Lara GuevaraSupply Chain expert (Product and Service)

Are You Overpaying Your 3PL?

14 May 2026 · 1 min

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Lara Guevara breaks down the seven main 3PL fees: pick, pack, storage, receiving, special handling, returns, and account management. Pull your invoice, compare each line item to benchmark ranges, and push back on anything over the upper bound or not in your contract. As volume grows, rates stay the same and margins shrink, so renegotiate.

Chapters

There are 7 fee categories, 7 places margin makes. Pick, $0.2 to $0.5 per item. Pack, $1.5 to $3 per order. Storage, $15 to $35 per pallet per month. Receiving is $25 to $50 per pallet or $0.2 to $0.4 per unit. Special handling is $0.25 to $2 per unit for kitting, banding, labeling, returns processing. $2.5 per return. Account management, Monthly minimums and service fees. Pull your last invoice right now, find each of these categories, write down what you are actually paying. If any of your numbers are above the top of these ranges, or based on your contract rates, that is your conversation with your 3PL. If you cannot find a fee on this list inside your invoice, ask what it is and what it covers. You are paying it, you are allowed to know what Tomorrow, what happens when your volume grows but your rates never change?