3PL Onboarding Checklist Template

Owned by the brand’s project lead. Enter the go-live date on the first task: every due date counts back from it in working days, and the checks after go-live count forward. Say where orders are fulfilled from now, which channels move and whether any products need lot or expiry tracking, and the tasks for each answer appear.

• Set up the move: the brand, the new 3PL, the go-live date and the people — the brand, the new 3PL and its warehouse, the go-live date, where orders are fulfilled from now, the channels that move, whether any products need lot or expiry tracking, and the people; later tasks are assigned from these fields
• Record your order profile and current costs — orders and units per month over the last year, the peak weeks, the number of active SKUs, units per order, the split by channel and destination, the returns rate, and what fulfilment costs you now; the rate card and the KPIs are checked against these figures
• Agree the move plan and the key dates with the 3PL — the dates for the contract, integration testing, the first inbound delivery, the soft launch and go-live, the weeks to avoid (your peak season, a sale or a product launch), and whether channels or SKUs move in stages; if you are leaving another 3PL, read its notice period and minimum term now: the go-live date may have to wait for it, or you may pay both for a while
• Set up the project team on both sides — the 3PL’s onboarding lead and account manager, who does what on each side, a weekly call, a shared issue log and the escalation route on both sides

Agree in writing what the 3PL will do, how well and for how much, before any stock moves. Check the rate card against your own order profile, settle who insures the stock, and sign. Moving from another 3PL adds the notice to the outgoing one; moving from in-house fulfilment adds the plan for ending it.

• Review the 3PL contract — the term and notice period, minimum charges, liability for lost or damaged stock, what happens at the end (stock and data returned, the last invoice), who owns your data, and the services the price covers, reviewed by whoever checks your contracts
• Agree the SLAs and how each is measured — the order cut-off time for same-day dispatch, order accuracy, dock-to-stock time for inbound deliveries, inventory accuracy, returns processing time and response times to your questions, with how each figure is measured and what happens when one is missed
• Agree the KPI report and how often you get it — the figures the 3PL reports, how often, from which system, and who on your side reads them; the 30, 60 and 90-day reviews in Phase 9 use this report
• Check the rate card against your own order profile — every fee: receiving, storage (by pallet, shelf, bin or volume), pick and pack, packaging, kitting, carrier rates and surcharges, returns, account management, set-up and minimum charges; then model one ordinary month and one peak month from your order profile
• Confirm who insures your stock and the 3PL’s liability — who insures your stock while the 3PL holds it and in transit, the limit of the 3PL’s liability for loss or damage under the contract, and whether your own cover needs to change
• Sign the contract and record the key dates — the signed contract filed, with the start date, the notice period, the renewal date and the date by which a decision to renew or leave must be made
• Give notice to the outgoing 3PL — moving from another 3PL only: the notice period in your current contract, the notice given in writing, the last day it ships your orders, the fees still due (storage, outbound handling, the final invoice) and how your stock and data are handed back; if the notice runs past the go-live date, decide now whether to pay both 3PLs for a while or move the date
• Plan the end of in-house fulfilment — moving from in-house fulfilment only: the staff affected and what happens to their roles (take HR advice before anyone is told), the equipment, packaging stock and space you will no longer need, and the carrier accounts and contracts to end or keep

The 3PL’s warehouse system knows your products only from the data you send. Check every SKU’s barcode, dimensions and weights before the first delivery, agree how orders are packed, and check what the 3PL loaded against your own list. Lot or expiry tracked products add the rules for them.

• Export the SKU master data for the 3PL — for every SKU: the code and description, the barcode (GTIN), the dimensions and weight of one unit, a case and a pallet, units per case and per pallet, the value, and for shipping abroad the commodity code and country of origin, plus any dangerous goods such as batteries or aerosols
• Check the barcode on every product and case — each SKU’s barcode scans and matches the master data, case labels carry the right barcode, and products without a barcode are listed with who labels them and the fee
• Agree the packing rules and packaging — box and mailer sizes by order type, void fill, inserts and gift notes, branded packaging and who supplies it, fragile and high-value items, and what a finished parcel must look like
• Set up kits, bundles and special handling — each kit or bundle with its parts, whether it is built ahead or at the pick, serial numbers to record, and items that need special handling
• Agree the lot and expiry rules — lot or expiry tracked products only: which SKUs, how the lot and expiry date are recorded when stock is received, the picking rule (first expired, first out), the shortest remaining shelf life you will ship, and what happens to short-dated and expired stock
• Check the SKU data the 3PL loaded — the 3PL’s item list compared with your export: every SKU present, barcodes, units per case, dimensions and weights, kits and handling flags, with differences corrected

Connect your store and order sources to the 3PL, map every shipping option to a carrier service, set up returns, and prove it all with test orders before a customer’s order goes through. Ticked channels add their own task, and failed test orders add the task to fix and test again.

• Connect the store and order sources to the 3PL — how orders reach the 3PL (a platform connector, an API or files), how stock levels and tracking come back, which system holds the true stock figure, and how edited and cancelled orders are handled
• Map shipping options to carrier services — each delivery option on your store mapped to a carrier service, the daily cut-off times, delivery promises shown to customers, international services, and the customs data and documents for shipments abroad
• Set up marketplace orders — marketplace orders only: each marketplace connected to the 3PL, the dispatch time and tracking rules in that marketplace’s seller terms, the carriers it accepts, and packing slips without your store’s branding where needed
• Set up B2B and retailer orders — B2B orders only: each retailer’s routing guide or supplier manual, carton and pallet labels (for example GS1 logistic labels with an SSCC where the retailer asks for them), advance shipping notices to the retailer, delivery booking and the charges for not following the rules
• Set up returns — the returns address and label, the returns portal or form, how returned items are graded (restock, rework or dispose), how fast the 3PL processes them, and what triggers the customer’s refund
• Set up your team’s access and the reports — accounts for your team on the 3PL’s client portal, who can create orders, inbound notices and support tickets, and the stock and order reports each person needs
• Run test orders end to end — one test order for each case that matters: each channel, each shipping option, a multi-line order, a kit, an international order, an edited and a cancelled order, and a return, using a small sample of stock sent ahead or test SKUs; check each reaches the 3PL, ships correctly, sends tracking back and updates stock
• Fix the issues and run the failed test orders again — failed test orders only: each issue fixed by you or the 3PL, and each failed scenario tested again until it passes

Agree how stock is announced and labelled, plan which stock moves when so orders keep shipping, count it before it leaves, and reconcile what the 3PL receives against the advance shipping notice and your count. A mismatch adds the task to resolve it, and lot or expiry tracked products add their check.

• Agree the inbound process and the ASN — how you send an advance shipping notice (ASN) for each delivery (the portal, a file or EDI) and how far ahead, what each carton and pallet must be labelled with, how deliveries are booked at the dock, and how the 3PL reports what it received
• Plan the inventory move — which stock moves when (from the old site, or new orders delivered straight from suppliers), how much stays behind to keep shipping until the switch, the transport booked, and the stock you will sell down rather than move
• Tell your suppliers the new delivery address and inbound rules — suppliers who deliver to the new 3PL told the address, the booking rules, the labels each carton and pallet needs and the ASN you need from them, from a named purchase order onwards
• Count the stock before it leaves — a count by SKU (and by lot where tracked) of the stock moving, at the old site or as it is packed, so the figures on the ASN are counted rather than taken from the system
• Send the inbound deliveries with their ASNs — each delivery booked, its ASN sent before it arrives, the cartons and pallets labelled as agreed, and the delivery references recorded
• Reconcile the receipt against the ASN and your count — what the 3PL received by SKU compared with the ASN and your count, damaged or unlabelled stock, and how long each delivery took to become available to sell against the dock-to-stock SLA
• Resolve the receiving differences — differences only: each one investigated with the 3PL and the sender (a recount, a missed carton, a mislabelled SKU or damage in transit), the stock figure corrected, and any claim made
• Check lots and expiry dates on receipt — lot or expiry tracked products only: the lots and expiry dates the 3PL recorded compared with what was sent, stock too short-dated to ship set aside, and the first expired, first out rule working in the 3PL’s system

Send a limited share of real orders to the new 3PL, for example one channel, one region or a set of SKUs, while the rest ship as before. The go-live approver agrees before the first live order switches. Check the orders every day, log every issue and agree the fix with the 3PL.

• Check readiness for the first live orders — the stock received and reconciled (any receiving differences resolved), the test orders passed, the shipping map and returns in place, your customer service team briefed, the orders chosen for the soft launch, and the go-live approver’s agreement to start; do not switch any live order until they agree
• Switch the first live orders to the new 3PL — order routing changed for the soft launch orders, the date and time of the switch, and stock levels on your store checked against the 3PL’s
• Check the soft launch orders every day — each day: orders received and dispatched by the cut-off, picking errors, tracking sent to customers, delivery problems and customer contacts about the new parcels
• Log the soft launch issues and agree the fixes — every issue found in the soft launch with its cause, the fix agreed with the 3PL, the owner and the date, and whether it must be fixed before go-live

Review the soft launch against the SLAs and the open issues, then the approver records go, go with conditions or no-go. Nothing after the decision can be completed until it is recorded. A no-go or a go with conditions adds the task that follows from it.

• Review the soft launch against the SLAs — the soft launch results against each SLA, the issues still open, stock levels for the full switch, and a recommendation to the approver
• Record the go-live decision — go, go with conditions or no-go for switching every order to the new 3PL on the go-live date, with the reasons, recorded by the go-live approver alone
• Fix the gaps and set a new go-live date — after a no-go only: fix each gap the approver named, keep the soft launch running or pause it, move the go-live date on the first task so every due date moves, review the soft launch again, then ask the approver to change the decision on the go-live task, or to un-complete it and record a new one
• Meet the conditions before the switch — after a go with conditions only: each condition the approver set, done and recorded, or the approver told in writing that it is not
• Switch every order to the new 3PL — order routing for every channel moved to the new 3PL, orders stopped at the old site, and stock on your store synced from the new 3PL
• Update the returns address, delivery promises and support notes — the returns address on your website, packing slips and returns labels, the delivery times and cut-offs shown to customers, and your customer service team’s answers about orders and returns

Watch the first weeks of full volume closely, check a sample of stock against your records, and check the first invoice line by line against the rate card. Close out with the outgoing 3PL, or close your own fulfilment, depending on where orders came from.

• Watch the first two weeks at full volume — every day: the order backlog, dispatch by the cut-off, picking errors, late deliveries and customer contacts, with issues raised on the shared log and reviewed on the weekly call
• Count a sample of stock against your records — a count of your fastest-moving and highest-value SKUs at the 3PL, compared with your own stock records and the 3PL’s system, with differences explained
• Close out with the outgoing 3PL — moving from another 3PL only: the last orders shipped, any stock left there moved or written off, its final invoice checked against its contract, your access and integrations removed, and your data returned or deleted as the contract says
• Close in-house fulfilment — moving from in-house fulfilment only: equipment sold, moved or kept, packaging stock used or sent to the 3PL, the space handed back or reused, and the carrier accounts and contracts ended or kept as planned
• Check the first invoice against the rate card — each line of the 3PL’s first invoice after go-live (and any earlier invoices for receiving, storage or the soft launch) checked against the rate card and your own records of orders, receipts, returns and storage, with any error disputed

Review the 3PL with its account manager at 30, 60 and 90 days after go-live, using the KPI report, the issue log and the invoices. In this template they fall 21, 42 and 63 working days after go-live. The 90-day review closes the onboarding and hands the relationship over to your normal supplier reviews.

• Hold the 30-day review — the first month’s KPIs against the SLAs, open issues, the invoice check and anything customers have noticed, with actions for both sides
• Hold the 60-day review — the KPIs against the SLAs, progress on the 30-day actions, a second invoice checked, and whether the stock figures still agree
• Hold the 90-day review — the three months against every SLA, any service credits due under the contract, costs against your rate card model, and whether the move delivered what it was for
• Close the onboarding and hand over to normal supplier reviews — lessons for the next move recorded, the open actions given owners, and the date of the first regular review of the 3PL set