Fulfillment strategy shaping ecommerce growth with Brian Tu
April 1, 2026
Brian Tu, CRO of DCL Logistics, shares how fulfillment is increasingly influencing how ecommerce brands experiment, scale, and compete. What is often treated as a back-end function is now shaping decisions across marketing, product, and operations, especially as brands navigate more complex demand patterns and tighter margins. He also discusses when it makes sense to move from in-house fulfillment to a third-party provider. The conversation also touches on broader shifts in retail behavior, including the trend of purchase orders arriving later in the year and what that means for inventory planning. Along the way, Brian highlights how returns, operational constraints, and partner adaptability are all becoming more central to how ecommerce businesses make decisions in 2026.
Fulfillment has long been positioned as a support function. In this conversation, Brian Tu, CRO of DCL Logistics, brings forward a more integrated view of fulfillment, one where operational decisions are closely tied to how brands experiment and scale.
The conversation explores how fulfillment partners can contribute beyond execution. Because they work across multiple brands, they see patterns that individual teams may not. Retail dynamics are also shifting in ways that impact fulfillment planning. One notable change is the timing of purchase orders, with retailers placing them later in the year than in previous cycles. This creates compressed timelines where large volumes need to be processed during peak periods, requiring more flexible planning around space, labor, and inventory.
Returns add another layer of complexity. As customer expectations around returns continue to evolve, brands need clear processes for handling incoming inventory and understanding why products are being sent back. That data can feed into improvements across product design, marketing, and supply chain decisions.
As the conversation wraps, Brian emphasizes the importance of adaptability. Ecommerce environments are changing quickly, and partners need to respond at the same pace as the brands they support. The relationship between brands and fulfillment providers is shifting toward a more collaborative model, where both sides are aligned on navigating uncertainty and scaling effectively.
What You’ll Learn:
The conversation explores how fulfillment partners can contribute beyond execution. Because they work across multiple brands, they see patterns that individual teams may not. Retail dynamics are also shifting in ways that impact fulfillment planning. One notable change is the timing of purchase orders, with retailers placing them later in the year than in previous cycles. This creates compressed timelines where large volumes need to be processed during peak periods, requiring more flexible planning around space, labor, and inventory.
Returns add another layer of complexity. As customer expectations around returns continue to evolve, brands need clear processes for handling incoming inventory and understanding why products are being sent back. That data can feed into improvements across product design, marketing, and supply chain decisions.
As the conversation wraps, Brian emphasizes the importance of adaptability. Ecommerce environments are changing quickly, and partners need to respond at the same pace as the brands they support. The relationship between brands and fulfillment providers is shifting toward a more collaborative model, where both sides are aligned on navigating uncertainty and scaling effectively.
What You’ll Learn:
- How fulfillment is evolving from an operational function into a strategic growth lever
- Why marketing decisions often create hidden operational constraints
- How fulfillment partners can enable new revenue opportunities
- When it makes sense to move from in-house to outsourced fulfillment
- Why unpredictable demand requires more flexible fulfillment systems
- How late retail purchase orders are changing inventory planning
- What returns data can reveal about product and customer behavior
- Why adaptability is becoming a key factor in partner selection
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