By Sara Abrons
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Most eCommerce brands know to ask about warehouse location, pricing, and service tiers when choosing a 3PL. However, 3PL data transparency is one of the most overlooked factors when choosing a fulfillment partner—but it directly impacts your cost, control, and growth potential.
How transparent is your 3PL's operational and billing data?
In this post, we’ll walk you through the must-ask questions, hidden cost drivers, and smart ways to evaluate a 3PL’s data access before signing a contract.
3PL data transparency means having full, real-time access to exportable information on billing, fulfillment, and shipping. Without it, you risk:
If the answer is “no” to any of the above, it’s a red flag.
Some 3PLs send single-page invoices with vague terms like “Storage,” “Receiving,” or “Packaging”—but no detail. That lack of granularity makes it impossible to audit your costs or know what you’re really paying for.
→ Dimensional Weight Charges
Packages may be billed for size, not weight. Switching to custom packaging can reduce costs.
→ DAS/EDAS Zip Code Surcharges
Your shipping may incur extra fees in rural zones. Changing carriers can eliminate those.
→ Unnecessary Expedited Shipping
Orders close to your warehouse might still be shipped via 2-Day. Downgrading to Ground saves money without affecting speed.
It means having real-time access to exportable data on billing, fulfillment, and shipping—so you can audit costs, track performance, and make strategic logistics decisions.
Ask for sample invoices with line-item breakdowns, request a live dashboard demo, and confirm you can download order and shipping data in CSV or via API.
You may face hidden fees, blurred billing lines, and limited visibility— making it impossible to optimize costs or verify service quality.
DIM weight is based on a package’s volume; if packaging is oversized, you might be billed for 4–5 pounds even if the actual weight is 1 lb—which surcharges your shipments.
Ask for downloadable reports in CSV/Excel that include line-item invoice details, shipping rates per order, and fulfillment KPIs—filtered by SKU, date, or carrier.
Don’t sign a 3PL contract blind. Before committing:
When your 3PL gives you clear, actionable data, you avoid surprise costs—and gain the insight to optimize fulfillment strategically.
See Fetch Fulfillment's transparency in action. Book a demo today and experience full-visibility logistics.
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Fetch Fulfillment is a New Jersey-based 3PL for brand owners who want direct-to-consumer fulfillment to be the least stressful part of their business. Most 3PLs are good at one thing, like shipping on-time, or having modern tech, or picking up the phone. What makes Fetch unique is that it's stellar at all 3: it provides high-end boutique-grade customer service -- as seen in its glowing reviews and +92 net promoter score -- combined with its real-time cutting-edge tech and well-managed operation, with 99.2% same-day shipping and 99.95% order fill-rate. The Fetch team lives by its motto: they are Your Brand's Best Friend.
