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Fulfillment

Peak Season Showed You the Cracks. Fix Your Fulfillment Before the Next One

2025 6 min read Salesupply Team
Fix your fulfillment after peak season

You're ready to scale in Europe. You have two choices: Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) or a 3PL (3rd Party Logistics). Both work. Both fail. The decision depends on what you're optimizing for.

We've worked with 250+ brands on both paths. Here's the comparison based on real operations.

What Is FBA?

You send your inventory to Amazon's warehouse. Amazon handles picking, packing, shipping, returns, and customer service. You pay per unit fulfilled plus storage fees. Amazon owns the customer relationship for FBA orders.

Pros:

  • Zero operational overhead — you don't run a warehouse
  • Prime badge — instant credibility on Amazon
  • No inventory management — Amazon handles it
  • Customer service handled by Amazon (though limited)

Cons:

  • Expensive at scale (€0.50–1.00 per unit for fulfillment + storage)
  • Limited to Amazon channel only (can't use for your own store)
  • Amazon controls your brand relationship
  • Inventory management is inflexible (you lose visibility and control)
  • High return rates because Prime customers return more freely

What Is 3PL?

You hire a logistics partner (a third-party logistics provider) to manage your warehouse, picking, packing, shipping, and returns. You retain customer relationships and brand control. You pay a base fee plus per-unit fees.

Pros:

  • Multi-channel support — use the same fulfillment for your store, Amazon, bol.com, etc.
  • Brand control — you own the customer relationship
  • Inventory visibility and control
  • Flexibility to change logistics partners (contracts are usually 12 months)
  • Lower unit costs at scale (€0.25–0.50 per unit)

Cons:

  • You're responsible for operational diligence
  • No brand credibility from the logistics partner (you get the Prime badge only if selling on Amazon)
  • You need to manage integrations (warehouse system, order systems, etc.)
  • Higher coordination overhead

Cost Comparison

Warehouse interior showing inventory organization and picking operations

For a brand fulfilling 5,000 orders per month across 3 European countries:

FBA (Amazon-only sales):

  • Fulfillment fee (€0.80/unit, standard size): €4,000/month
  • Storage fee (€0.15/unit/month): €750/month
  • Returns handling (included in fulfillment fee)
  • Total: €4,750/month = €57,000/year

3PL (Multi-channel, 3 countries):

  • Base monthly fee (3 hubs): €3,000/month
  • Fulfillment fee (€0.35/unit): €1,750/month
  • Storage fee (€0.08/unit/month): €400/month
  • Integration/tech fee: €500/month
  • Total: €5,650/month = €67,800/year

Wait — 3PL is more expensive? Yes, in this scenario. But look at the reality:

FBA Reality (same numbers):

  • Only works on Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it (3 marketplaces)
  • Can't sell on your own store with FBA
  • Can't sell on bol.com, Zalando, etc. via FBA
  • Amazon takes 15% commission on top of FBA fees
  • FBA return rate: typically 32–35% (Prime effect)
  • You have zero brand relationship with customers

3PL Reality:

  • Works across all channels: own store + Amazon + bol.com + Zalando + TikTok Shop, etc.
  • Your brand on every order
  • Return rate: typically 25–28% (lower than FBA)
  • You set pricing (not Amazon's commission)
  • You own customer data and relationships

The real cost isn't just the FBA vs 3PL fees. It's the lost revenue from inability to sell on other channels, lost brand control, lost pricing power, and higher returns.

Multi-Channel Is the Key Insight

Unboxing experience showing branded packaging and customer receiving package

FBA only works if Amazon is your only channel. Most brands selling in Europe use 3–5 channels:

  • Your own Shopify/WooCommerce store
  • Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, Amazon.es, Amazon.uk
  • bol.com (dominant in Netherlands, Belgium)
  • Zalando (dominant in fashion/footwear)
  • TikTok Shop (growing)

If you use FBA for Amazon, you need a separate 3PL for your own store and bol.com and Zalando. That means managing two fulfillment operations, two inventory systems, two sets of carriers. That's coordination nightmare.

If you use 3PL for everything, you have one inventory system, one set of SKUs, one carrier relationship, one reporting dashboard. Everything flows through one system.

The operational simplicity of 3PL compounds the economics in your favour when you're multi-channel.

When to Use FBA

FBA makes sense if:

  • You're selling exclusively on Amazon (not multi-channel)
  • You have <2,000 orders/month (FBA fees are reasonable at small scale)
  • You're testing the market and want zero operational overhead
  • You're willing to pay premium fees for simplicity

FBA is great for new brands testing a market. You send 500 units, Amazon handles everything, you learn what sells. If it works, graduate to 3PL and multi-channel. If it doesn't, you haven't wasted money on a 3PL contract.

When to Use 3PL

3PL makes sense if:

  • You're selling on 2+ channels (own store, Amazon, bol.com, etc.)
  • You have >2,000 orders/month (economies of scale favour 3PL)
  • You want inventory visibility and control
  • You want to retain brand relationships with customers
  • You want to optimize pricing and margins across channels

3PL is the choice for serious, multi-channel, multi-country brands. It's the way to scale.

The Hybrid Approach

Some brands use both: FBA for Amazon Prime badge and speed, 3PL for bol.com and own store. This works but creates complexity and double-inventory management.

We don't recommend it. Choose one and optimize for it. If you're multi-channel, optimize for 3PL. If you're Amazon-only, optimize for FBA.

3PL Selection Criteria

If you choose 3PL, how do you pick a partner? Look for:

  • Geography: Local hubs in your key markets (not centralised)
  • Integration: Native connections to your sales channels (Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, bol.com, Zalando)
  • Carrier access: Direct contracts with DHL, DPD, Hermes, local carriers per country
  • Tech maturity: Real-time inventory visibility, not spreadsheets
  • Returns capability: Professional returns processing, not just "warehouse"
  • CS support: English-language and local-language customer service

Cost is less important than capability. A cheap 3PL that can't integrate to your systems or manage returns properly will cost you far more in lost sales and customer churn.

The Decision Tree

Ask yourself:

Q: Are you selling on multiple channels (own store + Amazon + bol.com, etc.)?
A: Yes → Use 3PL
A: No → Use FBA (if Amazon only) or 3PL (if own store only)

Q: Do you have >2,000 orders/month?
A: Yes → 3PL is cheaper and more flexible
A: No → FBA for simplicity, or small 3PL for control

Q: Do you care about brand control and customer relationships?
A: Yes → 3PL (you own the customer)
A: No → FBA is fine

Q: Are you scaling to 2+ European countries?
A: Yes → 3PL with local hubs per country
A: No → FBA or single-country 3PL

Bottom Line

FBA is great for getting started with Amazon at zero operational cost. 3PL is the way to scale across multiple channels and countries with lower unit costs and full brand control.

Most brands start on FBA, test the market, then graduate to 3PL when they hit €2M+ revenue and 2+ channels. That's the proven path.

Choose based on your channel strategy, not just cost. And choose a partner with real geographic and operational depth, not just low prices.

Ready to evaluate FBA vs 3PL for your brand?

Get a Fulfillment Strategy Recommendation →