Supplements
How Bicarb compared 200+ 3PLs and found the right one in a week
£0
cost to compare 3PLs
1 week
to sign with a partner
About
Bicarb had grown to around 4,000 orders a month in just over a year, but fulfilment was causing issues. With up to 24 picks per order, the wrong pricing model could quickly wipe out margins. Bicarb needed a 3PL that could handle its complex fulfilment operation at a price that made commercial sense. Using fulfilment.com, founder Riley Witt compared multiple 3PLs at once, quickly filtered out unsuitable options and chose a partner within just one week.
Industry
Supplements
Share
"If I was going to give any advice to someone looking for a 3PL, I would say use their platform. It's an effective way of getting a bunch of quotes in a short period of time. Overall, fulfilment.com crushed it."
Riley Witt
,
Founder
Highlights
Bicarb had outgrown its previous 3PL at 4,000 orders per month
With up to 24 picks per order, standard per-pick pricing didn't make commercial sense
Sharing one brief with fulfilment.com enabled the comparison of 200+ 3PLs
With the shortlist, Bicarb was able to find the right partner in just one week
The experience showed that speed, accuracy and service matter as much as price
Bicarb rates its fulfilment.com experience 5/5 across the board
4,000 orders a month uncovered issues
Bicarb launched in May 2025 and grew quickly. But as monthly orders reached around 4,000, packing and shipping had become a significant drain on the business.
It was time to outsource. The real challenge, however, was finding a 3PL that could make the economics work. Bicarb's fulfilment operation looked deceptively simple; a small SKU count, but some orders needed up to 24 individual picks. At $0.50 per pick, that breaks the economics of any standard fulfilment model.
One week to find a suitable 3PL
Riley had already started researching providers independently, including ShipBob and ShipMonk, but comparing multiple 3PLs meant managing separate conversations, quote requests and calls, all while heading up a fast-growing business.
Conversely, fulfilment.com gave Bicarb a faster way to approach the market. Riley could share exactly the same brief, including Bicarb's order volumes, SKU count and complex pick-and-pack requirements, and then be introduced to several suitable 3PLs at once. This made it much easier to compare the commercial options and quickly rule out providers that didn't make sense.
Instead of spending weeks or even months working through unsuitable providers, Riley could focus his time on the 3PLs that actually fit the business. The result of using fulfilment.com? Bicarb chose its 3PL within a week.
Cheapest doesn’t always mean the best
Bicarb's previous experience also highlighted an important lesson: price is only one part of the fulfilment equation. His original 3PL provider offered an attractive price and a smooth onboarding process, but over time, higher error rates and slower shipping showed that the cheapest option wasn't necessarily the best-value overall.
“Fulfilment is such a huge part of the business, but I didn’t realise just how important it was until we started scaling.”
Today, Riley prioritises low error rates, and faster fulfilment and shipping because it directly affects customer satisfaction and retention.
I quickly vetted out the most expensive 3PLs and just got rid of them, and then booked calls with the people that would actually make sense from a pricing standpoint.
Riley Witt
,
Founder
Why faster 3PL searches matter
For Bicarb, the biggest advantage of fulfilment.com was speed and choice. Rather than spending weeks approaching providers individually, Riley could put the same requirements in front of multiple 3PLs and quickly identify which ones were worth exploring.
That meant less time spent chasing quotes, and more time comparing partners on the factors that actually mattered to Bicarb. With fulfilment.com also being free for brands to use, there was no additional cost to accessing a network of vetted 3PL providers.
Outsourcing fulfilment to focus on growth
Bicarb's experience reinforced Riley's view that fulfilment is one of the first parts of an ecommerce operation that founders should consider handing over.
As order volumes grow, packing boxes, managing warehouse operations and dealing with fulfilment issues can quickly become a distraction from the work that actually helps a business to scale.
His advice for ecommerce founders is simple:
“Being the easiest piece, it should be the first one you delegate.”
The real crux, however, is choosing the right partner. For growing brands, Riley suggests looking beyond the headline fulfilment price. Ask about error rates, shipping performance, speak to other brands using the 3PL, and make sure pricing continues to work as order volumes increase.
Bicarb's experience is proof that finding the right 3PL doesn't have to be slow or complicated. By comparing providers side by side, Riley found a partner that fit both the operational complexity and the economics of the business, in just a week.
"I’ve got nothing but good things to say about [fulfilment.com]. I think it’s a really useful service."
Riley Witt
,
Founder
How we can help
If your fulfilment operation looks like Bicarb's, complex picks, tight margins, growing order volume, fulfilment.com makes it easy to find a 3PL that fits. Share your requirements once, and we'll match you with vetted fulfilment partners who can actually handle your pick-and-pack profile, so you can compare pricing, performance and more with ease.
