Self-fulfilment vs 3PL vs fulfilment agent

The right switch point is not a universal order count. Put a value on the work you do now, test it against your real weekly capacity, and compare only quotes that cover the same cost lines.

Free, local calculation · no rates or answers are prefilled

1. Measure the work you do now

Orders handled per month

Everything you processed, not just what was delivered — cancellations, address holds and failed dispatches consume the same hours. Use a normal month, then run it again for your peak.

Hands-on minutes per order

Pick, check, pack, label, tracking and routine order admin.

Orders needing extra work (%)

Address changes, stock gaps, reships, claims and other exceptions.

Minutes per exception

Use an average from a recent batch if you have one.

Weekly hours actually available

The capacity you can sustain, not the longest week you can survive.

Working currency

Keep every cost and quote in this currency. No conversion is assumed.

Value of fulfilment time per hour

Use paid labour or the value of owner time you would otherwise spend elsewhere.

Packing materials per order

Mailer or box, tape, label, insert and protective materials.

Other self-fulfilment cost per month

Storage, software, equipment, utilities and other costs not counted above.

2. Add real comparable quotes (optional)

Do not enter an advertised “from” rate. Include the same fulfilment work as your self-run baseline; keep product cost, advertising, tax and outbound delivery outside every model unless they are included consistently in all three.

3PL comparable cost per order

Receiving allocation, pick/pack, materials and other per-order operating fees in the quote.

3PL monthly fixed fees

Storage, account minimums, software and recurring charges at this order volume.

Fulfilment-agent comparable cost per order

Sourcing/handling, QC and packing work equivalent to the baseline above.

Agent monthly fixed fees

Enter only recurring fees or minimums in the actual proposal.

3. Check the operating model, not just the fee How do you buy inventory?

I need China-side supplier coordination, QC or custom packing A fast domestic-market delivery promise is central to the offer Packing instructions change frequently or at short notice I sell direct to customers across several countries

Privacy: Nothing is submitted while you type. A WhatsApp draft is prepared locally only after there is a result; you can review it before sending. The calculation is not a RyanFulfil quote.

Your capacity and cost result

Enter monthly orders and handling minutes per order to calculate.

Current work per month—

Current work per week—

Weekly capacity—

Self-run baseline per order—

Model	Monthly total	Per order
Your own numbers will appear here.

The self-run figure is an opportunity-cost baseline, not an invoice. Outsourced totals appear only from quote fields you enter. Transition, inventory-transfer, outbound-delivery and return costs stay outside the comparison unless you add them consistently.

Operational fit signals

Self-fulfilment

Complete the workload fields to test capacity.

Stock-holding 3PL

Choose the operational-fit options to reveal relevant signals.

China fulfilment agent

Choose the operational-fit options to reveal relevant signals.

Conflicts and hybrid signals

No conflict identified yet.

The decision rule

Do not switch because you crossed somebody else's order threshold. Switch or split the workload when your measured capacity, complete comparable cost and required operating model point in the same direction. If one model wins on price but cannot hold the right stock, perform the required QC or keep the delivery promise, it did not win.

What each model is actually built to do

Self-fulfilment

You store, check, pack and dispatch orders yourself. It keeps direct control and can fit a small or highly customised operation, but the calculator makes owner time and exception work visible instead of pricing them at zero.

Stock-holding 3PL

A 3PL stores inventory and handles warehouse fulfilment. It can fit established, forecastable stock and local delivery, but the comparable quote needs receiving, storage, minimums, pick/pack, materials, returns and surcharges—not only one headline fee.

China fulfilment agent

An agent can coordinate suppliers, source products, check quality, pack and dispatch from China. That is a different job from warehousing pre-bought stock near one destination, so compare the operational scope before comparing the price.

Hybrid

A stocked winner can sit with a destination-market 3PL while test products or China-side work stay with an agent. Shopify also documents combining fulfilment methods; the split should follow products and promises, not force the whole catalogue into one model.

Method and evidence boundary

The workload equation is: routine order time + exception time. The self-run cost is that time multiplied by the hourly value you enter, plus your materials and monthly fixed costs. No provider benchmark is embedded. Shopify's current guidance describes self-fulfilment as direct control, 3PLs as storing and shipping inventory on a seller's behalf, and dropshipping agents as supplier-facing sourcing, QC and fulfilment support. See Shopify's fulfilment options, fulfilment-cost components and dropshipping-agent guide.

This is a planning aid, not accounting advice, a provider recommendation or a RyanFulfil quote. Run a normal month and a peak month. Then verify integrations, service levels, stock ownership, claims, returns, exit terms and every fee in writing.

Continue with the numbers

If you need the delivered-order economics rather than the operating-model decision, use the fulfilment cost estimator. If you want RyanFulfil to assess the China-agent side, prepare a structured WhatsApp draft after completing the tool.

Prepare WhatsApp brief