over-index on customer service and always aim to give our customers an incredible experience.

All of our team members are enabled to go above and beyond for clients and encouraged to be thoughtful in sharing their time and expertise on every account. We are hands-on in the trenches with them and beside them helping solve any issues that may arise. Our mission is to be a true partner in helping scale our clients' businesses.

2. Be selective about who you work with on the journey.

As your company grows, so do the demands on your time and the needs of the business. Whether that is service providers, partners, key employee hires, etc., this becomes more critical as you scale. A solid stable of trusted partners and advisors is critical. The time you were able to spend as a startup sourcing and vetting partners should pay off tenfold as you grow.

3. Talent Wins.

Hire the best talent your budget will allow. Even break the budget. If you’re going to overspend, do so on talent. At the end of the day, your business is only as good as your people's. The goal should be that interaction with your company from the CEO through the organization embodies the company mission, values, and experience we have created.

What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?

Execute. Execute. Execute.

We have proven market fit. We know our niche. We know the formula it takes to be successful in our space. We have honed our craft over the past 5+ years. Execution is what matters now.

We are in full rinse-repeat mode. We will continue to vet and add valuable warehouse partners to our network. In addition, the team will continue to recruit and retain best-in-class talent inside the company that upholds our company values and can execute our plan.

What’s the best thing you read in the last year?

This year, I read a bunch of customer service-focused books as we try to keep the customer-first mantra front and center at MyFBAPrep. After the unfortunate passing of Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos, I re-read his ode to the customer Delivering Happiness.

It should be mandatory for all founders. Tony was ahead of his time in eCommerce creating many programs and policies that were adopted by tech companies everywhere. Zappos would give guided tours for other companies to observe and learn how to prioritize the customer in all aspects of the business. The customer culture he created inside the company was nothing short of phenomenal and something that still gets studied today.

Continuing with the customer, I also geek out on the customer experience provided by Disney. Did you know there is a Disney Institute? I read Bob Iger’s book The Ride of a Lifetime – he carried the torch admirably from the previous CEO Michael Eisner. With his 15+ years at the helm of the Disney happiness machine - it was great to get an inside baseball look at his thought process and the pride that he felt carrying the mouse baton.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?

Stay the course and embrace the process. If you are sure that you have a solution or product that the market needs and are in the right market at the right time then stay the course. There will be highs and lows. Paddle through the “trough of despair (sorrow)” and keep paddling. Everyone goes through it and if you continue to execute you will cross the line into product fit and head toward scale.

Also, surround yourself with other entrepreneurs who speak your language. Your partner at home may not want to hear about your business 24-7 (although you may want them to). So, a nice way to share this burden is to surround yourself with people who have been there and have broken through.

Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?

We are always looking for the best talent we can find. If you're passionate about what you do and love eCommerce, please email me directly [email protected].