How to choose a 3PL in the UK, and what to ask before you sign

September 2026 · 9 min read · Angler Fulfilment

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Choosing a third-party logistics provider, or 3PL, is one of the few decisions in a small e-commerce business that is genuinely expensive to reverse. Your stock physically moves into someone else's building, your orders run through their systems, and your customers judge your brand on how they pack.

We see what the wrong choice costs every week. Most sellers who come to us are not new to fulfilment. They are leaving another provider, and the reasons are nearly always the same three: charges that appeared after the fact, communication that stopped once they had signed, and returns that were never handled properly. None of those comes up on a sales call. All three can be found out beforehand, if you ask the right questions and insist on the answers in writing.

This guide is those questions, the answers that should worry you, and a checklist you can send to any 3PL you are talking to, us included.

First, are you ready for a 3PL at all?

A 3PL rarely makes each parcel cheaper than packing it yourself at the kitchen table. What it buys you is time, capacity and consistency. The usual signs you are ready: packing takes most of your evenings, stock has outgrown the room it lives in, a busy week means parcels going out late, or you are turning down wholesale and marketplace orders because you cannot physically pack them.

If you are at around 100 orders a month, fulfilment at that size works differently enough to be worth reading first. Many larger 3PLs will not take you on yet, and the ones that will are not all equal.

The 12 questions to ask any UK 3PL

1. Will you take my volume, and is there a minimum?

Plenty of 3PLs set a minimum monthly order count or a minimum monthly spend, and some only mention it once the quote arrives. Ask for the minimum in writing, and ask what happens in a quiet month. The answer you want is either "no minimum" or a minimum printed on the rate card, not one negotiated client by client.

2. Is the full price list published, and can my price move after I sign?

This is where most bad experiences start. A quote shows the pick fee and the storage rate, and the invoice adds goods-in fees, packaging handling, account charges and minimums nobody mentioned. Ask for the complete rate card and a worked invoice for a month at your volume, then ask which lines can change, when, and with how much notice. We wrote up the five charges that usually live in the contract rather than the price list so you know what to look for.

3. What exactly is in the pick and pack price?

"From 85p" can mean very different things. Check whether the price covers the first item only, what each additional item in the same order costs, whether packaging is included or charged at cost plus handling, and what inserts, branded boxes and gift wrap add. Two providers with the same headline figure can be a long way apart on a real month.

4. What is your dispatch cut-off, and what share of orders actually make it?

A cut-off is a promise. The measure is the percentage of orders received before it that really left the same day. Ask for that figure over the last three months, not the target. For reference, 99.8% of our orders in before the 2pm cut-off are dispatched the same day, and any provider should be able to give you its own figure without hesitating.

5. How accurate is your picking, and how do you report it?

Small differences here matter more than they look. At 300 orders a month, 99% accuracy means three customers a month get the wrong thing. At 99.8% it is fewer than one. Ask for measured pick accuracy, how it is counted, and whether it is reported to you monthly. A provider that cannot tell you its own accuracy is not measuring it.

6. Who will I actually talk to, and how fast do they reply?

Communication is the complaint we hear most from sellers leaving their last provider, and it almost always gets worse after signing, not before. Ask who your day-to-day contact will be, what response time they commit to in business hours, and how problems are raised and tracked. "Email the support inbox" is an answer. It is not a good one.

7. How are returns handled, how quickly, and at what cost?

Returns are where small sellers quietly lose margin, because stock that sits unprocessed for weeks is stock you cannot sell. Ask how many working days it takes to receive, inspect, grade and restock a return, what it costs per unit, and what report you get. Our guide to what returns really cost covers the rules as well as the handling.

8. Which of my sales channels do you connect to, and what does setup cost?

Your orders should flow in automatically from Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, TikTok Shop or wherever you sell, with stock levels syncing back. Ask whether every channel you use is supported, whether setup is a one-off or a recurring fee, and whether adding a channel later costs more.

9. How long from saying yes to my first order going out?

Ask for a written onboarding plan with dates, and ask what they need from you, because most delays are caused by missing barcodes and unmeasured products rather than by the warehouse. Our list of what to have ready before your stock moves covers the detail. As a benchmark, we start onboarding the day a seller says yes, and once their stock arrives they can take orders within 3 days.

10. What are the contract terms, and how do I leave?

Ask this before you need it. What is the notice period? Is there an exit fee? What does it cost to have your stock handed back, and how quickly? A provider that is confident in its service has no need to make leaving expensive.

11. Where is the warehouse, and can I see it?

Location changes less than you would think about how fast parcels reach your customers, which is set by the carrier service and the cut-off. It does change how easily you can visit, and before trusting a company with all of your stock you should be able to look at the racking it will sit on. Ask for the full address and a visit. If either is refused, ask why.

12. What happens at peak?

November and December test every 3PL at once. Ask whether there is a peak surcharge and what it is, whether the cut-off moves, and how they plan capacity for clients whose volume doubles. Our peak season planning guide covers what to agree in advance.

Red flags that predict a bad fit

• No price until after a sales call. If the rate card is kept private, it is often because it does not compare well.
• "From" prices with no worked example at your volume and product mix.
• Accuracy and dispatch figures that are promised but never measured or reported to clients.
• No named contact, and no committed response time.
• Returns described as "handled" with no turnaround and no price.
• Leaving costs more than joining: long notice periods, exit fees, expensive stock handback.
• A yes to everything. A provider set up for small, light parcels should tell you plainly if your products are heavy, hazardous, chilled or oversized.

The checklist to send before you sign

Copy this into an email to every provider on your shortlist and compare the answers side by side:

1. What is your minimum order volume or monthly spend, if any?
2. Please send your full rate card and a worked invoice for a month at my volume.
3. Which prices can change after I sign, and with how much notice?
4. What does the pick and pack price include, and what does each additional item cost?
5. What share of orders received before your cut-off left the same day over the last three months?
6. What is your measured pick accuracy, and do you report it to clients monthly?
7. Who is my day-to-day contact, and what response time do you commit to?
8. How many working days does a return take, and what does it cost per unit?
9. Do you connect to all my sales channels, and is setup one-off or recurring?
10. What is the onboarding timeline, and what do you need from me?
11. What is the notice period, is there an exit fee, and what does stock handback cost?
12. Can I visit the warehouse, and what changes at peak?

How we answer these ourselves

It would be odd to publish this and not answer it. Our full rate card is public, including storage, goods-in, returns and the November and December peak charge, and the price we quote is the price we lock in. There is no minimum volume. We commit to 99.5% dispatch accuracy or better and report against it monthly; our actual pick accuracy averages 99.8%, and so does our same-day dispatch rate. You deal directly with the people handling your stock, with a reply within 2 hours in business hours. Returns are graded and restocked or set aside within 3 working days at £2 a unit. Onboarding starts the day you say yes. Terms are rolling monthly with 30 days' notice and no exit fee, and our Rochdale warehouse is open to visits by arrangement.

We are also not the right choice for everyone. We are built for small, light, non-perishable products, typically parcels under 2kg, and we will say so upfront if yours are heavy, hazardous, chilled or oversized. If that sounds like a fit, here is how our fulfilment works.

Choosing a 3PL, answered

What is a 3PL?

A 3PL, or third-party logistics provider, is a company that stores your stock and picks, packs and ships your orders for you, usually alongside returns processing. For an e-commerce seller it replaces packing orders yourself with a warehouse that does it to an agreed cut-off and standard.

How much does a 3PL cost in the UK?

It depends on volume and product. On our published rate card, pick and pack starts at 85p to £1.10 for the first item in an order, storage from 20p a box a week, and returns at £2 a unit, with postage on top. A typical single-item parcel lands at around £3.50 to £5.50 all in. Always ask any provider for a worked invoice at your own volume.

When should a small business switch to a 3PL?

When packing is taking the hours you need for selling, stock has outgrown the space you have, or busy weeks mean parcels going out late. Many sellers start looking at around 100 orders a month.

How long does it take to move to a new 3PL?

It depends mostly on how ready your product data is and how quickly your stock can be moved. We start onboarding the day a seller says yes, and once their stock arrives they can take orders within 3 days.

What should be in a 3PL contract?

The full rate card or a clear reference to it, which prices can change and with how much notice, the dispatch cut-off, how accuracy is measured and reported, how returns are handled and priced, the notice period, any exit fee, and what it costs to have your stock handed back.