Not every SaaS company has a chief supply chain officer, but then again, not every SaaS company operates in a channel as complex as physical mail. For Brent Hagan, the chief supply chain officer at Lob, the challenge is both unconventional and enormous: building a high-tech, highly personal marketing channel that operates at the speed and precision of digital.
Hagan has transformed Lob’s manufacturing and logistics network from a fragmented set of print partners into a streamlined, data-driven supply chain capable of powering millions of personalized mail pieces with remarkable speed and accuracy.
When Hagan joined Lob, the direct mail automation and logistics platform that brings the power of digital to direct mail, he saw more than a niche marketing channel. He saw an industry stuck between two worlds, the analog legacy of physical mail and the untapped potential of digital transformation.
“When I joined Lob, I saw direct mail as an underleveraged channel with a massive opportunity for digital transformation. My initial impression was that there was a foundational gap between the promise of API-driven physical mail and the fragmented logistics, manufacturing and postage systems behind it,” Hagan recalls.
Turning an Overgrown Network Into a Strategic Advantage
Early in Lob’s evolution, its manufacturing and logistics network was sprawling and inefficient. Hagan’s first order of business was to do what many in the print space had never dared: consolidate.
By strategically reducing the number of manufacturing partners, integrating technology into every process, and aligning on shared roadmaps, Lob began operating like a vertically integrated company without owning the assets. The payoff? A supply chain capable of powering millions of highly personalized mail pieces, at speeds and costs that rival digital channels.
“The key is balancing scale with control,” Hagan says. “Centralizing the complexity, but giving marketers full visibility and precision.”
Why Operational Execution Makes or Breaks Campaigns
Ask Hagan about the most misunderstood part of the marketing tech stack, and he’ll tell you it’s execution. Integrating a direct mail API into a marketing platform is just the first step. What follows includes navigating postal regulations, optimizing logistics timelines, and maintaining address hygiene. All these factors determine whether a campaign soars or flops.
One particularly persistent misconception? That all postage is created equal.
“One of the most common misconceptions we hear is that ‘all postage is the same — it’s just a pass-through,” he explains. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. Postage cost and speed are directly tied to regional saturation and how mail is produced and injected into the USPS system.”
Hagan shared an example to illustrate how execution decisions directly impact performance: some providers claim to have multiple production sites, but print everything in one location. That approach can slow delivery in certain regions, increase postage costs, delay in-home dates, and drag down response rates. This can lead marketers to believe the channel itself is underperforming when the real issue is in the supply chain strategy.
Scaling for 12,000+ Brands, Without Sacrificing Quality
Lob’s ability to serve over 12,000 brands is no accident. Hagan and his team built scalable, proactive infrastructure: standardized manufacturing playbooks, logistics intelligence systems, and lean operational practices.
Hagan credits this to shifting from “reactive operations to proactive infrastructure.” The result is an operation that can adapt to customer demand without collapsing under its own weight.
“We built a playbook-driven manufacturing model, invested in commingling and logistics intelligence and standardized integrations across our partner network,” he says. “We also layered in performance management systems and lean operational practices to manage quality at scale.”
Anticipating Market Shifts Before They Disrupt
Marketing is constantly evolving due to internal, external, and even governmental influences. Predicting problems before they arise is key, and one example of this foresight is Lob’s preparation for the USPS’s upcoming zone-based pricing model, tying postal costs to geographic distance. As Hagan explains, many marketers aren’t ready for the complexity this will introduce. Lob is preparing to help them navigate this change by optimizing its supply chain capabilities.
“We’ve approached this not just as a manufacturing challenge, but as a full-scale supply chain opportunity. Marketers will need a provider that doesn’t just produce mail at scale, but understands how to optimize the entire logistics network — from plant placement and volume commingling to drop-ship timing and USPS entry points.”
Lob’s operational strategy is designed to stay ahead of industry shifts, enabling customers to navigate new complexities like zone-based USPS pricing while improving delivery speed and return on investment. Hagan emphasized that no other direct mail provider is better positioned to guide marketers through such large-scale changes.
A Culture of Precision and Ownership
To Hagan, direct mail isn’t outdated, it’s under-optimized. Drawing on his experience in e-commerce logistics, he’s applied principles like intelligent batching and just-in-time routing to print. Data fuels everything, from postage optimization to predictive throughput.
“When it comes to automation vs. customization, we start by automating the repeatable, measurable components, and then layer in customization where it drives business value.”
Operational excellence isn’t just a process at Lob, it’s a point of pride. Hagan keeps his teams motivated by connecting their work to the company’s mission and celebrating small wins as critical to big outcomes.
“We constantly ask: What went right? What went wrong? What did we learn? What’s next? That discipline builds a culture where precision is valued as much as innovation.”
Rewriting the Rules of Direct Mail
For Hagan, transforming Lob’s supply chain isn’t just about operational efficiency, it’s about reshaping an entire marketing channel to compete in a digital-first world. In a space where speed, precision, and personalization are non-negotiable, he’s proven that physical mail can deliver with the same agility and measurability as its online counterparts.
Lob’s success shows what’s possible when a chief supply chain officer is at the helm of a SaaS company, especially when that leader is relentlessly focused on execution, foresight, and customer outcomes. As marketers face evolving USPS regulations, rising consumer expectations, and the constant demand for ROI, Lob’s hybrid of technology and logistics expertise positions it not just to keep pace with change, but to drive it.
In Hagan’s view, the mission is simple but ambitious: take a legacy channel, remove its friction points, and unlock its full potential for the modern marketer. Judging by Lob’s trajectory, that mission is well underway.
