There's a gap in almost every warehouse — between what the WMS says is on the shelf and what's actually there. Joe Mirabile, VP of Operations at Gather AI, puts it plainly: accuracy rates in the field hover between 65–85%, and the difference is almost always human. In this episode of Out of the Box, Margherita sits down with Joe to unpack why inventory accuracy has been such a stubborn problem — and why cycle counting, the industry's default fix, is already stale by the time it's done. Joe walks through how Gather AI's drone and forklift-mounted camera systems create a continuous, real-time digital footprint of every pallet in a facility, correcting the WMS automatically rather than waiting for someone to notice the discrepancy. From detecting a pallet that had gone unnoticed for four years to enabling fully automated weekend scanning with a self-charging drone nest, this one gets into the operational detail that most tech conversations skip.

Choosing a 3PL isn't just an operational decision, it's a geographic one. In this episode, 3PL Hub Founder Ryan Bennett, who has run over 200 3PL RFPs, breaks down why where you place your inventory is one of the most underleveraged levers in e-commerce. From single-node vs. dual-node trade-offs to the data signals that tell you when it's time to expand your footprint, Ryan makes the case that zip code is strategy. He shares how one brand cut shipping costs by 25% simply by adding a second location, and why brands that skip this analysis are quietly leaving margin on the table. If you're a founder scaling fulfillment or a logistics tech provider advising multi-location accounts, this episode will change how you read a map.

Every 3PL knows the feeling — carriers want their money fast, brands want more time to pay, and you're stuck in the middle trying to make payroll.

In this episode, we sit down with Braden DiCristofano, co-founder of Rocket Fuel, who lived this reality firsthand. From watching $500K in cash evaporate over a Black Friday weekend to discovering $250K in unrecovered USPS adjustments, Braden pulls no punches about the financial traps that silently drain 3PL businesses — and what it actually takes to get out of them.

We dig into:

• How carrier net terms are tightening while brand payment expectations are not
• Why parcel is your biggest revenue line but your most dangerous margin risk
• How a rechargeable wallet model can close the cash flow gap for good
• Why automated billing and auditing are no longer optional for a profitable 3PL

Whether you're a 3PL founder losing sleep over cash flow or a brand wanting to understand the financial pressures your fulfillment partner faces, this one is essential listening.

"We lost $250,000 this year on adjustments from USPS. Shame on us for not knowing — but I know for a fact I'm not the first and only 3PL to have that frustrating realization." — Braden DiCristofano