3PL pricing: what affects the cost of ecommerce logistics?

One retailer ships one small standard product per order; another has several order lines, bulky items, special packaging and many returns. A transparent calculation therefore starts with your actual order profile. This guide covers the usual cost components, the biggest price drivers and how to compare a 3PL quote with the cost of running your own warehouse. Karlholm Logistics does not publish a standard price list – we calculate from your volumes.

How 3PL is priced

Most 3PL setups combine variable and fixed parts. Names differ between providers, but the logic is usually the same: you pay for space, for work performed and for any extras. A serious quote shows both unit prices and the assumptions behind the calculation.

The glossary explains common terms such as rate card, storage fee and minimum monthly fee.

The biggest factors behind your 3PL price

• Orders and order lines. Order volume matters, but the number of lines and units picked says more about the work. A thousand orders with one item each need a different setup than a thousand orders with five items from different zones.
• Product dimensions, weight and storage form. Small items on shelves use less space and can be easier to pick than long, heavy or bulky products. Pallet goods, general cargo and goods that require a forklift affect both storage and handling.
• Variation over the year. Campaigns and peaks affect staffing, packing capacity and receiving. A good calculation shows a normal month, a peak month and a quiet period separately – which also shows the value of a solution that scales up and down.
• Service requirements and special handling. Gift wrapping, personalised packing slips, serial numbers, batch tracking, special labelling or tight cut-offs may require extra steps. Describe them in your request instead of assuming they are included.

Data to prepare for a quote:

• average and maximum orders per day
• order lines and units per order
• number of SKUs and stock turnover
• pallet, shelf and floor space over the year
• return rate and work per return
• split between B2C, B2B and export

How to calculate the monthly cost

Build the calculation in separate lines so it can be updated as volume changes:

Estimated monthly 3PL cost = receiving + storage + order fees + line picking + packing and materials + shipping + returns + other services.

Calculate at least three scenarios: low, normal and high volume. Do not automatically include freight in the comparison if your current transport cost sits outside the warehouse budget – otherwise you are comparing different things.

To get a cost per order, divide the month's relevant logistics cost by the number of orders shipped. Also track cost per order line and per delivered unit: those measures explain better why the cost changes when your customers' baskets change.

Compare with the real cost of your own warehouse

A common mistake is to compare the 3PL quote only with the rent for your own premises. The total cost of your own warehouse includes much more:

• rent, electricity, alarm, insurance and facility services
• salaries, payroll taxes, onboarding, sick leave and supervision
• racking, forklifts, packing tables, printers, scanners and maintenance
• warehouse system, integrations and technical support
• packaging, shrinkage, mis-picks and redeliveries
• management time for planning, recruitment and problem-solving
• unused capacity in quiet periods

Include the opportunity cost too: what could the company gain if key people spent more time on sales, product range and customer experience? It does not show on the warehouse invoice but can be decisive. See how 3PL reduces fixed costs.

How to compare 3PL quotes properly

• Send the same data to everyone. Use one shared request with the same volumes, products, service levels and peak scenarios; otherwise the lowest total may simply mean important tasks are missing.
• Check minimum fees and indexation. Ask about minimum monthly charges, contract term, notice, annual price adjustment and how extra work is ordered. Ask for an example of how a typical peak month would be invoiced.
• Assess quality, systems and cooperation. Price per pick is only part of the deal. Errors, poor system visibility or slow communication create costs in customer service and sales. Include delivery precision, deviation handling, contact routes and the ability to follow your stock.

Why flexible pricing matters

Warehouse needs rarely stay the same all year. Some periods need more space, capacity and handling; others much less. A rigid pricing model then becomes unnecessarily expensive. Flexible pricing means the setup is not locked to one level regardless of activity: space, capacity or scope can follow your actual needs over time.

The benefits are clearest when you have high and low seasons, campaigns or launches that change volumes, storage needs that change during the year, or when you want to grow without locking in costs too early:

1. Cost follows need – you avoid paying for more space or capacity than you use.
2. Easier to scale up – growth can be met without large internal investments.
3. Easier to scale down – the cost level can come down in quieter periods.
4. Better predictability – the link between actual use and cost becomes clearer.

When comparing, ask: can the solution scale up and down, how does cost change when needs change, is pricing linked to actual use, and is there flexibility for high and low season?

Pricing at Karlholm Logistics

Karlholm Logistics works with flexible pricing that lets you adjust the space you use to your own situation, and adapts the 3PL solution to your goods flow, volumes and needs. Our location in Karlholmsbruk near the E4 gives good reach towards Tierp, Gävle, Östhammar, Uppsala and Stockholm, and both ecommerce and B2B flows are handled in clean, heated premises with camera surveillance. Every warehouse event is scanned in Ongoing WMS, so you have visibility of stock and deliveries – which also makes it easier to see which activities drive cost.

Ask for a calculation based on your actual volumes.