By Sara Abrons
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When searching for a new 3PL, most e-commerce brands tend to focus on the usual high-level questions:
Brands that have gone through this process before — or who know what they’re doing — usually add a few more things to the list:
But there’s one critical factor that often doesn’t get checked, and it’s missing from many “how to vet a 3PL” checklists:
👉 The availability and transparency of operational and billing data.
To get a real sense of a 3PL’s data practices before you commit, you should do the following during the sales process:
Way too often, brands only discover how limited the data is after they’ve already moved in and received their first invoice.
It’s not uncommon for a 3PL invoice to be a single-page PDF showing only high-level line items:
No breakdowns. No granularity.
This usually isn’t because the 3PL is hiding anything — it’s often because they haven’t upgraded their technology to support more detailed reporting. But that’s not great for customers. Without better data:
Even if you're purchasing shipping through your 3PL, you should still be able to see a full breakdown of shipping expenses for every order — just like you’d get on a FedEx or UPS invoice. Unfortunately, many 3PLs don’t offer that level of detail.
Without it, you have no way of understanding what’s driving your shipping costs, and no way to take meaningful action to improve them.
Here are a few examples of insights you could uncover — and cost-saving steps you could take — if your 3PL gives you detailed, exportable data:
When evaluating a 3PL, don’t just ask about rates and service tiers. Ask:
These questions will help you avoid costly surprises and ensure you have control and clarity over your operations.
At Fetch Fulfillment, we’ve invested significant time and money — and continue to do so — in building technology that supports better data access and transparency. We believe every brand should have the visibility they need to understand, audit, and improve their 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.