How much does a 3PL cost in Australia?

Receiving

Expect roughly $1.50 to $4 per carton, or $15 to $35 per pallet, to have stock counted and put away.

Receiving covers unloading, checking your delivery against the purchase order, labelling where needed and putting stock on the shelf. It goes up when cartons hold mixed SKUs, when products arrive without barcodes and have to be labelled, and when containers arrive loose-loaded rather than palletised, because every carton has to be handled by hand.

Storage

Typical market rates sit between $4 and $8 per pallet per week, or per cubic metre, depending on how your 3PL measures space.

3PLs bill storage in one of three ways. Per pallet charges for each pallet space, whether it is full or half empty. Per cubic metre charges for the volume your stock actually takes up. Per location charges for each shelf or bin your SKUs occupy.

For small brands the difference matters. If you have forty SKUs with a few units each, per-pallet or per-location billing can mean paying for a lot of empty air. Billing on space actually used keeps storage in line with the stock you really hold.

Pick and pack

Most brands pay $2 to $5 per order including the first item, plus $0.30 to $1 for each extra item.

This is the cost of picking each order from the shelf, packing it and labelling it for the carrier. It rises for fragile products that need extra protection, for kitting (building bundles or gift sets), and for inserts, gift notes or custom unboxing steps.

Packaging

You either supply your own branded packaging, or the 3PL supplies satchels and cartons and charges for each one used.

Supplying your own gives you control over the unboxing, but you pay to store it and have to keep it in stock. 3PL-supplied satchels and plain cartons are simpler and usually cheaper per order. Many brands use a mix: branded mailers for hero products, standard satchels for everything else.

Shipping

Freight depends on parcel size, weight and destination, and it is usually the biggest cost on the invoice.

A low headline rate with one carrier means little if your parcels are going to regional areas that carrier covers poorly, or if its size and weight brackets don't suit your products. What matters is whether each parcel goes with the best-value carrier that meets the delivery time for that destination. Rating every parcel across several carriers usually saves more than any single discounted contract.

How carrier choice and consolidation cut shipping costs

Setup and account fees

Some 3PLs charge for setup, integration and account management, and some add monthly minimums or lock-in contracts.

Ask these before you sign:

• Is there a one-off setup or integration fee?
• Is there a monthly account management fee?
• Is there a minimum monthly spend, and what happens if you fall below it?
• How long is the contract, and what does it cost to leave?

A worked example

A brand doing 300 orders a month would typically pay somewhere around $715 to $1,790 a month before freight.

Take a brand shipping 300 orders a month, with an average of 1.5 items per order and stock taking up 4 pallet spaces.

• Pick and pack: 300 orders at $2 to $5 = $600 to $1,500
• Extra items: 150 extra items at $0.30 to $1 = $45 to $150
• Storage: 4 pallets at $4 to $8 per week, about 4.3 weeks = roughly $70 to $140
• Total: roughly $715 to $1,790 a month, or about $2.40 to $6 per order

That is before any receiving or setup costs, and freight is on top and depends on your parcels.

How to compare 3PL quotes

Put every quote on the same basis: the all-in cost per order for your actual orders.

Five checks make quotes comparable:

• All-in cost per order: add pick, pack, packaging and extra items for a typical order, not just the headline fee.
• What is excluded: returns, kitting, inserts, labelling and stocktakes are often extra.
• Minimums: check for minimum monthly spend or order volumes.
• Lock-in: check contract length and exit fees.
• Fuel and surcharge rules: ask how fuel levies, peak-season and oversize surcharges are applied to freight.