Most Shopify brands pack their own orders until it stops making sense. The stockroom fills up, launches create backlogs, and someone on the team is still printing labels at night. The usual next step is a 3PL. Shopify makes the technical side fairly simple, but the details of how a 3PL connects, what it controls and what stays with you decide whether the move goes smoothly. This guide covers those details.
A Shopify 3PL is a third-party logistics company that stores your inventory and ships your Shopify orders for you. It connects to your store through an app or direct integration. New orders reach the 3PL's warehouse system within minutes, the 3PL picks, packs and ships them, and the tracking number is written back to Shopify, which sends your customer the shipping confirmation. Stock levels sync back to Shopify as inventory moves. Shopify sold its own logistics business to Flexport in 2023, so brands that want to outsource fulfillment choose an independent 3PL.
How a 3PL Connects to Shopify
The connection takes little of your time to set up, and then it runs in the background. This is what happens to each order once it's live.
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The 3PL is added to your store
The 3PL connects through a Shopify app or its own integration. Its warehouse appears in Shopify as a location, and the products it stores are stocked at that location. Orders for those products are sent to the 3PL automatically.
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An order comes in
When a customer checks out, the order reaches the 3PL's warehouse system, usually within minutes. Your team doesn't export, email or upload anything.
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Holds and changes reach the warehouse
If you edit, cancel or hold an order, for example for a fraud check or an address correction, the change has to reach the warehouse before the order is picked. Ask each 3PL how late a change can be made and how cancellations are confirmed.
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The order is picked, packed and shipped
The 3PL picks the items, packs them to your packing spec, buys the shipping label and hands the package to the carrier.
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Tracking goes back to Shopify
The 3PL marks the order fulfilled and adds the tracking number. Shopify then sends your customer the shipping confirmation email you've already set up, with your branding.
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Stock levels update
As orders ship and new deliveries are received, the 3PL updates the stock available at its location, so your store doesn't sell products that aren't on the shelf.
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Returns are processed
Returns go to the 3PL, which inspects them, restocks them or sets them aside, and reports back. You issue the refund or exchange in Shopify or your returns app.
If you sell the same products on Amazon, Walmart or wholesale, ask whether the 3PL can fulfill those orders from the same inventory. One stock pool is easier to forecast and reorder than several.
What a Shopify 3PL Handles, and What Stays With You
The 3PL takes over the physical work. Your store, your customers and your commercial decisions stay with you. Agree on where that line sits before you sign, because most problems between brands and 3PLs start with each side assuming the other owned a task.
What to Check Before You Choose a Shopify 3PL
Most 3PLs say they integrate with Shopify. These are the questions that show how well a provider will actually run your orders.
How do orders reach the warehouse, and how quickly? How are tracking and stock levels written back, and how often? Expect a direct connection with no spreadsheets or manual uploads.
If you sell bundles in Shopify, the 3PL needs to know which items make up each one, so the right products go in the box and stock counts stay correct.
Will they pack with your boxes, tissue, inserts and gift notes, from a written spec for each product? Ask what happens when you change packaging for a launch.
When does an order need to arrive to ship the same day? Does that change on weekends, holidays and your busiest sales days?
Where are your customers? A warehouse in the center of the US reaches more of the country by ground in fewer days than one on either coast. Compare transit times, not only rates.
How do they staff for product launches, sales and Black Friday? Ask how long it took them to clear orders after last year's busiest day.
Can you see order status, stock and what shipped without emailing someone? Photos of shipped orders and a direct line to the warehouse team save time when something goes wrong.
Every charge should be itemized, including how postage is billed and whether carrier rates are marked up. Check minimums, contract length and the cost of leaving.
Our step-by-step 3PL vetting guide and our guide to negotiating a 3PL contract go deeper on the last two.
What a Shopify 3PL Costs
3PL pricing for Shopify brands follows the same structure almost everywhere: a fee to receive inventory, monthly storage, a pick and pack fee per order, packaging, returns, and postage. These figures are common US ranges for a typical direct-to-consumer order of one or two items.
Postage is often about twice the 3PL's own fees, so the provider's carrier rates and its distance from your customers can matter more than a few cents off the pick and pack fee. Ask whether postage is billed at the 3PL's actual carrier cost or with a margin added, and get the answer in writing.
For every line on a 3PL invoice with worked examples, see what a 3PL costs. To estimate your own monthly bill, use the 3PL cost calculator, and see how to read a 3PL quote before you compare offers.
Shopify Fulfillment Options Compared
A 3PL isn't the only way to fulfill Shopify orders. This is how the main options compare for a growing brand.
| Option | How it works | Best fit | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ship it yourself | You pack orders and buy labels through Shopify Shipping or shipping software | Early-stage brands with low, steady volume | Your time, space and staff; launches and holidays are hard to handle |
| Independent 3PL | A 3PL stores your inventory and ships orders through a Shopify integration | Brands with growing volume, branded packaging or several sales channels | Quality varies widely between providers; check the integration and contract terms |
| Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment | Amazon ships your Shopify orders from your FBA inventory | Amazon-first brands with a smaller Shopify store | Limited packaging and insert options; Amazon's inventory rules and fees apply |
| Dropshipping | Your supplier ships each order directly to your customer | Testing products without holding stock | Little control over packaging, delivery speed and accuracy |
Shopify no longer runs a fulfillment network of its own. It sold its logistics business, including Deliverr, to Flexport in 2023. Today, when Shopify brands talk about "Shopify fulfillment," they usually mean an independent 3PL connected to their store.
How a Switch to a 3PL Works
For a straightforward catalog, a few weeks from signing to shipping is common. The biggest delays come from incomplete product data and inventory that arrives later than planned.
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Quote and agreement
Share your monthly orders, items per order, SKU count, packaging and sales channels. You get an itemized quote, then a service agreement to review.
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Product data and packing specs
Send SKUs, barcodes, weights and dimensions, and write a packing spec for each product: the box or mailer, protective fill, inserts, and anything that must or must not go in the box.
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Connect Shopify and test
The 3PL connects to your store. Place test orders to confirm that orders arrive, tracking is written back and stock levels update as expected.
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Send inventory
Ship inventory to the 3PL with a packing list. It's counted, checked and shelved before it's available to sell. If you're moving from another warehouse, move stock in stages so your best sellers never run out.
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Go live
Orders start routing to the 3PL's location in Shopify. Watch the first few days closely: order counts, ship times and any exceptions.
Avoid switching during your busiest weeks. If you're moving before the holidays, aim to be live well before November, so any issues are found and fixed at normal volume.
Orderfy: A 3PL for High-Volume Shopify Brands
Orderfy fulfills Shopify orders from Dallas–Fort Worth for high-volume brands. This is how we handle the checks above:
- A direct Shopify integration. Orders reach us within minutes of checkout. Tracking goes back to Shopify and stock levels update as inventory moves, with nothing for your team to export or upload.
- Inventory available to sell within 24 hours of delivery, counted against your packing list and photographed on arrival.
- Same-day shipping with UPS, FedEx and USPS.
- Guaranteed order accuracy. Every item is scanned at pick and checked again at pack. If we ship a wrong or incomplete order, we reship it free and credit that order’s fulfillment fee.
- Ground delivery to both coasts in 1–3 days from the center of the US, without paying for air shipping.
- Your packaging, packed the same way every time, from a written spec for each product, plus kits, bundles and subscription boxes.
- Photos of what shipped. Packed orders and pallets are photographed every day before carrier pickup, so you have proof when a customer says an order never shipped.
- A WhatsApp group with our warehouse team, so questions get answered by the people handling your orders.
- Itemized pricing, including how postage is billed. There's no volume minimum; smaller accounts pay a monthly account fee of $0–$999, depending on volume and services.
We also ship Amazon FBM orders and handle Amazon FBA prep in the same warehouse. Compare us with ShipBob, ShipMonk and ShipHype, see the best Shopify 3PLs for high-volume brands, or see Shopify fulfillment at Orderfy.
Shopify 3PL FAQ
A Shopify 3PL is a third-party logistics company that stores your inventory and ships your Shopify orders for you. It connects to your store so orders reach its warehouse automatically, then picks, packs and ships each order and writes the tracking number back to Shopify.
Not anymore. Shopify sold its logistics business, including Deliverr, to Flexport in 2023 and no longer runs its own fulfillment network. Shopify brands that want to outsource fulfillment use an independent 3PL that connects to their store.
Through a Shopify app or a direct integration. The 3PL's warehouse appears in Shopify as a location, orders for products stocked there are sent to the 3PL within minutes of checkout, tracking numbers are written back when orders ship, and stock levels update as inventory moves.
Yes. When the 3PL marks an order fulfilled and adds the tracking number, Shopify sends the shipping confirmation email you've already set up, with your branding. Customers don't see the 3PL's name unless you choose to show it.
Most ecommerce 3PLs can pack with your boxes or mailers, tissue, inserts and gift notes. Ask for a written packing spec for each product, how your packaging materials are stored, and whether inserts carry an extra fee.
For a typical one- or two-item order, 3PL fees commonly add up to about $3.50 to $6 per order before postage, covering pick and pack, packaging, storage, receiving and returns. Postage is billed on top and is often $7 to $10 or more per parcel. Compare providers on total monthly cost divided by orders shipped.
For a straightforward catalog, a few weeks from signing to shipping is common. The main variables are how complete your product data is, how quickly the Shopify connection is tested, and when your first inventory shipment arrives at the 3PL.
Many can. A 3PL can ship Amazon orders as FBM (fulfilled by merchant) from the same inventory as your Shopify orders, and some also prepare inventory and send it into Amazon FBA. Orderfy does both from one warehouse in Dallas–Fort Worth.
Looking for a Shopify 3PL?
Orderfy is built for high-volume Shopify brands. Tell us your monthly orders, SKU count and packaging, and we'll send an itemized quote, including how postage is billed. You're welcome to tour the warehouse.