Choosing the right 3PL provider is as important to an eCommerce business as marketing and brand identity put together – simply because a business today is expected to always deliver on the promise they make to the customer. And in practice, that means going multichannel and retaining the identity everywhere at once. According to Gartner, a typical eCommerce experience today consists of more than 30 integrated systems, from sales channels like Shopify and Amazon to back-end systems that manage inventory, orders, and shipping.
Fulfillment takes on most of the challenge here, and that’s why at least 57% of eCommerce companies are now outsourcing some or all of their order fulfillment processes. After all, fulfillment and 3PL providers need to be well-versed in the tech that enables smooth operations on their level.
In this article, we’ll explore the top 5 must-have eCommerce fulfillment integrations for 3PLs, how they work, and why they’re the backbone of modern logistics.
Key trends shaping eCommerce fulfillment
Let’s be honest: eCommerce has always revolved around digital technology shaping customer expectations, while logistics must find ways to meet those expectations, ideally through digital solutions as well. This is the reality for 3PLs, and businesses and customers, too – since the entire supply chain here rests on the ability to deliver on the promise. And as of now, there are tech-driven ways for 3PLs and fulfillment companies to comply with the expectations.
One of these is automation, with companies like Amazon allocating up to $25B towards robotics-led warehouses, which, according to their calculations, should save them up to $10B annually over the next decade. Amazon’s most advanced facility in Louisiana has already achieved a 25% reduction in operational costs thanks to automation, but of course, that’s an extreme example.
Another trend is an expansion of fulfillment infrastructures, mostly due to the benefits of being able to deliver faster without having to sacrifice operational efficiency for the sake of scaling the business.
Meanwhile, online retail is continuing the upwards trajectory, meaning 3PLs need to adopt strategies that accommodate the lower-cost-more-frequent formula. This, by the way, has spawned an entire generation of micro-fulfillment centers (aka “dark stores) that are scattered across a certain region to enable quicker deliveries – but in our experience, this is not really necessary if you’re lucky enough to secure strategically located warehouses and a good carrier
Finally, another aspect that needs tech reinforcement in the form of integrations is real-time inventory management. 3PLs in particular are increasingly expected to provide up-to-date inventory data, so much so that businesses are practically outsourcing inventory management to the 3PLs.
What a good fulfillment partner can do for eCommerce businesses
All this, in turn, prompts a good question: what is it exactly that a really good fulfillment partner is expected to do for a client business? In brief, the answer is that since 3PLs have been incentivized to adopt digital solutions to overcome the very same problems as their clients, but more efficiently (since the clients themselves are diverse), it’s the digital/organizational factor that really comes into play.
One major issue is, predictably enough, inventory management. Modern tech-driven 3PLs will already have real-time inventory tracking systems in place, ensuring accurate stock levels for the sake of fulfillment primarily – but also improving the overall “health” of the client company’s ecosystem.
Another challenge is slow and/or inefficient shipping. Fulfillment companies are now expected to be equipped with automation tools, alongside route optimization facilities, to provide faster and more cost-efficient deliveries.
The remaining two aspects are returns management (which essentially hinges on inventory management before you can organize the real process) and data strategies, which are also the derivative of the 3PLs’ tech penetration stemming from their ambition to become more competitive.
Now that we’ve established the guiding principles of what’s expected from 3PLs/fulfillment partners today, let’s explore the top 5 kinds of integrations that are needed.
#1 eCommerce platform / marketplace integrations
This involves, above all, Shopify, Amazon, and WooCommerce – the three giants that now account for a lion share of the multichannel landscape. Welcome bonuses, of course, include Walmart Marketplace, eBay, and the likes, depending on the businesses and target audiences. The name of the game here is to enable order processing in the multichannel environment, which, in turn, translates to syncing inventory, orders, and shipping data in real-time.
Simply by eliminating manual data entry, you can reduce errors here by up to 67%, which means the benefits are multiplied by the amount of channels at play, as everyone benefits from accurately displayed stock levels.
#2 WMS integrations
Now, with all the expectations about real-time inventory tracking, in many cases, it’s the WMS integrations that help bring them to reality. In practice, different 3PLs have their own know-hows about managing inventory that don’t necessarily align with what a standard warehouse management system would allow the user to do, but there’s always some sort of integration between the software that rules what’s happening in the warehouse, and the overarching system.
The major benefit here is automated inventory synchronization, which allows businesses to reduce stock discrepancies by up to 90%. Order accuracy is also positively influenced.
#3 Shipping carrier integrations
Next, there is the question of the carriers. Major ones like UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, and countless regional ones, offer their own possibilities for integrating, and it’s up to the 3PL provider’s business model to dictate which regional ones to integrate with depending on their target market. The expected outcomes here are optimized shipping processes, and higher delivery speed.
This is where rate shopping comes into play, where the 3PL can select the most cost-efficient option based on destination, weight, and delivery timelines, potentially saving up to 30% on shipping costs. The choice can also be automated, as well as adjacent processes of label generation and tracking.
As an additional benefit, shipping carrier integrations also enable automated tracking updates – something that’s expected by the majority of customers (up to 91%, in fact).
#4 EDI integrations
EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, is the format that has a well-earned reputation in eCommerce, seeing as how it’s best for dealing with documentation, so any 3PL who’s dealing with large retailers, wholesalers, and enterprise-level companies, is expected to comply with the EDI format requirements. The major platform here is undoubtedly SPS Commerce, while there are also TrueCommerce and Cleo, not to mention others that function across the globe. What unites them is the ability to automate communication so that 3PLs can exchange purchase orders, invoices, and inventory updates. This, in turn, allows for (on average) 2/3 faster order processing speed and a 90% reduction in manual error.
There’s also the compliance requirement linked to the use of EDI, which links to on-time fulfillment, so that failure to comply may result in chargebacks, some of them as high as 3-10% of invoice value, so that fulfillment companies are typically very meticulous about EDI integrations.
#5 Social stores and communication channels
Finally, there are social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Facebook, that allow direct purchasing within them. Since so many eCommerce businesses now include at least two of these into their multichannel mix, 3PLs are to adapt, if only for the sake of smooth order processing and inventory syncing.
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Read our latest guide for TikTok order fulfillment for more details.
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Another important aspect here is the existence of in-platform communication channels like Facebook Messenger or Instagram Direct. These are where the customer goes whenever they are unsure about the status of their order, so integrations are even more needed.
Creating a holistic ecosystem
The main question here is creating a holistic and coherent ecosystem that would integrate both eCommerce platforms, carriers, WMS, and inventory management. In this way, when an order is placed, say, on an eCommerce platform, it would automatically trigger updates in the inventory management system, while also sending data to the shipping carrier. If there’s a WMS in place, it would also need to react to enable real-time stock tracking.
Importantly, the resulting ecosystem needs to be adjusted to the actual sum total of the 3PL’s customer profiles, meaning there are third-party logistics providers that are focused on serving different kinds of businesses, some of them more universal in nature, some more tailored to a particular profile. What matters here is the ability to offer an agile and scalable solution.
Conclusions
With the rise of multichannel selling, automation, and real-time inventory management, 3PLs must integrate with essential platforms to remain competitive. The five key integrations – eCommerce platforms, WMS, shipping carriers, EDI, and social commerce—form the backbone of a modern, efficient, and scalable fulfillment operation. By implementing these technologies, 3PLs can offer faster, more accurate, and cost-effective services, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and retention.
If you’re looking for a 3PL partner that can seamlessly integrate with your existing systems and optimize your fulfillment operations, reach out to us today, as we at ShipTop have built a software-endorsed tactic that allows us to cater to eCommerce businesses of various profiles. From that, we can build a fulfillment strategy that ensures smooth operations, cost savings, and happy customers.
