When it comes to eCommerce fulfillment, there are a lot of options out there. Two of the most popular choices are Simpl Fulfillment and ShipBob. Both have their pros and cons, but when it comes down to it, Simpl Fulfillment offers better customer service, more transparent pricing, and less fees.

Simpl Fulfillment has a team of customer service representatives that are always willing to help with any questions or problems you may have. They offer 24/7 support so you never have to worry about being left in the dark. In addition, their pricing is basic and transparent. You can see how much each service will cost before you even sign up. And finally, they have fewer hidden fees than ShipBob. ShipBob has a more robust network of warehouses and fast delivery times. When choosing a fulfillment partner, it's important to weigh all the factors and choose the company that best meets your needs.

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At Simpl Fulfillment, we include:

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- Inventory management

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- eCommerce platform integration

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- Custom packaging and other value-added services

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- Pick and pack

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- Global shipping

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- Tools for managing returns and exchanges

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- Dedicated account managers

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Simpl Fulfillment Vs. ShipBob

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Inventory Receiving

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To receive your inventory, ShipBob charges you per hour that their warehouse team takes to process. Regardless of the items' size and weight, ShipBob will charge by the working hour when handling them. The first 2 hours are billed at $25/hour, after the first two hours: $35/hour. And ShipBob also sets a minimum charge, 2 hours; they consider the receiving fees for less than 2 hours as 2 hours in total. This can get expensive for eCommerce brands with lots of SKU's or if you're sending in a lot of inventory.

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At Simpl Fulfillment, we don't charge receiving fees. We offer good faith receiving to our clients free of charge as long as you create an inbound order in our software and have your SKU's separated, we do not charge any receiving fees. Our clients love this as it helps keep their expenses down.

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Pick and Pack Fees (Per order fees)

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ShipBob doesn't charge for pick fees for five items or under, and it includes the packing fee in the order fee, which also includes shipping. This can be confusing as you don't know how much you're actually being charged for postage vs. per order, and it's difficult to customize and build custom rates/packages. You're also paying for five picks, even if you only use one or two.

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At Simpl Fulfillment, we charge a low, flat, per order fee. We do this, so it's clear what you're paying per order, and assuming you're shipping single item orders or a few item orders, you'll pay less. We do this to make our solution even more flexible for our clients and help keep our cost transparent and straightforward. Our order fee is based on the shipment weight and includes postage, packaging, pick/pack, and void fill.

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Warehousing/Storage Fees

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ShipBob charges the storage fee by inventory volume and time. You don't want your inventory to sit in ShipBob's fulfillment center for long, or you might get stuck paying higher warehousing fees.

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At Simple, we charge a flat-fee, per location, per month. We calculate this weekly and our team works to make sure inventory is stored in the most appropriate bin to keep storage fees low.

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Order-to-SKU Ratio Requirements

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ShipBob works with clients that have an order-to-SKU ratio of 5:1 or more. This means, for every SKU on the shelf, you need to ship at least five orders. For example, if you have 200 SKUs, you'd need to ship 1000 orders a month to hit the SKU-to-order ratio of 5:1.

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Simpl Fulfillment doesn't have a formal minimum SKU-to-order requirement.

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We hope this information helps you in your decision to find the right 3PL partner. It's essential to establish early on if it's a good fit, who your contact at the 3PL will be, and if it's the right partner. The right fulfillment partner is vital for a successful DTC eCommerce brand.

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Learn More: Simpl Fulfillment vs. ShipMonk Comparison