Made In Cookware

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Made In Builds Fulfillment Without Fixed Labor in a High-Variability Environment

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Made In Cookware is a premium eCommerce brand serving both professional chefs and home consumers. At its Selma, Texas distribution center, every order is received, stored, picked, packed, and shipped directly to the customer. In this environment, fulfillment is not simply a back-end function. It is a direct extension of the customer experience, where speed, accuracy, and consistency all play a role in how the brand is perceived.

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Like most eCommerce operations, demand is inherently variable. Order volume fluctuates throughout the year based on holidays, promotions, and product launches, creating short periods of intense activity followed by slower, less predictable stretches.

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“I mean, being an e commerce company, yeah, we see the seasonality just around the major holidays, the memorial days, the fourth of July, the labor days and especially during Christmas time where we do pretty much a majority of our business. And so we need to be flexible with our labor to, adjust to those demands.”

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When Made In made the decision to bring fulfillment in-house after previously relying on a 3PL, that variability became the central operational challenge. The team was no longer managing outputs from a partner. They were now responsible for building and running an operation that could maintain service levels under changing conditions, without introducing unnecessary cost or rigidity into the system.

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Building Fulfillment Without Overcommitting to Fixed Headcount

From the outset, Made In chose not to build its fulfillment operation around a large full-time workforce.

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Instead, the Selma facility was designed to operate with a small internal team focused on leadership and coordination, while the majority of the labor required to execute the work would be brought in as needed.

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“We launched this past January. So here in Selma, I actually only have three Made In full time employees here. And that would be our managers. The rest are all Veryable operators.”

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This structure allowed the team to avoid hiring ahead of uncertain demand. Rather than forecasting labor months in advance and committing to fixed headcount, the operation was designed so that labor could expand and contract as volume changed.

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In practice, this means the team can prepare for anticipated spikes based on forecasted demand, while still retaining the ability to adjust quickly as conditions evolve.

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“It allows us to, you know, ebb and flow with the demand of our product.”

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By structuring the operation this way, Made In was able to make bringing fulfillment in-house viable without taking on the risk of carrying excess labor through slower periods.

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Handling Peaks and Project Work Without Carrying Excess Fixed Labor

While day-to-day order volume drives a large portion of the workload, it is not the only source of variability within the operation. Made In regularly takes on project-based work tied to promotions, product launches, and inventory changes, all of which require additional capacity for defined periods of time.

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“If from orders coming in from e commerce, definitely we see volume changes with that, but also we have projects where We do kit a lot of things here. So we might see one week where we do need an additional capacity to kit. So we add in operators for that. And then also we have some other projects where we might just need to be labeling something so we can bring in operators for just that specific project. And then after the project's over with, we don't have to, you know, hang on to that additional labor.”

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This model allows the operation to take on incremental work as it arises without having to plan for it far in advance or carry additional labor beyond what is required to complete it. Capacity is added when needed and removed as soon as the work is finished, allowing the operation to remain aligned with both short-term projects and broader demand patterns.

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Over time, this approach has also enabled Made In to build a reliable labor pool of operators who are familiar with the facility and its processes. Rather than relying on a static workforce, the team has created a system where experienced operators can return regularly, providing consistency while still maintaining flexibility.

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Maintaining Speed and Accuracy at Scale

One of the primary concerns early on was whether an on-demand labor model could meet the performance standards required for a high-velocity fulfillment environment. In particular, the team questioned whether operators could be onboarded quickly enough and whether quality would remain consistent as volume increased.

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“Working with the Veryable operators are just like, you know, they could be our full time employee. I don't see really any difference. They all come in prepared. A majority of them have worked in a warehouse environment, and we're able to put them to task, give them the instructions. And that was one of my fears early on.”

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In practice, those concerns were addressed quickly. Operators arrive with relevant experience and can be integrated into workflows with minimal ramp time, allowing the team to maintain throughput without sacrificing quality.

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As the operation matured, experienced operators became a consistent part of execution and began helping to bring new operators up to speed. This reduced the burden on management while reinforcing consistency across the floor, particularly during peak periods when both speed and accuracy are critical.

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Controlling Cost Per Order While Supporting Growth

With demand concentrated in short peaks and longer valleys, labor cost becomes one of the most important levers in the operation. A traditional model built on fixed headcount would require hiring for peak demand and carrying that cost through slower periods, creating inefficiencies that directly impact margin.

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“It's tough to carry a large staff when you have peaks and valleys. So it's nice to be able to, basically on demand, bring in extra associates when needed, or reduce the staff when needed.”

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By adjusting labor in line with volume, the team is able to keep cost per order low while still maintaining the capacity to scale when needed.

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“It allows us to put money in other places, whether, you know, it's R&D, marketing, somewhere instead of having this big bucket for just labor costs.”

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This shift has a direct impact beyond operations. Rather than being locked into labor costs, the business is able to reallocate capital into product development, marketing, and growth initiatives.

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A Partnership That Feels Like Part of the Operation

Made In’s management team describes their relationship with Veryable as an extension of the operation rather than a traditional vendor relationship.

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"I treat it definitely more of a partnership," says Duke. "I think anybody who's had dealings with other solutions can be a little bit slow to respond and react to issues that you might be having, but the Veryable crew from the local guys and the regional guys have always been very, you know, picking up the phone. And, calling us to check-in or vice versa."

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That level of responsiveness allows the team to stay focused on execution, knowing support is there when it is needed.

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What Changed

By restructuring fulfillment around a flexible labor model, Made In brought operations in-house without sacrificing service levels or taking on the cost of fixed labor.

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The result is an operation that stays aligned with the business instead of constraining it:

• Maintains speed and accuracy through peak periods without a large full-time team
• Reduces labor cost exposure during slower periods without impacting output
• Absorbs both short-term spikes and project-based work without overstaffing
• Reduces fixed labor spend, freeing up capital for other priorities like marketing and product development