How Do You Choose Your First 3PL?
Key Takeaways
Your first 3PL needs to handle your products correctly, connect to your store and explain what each order costs. Manifest works with growing ecommerce brands outsourcing fulfillment, with account managers inside the warehouse. Bring your order data, packing requirements and growth plans so the conversation gets specific.
Which US 3PLs should Shopify brands consider for first-time outsourcing?
Manifest is a US 3PL for growing ecommerce brands outsourcing fulfillment, including Shopify brands. We handle DTC and retail orders from our warehouse in San Marcos, Texas, with account managers working alongside the warehouse team.
You need someone who can discuss a packing instruction with the people packing your orders, or check a product on the warehouse floor.
We want to understand what you sell, how orders are packed and where the business is headed. A focused catalog and growing sales are worth a conversation, even if your order volume is still developing.
Our ecommerce and retail fulfillment services are built around that relationship. Before choosing a partner, get specific about the work you want the warehouse to take on.
What work should your first 3PL take off your team?
Your first 3PL should take over the warehouse work you agree to outsource, including storing inventory and picking, packing and shipping orders.
According to Shopify’s ecommerce fulfillment guide, 3PL services can also include receiving, tracking and returns. The scope varies, so ask what your agreement includes.
Write down what happens between an order arriving and a parcel leaving your current space. Include the details someone on your team handles without thinking about them:
- Product selection: Similar-looking sizes, colors or variants that need to stay distinct.
- Packing: The box, protective material, insert or gift note that belongs with each order.
- Special orders: Bundles, kits or wholesale orders that require different handling.
- Problems: Who decides what to do when stock is damaged or an order needs clarification.
At Manifest, we support custom packing instructions, kitting and personalized gift notes. Bring those requirements to the first conversation so we can assess the work and include it in the quote.
What information should you bring to a first 3PL conversation?
Your order history, product list, inventory levels and packing requirements help a 3PL evaluate the work your brand needs.
A monthly order count is a starting point. The warehouse also needs to understand what goes into those orders and how much stock it will hold.
Have these ready:
- Orders: Recent order volume, units per order and the split between direct-to-consumer and business orders.
- Products: Your SKU list, unit weights and any handling requirements, such as expiration dates.
- Inventory: Stock on hand, expected incoming shipments and how often you replenish.
- Parcels: Packed weights, dimensions and the materials you want used.
- Growth: Upcoming launches, promotions or sales channels that could change the workload.
Pay attention to package dimensions. FedEx’s dimensional weight guidance explains that shipping charges can use dimensional weight when it exceeds scale weight. So a light product in a large box can cost more to ship than its weight suggests.
We use your order and product information when we work out fulfillment costs with you. Our guide to comparing 3PL fulfillment quotes explains how to compare shipping, order fees, additional picks and packaging alongside other warehouse charges.
How do you check whether a 3PL can handle your orders?
You check a 3PL’s fit by walking through one of your typical orders, from the store connection to the finished parcel.
Bring a product and explain how you pack it today. Ask the provider to show how that instruction reaches the packing team and how an unclear instruction gets resolved.
For Shopify brands, the store connection is part of that conversation. We use ShipHero and support connecting Shopify stores. We also need product records and receiving information prepared before inventory arrives.
Product identifiers need to be consistent. GS1 US’s product identification guidance distinguishes a GTIN, which identifies a product across businesses, from an internal SKU. Ask which identifiers and barcodes the warehouse requires for your products.
Then walk through an exception. If a product arrives with an unreadable barcode, who contacts your team? Who approves the correction? How will you know which stock is available to sell?
Our account managers work inside the warehouse. They can speak directly with the people handling your inventory when a question needs a physical check. That gives your brand a clear point of contact close to the work.
What does your brand still manage after outsourcing fulfillment?
Your brand still needs to own purchasing, customer policies and the decisions that tell the warehouse what to ship and how.
Agree on responsibilities before sending inventory. A fulfillment partner needs timely information from your team to do the work correctly.
- Replenishment: Assign someone to monitor demand and arrange the next inventory shipment.
- Customer decisions: Set your return policy and decide who approves refunds, replacements and unusual requests.
- Product information: Keep SKUs, packing instructions and product changes accurate.
- Launches and promotions: Tell the warehouse what is changing and when you expect the extra orders.
Put a name beside each responsibility on your side and ask the provider to do the same. That makes it easier to settle a question without passing it between teams.
If your products are coming from overseas, the trip into the warehouse needs separate attention. Our guide to China-to-US inventory and fulfillment covers the freight, customs and receiving decisions involved.
Frequently asked questions
Can you visit a 3PL warehouse before signing up?
Manifest welcomes warehouse visits so brands can meet the team and see the operation before making a decision. Ask us to arrange a visit and bring questions about how your products would be stored and packed.
Can a 3PL use your brand’s custom packaging?
A 3PL can use your custom packaging when the materials and packing process fit its operation. Share samples, dimensions and assembly instructions, then ask how packaging storage, replenishment and any added packing work will be charged.
Can your first 3PL also handle retail orders?
Manifest supports DTC and retail fulfillment, including EDI requirements for business orders. Share the retailer’s instructions before committing to an order so we can review the preparation, labeling and shipping work involved.
Can a 3PL handle returns as well as outbound orders?
A 3PL can receive and process returns as part of an agreed service. Ask what inspection is included, how returned stock is recorded and who decides whether an item can be sold again. Your customer refund policy and the warehouse’s physical returns process need clear owners.
Find your first fulfillment partner
Manifest supports growing ecommerce brands with DTC and retail fulfillment from our warehouse in San Marcos, Texas. Bring your products, order history and packing requirements, and we can talk through the work your brand needs and what it will cost.
