Logistics & Supply Chain
How a £10,000 mistake led Twisted Comics to a 3PL with better SLAs
~£10,000
Costs previously linked to fulfilment mistakes
1 week
To find a 3PL with improved SLAs
About
Twisted Comics, part of independent publisher TPub Comics, was losing money to incorrect, incomplete and duplicate deliveries. When COO Anthony Villa investigated, he found an operational nightmare: a lack of barcodes, poor inventory visibility and unreliable fulfilment processes behind many of the problems. He estimated the previous setup had cost the business around £10,000 in just two months. Through fulfilment.com, he compared providers, rates and service-level agreements before selecting a new UK fulfilment partner within a week.
Industry
Book & Merch Fulfilment
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“We had repeat deliveries, wrong deliveries, and incomplete deliveries. And, when I investigated, it all boiled down to not having barcodes.”
Anthony Villa
,
Chief Operating Officer
Highlights
~£10,000 losses linked to fulfilment mistakes
Needed to compare the rates and service levels of UK 3PLs
Found and selected a new fulfilment partner with better SLAs in one week
Errors now avoided due to barcode processes and inventory visibility
5/5 rating for fulfilment.com
When fulfilment went wrong
TPub Comics has spent around a decade building its independent publishing business, including titles such as Twisted Dark and Black Mirror Comics. With new licences and partnerships in the pipeline, a reliable fulfilment operation was important.
When Anthony Villa joined as Chief Operating Officer, he found a process that relied on identifying products by appearance rather than using SKU codes and barcodes. Stock and order information had to be requested manually, goods-in timelines were unclear, and orders could sit unshipped for weeks without any sort of follow-up. Other issues included repeat deliveries, incorrect items and incomplete orders, creating extra costs, more work and an awful customer experience.
“We had repeat deliveries, we had wrong deliveries, we had incomplete deliveries. And when I investigated, it all boiled down to not having barcodes.” — Anthony Villa, COO, Twisted Comics
For Anthony, a new fulfilment process was required to prevent these mistakes from happening in the first place.
£10,000 lost in two months
Anthony estimated that fulfilment errors and related operational mistakes had cost the business around £10,000 over a two month period. One example, orders being sent twice, accounted for around £2,000.
He recognised that responsibility was shared between the previous fulfilment setup and the processes used internally, but he believed the right systems could have prevented many of the errors occuring.
For a growing publisher, the capital could have gone into new titles, customer acquisition and business development. It also changed how Anthony approached his search for a replacement 3PL. Price mattered, but so did the technology, processes and service commitments behind it.
Setting the non-negotiables for a new 3PL
Anthony initially searched online and contacted providers individually. He wanted both UK and US fulfilment because around 70% of Twisted Comics' customers are in the US, and shipping from the UK meant those customers could face charges of around £20 ($25).
On his own, finding suitable providers was slow. Each conversation meant more forms, calls and follow-ups, with no guarantee that a company could meet his requirements.
He narrowed his priorities to four essentials:
Inventory visibility: live access to stock levels and order status
Barcode processes: reliable product identification to prevent picking errors
Clear service levels: defined timelines for receiving stock and dispatching orders
Responsive communication: a partner that kept the business informed without constant chasing
He also wanted comparable quotes and Service-Level Agreements (SLAs), so he could make a decision based on evidence rather than just first impressions.
Hours spent searching for a fulfilment partner: saved
Through fulfilment.com, Anthony was introduced to several partners across the UK and US. He had four conversations with UK providers, and immediately received quotes and SLAs to compare.
The difference in using fulfilment.com for the search, however, was the speed. Instead of trying to get responses from companies one by one, he could arrange calls and assess relevant options in quick succession, all through one platform.
“By Monday or Tuesday, I think I had like five calls already. Basically, I found solutions a week later.” — Anthony Villa, COO, Twisted Comics
Anthony compared each provider's abilities against his own requirements, using the platform's scoring system to evaluate the options. The provider he ultimately selected wasn't necessarily the one he initially felt most drawn to. The numbers and SLAs pointed to a better fit, and within a week of contacting fulfilment.com, he had selected a new UK fulfilment partner.
“Vibes are not important, really. It is important up to a certain point, but it basically shows that these guys have the best rates, they have the best service level agreements.” — Anthony Villa, COO, Twisted Comics
Building a more reliable operation
Switching providers wasn't an instant fix though. Twisted Comics was introducing barcode processes, and the transition exposed some other issues that needed resolving. At one point, two products had been assigned the same barcode, so the new provider paused shipments rather than risk sending the wrong items.
Although resolving the issue took time, Anthony understood why the provider had stopped dispatching: getting orders right mattered more than sending them out before the underlying problem was fixed.
He also began receiving regular tracking updates and had greater visibility over what was happening with orders, reducing the need to chase for information.
“Happier customers, for one, and a happier me because I don't have to chase anything. I just know it's going to work.” — Anthony Villa, COO, Twisted Comics
Crowdfunding campaigns and new launches can bring in large batches of orders all at once. For a publisher, that makes accurate stock records, reliable product identification and clear dispatch plans essential. The goal is simple: every order right, every time, with no costly mistakes to clean up afterwards.
“By Monday or Tuesday, I think I had five calls booked in with 3PLs already. Basically, I found a fulfilment solution a week later.”
Anthony Villa
,
Chief Operating Officer
What other brands can learn
Twisted Comics' experience shows how quickly fulfilment problems can add up, and why choosing a provider involves more than just comparing prices.
Before signing, brands should check how a provider tracks inventory, whether it uses barcode scanning, how quickly it receives and dispatches stock, and what SLAs it commits to. Comparing providers against the same criteria can also make the search faster and help businesses find a better operational fit.
Anthony rated his experience with fulfilment.com 5/5 and said he would use the platform again. His advice to other brands was simple:
“Start with fulfilment.com.” — Anthony Villa, COO, Twisted Comics
How we can help
If your fulfilment operation looks like Twisted Comics’ did before the switch (missing barcodes, patchy inventory visibility, costly delivery errors), we make it easy to find a 3PL with the systems to fix it.
Share your requirements once, and we’ll match you with vetted fulfilment partners across the UK, US and beyond, so you can compare rates, SLAs and processes side by side and make your decision with ease.
“Start with fulfilment.com.”
Anthony Villa
,
Chief Operating Officer
