r/3PL

Hi guys,

I operate an Australian based ecommerce brand selling cosmetics. We are looking to set up a US 3PL in the next upcoming weeks and would love to partner up with a boutique 3PL preferably based in either the mid-west or southern United States.

For more context
- 600+ monthly US orders (expect this to increase 30-40% with 3PL implementation)

- 350g-450g average weight

- 30SKU currently with another 10ish being added in the next month or two

- Majority of our sales are from NY, TX, FL, CA

- Average order has 2-3 picks

We've been burnt by a 3PL before (late deliveries, missing parcels, wrong item picks, incorrect inventory management) so we are looking for someone thats SUPER reliable and can be contacted at any time.

Please comment below and i'll DM.

Thanks guys,

Hello Everyone!

I am looking for a 3PL I am a ecommerce operator that lives in spain and wants to start selling in USA.

This new product is a start up so hopefully looking for some good rates.

boxes with dimensions of 53 cm (length) by 29 cm (width) by 37 cm (height)

Approximately 45 kilograms in weight. Amount of boxes unknown but total unit order is only 1,000 units

looking to send out some units to TT warehouse and AMZ warehouse so X amount of units would need to be labeled.

Let's connect!

Do you require deposits or onboarding fees from new clients before receiving inventory?

I’ve noticed some startups get nervous when hearing “deposit,” even when it’s being applied toward storage, receiving, or future invoices. From my perspective, deposits help protect against abandoned inventory, unpaid storage, and operational risk.

Curious how others structure this:
• Flat onboarding fee?
• Refundable deposit?
• Credit applied to future invoices?
• No deposit at all?

Also, what’s worked best without scaring away good clients?

I personally think it should be required because of commitment issues especially for startups with no sales.

Who wants to get caught up with all there stuff if they cannot commit to a single purchase credit?

Any thoughts on this? I really need to know this.

I’m sorry if this post is all over the place, i’m just not sure what to do. I’ve set up the whole operation when it comes to website, warehouse, insurance, you know the whole 9 yards. I’m planning to mainly work with smaller brands as that’ll be a good work load for me and my partner as we build a workflow and test things. I’m currently in the hole as I am having trouble getting clients and the fees are eating at my start up reserves. I was thinking of a getting a storage unit to reduce warehousing cost but still have something climate controlled and big enough for operations. If i were to make content out of the storage unit showing our operations would that be taboo? again sorry if this is all over the place, i’m just trying to find a cost efficient way to save a bit of money while still being credible and functional for future clients. If you have any other tips that could help like lead generation or cost effective materials/software that could help. Anything could help at this point!

Complete newbie here and looking for someone to explain it like I'm 5.

I've created a game that has been very well received in the circles I'm targeting. I'm now thinking of making a legit go of this and will manufacturer a few thousand units in China. I'm hearing that I need 3PL to handle receiving, storage and fulfillment (no way I'm putting this in my basement LOL).

I'm sure google can help me find one, but what do I look for, what do I need to understand, just how expensive is this, etc?

Nobody really warned me that past a certain order volume, the job stops being "fulfillment" and basically becomes ops management.

Like yeah, labor costs scale, everyone knows that. But the thing that caught me off guard was just how much mental space it starts consuming. You're not shipping orders anymore, you're tracking down why inbound is two days late, figuring out whose fault a mispick was, fielding a carrier issue at 9pm that somehow became your emergency.

I remember the exact week it clicked. We had a smooth pack day and I still ended the week feeling completely cooked. Realized it wasn't the physical work, it was just constant low-level problem management that never fully turned off.

I wonder if others had a specific moment where they noticed that shift. Was it a volume threshold, a staffing change, something else?

Hello i am looking for 3pl who can handle port matters and handle FCL LCL and amazon appointments i am a Freight forwarder in China need to Expand my warehouse network to Save my clients more costs

Have printed our ecom large 4x6 shipping labels (1000-3000 monthly) with our dymo labelwriters for years. I LOATHE their shitty machines and how often they break. What do the big boys use? 3PL folks, what say you? Ours just broke and before I repurchase would like to know if there are better options.

I have the infrastructure and warehouse in place for fulfillment of refrigerated/frozen items. I have one main customer that keeps this afloat, but I really love the business and think it has a lot of potential to be huge. My main business knowledge is wholesale distribution and I am also a web developer/engineer. We offer fulfillment as a service for our clients, but I would like to build this 3pl as a separate dedicated business.

I guess I am looking to maybe talk with someone who has experience with running a 3pl and maybe see if there are any partnership opportunities. This is a big market with a high barrier to entry (infrastructure cost).

I have the infrastructure in place and resources to handle much more business. I am just getting hung up on a few aspects of the business that is making me a little hesitant to dedicate full time into building this.

1. Getting clients - I have done cold outreach to companies that I think would be a good fit with no luck. My thinking would just be to try to rank on Google and do paid search advertising. I don't know if there might be a better way of connecting with potential clients.

2. Pricing - I'm not totally sure on how to price this. I would like to offer any and all services related to 3pl (at least to start). Storage, receiving, pick/pack, B2C/B2B shipping, repacking, kitting, etc. I feel like each client may have different needs and each with its own set of demands, and is hard to implement a rigid fee schedule. I also don't know what my competitors are charging.

3. Integrating into clients ecommerce software. Not sure on what software would be best for this. If clients even need this.

I know i'd like to offer no or low minimums. Have someone available 24/7 for the client. Set myself apart from the big companies. Make the client feel special and important whether they send 10 orders or 10,000 orders.

If anyone with experience would like to talk and explore partnering in something like this or just have any advice in general please feel free to reach out.

Hello,

I operate a 3PL based in Toronto, Canada. Some of our existing clients, along with businesses that reach out to us, also sell in the US, so I’m currently looking to build a partnership with a reliable US-based 3PL that we can refer customers to long term.

I have a client right now that sells Morse Tapers. They’re a smaller company looking to ship inventory directly from overseas into a US 3PL. They currently sell on Amazon, eBay, and Shopify, with potential expansion into additional marketplaces over time.

We’re looking for a partner with:
No account management fees
No minimums
Simple and transparent pricing
Competitive rates that allow us to add a reasonable markup while still staying competitive for the client

Ideally looking for a partnership structure with preferred pricing that makes sense for both sides.

The client will initially be sending relatively small quantities, but we’re looking for a long-term relationship as we continue referring more US-based opportunities.

If this sounds like a fit, feel free to comment or send me a message.

Been looking at joining one of the bigger forwarder networks but not sure which actually delivers ROI. Fees aren't cheap (a few k USD/year for most of them) so wondering what the experience has been. Which one to choose?

For those of you who've been members of any of these for 2+ years:

• Did you actually get usable agent business out of it, or mostly just contacts?
• Which one has the strongest EU↔Asia coverage in your experience?
• Any networks you joined and then dropped?

Thanks!

We are a mid size 3PL and our biggest pain is inventory sync. Clients sell on shopify, amazon, and walmart. Our WMS is Extensiv. Right now my team manually uploads CSVs twice a day and we still get oversells when a client runs a flash sale.

The problem gets worse with bundles and kitted items. If the client does not update their component mapping, we ship the wrong count and eat the cost. I need real time sync that handles bundles, respects safety stock, and alerts both sides before we go negative.

The native integrations are too basic and a full ERP is not in budget. What are other 3PLs using to keep client inventory accurate without hiring more ops staff?

So....we wanted to share a massive pain point we noticed watching e-commerce and subscription box brands scale, and the broken warehouse math behind it.

When a product brand starts growing, they hit a wall where they’re spending weekends folding cardboard instead of marketing. Naturally, they look for a 3PL. But if you run a subscription box, a gift-drop brand, or a custom-kitted product, standard 3PLs are a absolute trap.

Why? Traditional 3PLs are built for volume, not craftsmanship. To a massive warehouse, kitting is just an annoying afterthought. They look at a beautiful 10-item curated box and treat it like 10 separate orders. They slap you with a "per-item" pick fee for every single ribbon, tissue paper insert, sticker, and sample box. By the time the invoice hits, your margins on a multi-item kit are completely cannibalized by sneaky line-item fees.

Not to mention the horror stories we all hear about "premium unboxings" where the warehouse staff just throws the items into a mailer because they're being tracked on pick-per-hour speed metrics.

We got so frustrated watching indie brands get burned by this that we decided to build a boutique, kitting-first operation down in Melbourne, AU, called Betty+Co.

We threw out the traditional 3PL rulebook. To us, the finished, perfectly packed box is the only SKU that matters. We let brands pack unlimited individual items per kit completely free of pick fees, and we focus entirely on the aesthetic execution (yes, we actually hand-tie flawless bows).

For those who have scaled a subscription or kitted brand: What was the breaking point where you realized your 3PL didn't care about your unboxing experience? Did you bring it back in-house, or find a boutique provider? Would love to hear how others are navigating the warehouse fee-trap.

Sorry of this is the wrong place to post, but we need suggestions! We're a boutique 3PL. We got a delivery last week of about 150 boxes, and they smell badly. The entire warehouse is smelling bad, and we don't want it affecting our other stock. We don't want to mention anything to the client as they might think we're being racist. It's their 1st delivery to us. We're getting headaches from it - it's so strong. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to fix this problem? Are air purifiers effective? Maybe burning a few candles near them(carefully under a watchful eye of course) before we palletise them and pop them up on the racks?

Hi. I have used shipbob and hated it. My products have a small lithium battery and they were a disaster to work with. Anytime there was an issue, there was no one to call. Currently with Fetch but having some issues. Keen to know any suggestions or even boutique....

Hello everyone,

We are a growing e-commerce business based in France and we are looking for a reliable 3PL / fulfillment partner in the USA or Canada.

Our current issue is international shipping from France, which has become too expensive and is limiting our growth in North America.

Our profile:

E-commerce business

Small, lightweight, non-fragile products

Approximate shipment weight: 100g to 250g

No hazardous materials

Starting with a limited number of SKUs, but planning to scale

What we need:

Inventory receiving from France

Storage for small to medium volumes

Pick & pack fulfillment

Fast shipping within USA / Canada

Shopify / Amazon / Etsy integrations

A provider that accepts smaller businesses (no huge minimum volume requirements)

We noticed many big 3PL providers only accept larger volumes, so we are specifically looking for startup-friendly / small business-friendly recommendations.

If anyone has real experience with a reliable provider, I’d really appreciate your recommendations (and providers to avoid too).

Thanks!

We’re looking for new kitting project opportunities!

We’re a 3PL based in Nashville, TN, and over the past few years we’ve really specialized in kitting and custom assembly projects of all sizes. Whether it’s subscription boxes, promotional kits, onboarding packages, retail packs, event kits, safety kits, influencer mailers, or large-scale fulfillment projects — we’d love to talk.

Our process is simple:

• Receive inbound products

• Inspect and verify inventory

• Assemble/kitting based on your specifications

• Pack and ship directly to customers, employees, stores, or events

We work with businesses that need a reliable partner to help streamline fulfillment while maintaining quality and accuracy.

If you’ve got a project you’re trying to solve, need overflow support, or are looking for a better kitting/fulfillment partner, send me a message. Happy to discuss projects of any size and see if we can help.

We run a successful print-on-demand brand in the UK and we’re expanding to the US.

Looking for someone with a flatbed printer who can store our product, print when orders come in, and ship direct to customers.

DM me or drop a comment if that’s you or you know someone!

How is the C H Robinson decision (MONTGOMERY v. CARIBE TRANSPORT) affecting business operations for 3PLs?

Asked three 3PL providers this week what their customs handling covers and got three completely answers. Two gave me a freight forwarder referral, one said they have an in-house customs team but couldn't tell me which entry types they support or whether they had any position on Type 11 for DTC shipments.

Evaluating 3pl services specifically on customs, not an afterthought. For anyone who's been through this recently: did you find providers that build DTC customs handling into their model, or is the answer basically ""you own this, we'll ship it""?