Finding the best UK fulfilment centre: a guide for eCommerce retailers

When trying to increase international sales, online merchants are faced with a number of options. They can sell on new marketplaces, and also invest in marketing, to acquire and retain new overseas customers. But these ambitions need to be underpinned by infrastructure that supports these objectives. An increasingly popular strategy is to work with a third-party logistics (3PL) company that is based in the overseas market, who will store, pick, pack and distribute your products on your behalf, as you. In this article we will focus on the UK market, and cover the various 3PL businesses available for consideration, using the latest publicly-available information about each provider.

Why is the UK such fertile ground for 3PL services?

With 70% of UK consumers now buying goods from overseas merchants, they are very comfortable with cross-border purchasing. Despite making up only 0.85% of the world’s population, the UK punches above its weight, representing 3.4% (right) of the global eCommerce market. Retailers based in established markets such as China, the USA, Japan and Germany will prioritise the UK when expanding overseas, as it is one of the most advanced, affluent, and mature in the world. This is in part thanks to a population of nearly 70 million, a robust courier network, and an internet penetration of 97.8%.

Who are the main players in the UK eCommerce fulfilment market?

Below, we have outlined the key metrics for each 3PL, so you can compare like-for-like, in terms of pricing, order volumes, strengths, weaknesses, quirks and features.

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1.    Headquartered in Kent (the UK's gateway to mainland Europe), Zendbox is a technology-driven fulfilment provider that works with businesses shipping anywhere from 30, to 1000s of parcels per day. They help major brands such as PRIME, USN, Puresport and fourfive, accelerate their order processing, and minimise overheads. This 3PL offers an industry-leading 10pm order cut-off time, and a free inventory analysis system called Zendportal, that gives online retailers full visibility of their order processing statistics, to help avoid understocking (leading to missed sales), and overstocking (leading to stock tied-up capital, which can be disastrous for businesses that sell perishable items). Zendbox’s core markets are sports nutrition, beauty and cosmetics. Key eCommerce platform integrations are Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce. Growing 300% in 2023, Zendbox now has 80 employees. Zendbox helps online retailers become more sustainable, too, planting 50 trees for every eCommerce business they onboard. This 3PL also donates unwanted goods to a local community foodbank, and uses eco-friendly packaging.

Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend - £400

Order cut-off time – 10pm

Weekend dispatch – Yes

Multiple carriers – Yes

EU Warehouse – Yes

Payment terms – Monthly, 7 days

Inbound SLA – 24 hours

Monthly fee - £99.99

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - £3.27

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) - £3.14

1^st Pick – £0.76

2^nd Pick - £0.38

Goods in fee - £0.04 per unit

Packaging cost - £0.20 per volumetric kh

Returns- £0.90

SFP – No

FBM – Yes

Website integration - £199

Storage – Pallet or CBM (per week) - £3.50

Storage – Pick face - £0.58

Contract terms – 12 months

Trustpilot score – 4.4/5, 42 reviews

2.    Founded in 2010 by University of Cambridge graduates James Hyde, and James Strachan, James and James Fulfilment has a network of 3PL centres in The Netherlands, USA, Australia, and Canada, to complement its Northampton, UK headquarters. This 3PL features an Order Management System (OMS) called ControlPort, and is powered by a multi-location Warehouse Management System (WMS). This 3PL has over a decade of experience, and has invested in overseas expansion. Their online growth community called The Scale Up offers excellent insights from various entrepreneurs and industry experts, to help you build a bigger eCommerce brand.

Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend - £2,500 minimum picking fees

Order cut-off time – 4pm (extended cut-off time available at a cost)

Weekend dispatch – Yes

Multiple carriers – Yes

EU Warehouse – Yes

Payment terms – Weekly

Inbound SLA – 24 hours

Monthly fee - £199.99

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - £4.99 (Evri)

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) - £4.00 (Evri)

1^st Pick – £1.50

2^nd Pick - £0.45

Goods in fee - £0.24 per unit / £0.80 per box

Packaging cost - £0.58 (est) – Full packaging pricing list available

Returns- £2

SFP – No

FBM –Yes

Website integration - £699

Storage – Pallet (per week) - £4.50

Storage – Pick face - £0.96

Contract terms – 12 months

Trustpilot score – 4.3/5, 89 reviews

3.    Based in Chicago, ShipBob is a fulfilment platform that allows retailers to manage, edit, and customise orders, tracking real-time stock levels from any location. ShipBob offers a network of fulfilment warehouses in the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia. While 3PL clients typically manage their own packaging, Shipbob offers custom branded boxes and in some instances, free plain packaging. Shipbob also offers API access, for developers to create integrations for ShipBob's App Marketplace.

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Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend - $275

Order cut-off time – 12pm

Weekend dispatch – Yes

Multiple carriers – Yes

EU Warehouse – No

Payment terms – N/A

Inbound SLA – For kitting requests of up to 500 total kits, the SLA is 4 business days (once the order is in the Processing status).

Monthly fee - £0

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - Variable

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) - Variable

1^st Pick – 0.20

2^nd Pick - £0.20

Goods in fee - N/A

Packaging cost - N/A

Returns - N/A

SFP – Yes

FBM –Yes

Website integration - £0

Storage – Pallet (per month) - £40

Storage – Pick face (per month) - £8

Contract terms – None

Trustpilot score – 4.3/5, 697 reviews

4.    Headquartered in Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire, Total Fulfilment pride themselves on being a family-owned warehouse and distribution company, offering a personal service to their clients. They have 200,000 sq ft of warehouse space, and offer a piece of software called the Total Fufilment Hub, which gives clients better visibility of their order processing.

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Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend - No

Order cut-off time – 12pm

Weekend dispatch – Yes

Multiple carriers – Yes

EU Warehouse – No

Payment terms – 14 days

Inbound SLA – 3 hours

Monthly fee - £0

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - £4.49

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) - £3.46

1^st Pick – £1.95

2^nd Pick - £0.65

Goods in fee - £2 cartons, pallets £8, container £315

Packaging cost - Variable

Software - £60/month

Returns - £1.95

SFP – No

FBM – Yes

Website integration cost - £60/month

Storage – Pallet (per week) - PCM, tallied per day - pallet half full/full pallet £0.43 PCM £0.86/day

Storage – Pick face - £0

Contract terms – 3 months

5.    Huboo was launched in 2017, by serial entrepreneurs Martin Bysh and Paul Dodd. Huboo's core offering is micro fulfilment hubs, also known as micro warehouses. What makes Huboo unique is that all of their staff are shareholders, which gives them a vested interest in the company. Huboo focuses on helping startups, SMEs, mid-market and enterprise-level retailers, brands, and wholesalers with their order fulfilment. Their fulfilment centres are located throughout the UK (mainly the South West, in and around Bristol), Germany, Spain, and theNetherlands.

Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend - No

Ordercut-off time – 2pm standard, 4:30pm Prime

Weekend dispatch – Yes

Multiple carriers – Yes

EU Warehouse – Yes

Payment terms – Weekly DD

Inbound SLA – 7 days

Monthly fee - £50 pm (up to 1500 orders), £1500 pm (up to 5000 orders)

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - £4.56 (Royal Mail)

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) - £3.32 (Royal Mail)

1^st Pick – Free (built into delivery cost)

2^nd Pick - £0.45

Goodsin fee - Free

Packaging cost - £0.90 (medium parcel)

Returns - £1.50

SFP – Yes

FBM – Yes

Website integration - Free

Storage – Pallet (per week) - £4.95

Storage – Pick face - None

Contract terms – None

Trustpilot score – 4.5/5, 871 reviews

6.    byrd are a UK and EU-based fulfilment house, heavily focused on carrier partnerships. So that they can cater for a wide range of product dimensions and weights, they work with DHL, DPD, GLS, Royal Mail, Hermes, Deutsche Post, Colissimo, La Poste, and many more. byrd offers a returns portal, and integrates with a wide range of eCommerce platforms, and marketplaces. Their warehousing and distribution network is positioned in the UK, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend - varies depending on Market - minimum is £/€500

Order cut-off time – noon

Weekend dispatch – n/a

Multiple carriers – Yes

EU Warehouse – Yes

Payment terms – SEPA, Credit Card

Inbound SLA – 2-5 days

Monthly fee - n/a

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - £3.00

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) -£2.50

1st Pick – depends on Volumes

2nd Pick - depends on Volumes

Goods in fee -£6.00 - pallet, £3.00 - box.

Packaging cost -depends on Volumes

Returns - Yes - Own portal

SFP – n/a

FBM – Yes

Website integration cost - Amazon, Shopify, Woocommerce, Bilbee, Shopware - Free 

Storage – Pallet (per week) - £4.46

Storage – Pick face - if you refer to the shelf fee this would be £0.56/week

Contract terms – 12 months

7.    With 3PL warehouses in the UK, EU, USA, and Australia, Bezos fulfils orders for more than 100 companies, in a variety of industries. Bezos' key strength is helping merchants expand into new countries. This fulfilment network was founded by MBA graduates Vernon Tjon-Soei-Len, and Diego Lijtmaer.

Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend - No

Order cut-off time – 2pm

Weekend dispatch – No

Multiple carriers – Yes

EU Warehouse – Yes

Payment terms – Monthly – 7 days

Inbound SLA – 3 days

Monthly fee - £99 to £299

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - £5.05

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) - £3.06

1^st Pick – £1.25

2^nd Pick - £0.48

Goods in fee - £1.15 single SKY carton/£24.99 per hour mixed carton/ £5.50 per pallet

Packaging cost - £0.76 (medium parcel)

Returns- £2.64

SFP – Yes

FBM – Yes

Website integration - Free

Storage – Pallet (per week) - £7.56 per CBM

Storage – Pick face - None

Contract terms – None

Trustpilot score – 4.6/5, 45 reviews

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8. Nottingham-based UK Fulfilment is a relatively small 3PL, that picks, packs, and ships around 300,000 orders annually. Rather than offering their own in-house inventory analysis and order management platform, this 3PL partners with StoreFeeder, who are also based in the East Midlands. UK Fulfilment offers pay-as-you-go pricing, a subscription box fulfilment service, same-day dispatch, and a 230pm order cut-off time.

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Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend – 300 orders per month

Order cut-off time – 230pm

Weekend dispatch – No

Multiple carriers – Yes - DPD, DHL, Royal Mail, Evri and NORSK

EU Warehouse – No

Payment terms – Bi-weekly

Inbound SLA – Inspect for damage and confirm PO with what has arrived

Monthly fee - No

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - £4.45 - Royal Mail

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) - £3.45 - Royal Mail

1^st Pick – Variable

2^nd Pick - Variable

Goods in fee - £9.99 per pallet or £1.50 per box

Packaging cost – Variable

Returns - £1.95

SFP – No

FBM – Yes

Website integration - Free

Storage – Pallet (per month) - £9.95

Storage – Pick face - £1.50 per pick bin per month

Contract terms – N/A

Trustpilot score - 4.5/5, 13 reviews

9.  Centrally-located in Northamptonshire, Synergy Retail Support provides B2C and B2B multichannel order fulfilment and returns. This 3PL has extensive experience with order reworking, helping subscription businesses, and social media influencers with their product picking, packing, and distribution.

Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend – 3000 orders

Order cut-off time – 7pm (4pm Nov-Dec)

Weekend dispatch – Yes

Multiple carriers – Yes

EU Warehouse – No

Payment terms – Weekly – 7 days

Inbound SLA – 24 hours

Monthly fee - £1038

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - £3.59 (Yodel)

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) - £3.56 (Yodel)

1^st Pick – £1

2^nd Pick - £0.75

Goods in fee - £0.07 per unit

Packaging cost – Supply own packaging or they procure on your behalf

Returns - £0.75

SFP – Yes

FBM – Yes

Website integration - £1000

Storage – Pallet (per week) - £3 per CBM

Storage – Pick face - £0.27

Contract terms – 12 + 6

Trustpilot score – N/A - 4.1/5, 106 Google reviews

10.  Lancashire-based fulfilmentcrowd offers omnichannel 3PL services to growing brands. With logistics hubs throughout the UK, Germany, the Netherlands,France, and the USA, their fulfilment offering is centred around their ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, and sustainable approach. This 3PL has expanded via trusted partners, and has adapted to a hybrid delivery model.

Expiry data management – Yes

Minimum monthly spend - No

Order cut-off time – 6pm

Weekend dispatch – Yes

Multiple carriers – Yes

EU Warehouse – Yes

Payment terms – N/A

Inbound SLA – 2 days

Monthly fee - £78

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 24 hour) - £4.32 (Evri)

Shipping fee (1 kg parcel 48 hour) - £3.50 (Evri)

1^st Pick – £1.17

2^nd Pick - £0.46

Goods in fee - £0.27 per unit

Packaging cost - £0.72

Returns - £1.20

SFP – No

FBM – Yes

Website integration - Free

Storage – Pallet (per week) - £2.65 per CBM

Storage – Pick face - None

Contract terms – None

Trustpilot score – 3.9/5, 83 reviews

Things to consider when sourcing a new UK fulfilment centre:

Now that we’ve detailed each of the main players in the UK 3PL space, you should have a better idea of each of their key strengths. When assessing a new picking and packing specialist, it makes sense to check out their third-party client reviews, and also their clients’ own customer feedback. After reading 3PLs’ case studies, reach out to their clients and ask for their thoughts on implementation, account management, pricing, warehouse security, and metrics such as picking accuracy, order processing speed, and WISMOs (Where is my order? queries).

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