Flammable Liquids, Bad Surprises, and Why Your Supply Chain Needs Adult Supervision

The rising fire risk hidden inside modern commerce

If you sell something flammable, you already know the uneasy feeling. You cross your fingers when a customer clicks Buy Now. You hope the package gets there quickly. You hope the carrier handles it correctly. You hope every regulation was met. You hope whatever is inside that box behaves itself.

According to recent research on hazardous goods transport, flammable liquids remain one of the most commonly mis-declared product categories in e-commerce. That means the everyday items customers love, from nail polish remover to small-batch varnish, can turn into a supply chain liability the moment they enter the wrong warehouse.

The marketplace is not helping. More sellers are entering the category, drawn by high margins and viral demand in beauty, home improvement, and specialty hobbies. Yet very few of them understand what happens when flammable goods meet real-world logistics. Those are the moments when a simple bottle of solvent can behave less like a business opportunity and more like a chemistry lesson gone wrong.

Kay Hillmann, Director of Vendor Operations at G10, puts it bluntly: "Paint, your everyday paint that you get from Home Depot or Lowes, thats hazardous material. Perfumes, alcohol. You need the right certification and the right warehousing. If something were to happen you need the correct sprinkler systems. You need to be audited, have all the right paperwork, and have the right insurance."

Why flammable liquids expose the weak spots in a 3PL

Every supply chain has pressure points, but flammable liquids push them harder than most. Research shows that the majority of chargebacks, compliance failures, and shipment rejections linked to hazardous goods come from three problems: mislabeling, improper storage, and carriers refusing loads that fail inspections. These are not minor annoyances; these are moments when entire pallets get stranded while customers still expect delivery tomorrow.

Kay explains why: "Theres a book almost four inches thick of the rules and regulations that the DOT requires for you to label, ship, and store hazardous materials."

And thats before we talk about the weight limits, the storage thresholds, or the simple fact that some flammable liquids cannot travel by air, ever. As Kay notes: "Theres certain limits on how much you can ship. A class three hazardous material can only do a thousand and one pounds on a trailer unless you have specific placards and a certified driver."

When bad assumptions lead to flaming headaches

Three common founder assumptions tend to blow up fastest:

Assumption one: My current 3PL can probably handle flammables.
Many cannot. Handling flammable liquids requires certified people, certified equipment, and certified facilities. If your warehouse is optimized for T-shirts, the presence of a solvent-based product is an uninvited plot twist.

Assumption two: Mislabeling is rare.
It is not. Retailers like Walmart and Target are unforgiving on labeling accuracy, and Amazon fines sellers for noncompliant packaging. Joel Malmquist, G10s VP of Customer Experience, sees it constantly: "Walmarts pretty intense with their labeling rules. Targets got big routing compliance issues. If you dont do it right, you get those massive chargebacks."

Assumption three: Returns are simple.
They are not simple for hazardous materials. Kay explains: "You cant send returns back. Not with hazmat. You have to be a certified shipper."

Every founder wants growth, but flammable goods have opinions

Research on e-commerce growth cycles shows that D2C brands hit an inflection point where their product mix becomes too complex for a lightweight 3PL to handle. If you sell flammable liquids, that point arrives earlier. You can outgrow your warehouse before you outgrow your audience.

This is where founders learn that same-day shipping and hazardous materials compliance cannot be separated. As Connor Perkins explains: "One of the pain points our clients have experienced with previous 3PLs is inventory accuracy. Maybe their previous 3PL wasnt great at picking the orders accurately. I think some have lost product due to storage practices."

The hidden benefit of a logistics partner that has already seen the fire drill

A strong HAZMAT-capable 3PL is not just storing your goods. It is quietly preventing problems most founders never hear about.

Holly Woods, Director of Operations, tells a story that is not about flammables but might as well be: "Our supervisor, warehouse manager, and several employees worked that entire day into the night, came back at 5 a.m., and made sure we had the routing completed. If we missed that window, Target would have canceled the order."

Why G10 leans into the hard stuff

When most 3PLs avoid a product category, you should ask why. In flammable goods, the reason is always the same: it is complicated, certified, and full of regulatory traps.

G10 does not avoid it. As Kay says: "Amazon has hired us as their first 3PL in five years. In order to be a 3PL for Amazon, you have to pass their security requirements."

And the certification load is not small. G10s teams are trained by GSI Training Services, the same group Amazon trusts to interpret and update DOT rules.

Maureen Milligan adds: "We built the WMS with that flexibility."

When visibility becomes peace of mind

If you sell flammable liquids, visibility is not a luxury; it is a form of insurance. Connor puts it simply: "They can see their daily orders, they can see KPIs, and they can see historical transactions."

If your products can combust, so can your growth curve

Ready to make your hazardous goods feel a little less hazardous? Lets get your supply chain fireproofed.