If you have an online business in the United Kingdom, it makes sense that you’ll eventually need UK ecommerce fulfilment services. When you first launch, you may handle fulfilling orders yourself, but it makes sense to outsource to professionals once you reach a certain volume.
Before we look at the top fulfilment solutions the UK offers, we’ll first explore what to look for in your fulfilment partner and how to choose the one that’s right for your business.
What to Look for in a 3PL for Your Ecommerce Business
As you research third-party logistics providers to partner with, consider:
Capabilities
What does your business need? Does the provider have the capability of meeting those needs? For example, do you want to use custom packaging with your orders? Do you need refrigeration in the warehouse? Do you need international shipping? Are there any industry regulations you must abide by?
Warehouse Locations
Warehouse locations influence shipping speed, which affects shipping costs and customer satisfaction. If there aren’t multiple fulfilment centers that can cover most of your audience within a few days, your customer experience will suffer. Thanks to the Amazon Prime Effect, people expect their online orders faster than ever these days. Fast delivery isn’t just a competitive advantage anymore. It’s an expectation.
If you have customers in the United States, you’ll need a global provider with locations throughout the US to cover your American customer base.
Experience
Does your perspective 3PL have experience with outsourced services? Your partner should have a stellar reputation with plenty of industry experience to support their partners. Ask for references and information about their areas of expertise.
Certain providers have more experience in particular niches. If you’re looking for a company that specializes in cosmetics, for instance, don’t be afraid to ask about industry-specific expertise.
Scalability
When you outsource order fulfilment, you must be sure that the company you’re passing the job to can handle your current sales volume. The ideal partner will handle your current volume and growth with you. This is especially important for businesses that have seasonal spikes in sales volume.
Pricing
A transparent pricing structure is critical to budget your business expenses. Pay attention to all the fees, such as:
- Account setup fees
- Receiving fees
- Monthly storage fees
- Picking and packing fees
The best fulfilment services are upfront with their pricing information, including shipping costs. There won’t be any hidden costs to worry about.
Reliability
Your customers expect reliability, and you can only be as reliable as the services they provide. You need a partner that will ship orders correctly and quickly. Reputable partners will share their delivery statistics. Most providers have 99% order accuracy.
How to Choose Your Ecommerce Fulfilment Provider
After evaluating your potential partners with the above considerations in mind, narrow down your list to the top three fulfilment companies you’re most interested in.
Arrange meetings with the sales team of each of the three partners. During the meeting, ask questions such as:
- What is your experience with our type of products?
- What kind of technology do you use? Does your platform integrate with my ecommerce platform? What type of inventory management solution do you offer? Can someone help ensure my website integrates with your software if I have a custom solution?
- Do you provide freight, or will I have to arrange inventory shipments to your warehouses myself?
- Where are your warehouses located? Do you make it easy to distribute my inventory across all the centers? Do you offer same-day dispatch?
- Do you pass shipping discounts to us? What kind of discount can I expect compared to shipping on my own? Do I choose my carrier or do you?
- Are there monthly order minimums I’m required to hit to use your services? If I don’t hit that mark one month, what happens?
- How will I be billed for your services?
- Will I have a dedicated account manager? If not, who do I approach with questions? How can I get in touch with your company?
Use the answers to these questions to help you make your ultimate choice of provider.
Best UK Fulfilment Services
No two ecommerce fulfilment services are the same. To help you decide which fulfilment service you may want to partner with, look at this list. These companies are based in the UK or offer services there.
1. ShipBob
As one of the most popular 3PL companies in the United States, ShipBob operates globally. Headquarters is in Chicago, IL, USA. Their global network includes a warehouse in Manchester, England. Since it is located close to Heathrow Airport and other major logistics hubs, you can fill online store orders quickly and easily.
Features
- Cloud-based inventory and order management system
- Distributed inventory
- Offers same-day and two-day shipping
- Seamless integration with your online store
- Transparent pricing with shipping discounts
- Predictive and historical data
- Return management
- B2B and wholesale orders
Pros
- No minimum inventory requirements
- Customers can use custom packaging
- International warehouses
- User-friendly dashboard
- Works with multiple sales channels
Cons
- It doesn’t offer refrigeration.
- Cannot fulfill Amazon Prime or Seller-Fulfilled Prime orders. (It can fulfill Amazon orders, but not Prime eligible ones.)
- Not as effective for large, heavy, or fragile products (though it can still handle them)
2. Bezos
Bezos offers end-to-end ecommerce fulfilment. One thing that sets them apart from others in the industry is that they can get your inventory ready to sell within 48 hours of its arrival at one of their fulfilment centers.
Bezos specializes in direct-to-consumer (D2C), B2B, Amazon FBA prep, and more. Their team can also handle bulky, heavy, dangerous items, alcohol, and organics.
Features
- Next-day delivery
- Pay-as-you-go pricing
- No order minimums
- Distribute inventory across multiple warehouses
- Integrates with many ecommerce platforms and marketplaces
- Completely customizable returns processing
Pros
- Highly scalable within the UK
- Easily ship difficult-to-move or risky items
- User-friendly interface that provides inventory information in real-time
Cons
- You must speak with someone to get a quote
3. BOXstation
BOXstation is one best fulfilment services in the UK. They have 25 years of experience in warehousing and fulfilment service. Whether you have an existing ecommerce business and want to expand into the UK market or are starting a brand new business in the UK, BOXstation offers a variety of services to help you.
BOXstation works with ecommerce stores, fashion retailers, importers, non-profit organizations, and more. They pride themselves on offering services that benefit a wide range of businesses, whether large or small.
Features
- Dedicated account manager
- Integrations for Amazon and eBay sales channels
- Retail kitting distribution service
- No contracts
- Express international shipping
- Returns handling
- Multiple warehouse locations
Pros
- Pay-as-you-go pricing
- No setup fees
- Transparent pricing
- 100% accuracy
Cons
- You’ll have to speak to someone to get a quote since pricing isn’t listed on the website.
4. myWarehouse
myWarehouse was founded in 2009 as a fulfilment service strictly for online sellers, who were otherwise largely ignored in the industry. They are best suited to fewer than 2,000 monthly orders but have no upper limit on order volume.
Because they focus solely on low-volume ecommerce businesses, they lack many features you’d see with a larger fulfilment solution.
Users can import orders via a pre-integrated marketplace or shopping cart automatically.
Alternatively, they can enter orders manually with the cloud-based fulfilment system.
Pricing is straightforward, so you’ll easily be able to tell if you’ll save money.
- Pick and pack: £2.61 + £0.42 for each additional item in the same order.
- Receiving: £0.10 per item
- Packaging: Starts £0.75. Fixed price per order includes infill, outer materials, and dispatch courier information and notes.
- Storage: £0.48 per cubic foot, based on product dimensions, not box dimensions.
Features
- Pay-as-you-go pricing
- Storage fees are based on product dimensions, not box size.
- Returns processing
- Integrations for many sales channels with an API for custom integrations
- Same-day dispatch on orders received by 3 p.m.
Pros
- Price list on the website
- No setup fees
- 100% accuracy
- Works well for large or heavy products up to 25kg
- Great for low order volume
Cons
- No account management
- Product limits – no food, alcohol, lithium batteries, firearms
- It may not be as effective for companies with over 2,000 orders per month.
5. Red Stag Fulfillment
Red Stag Fulfillment is a popular option because they manage the entire process with an extensive international network of fulfllment centers. The cloud-based platform ensures you can access your data anywhere there’s an internet connection available.
If your business specializes in heavy or bulk items, then Red Stag is often your best bet since other ecommerce fulfilment providers cost more. That said, you’ll have to contact them for a quote, since pricing information isn’t available on the website.
Features
- No long-term contracts
- No setup or SKU management fees
- 100% guarantee on inventory and order fulfilment accuracy
- 2-day shipping available
- Integrations with popular ecommerce platforms
- Great for those who need UK fulfilment
Pros
- Great for small businesses with high order volume
- Affordable rates for heavy packages
- Easy to use
- Stellar customer service
Cons
- The complex pricing structure may be difficult to understand
6. Green Fulfilment
As the name suggests, Green Fulfilment is a UK-based eco-friendly fulfilment solution. They specialize in small and medium-size items for B2C and B2B businesses. The company prides itself on being friendly and flexible. Account managers are responsible for stock control in the warehouse, ensuring that when you have questions, your account manager is in the same place your inventory is.
They’ve replaced all plastic tape and packaging with paper-based alternatives. They consistently measure and reduce energy consumption across all departments. They’re actively working to become carbon negative.
Features
- A global network of fulfilment centres
- Integrates with ecommerce platforms and marketplaces
- Kitting and assembly are available
- Returns management
- White label customer service is available
Pros
- Customer support is available via phone, email, and WhatsApp
- Green operations are good for the planet
- The company will handle your customer service if you want
Cons
- It may not be the best choice for you if you ship less than 300 orders a month
- Pricing information is not publicly available.
7. Amazon FBA
Amazon FBA is one of the most well-known ecommerce fulfillment providers in the United States. They offer services in the UK, too. You utilize the Amazon fulfillment center network and warehouse staff for your core fulfillment needs.
Amazon has strict packaging requirements for preparing your inbound shipments at the UK fulfillment center. If not correctly packed to their specifications, you may run into issues receiving your inventory into the warehouses.
Pricing is an area where Amazon may be a deal-breaker, depending on the size of your business and its order volume. Receiving fees are free when specific guidelines are met. Picking and packing fees vary from order to order, as they are based on the size, weight, and number of items. Depending on the size and product category, storage costs also vary, ranging from $0.75-$2.40/cubic feet.
Features
- A distributed network of fulfllment centres worldwide with 65 global locations and 110 options in the US.
- Professional picking and packing team
- Two-way inventory management
- Integrates with most major ecommerce platforms
Pros
- Worldwide shipping
- Excellent for multi-channel selling
- Next-day shipping available
- Returns processing
- Subscription box services
Cons
- Fulfilment costs add up quickly
- Customer support can be difficult to reach
- Cannot use custom packaging
8. Huboo
Huboo is a UK-based fulfilment solution that offers EU and global fulfilment services. It’s perfect for businesses that need UK fulfilment but later need to expand worldwide. With multiple warehouses across the UK, Spain, and the Netherlands, your ecommerce orders will ship from the location closest to your customer.
Monthly subscriptions are available starting at £25/month for up to 300 orders. If you have over 5,000 orders dispatched every month, you’ll need a custom quote.
No matter what you choose, you’ll get a fulfilment service tailored to your ecommerce business.
Features
- Free goods in (terms and conditions apply)
- Free inventory storage for two months
- Picking, packing, and shipping
- Integrates with many ecommerce platforms and online marketplaces for easy order management
- API and developer access for custom integrations
- Returns management
Pros
- Transparent pricing
- Dedicated hub manager
- Instant sign up
- Will build a custom integration for you for free
Cons
- Limits on heavy items
9. ZendBox
ZendBox is a fulfilment service that provides UK and EU fulfilment. They use AI tools to optimize their processes to ensure everything runs as efficiently as possible. They primarily work with direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands and online retailers with fewer than 50 SKUs, 30+ orders per day, and smaller items (no larger than three footballs or 70 cm).
Features
- AI-powered software manages the entire process
- Returns processing
- Works for Amazon Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) orders
- Later than usual cut-off time for order processing
- Sunday processing and dispatching are available
Pros
- Multi-channel fulfilment options
- Transparent pricing schedule with no hidden fees
- International shipping available
- Customers have access to intelligent reporting with the Zendportal, which provides a live look at order data and inventory levels.
Cons
- Pricing information isn’t publicly available
- It may not be the best fit if you ship fewer than 30 orders per day
- Not ideal for more oversized items
10. Fulfillable
Fulfillable is a UK-based 3PL that works well for businesses of all sizes. They offer the lowest inbound fees in the industry, with £0.02/per unit (barcodes required), and do not charge by the hour. That also comes with no minimum quantities. They offer kitting for subscription boxes and product bundles, too.
Features
- Pricing calculator available on the website
- Multiple shipping options – next day, 2-day, and 3-day
- Dedicated account manager
- Dashboard with real-time inventory and order tracking
Pros
- 99.999% order accuracy
- No setup fees
- Multi-channel fulfilment
- Support for custom packaging
- Returns processing
Cons
- Getting started may be a bit time-consuming
- There may be a 15-minute delay in syncing stock levels between your store and Fulfillable.
11. OmniPack
OmniPack is an end-to-end service offering full-stack fulfilment. They integrate with many popular e-commerce platforms for automation. Customers get access to the Merchant Portal, which provides a look at what’s going on in real-time.
Features
- Sell across Europe
- Fast delivery: Same and next-day available
- Returns processing
Pros
- 99.92% order accuracy
- Specializes in ecommerce business – no store is too big or too small
- An award-winning company with 15+ years of experience
Cons
- Pricing information isn’t publicly available, so you’ll have to contact the company to get a free quote.
FAQs
Which Ecommerce Fulfilment Option Will You Use?
With so many options available to help with your small business, it’s hard to decide which one you’ll use. We hope our list has been helpful. If you choose one of these, be sure to leave a comment with your experience so far. We love to hear from our readers.
