New Year, Leaner Ops: A Practical 3PL Cost Review For Growing Brands
January is when smart brands reset their operations. You look at what worked, what did not, and where logistics spend can come down without risking customer experience. As your 3PL partner, we believe cost control should be transparent, data led, and simple to action. This guide walks you through a practical review of storage, pick and pack, and freight. You will see how to identify dead stock, right size locations, and use our WMS reporting to forecast demand. We also cover sustainable packaging choices that lower DIM weight in Australia without hurting presentation.
How a 3PL reduces total fulfilment cost without compromising service
You can lower your total cost to serve by attacking waste at each step of the fulfilment flow while keeping accuracy high.
Storage: Pay for the space you use, not a fixed footprint that sits half empty in slower months. Our flexible space model scales up for peak and down for quiet periods so you are not locked into overhead.
Pick and pack: Place fast movers in prime pick faces, reduce touches with barcode scanning, and standardise pack workflows. Accuracy stays high with verification at pick and at pack. Fewer errors mean fewer reships and refunds.
Freight: Use preferred carrier rates and service mapping. We align each order with the best value option for its weight, dimensions, and destination while preserving delivery reliability.
Returns: Fast triage and restock for saleable items. Getting inventory back online reduces new buys and cuts carrying costs.
The result is a lower total fulfilment cost, not just a cheaper line item. You protect on time dispatch and accuracy while trimming waste.
The metrics to track in a logistics cost review
A clear review starts with consistent metrics. Prioritise:
Storage utilisation: pallet, shelf, or cubic metre usage vs capacity, plus cost per unit stored per week. Look for idle zones and seasonal swings.
Inventory health: sell through rate by SKU, days on hand, and aged stock buckets (30, 60, 90, 180+ days). Flag dead stock early.
Order accuracy: mispicks and mispacks per 1,000 orders. Anything that drives reships or refunds inflates total cost.
Labour efficiency: picks per hour and touches per order. Rising touches hint at layout or process issues.
Freight performance: average cost per parcel, cost per kilogram, on time delivery rate, and first attempt delivery success.
Packaging impact: average cubic weight vs dead weight by order type. Packaging drives DIM charges, so track it.
Returns cycle time: days to process and restock. Faster cycles recover revenue sooner.
Our cloud based WMS gives you real time visibility on these, with filters by SKU, channel, and time period so you can make decisions with confidence.
Find dead stock fast and free up cash
Dead stock hides in plain sight. Use your aged stock report to group SKUs by last sale date. Items with no movement for 90 days, or with very slow sell through relative to on hand, are candidates for action.
Re-merchandise: bundle with faster movers, add a small discount, or set a limited time offer.
Channel shift: list in additional marketplaces where the audience fits.
Donate or recycle: if sale is unlikely, move it out to free space and reduce holding costs.
Inside the warehouse, relocate these SKUs away from prime pick faces. Reserve front line locations for current sellers so pick paths shrink and pack speed improves.
Right size your storage locations
Location right sizing trims handling time and storage fees. Look at cubic velocity by SKU. Fast movers deserve larger, easily accessed locations close to packing benches. Slow movers can sit higher or deeper. For items with variable size runs or seasonal bursts, use modular shelving or pallet spots that can expand or shrink as volumes change.
Our team reviews slotting data regularly to keep bestsellers in reach and reduce walk time. This one change often boosts picks per hour and lowers labour cost without any capital spend.
Flexible storage pricing for seasonality
Seasonal brands do not need fixed long term footprints. With flexible storage pricing, you scale up space for launches, Black Friday, and holiday peaks, then scale down as the wave passes. You pay for actual space used. That protects margins during quiet months and avoids the scramble to find overflow space at the worst possible time. It also simplifies cash flow planning because your storage cost moves with your sales calendar.
Use WMS reporting for demand forecasting
Forecasting starts with clean, live data. In our WMS, you can:
Track weekly sales velocity by SKU and channel.
View inbound purchase orders alongside current stock to see true weeks of cover.
Spot early signals, such as rising velocity after a promotion, or slower movement following a price change.
Combine these with your marketing plan, event calendar, and carrier cutoff dates. We help translate the plan into a receiving schedule and pick face plan so you have stock where it needs to be, when it needs to be there, without overbuying.
Freight review, carrier mapping, and savings
Freight is often the biggest line item in fulfilment. Start with a lane analysis, then align each parcel profile with the best service. Our preferred carrier rates allow us to mix and match services based on location, cubic weight, and delivery promise. For example:
Light, small satchels can move on economical services without hurting speed in metro areas.
Regional and remote orders may benefit from alternate carriers with stronger coverage.
Heavier cartons can use ground services with reliable scanning and predictable transit.
We also monitor on time performance and adjust allocations. The goal is reliable delivery at the lowest sustainable cost.
Sustainable packaging that reduces DIM weight in Australia
You can lower shipping cost in AU by reducing cubic weight without compromising presentation.
Right size cartons: replace one large carton with two smaller, better fitting cartons where it lowers cubic weight below the break point. Test against carrier rules to confirm savings.
Lightweight void fill: swap out heavy paper for recycled tissue, honeycomb wrap, or recyclable air pillows to keep protection while cutting grams.
Mailer upgrades: move qualifying SKUs from cartons to recycled poly or kraft mailers with internal padding. Many lifestyle items travel safely in mailers, which cut cubic size.
Flat pack where possible: fold garments tighter with branded recycled tissue and size labels. Presentation stays on brand while volume drops.
Avoid nested boxes: a gift box inside a shipper adds cubic waste. Consider a single premium shipper that doubles as the gift box.
We can run a packaging audit to test pack styles, measure cubic outcomes, and confirm savings on your actual lanes.
Service is never negotiable
Cost control should not erode customer experience. We target 99 percent order accuracy with scanning at pick and verification at pack. Eligible orders receive same day dispatch when cutoffs are met. Live tracking keeps customers informed. These standards protect your brand while you reduce spend.
A quick, three step New Year cost review
Pull WMS reports: aged stock, sales velocity, storage utilisation, and freight spend by lane.
Re-slot and re-pack: prioritise bestsellers in pick faces and test smaller pack formats for DIM savings.
Carrier mapping: align services to weights, dims, and postcodes using preferred rates, then monitor results weekly.
Small, consistent changes compound into meaningful savings over the quarter.
Ready for a no obligation logistics cost analysis?
If you want a clear plan to reduce costs while scaling, we are here to help. We will review your storage footprint, pick and pack flow, and freight mix, then provide a transparent quote and practical recommendations. Get a free, no obligation logistics cost analysis and fulfilment quote today. Or call Andrew on +61 407 560 079, or email hello@tweedheads3pl.com.
Summary
A leaner operation starts with visibility and simple changes. Use data to spot dead stock, right size locations, and forecast demand. Leverage flexible storage to match seasonality. Tune packaging to reduce DIM weight in AU without losing presentation. Map the right carrier to each parcel profile. With a transparent partner focused on accuracy and scalability, you can lower total fulfilment cost and keep customers delighted. We would be glad to walk the floor with you and build the plan.
