Questions to Ask Your 3PL to Ensure Quality eCommerce Fulfillment
- jaykim73
- May 29
- 3 min read
Selecting the right third-party logistics (3PL) provider is a critical decision for any eCommerce business. Your 3PL is more than a warehouse or shipping partner—it’s a direct extension of your customer experience. Every order they touch reflects on your brand, which makes choosing the right one essential to your success.
At Advanced International Freight, we help eCommerce brands build scalable, dependable fulfillment solutions. To ensure you’re receiving the quality care your business deserves, here are ten important questions to ask when evaluating a 3PL.
What Experience Do You Have With eCommerce Fulfillment?
Not all logistics providers are equipped for the demands of modern eCommerce. A 3PL that primarily serves wholesale, industrial, or B2B clients may not understand the fast-moving, high-volume, consumer-facing requirements of DTC fulfillment.
What to look for:
Knowledge of fast-paced eCommerce workflows
Experience with omnichannel fulfillment
Familiarity with your industry or product type
What Is Your Average Order Accuracy Rate?
Order accuracy is a fundamental metric that directly affects your bottom line. Mistakes lead to returns, refund processing, bad reviews, and even customer satisfaction.
Why it matters:
Affects customer satisfaction and repeat purchases
Impacts your support team and logistics costs
Request the 3PL’s current accuracy metrics and understand how they handle errors.
Can You Scale With My Growth?
eCommerce is volatile. One successful product launch or influencer campaign can double your order volume overnight. You need a logistics partner that can grow with you without service degradation.
Ask about:
Seasonal volume spikes
Onboarding new SKUs
Expansion into new delivery zones or warehouse locations
How Do You Handle Returns?
Returns are a part of the eCommerce experience. A clear, efficient process can turn a negative situation into a positive one.
Consider asking:
Do you offer automated returns or portal support?
How is returned inventory processed and restocked?
Can you provide reporting on return reasons and volumes?
What Kind of Visibility and Reporting Do You Offer?
In logistics for any business, real-time data is essential. From tracking inventory levels to monitoring carrier delays, visibility helps you make better business decisions and keep your customers informed.
Look for features like:
Live inventory tracking
Order status updates and alerts
Customizable performance dashboards
What Are Your SLAs for Order Processing and Shipping?
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) set clear expectations between you and your 3PL. They define how quickly orders are processed and shipped, how exceptions are handled, and what performance guarantees are in place.
Understand:
Cut-off times for same-day or next-day shipping
On-time shipping performance
How exceptions and delays are handled
Reliable SLAs ensure consistency and help set accurate delivery expectations.
How Do You Select and Manage Shipping Carriers?
Shipping is one of the most expensive and complicated parts of fulfillment. A strong 3PL will balance cost with reliability by using multiple carriers, leveraging negotiated rates, and routing packages efficiently.
Ask about:
Use of national vs. regional carriers
Access to negotiated or discounted rates
Support for multi-carrier shipping and label automation
How Are Your Fulfillment Centers Managed?
Warehouse operations are the engine behind every order. The way your 3PL trains staff, organizes inventory, and uses technology directly affects fulfillment speed and accuracy.
You’ll want to know:
What training do warehouse teams receive?
Are processes manual, automated, or hybrid?
How is quality control enforced?
Understanding their operational setup helps you assess consistency and reliability.
What Kind of Customer Support Do You Offer?
Communication is key. When something goes wrong or when you want to adjust a process, you need access to support that’s fast, knowledgeable, and solution-oriented.
Key considerations:
Is there a dedicated account manager?
How quickly do they respond to inquiries?
Do they proactively notify you of delays or disruptions?
Can You Share Client References or Case Studies?
Client feedback is one of the best ways to validate a 3PL’s claims. A transparent 3PL will welcome the opportunity to share success stories. Ask for references or case studies relevant to your business.
Why it’s important:
Helps verify service quality and consistency
Offers insight into how they manage challenges
Final Thoughts
The right 3PL should feel like a true extension of your business, not just a shipping vendor. By asking the right questions, you can avoid misalignments, prevent costly errors, and choose a partner that supports your goals from startup through scale.
At Advanced International Freight, we work with eCommerce brands to build reliable, efficient logistics operations with clear performance metrics, responsive support, and scalable solutions. If you’re ready to evaluate your 3PL or explore a better option, we’re here to help.
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