Choosing a 3PL is mostly a bet on how someone else runs a warehouse you will rarely visit. Here is what we do differently, and how you can check that we are doing it.
Accurate. Scalable. Reliable. Transparent. Partner not supplier. Technology-driven. The words are free, which is why every provider uses them, and why they help you almost not at all when you are choosing between three quotes.
What actually separates fulfilment operations is narrower and more boring: whether stock is barcoded, whether picks are scanned, whether the cut-off holds in December, whether someone answers when it does not, and whether the invoice matches the quote.
Those are the things this page is about. Each claim below is one you can test — during onboarding, in your first peak, or by asking us for the figures.
Location and item are scanned at pick and reconciled at pack. The label will not print on an order that does not match. Plenty of operations run partly on memory and paper pick lists — ask any provider whether a mispick can physically reach the carrier, and listen carefully to the answer.
Ask us: what is your mispick rate this quarter?
A 15:00 same-day dispatch cut-off is easy in June. We plan Q4 capacity, staffing and carrier allocation months ahead against each client's forecast, so the commitment does not quietly become next-day in November.
Ask us: what happened to your dispatch times last Black Friday?
A named account manager who knows your catalogue, your seasonality and your packing spec. Escalation is a phone call. Nobody has to explain the situation from the beginning to a new agent each time.
Ask us: who will I be speaking to, and what else do they look after?
Per order, per additional item, per pallet, per shipment, plus carriage. Surcharges are named up front. We quote against your real order profile, not a rate-card average that quietly excludes your busiest basket type.
Ask us: which of my orders would attract a surcharge?
Short stock, failed integrations, damaged inbound and held orders are reported daily. You find out while there is still a decision to make, rather than when a customer asks where their parcel is.
Ask us: what is in today's exception report?
The team booking your container is the team unloading it. Most delays and disputed counts happen in the handover between a forwarder and a warehouse — removing that handover removes the failure point.
Ask us: who is accountable if a container arrives short?
This is the checklist we would use if we were the ones choosing a provider. Take it to our competitors as well — a good operation will not mind the questions.
| What to look at | Common in the market | How we run it |
|---|---|---|
| Pick verification | Paper pick lists, spot checks after packing | Barcode scan at pick and pack; label blocked on mismatch |
| Stock counting | One annual count, corrected in bulk | Rolling cycle counts weighted by how fast a line moves |
| Account contact | Shared inbox or ticket queue | Named account manager, direct line, knows your catalogue |
| Peak capacity | Best efforts, cut-off quietly slips | Forecast-based capacity and staffing agreed months ahead |
| Pricing clarity | Headline rate, surcharges discovered later | Rates quoted against your real order profile, surcharges named |
| Inbound freight | Separate forwarder, split accountability | Booked, devanned and put away by one team on one set of paperwork |
| Exception handling | You notice, then you chase | Daily exception report with a decision required, not just a notice |
Written into the service agreement rather than the sales deck, and reported on every month.
Orders received before 15:00 on a working day leave the same day, subject to stock availability.
A mismatch stops the bench before a label prints. Your accuracy figure is measured on your own lines picked and reported to you monthly, rather than advertised as a headline number here.
Booked-in stock is counted, checked and available to pick within two working days of arrival.
Returns inspected and dispositioned within one working day of receipt, with the reason recorded.
Ask any prospective 3PL to confirm these in writing before you sign. We will.
Every claim here is one we are happy to be held to. Send your volumes, book a visit, and check them against the floor.
