Outsourcing ecommerce fulfilment to a third-party logistics (3PL) provider can offer tremendous benefits such as faster deliveries, lower operating costs, and improved customer satisfaction. But not all fulfilment costs are straightforward. Understanding what you’re paying for is essential to ensuring your 3PL truly adds value.
This article explores three key ways to understand the true cost of 3PL order fulfilment and how Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) can help you achieve reliable, cost-effective operations for your business.
Understand your 3PL’s pricing structure
Traditional 3PLs often charge separately for picking, packing, shipping, and storage. While that seems flexible, the added surcharges for fuel, oversized items, or remote areas can make costs hard to forecast.
MCF uses a simple, all-inclusive pricing model where you pay one bundled fee per unit that includes pick, pack, and ship. There are no hidden fees, and you can save up to 25% on multi-unit orders, making budget planning simpler and more predictable.
Explore MCF pricing for details.
Understand your shipment mix
To assess your fulfilment costs accurately, analyse your shipment mix — what you ship, where you ship, and how fast you ship.
MCF optimises this through Amazon’s connected network of fulfilment centres. By positioning products closer to customers, MCF reduces transit times and shipping costs.
With MCF, you can rely on:
• 99% on-time delivery rate
• Deliveries seven days a week
• 99.98% undamaged package delivery rate¹
This reliability ensures you meet customer expectations while keeping fulfilment spend efficient.
Understand how your 3PL’s pricing system is applied to your business
Once you understand your 3PL’s pricing and shipment mix, evaluate how those fees affect your business. Look for services or surcharges driving most costs and identify ways to save by consolidating inventory or adjusting shipping methods.
With MCF, you can use a single pool of inventory to fulfil both Amazon and off-Amazon orders. This reduces duplication, improves inventory turnover, and ensures each unit of stock works harder for your business.
MCF’s technology, real-time tracking, and network efficiency help you reduce costs while maintaining operational excellence from click to delivery.
Simplify fulfilment costs with MCF
Understanding your total fulfilment costs is key to scaling your ecommerce business efficiently. With transparent pricing, advanced integrations, and access to Amazon’s global network, MCF empowers you to deliver fast, reliable experiences without the complexity of traditional 3PL models.
¹ Based on all orders fulfilled by MCF in the UK from January 2023 through March 2024.
