Switching 3PLs is not a decision most brands make lightly. It usually comes after months of friction. Unreliable reporting. Rising fees that were never clearly explained. A partner that simply can’t keep up now that the business has grown past where it was when the relationship started.
The problem is that the switching process itself is where a lot of brands get burned twice. First by the original 3PL. Then by not asking the right questions of the next one.
The data backs up how common this gap is. NTT Data’s 2025 Third-Party Logistics Study found that 62 percent of shippers identify their 3PL’s technology as the area most in need of change, and more than 30 percent of shippers don’t fully agree that their current 3PL can actually solve their specific needs.
Fee structures are just as easy to get burned by. The 2025 Warehousing and Fulfillment Costs & Pricing Survey, based on responses from over 600 warehouses, found that 48.6 percent now charge long-term storage fees, up sharply from 23.33 percent the year before. Average monthly minimum fees climbed from $337.50 to $517 over the same period.
None of this means every 3PL is trying to catch you off guard. It means the questions you ask before signing matter more than most people realize. Most want to make switching 3PLs an easy transition.
What to ask a 3PL about visibility and reporting
- How do I access my inventory and order data, and how often is it updated?
- Can I get real-time visibility through a dashboard or API, or only through emailed reports?
- What happens when there’s a discrepancy between what I think I have in stock and what your system shows?
- How quickly are receiving discrepancies reported back to me after inbound stock arrives?
If you want the full breakdown of what good reporting actually looks like, an earlier post covers this in depth.
What to ask a 3PL about pricing and fees
- What’s included in your standard fulfillment rate, and what counts as an add-on?
- Do you charge long-term storage fees, and at what threshold do they kick in?
- Is there a monthly minimum, and what happens if my volume drops below it in a slow month?
- How is receiving billed? By pallet, by carton, by SKU, by hour, or some combination?
- Can I see a sample invoice from an existing client with a similar order profile to mine?
Vague answers to any of these are worth treating as a real signal, not a minor detail to sort out later.
What to ask a 3PL about capacity and scalability
- What’s your current capacity, and how do you handle a client whose volume doubles or triples?
- How do you handle peak season specifically, and when do you start planning for it?
- If I add a new sales channel or expand into international orders, what changes on your end?
- Do you support the specific product types I sell? Fragile items, temperature-sensitive goods, or anything requiring special handling all matter here.
What to ask a 3PL about the transition itself
- What does the onboarding and transition timeline actually look like, start to finish?
- Who owns the transition on your side? Is that one clear point of contact, or several different people for different pieces?
- How do you handle inventory that’s mid-transit or already in the current 3PL’s warehouse during the switch?
- What has gone wrong in past transitions, and what did you change as a result?
A 3PL that can answer this last question honestly, rather than insisting nothing has ever gone wrong, is usually more trustworthy than one that claims a flawless track record.
Why this is worth doing thoroughly, even when it feels slow
Switching 3PLs feels disruptive, and it’s tempting to rush the evaluation process just to get it over with. But a rushed evaluation is exactly how brands end up in the same frustrating position with a new provider a year later.
The questions above take real time to ask and get real answers to. That time is much cheaper than living through another mismatched partnership.
If you’re earlier in this process and still trying to figure out whether the problem is really your 3PL or something else in your operation, an earlier post on the signs you’ve outgrown your current setup is worth reading first.
If you want to see the full diagnostic for where these cracks tend to show up as a business scales, the workbook walks through the complete picture. Get the Fulfillment Fix
Related reading: [What Reporting You Should Look For in a 3PL] · [Signs You’ve Outgrown Your Fulfillment Setup] · [Building a Peak Season Surge Plan Before Q4 Hits]