[Top eCommerce Series] Inside the Future of Logistics Tech With Matt Hertz and Mark Hiddleson

Matt Hertz is the Co-founder of Third Person, a digital marketplace that helps e-commerce brands discover and connect with the right fulfillment partners. He has over 15 years of experience in e-commerce logistics, including early roles at Rent the Runway and Birchbox, and later founded Second Marathon. Through his consulting and marketplace work, Matt has helped thousands of brands — including Hexclad, Away, BarkBox, and Milk Bar — optimize their supply chains and scale more efficiently.

Mark Hiddleson is the Owner of Specialized Storage Solutions, Inc., a nationwide logistics company with industry-leading warehouse storage solutions. It provides clients with innovative products, facility layouts, and designs to optimize their logistics operations. With several decades of service experience in the warehousing and logistics industry, Mark has held leadership roles in several professional industry organizations. Using a holistic approach, he also has experience in equipment material handling, operations management, supply chain optimization, professional development, and public speaking.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [4:39] Matt Hertz explains how Third Person matches e-commerce brands with the right 3PL partners
• [6:18] The thinking behind Third Person’s evolving pricing model and how it serves both brands and 3PLs
• [10:37] Matt’s journey from startup operator to e-commerce consultant and marketplace founder
• [13:08] The most common mistakes 3PLs make when qualifying and managing leads
• [17:31] Why brand–3PL mismatches are the root cause of most fulfillment challenges
• [22:53] How Third Person curates the right mix of people to create standout industry events
• [29:53] A breakdown of the logistics technology shaping the future of fulfillment
• [35:14] Exploring niche fulfillment verticals like frozen goods, wine, and CBD

In this episode…

Choosing the right third-party logistics partner can make or break an e-commerce business, yet many brands struggle to find the right fit. With countless 3PL options and complex operational needs, logistics mismatches are more common than most expect. How can brands consistently find partners that truly align with their operations and growth goals?

For Matt Hertz, a seasoned e-commerce operator and logistics strategist, the key lies in intentional matchmaking driven by data, specialization, and clarity. He highlights how brands and 3PLs often fail by saying yes to the wrong partnerships, leading to inefficiencies and broken relationships. The real impact comes from defining needs upfront and aligning operational strengths on both sides. Drawing on his experience at fast-growing consumer brands, he explains how technology, discipline, and community-based connections help eliminate guesswork and create long-term success in fulfillment.

In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz is joined by co-host Mark Hiddleson as they sit down with Matt Hertz, Co-founder of Third Person, to discuss modern 3PL matchmaking and supply chain optimization. They cover common 3PL qualification mistakes, the value of data-driven matching, and why curated industry events outperform large trade shows, along with insights on pricing, specialization, and competitive advantages.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Matt Hertz on LinkedIn | Email
• Third Person
• Mark Hiddleson on LinkedIn
• Specialized Storage Solutions, Inc.
• Tao of Pizza Podcast
• Logistics & Leadership Retreat
• SuperZoo
• Warehouse Education Research Council National Conference
• How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed.: The Definitive Book on Value Investing by Benjamin Graham, Jason Zweig, and Warren E. Buffett
• THE TAO of PIZZA: How the Simple Practice of BEing Can Unlock a Life of Deep Peace, Unshakable Clarity, and True Prosperity by Mark Hiddleson, and Bettyanne Green
• DiversiFi
• Geodis
• Red Stag Fulfillment
• DOSS
• Rivora
• Tusk Logistics
• Caspian
• Passport
• Fulfillment IQ
• LVK Logistics

Special mention(s):

• Evan Rock on LinkedIn
• Rent the Runway

Related episodes:

• “How To Start From Scratch With a Food Product Business with Peter Rahal Founder of RxBar” on Inspired Insider Podcast
• “[Sweet and Snack Series] Growing a Brain and Body Nutrition Company With Will Nitze” on Inspired Insider Podcast
• “Destroying Metabolic Disease With Tom Bilyeu of Quest Nutrition” on Inspired Insider Podcast
• “Maximizing Third-Party Warehousing With Matt Burke” on Tao of Pizza Podcast
• “Creating a Culture of Sustainable Success: Partnership & Community Service With Chris Murphy” on Tao of Pizza Podcast
• “Building Smarter Warehouses Through People, Technology, and Purpose With Jeremy Van Puffelen” on Tao of Pizza Podcast

Quotable moments:

•  “Too many 3PLs still try to be everything to everyone, instead of really dialing in on who they serve best.”
• “I don’t believe there are that many bad 3PLs — I think there are bad matches.”
• “Third Person is a dating app for e-commerce brands and fulfillment partners — free and easy for brands.”
• “The best 3PLs have the discipline to say no to clients outside their operational sweet spot.”
• “A fragmented market creates the opportunity to add intelligence and bring everything together.”

Action steps:

1. Define and communicate your ideal client profile: Clearly identify who you serve best and communicate it consistently to avoid costly mismatches and operational strain.
2. Build relationships through intentional networking: Focus on curated events and smaller gatherings where deeper conversations and meaningful connections happen.
3. Use technology to improve matchmaking: Leverage digital platforms and AI-driven tools to streamline partner discovery and eliminate inefficient RFP processes.
4. Double down on specialization and operational excellence: Serve your niche well and ensure sales teams understand operational realities to deliver better outcomes.
5. Commit to continuous learning and adaptability: Stay sharp by learning from books, peers, and experience to keep pace with a rapidly evolving industry.

Episode Transcript

Intro 00:15

You are listening to Inspired Insider with your host, Dr. Jeremy Weisz.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 00:22

Dr. Jeremy Weisz here Founder of InspiredInsider.com, where I talk with inspirational entrepreneurs and leaders. I’m here with my co-host today, Mark Hiddleson, Founder of Special Racks. Mark, tell people about your podcast.

Mark Hiddleson: 00:36

I’m a host of the Tao of Pizza Podcast, where I talk with top industry innovators in the warehousing, logistics and supply chain business with the holistic twist.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz : 00:45

And you know, we’re here with Matt Hertz, Founder of Third Person. You can check him out thirdperson.co. And before we formally introduce you, Matt, we like to point out some other episodes of the podcast people should check out a couple in this realm. I don’t, you know. I guess I lump it into e-commerce. I had one of the co-founders of RxBar on the podcast. That was an interesting episode. I’m going to go the protein bar route because I like protein bars.I had the founder of IQBAR, which was also an interesting episode, and the founder of one of the co-founders of Quest Nutrition, which was an interesting Tom Bilyeu. So, Mark, what are some of the fan favorites over on on your podcast?

Mark Hiddleson: 01:27

Well, I have a lot in this space and I love to connect with people in fulfillment. But the ones that come that are top of mind to me is Matt Burke. He’s worked on some really high profile projects like Butcherbox Chris Murphy, long time friend of mine in 3PL business. And then recently I interviewed Jeremy Van Puffelen of Prism, and they’ve done some automation that was interesting. So those are some great episodes to check out.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 01:52

Awesome. Yeah, check that out. And these this episode is brought to you by Rise25 and Special Racks. I’m going to just say Mark is a humble guy. And he’s also one of the nicest people on the planet. Mark has been serving the warehousing logistics industry since 1996. I know you’ve aged well, Mark, but they specialize in facility design, racking, shelving, conveyor systems, all the stuff that makes these 3PLs work. Actually, they’ve helped companies like Costco, Home Depot, and just lots of warehouses manufacturers in 3PLs. So I’m glad to get you and Matt connected, because there’s a lot of stuff that you could do together. You could check it out. SpecialRacks.com and Rise25. At Rise25. We help businesses connect to their dream relationships and partnerships.

We do that. Number one, we’re an easy button for a company to launch and run a podcast. We do the strategy, accountability and the full execution production. And number two, we’re an easy button for companies gifting. We make gifting and staying top of mind for clients, partners, prospects, even staff. From a culture perspective, simple and easy and affordable.

You just give us a list of addresses. We do everything else, and it’s not like a one off gift. We like to send a campaign of gifts and Mark knows this for any of our clients partners. We like to send 3 or 4 gifts a year for 3 or 4 years. Okay, so the number one thing, you know, Matt, in my life is relationships.I’m always looking at ways to give to my relationships. And I found no better way over the past decade to profile the people and companies. I admire and share with the world what they’re working on the podcast, and send them sweet treats in the mail so you can check out Rise25.com.

I am excited to introduce Matt Hertz. He has 15 years experience leading e-commerce operations as an early employee and first operations hire at Rent the Runway, Birchbox ship and so many more. In 2017, he found his second marathon, which is a supply chain consultancy. They’ve helped e-commerce brands like Hexclad Away, Tumor, Barkbox, Birdies and milk bar milk bar optimize their supply chains and launch third Person, which is a digital marketplace that enables e-commerce brands to discover and connect with 3PLs. Matt, thanks for joining us.

Matt Hertz: 04:10

Thanks for having me, Jeremy. I’ve done a number of webinars and podcasts over the years, and I think your way of distilling my background into that 15 second sound bite was probably the best I’ve heard. So no thanks for having me and Mark as well. It’s great having two co-hosts to drill me for the next few minutes here.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 04:27

Yeah, this is going to be pleasurable, but just start us off with Third Person and what you do. And I’m going to pull up your website and we’ll poke around.

Matt Hertz: 04:39

Sure. Yeah. So as you mentioned quite succinctly, Jeremy, Third Person is effectively a digital marketplace that helps e-commerce brands discover and connect with 3PLs. The way I kind of explain it to my 75-year-old mother, who has no logistics background is it’s sort of like a dating app, you know, helping brands find fulfillment partners. So completely free experience for brands to use, they sign up, takes a few minutes to share a little bit of information on who they are as a brand and their needs, their profile.

And then at the core of our product, we’ve built this AI powered algorithm that essentially scores marks Hot Sauce Company against each of the hundreds and hundreds of polls that we have on the platform, each of whom have also shared their ideal client. So they’ve taken the time to share with us what good looks like for them. And our matching algorithm will then present the top ten matches ranked by score, and enable the brand to connect with any of those directly through the platform. So a really simple tool to help three appeals get qualified leads and help brands find qualified partners for their own needs.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 05:45

I was I forgot to give a shout out to Evan Rock. That’s the reason we met actually, Evan Rock of Quiet Logistics. When I was looking for a 3PL, he’s like, you know, we’re not a fit for you. We’re not a fit for you. But you need to talk to Matt. And I went on the platform. It’s super easy to use and it gives amazing suggestions. I’ve personally used it. How does the talk about the evolution of the pricing model? A little bit. I know it’s free for brands to go on and find it.

Matt Hertz: 06:18

Sure. Yeah. So we’re you know, we’re not a church or a charity here, so we need to make our money somewhere, somehow. When we launched the business back in March of 2024. So I think I failed to mention that. So we’re we’re a little over 18 months young here, almost two years. When we launched the business, it was completely free for brands, which was something that was really important to me because as you mentioned in my intro, I ran a consulting business prior to third person and really third person is that sort of digital evolution of the key consulting service that we were offering at Second Marathon, which was helping brands lead a full service 3PL search or RFP.

And in that, in that product, you know, in our consulting business, we charge brands a lot of money. I think a fair amount of money, but a lot of money nonetheless. So we sort of had this moment saying, hey, let’s have a free experience for brands so we can work with many more brands who maybe weren’t able to afford our services in our consulting business.

So we launched this free, this free model for brands. It continues to be free today on the 3PL side, and that’s how we get paid. Initially the model was and when I say initially up until about six weeks ago, earlier in October, the model was purely a success fee for 3PL, so 3PLs would pay us 2% of total revenue for 24 months. So if you know Evan from Quiet Logistics, who’s a good friend of mine as well, if he wins the business That discovered him through the platform. Then quiet would pay. Third Person 2% of revenue for the next 24 months.

So it kind of builds in a continuity there. What we launched a couple of months ago, as you see here on the screen, is that that model I just explained is now known as our basic model. So nothing is changing there, no monthly fees. But what we’ve introduced is three levels of monthly paid tier.

So a $99 a month plan for 99 and a 999 with annual breaks. And really the impetus here is that the number one thing that three appeals were asking us after, you know, send us more qualified leads is how do we close more of these leads? Right? How do we get better at what we do and not just leads from your platform, from third person, but leads they get through their website or going to trade shows or, you know, different marketing initiatives that they have, you know, social media, etc.. So what we’re trying to do is create more marketing infrastructure for three poles.

So not only be a really effective lead gen or sales tool for 3PLs. But really support the marketing team. So as you can see here, we’re starting to roll in more, you know, analytics and insights and data on what brands are asking for. And the three pals who are successful, like what are they doing to be successful. And where we sit in the ecosystem where we have really strong relationships with brands, as well as 3PLs and logistics tech companies, we’re starting to have more events and opportunities for 3PLs to kind of get their name out there in a really effective way.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 09:19

This makes sense. I’m sure you know, I would get in. If you’re a 3PL, this may increase as you get better at this so people can get in while it’s while it lasts, I guess.

Matt Hertz: 09:33

Sure. Yeah. You know, we’re you know, as I said, we’re, we’re we’re about six weeks into this. And, you know, I think I think giving it 90 days or a quarter or two is probably appropriate to see, you know, what the stickiness is. And you know, who’s who’s kind of opting into which tier. But yeah, we’ve been we’ve been really pleased to see the early traction of of three poles upgrading to one of these 3 PLans.

Mark Hiddleson: 09:58

Yeah. I’m eager to jump off the call and text about ten people. So my my top clients are three poles. And I mean, this looks awesome. And I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t think I try to stay on top of where, where things are going, but the things people complain about, like the RFP process is kind of clunky. If you have your own website and your 3PL, you do end up weeding out a lot of of non fit. So I had a earlier question though I wanted to jump in. Would you share a little bit about your transition from from the warehouse side and an operator sort of like before. Second, how did you get into consulting? Do you mind going back and sharing a little bit about your background?

Matt Hertz: 10:37

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, I, I came from the operating side, you know, the brand side. I was that sort of in-house, you know, head of operations. A person at a few startups going back to 2009, when I joined what was a little known company, Rent the Runway women’s stress rental business, which is now a publicly traded company. But I joined them a couple of weeks into that business as their fifth employee and first operations hire with no operations experience, by the way.

You know, I don’t think I could even have spelled Fedex back then, but I was I was fairly fungible and, you know, was able to sort of figure things out initially and then joined the team at Birchbox as their first employee and helped them get to about a million orders a month in revenue. You know, a couple hundred, a couple hundred million dollars, sorry, a million orders a month in orders and a couple hundred million dollars a year in revenue. So we were really that rocket ship, and it was a lot of fun being kind of an in-house operator and managing, you know, the warehousing side, you know, where we mostly worked with 3PLs as well as, you know, negotiating shipping costs and procurement and packaging and some CF and planning, kind of all the functions. And, you know, I wanted to start my own business.

You know, it was sort of the candid truth. And I was born and raised in Canada. I was living here in the United States, and I was living in New York and then San Francisco. And I’ve been here in Nashville for about eight years, and because I was on work visas, I couldn’t be an entrepreneur right the moment I got my green card, which happened in 2017, which coincides perfectly with when I started my own business, was kind of that moment to say, hey, now I can be an entrepreneur, I can work for myself, start my own business, let’s give it a whirl. So I started on the consulting route because, you know, low barriers to entry and all you need is a computer and, you know, a network to really start a consulting business.

And, you know, ran that for, you know, about 6 or 7 years before putting all my energy, you know, all my chips, so to speak, into what we’re building here at third person.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 12:44

No. Mark, thanks for asking that because it’s really interesting to hear the background. And so piggybacking on that, and this is a question mark for you too, actually I’m curious. You know, you’ve seen it now connecting through peoples and also working at 3PLs. What are some of the big mistakes 3PLs make. And Mark I want you to answer that too. After. After.

Matt Hertz: 13:08

Yeah I mean how much time do we have. Yeah. And you know I always say that’s somewhat. Tongue in cheek. I mean I, I look I, you know, 3PLs. The market is highly fragmented right. There are literally over 10,000 3PLs in the United States alone. Right. So there’s many, many, many, many, many options. I like to say it’s kind of like trying to find a bar or a restaurant.

You know, you live in Chicago, right? You know, if I said, hey, you know, find me an Irish pub to go to. I mean, there’s there’s an or, you know, find me a steak.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 13:38

I have some of my favorites. Yeah.

Matt Hertz: 13:40

Sure. Yeah. Exactly right. And so when there’s a fragmented market, you think of, you know, restaurants or hotels or, I don’t know, a, you know, a taxis, right? I mean, you know, markets where there’s a lot of options, there’s an opportunity to create intelligence to kind of, you know, bind them. And with three poles, unfortunately, they are really, really poor at at qualifying leads. Right. Like really having self awareness regarding, you know, their ICP, their ideal client profile like too many three poles still try to be everything to everyone. And like in my work, you know having matched now literally thousands of brands with 3PL providers like I see three people struggling because they’re taking on clients that really don’t fit their operational sweet spot.

Whether that’s skewed complexity, you know, it’s a it’s a 3PL that’s not set up to take on, you know, fashion, footwear and apparel, which is a very high skew industry, or order volume too big or too small or special handling needs, whether it’s a company that needs temp control or refrigeration. So I think like the best three polls heading into 2026 and, you know, really for the foreseeable future went through a really, really dialed in and know exactly who they serve best. And, you know, more importantly, have the discipline to say no. I think saying no is really, really difficult for many salespeople. I’ve come across at three polls who are obviously commissioned to bring in more revenue.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 15:13

I mean, that’s I think, applicable to all businesses really is like someone’s really focused in on a niche and their messaging and everything their operations are, you know, streamlined according to the niche they’re serving. And what you’re saying is a lot of three polls could just serve their sweet spot and not take on, you know, maybe clients that would drag down their operations and make things inefficient.

And I was curious where you went with that. So I left it broad. Mark, what about you? What are some. And you may have a different take. Like from the actual, you know, layout perspective. But what are some of the mistakes you’re seeing? You see 3PLaces you go in all the time and you’re kind of, you know, outfitting their operations in a sense.

Mark Hiddleson: 15:56

Yeah. And we try to find out what the pain points are. And I was thinking, my clients, they’re all doing it really well. But and I want to say that.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 16:04

Well, I mean, let’s say before they were your clients, right?

Mark Hiddleson: 16:07

I heard the rumor. I mean, there are. So Matt touches on what I mean, if you don’t have a Matt, what they do is I would say and not just my clients. I would say in general, people will try to compete as cost only. And I think that goes to what Matt said about not having your niche is our best clients. They really have niche clients that they can serve really well at a really high level. And even when they look, it’s like, hey, we can find it cheaper over here. You’re going, but guys, are you going to get this level of service. So I think and another thing that the ones that are succeeding, the three that are succeeding, they’re salespeople, they’re heavily trained in operations. That’s why I wanted to hear about Matt’s background, because you’ve been in the warehouse.

You know what the costs are. You’re not going to make commitments that, you know, it almost makes it harder to sell if you’re in operations. It’s like, I know we can’t do that. It’s like, I know I want to sell, but. So I think the ones that are doing really well, they have operational people at a really high level making those, you know, developing relationships because like you said, it’s all about relationships and creating. That’s what’s exciting about your project, Matt, is that you’re really doing a done for you matchmaking service, which I think that’s in three polls. It’s the hardest, you know, if you had everybody in the right space at the right thing, everybody would be happy, the cost structure would be right and everybody would get their stuff on time.

Matt Hertz: 17:31

Absolutely. I mean, I you know, just on that point, Mark, I like to say that there’s not any, you know, everyone. You know, if I had a nickel for every time a brand came to me and said, I hate my 3PL, I’d probably be retired, right? I wouldn’t have to run this business, right? You know, I’d have a, you know, a sack of nickels. And but, you know, without sounding overly tongue in cheek, you know, I don’t believe that there’s that many bad 3PL’s. I think there’s bad matches.

Right. Like, I use this kind of analogy, you know, going back to the dating analogy that I mentioned earlier, like imagine, you know, back when I was a single guy living in New York, you know, a 25 year old man. If I walked into a bar on the Lower East Side on a Friday night and said, you know who’s female, who’s 25 and who’s single, you know, inevitably a bunch of nice, nice young women raise their hands and I say, let’s go get married.

And she goes, yes, that’s married. But that marriage work out for us? It might, but probably not. Why? Because while I did ask three important questions, the fact that she’s female in my age and single. I didn’t ask, you know, a hundred or, you know, thousands and thousands of other questions that I certainly encourage, you know, my single friends to ask when they’re when they’re dating. Right. So it’s really about qualifying those matches, right.

Because there’s so many people’s brands are really brands that naively believe that like, oh, I can work with any of them, right. Or, you know, they work with this other big brand that’s aspirational to me. Right? I’m a small athleisure company and they work with Lululemon or Vuori. Of course, they’re going to work out for me. No, it’s completely different, as you know.

Mark Hiddleson: 19:10

Yeah. And then also your experience, what was the company with the rental of the clothes you must have?

Matt Hertz: 19:16

Oh, Rent the Runway.

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