How E-Commerce Brands Can Reduce 3PL Costs (Without Changing Volume)

For most e-commerce founders, logistics feels like a fixed cost.

You negotiate a 3PL contract, move your stock in, and assume the invoice is largely out of your control.

But in reality, fulfilment is one of the most mismanaged and least scrutinised cost lines in an e-commerce business — and often the second-largest expense after marketing.

At Arqet, we regularly uncover 20–40% savings in 3PL and fulfilment costs, even across completely different product categories and warehouse providers.

Not by chasing cheaper rates — but by understanding how each 3PL actually charges, where incentives sit, and where costs quietly multiply.

Why 3PL Costs Escalate in E-Commerce Businesses

Every 3PL prices differently.Different contracts, different charging logic, different operational assumptions.

Yet many brands choose a provider based on:

• availability

• recommendation

• speed of onboarding

Not on business model fit, system fit, or commercial incentives.

This is where costs start to leak.

Case Study 1: When a Recommended 3PL Wasn’t the Right Fit

In our first case, the brand had limited experience with third-party logistics and selected a 3PL based largely on recommendation.

On the surface, nothing seemed wrong — orders were shipping, customers were happy — but fulfilment costs were climbing month after month.

Where the Cost Pressure Came From

Without going line-by-line into proprietary detail, the key issues were structural:

• A static, dedicated-space warehouse model that financially rewarded inefficiency

• Inventory being spread across multiple storage locations, inflating storage fees

• A traditional pallet-stack layout that:

  • limited pick capacity

  • slowed dispatch

  • increased handling costs

• A cost-plus contract structure with limited guardrails

• Low visibility into what was actually driving the invoice

None of these alone caused the blow-out.

Together, they compounded.

The Shift That Unlocked Savings

The brand didn’t just renegotiate — they moved to a dynamic 3PL model designed around stock turnover rather than static storage.

This approach:

• reduced paid storage footprint

• increased daily pick capacity

• improved order turnaround times

• removed incentives for unnecessary stock spreading

In conjunction we implemented a series of commercial and operational changes compounded — particularly around how orders were structured and charged.

Combined with tighter commercial controls and clearer operational standards, the result was up to 40% reduction in fulfilment costs — without reducing volume or service levels.

Case Study 2: A 3PL Move That Increased Costs Instead of Reducing Them

The second brand had already completed a 3PL transition.

On paper, the move should have delivered meaningful savings.

Instead, costs went up.

Why “Cheaper Rates” Didn’t Equal Lower Costs

This case highlights a common founder misconception: that shipping rates are the main lever.

They aren’t.

What we uncovered:

• The 3PL had limited experience with B2B fulfilment, which introduced hidden complexity

• Layout space, system requirements, and integrations weren’t priced accurately at onboarding

• The account became commercially challenging for the 3PL — triggering cost recovery behaviour

• Inbound pricing shifted from per pallet to per unit, doubling receiving costs

• Storage allocation gradually moved into higher-cost locations over time

Again, not one issue — but a system misalignment.

The Real Issue: Lack of Clear Operating Rules

Without strong SOPs and shipping principles in place, operational decisions defaulted to the warehouse’s advantage.

Once commercial definitions, inbound logic, storage allocation rules, and governance were tightened, the expected savings finally landed — 20–30%+, without another disruptive 3PL change.

Why Every E-Commerce 3PL Review Is Different

There is no template solution for reducing fulfilment costs.

Every review requires:

• understanding how that 3PL charges

• mapping incentives vs your business model

• knowing which metrics actually move the invoice

• and having the experience to spot inefficiencies that don’t show up in headline rates

This is why founders often feel their logistics costs are fixed — the savings sit in the detail.

The Arqet Perspective on 3PL Cost Optimisation

In most e-commerce businesses:

• logistics is the second-largest cost after marketing

• unlike marketing, it doesn’t grow revenue

• but improving it can unlock margin immediately

Every time logistics is properly examined, savings appear — but only when you know what to look for and how to lock those savings in long-term.

Wondering What’s Hiding in Your 3PL Invoice?

If fulfilment costs feel opaque, inconsistent, or higher than they should be, that’s usually a sign there’s value sitting below the surface.

Arqet helps founders uncover it — and turn it into sustainable margin.

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