Managing Your 3PL and Measuring Their Performance

Outsourcing fulfilment to a 3PL gives you operational scalability — but it also creates an information gap. When customer complaints arrive ('my order was late', 'I received the wrong item'), you are dependent on your 3PL's reporting to investigate. Without independent data, you cannot hold them accountable.

AskBiz creates an independent view of your 3PL's performance by cross-referencing order data from your sales channels with carrier tracking data and 3PL invoices — giving you objective metrics you can bring to every review meeting.

AskBiz integrates with major UK and international 3PLs:

• Mintsoft, Peoplevox, Linnworks: native integrations via Settings → Integrations
• Shipwire, ShipBob: native integrations available
• Custom 3PLs: most 3PLs can provide a daily or weekly CSV export of dispatch and inventory data. Upload this via Settings → Integrations → 3PL Data Upload

AskBiz matches the 3PL dispatch data to your order records, giving you dispatch timestamps, carrier tracking numbers, and delivery confirmation at the order level.

Go to Operations → 3PL → Performance Dashboard to see:

• Dispatch SLA compliance: % of orders dispatched within your agreed SLA (e.g. same-day for orders before 1pm). This is the most important 3PL KPI.
• Order accuracy rate: % of orders with correct items and quantities. Should be above 99.5%.
• Pick error rate by SKU: which products are most frequently mispicked. Often reveals labelling or warehouse location issues.
• Inventory accuracy: your expected stock levels (from purchase orders) vs what the 3PL reports. Persistent discrepancies indicate shrinkage or inventory management issues.
• Cost per order: total 3PL invoice ÷ orders processed. Track monthly to spot cost creep.
• Carrier upgrade rate: % of orders upgraded to a faster (and more expensive) service by the 3PL without your authorisation.

Many 3PL contracts include SLA penalty clauses — but these are only enforceable if you have the data to support a claim. AskBiz generates a monthly 3PL Performance Report that you can share directly with your 3PL in your review meetings.

The report shows:

• SLA compliance rate for the month vs contract target
• List of specific orders that breached SLA (with timestamps)
• Pick error incidents and the orders affected
• Inventory discrepancies (expected vs reported)

Presenting objective, order-level data in 3PL reviews shifts the conversation from anecdote to evidence — and typically produces faster resolution of persistent issues.

If your 3PL's performance is consistently below your SLA targets, AskBiz helps you build the business case for switching:

1. Quantify the cost of poor performance: late dispatch → lost marketplace ranking → estimated revenue impact; pick errors → return processing costs + customer service costs + reputation damage

2. Calculate cost of switching: 3PL migration typically involves stock transfer costs, parallel running during transition, and re-labelling/re-packaging of existing inventory

3. Compare 3PL unit economics: use your actual volume data from AskBiz when requesting quotes from alternative 3PLs — accurate volume data allows more competitive quotes

Go to Operations → 3PL → Switching Analysis to run a cost-benefit model for a 3PL change.