Answer library
3PL & Fulfillment FAQ Library
Every question below gets its own in-depth answer page — written from how we actually run our 214,000 sq ft warehouse in Vernon, California, 30 minutes from the Port of Long Beach.
Getting Started
Pricing & Contracts
- What does a 3PL cost?A 3PL invoice is built from a handful of line items: receiving, storage, pick and pack, packaging materials, outbound shipping, and any value-added work such as kitting or returns. What you pay depends on your order profile, SKU count, storage footprint and shipping zones — not on a single flat rate.
- Do 3PLs require long-term contracts?Many 3PLs do require one- to three-year agreements with monthly minimums, auto-renewal and notice periods. They aren't universal. Logix operates month to month with no long-term lock-in — the terms that matter most are the notice period, the minimum, and how your inventory is released if you leave.
Fulfillment Operations
- What does pick and pack mean?Pick and pack is the core fulfillment process: an order arrives, a picker pulls the exact items from their storage locations, a packer verifies them by barcode scan, and the order is boxed, labeled and handed to a carrier. It's billed per order plus a smaller charge per additional item.
- What is kitting and assembly?Kitting is the process of combining several individual SKUs into a single new SKU — a bundle, gift set, subscription box or retail display. Assembly adds light manufacturing steps such as inserting literature, applying labels or building displays. Both can be done in advance or at the moment an order is picked.
- How do 3PLs handle returns?A 3PL receives returned parcels against an RMA, inspects and grades each item, then applies a disposition rule you define: restock as new, recondition, hold for inspection, return to vendor, liquidate or dispose. Graded-as-new units go back into sellable inventory, usually within a day or two of arrival.
Warehousing & Storage
- How does pallet storage billing work?Most 3PLs bill pallet storage monthly per occupied pallet position. A position is a single rack slot sized to a standard 48x40 pallet within a height limit. Pallets that exceed the height or footprint consume more than one position, and billing runs either on a calendar month or a per-pallet anniversary date.
- How long does warehouse receiving take?Palletized inbound freight is normally received, counted and put away the same business day it arrives. Floor-loaded containers take longer because cartons must be hand-unloaded and palletized. The clock that matters to a seller is not unload time — it's how fast the units become live, sellable inventory in the WMS.
Port & Container Services
- What is transloading?Transloading is the transfer of freight from an inbound ocean container into one or more domestic trailers or containers near the port, so the cargo can move inland on domestic equipment. It frees the ocean container and chassis quickly, avoids per-diem charges, and lets shippers consolidate multiple containers into fewer, fuller trailers.
- What is container devanning?Devanning is the physical unloading of freight from an ocean container at a warehouse dock. It can be done by forklift when the cargo is palletized, or by hand when it's floor-loaded. A devanning job should always end with a piece count, a carton condition report and photo documentation.
Retail Compliance
Question not answered here?
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