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OUR GOAL
To provide an A-to-Z e-commerce logistics solution that would complete Amazon fulfillment network in the European Union.
If you’re selling online from outside the EU, there’s a good chance your first experience with European logistics was through Amazon FBA, since it was the fastest and seemingly the easiest way to set your foot in Europe. And for a while, it might have worked: Amazon handled the warehousing, fulfilment, and last-mile delivery for you, while you only needed to prepare the packages according to Amazon's regulations.
But things change fast when businesses start to grow - suddenly, Amazon very strict and non-negotiable rules are getting in the way of growing your business the way YOU want it. At this point, many sellers start looking for a 3PL partner in the EU, to give them a much more flexible warehouse space contract and maybe also help them optimize the last-mile delivery. But what many sellers don't know is that a good European 3PL can offer so much more than storage and fulfilment. They can help you prep your stock for Amazon, manage removals, bundle products, handle customs clearance from Asia, and integrate with multiple sales channels — all while cutting your lead times and costs.
So in this article, we’ll highlight the extra services that a modern 3PL partner should offer to e-commerce brands like yours and when those services might be worth adding to your 3PL contract.
Core fulfilment is just the beginning
From our experience, when e-commerce brands come to us to talk because they are looking for a 3PL partner, many of them start from "I need warehouse space somewhere in the EU, and someone to send out my orders”. And that’s fair - they are currently thinking how a 3PL service can fix the most pressing issues for them at the moment, which are most often high costs of international shipping, lack of flexibility when working with Amazon FBA or (too) long delivery times. Having a pay-per-use warehouse contract and a logistic partner that takes care of last-mile delivery for them would solve those issues.
What surprises many of them is that a 3PL service often doesn't just end on giving them a space to store their products and maybe also a few people who will take care of handing their parcels to the delivery carriers. Those are more of a "starter pack" for e-commerce owners who want to see how working with the third-party logistics service will look like.
But there are also additional 3PL services available for e-commerce brands who want to:
prepare inventory for multiple Amazon marketplaces — each with its own set of rules and label formats.
test product bundles or gift sets without sending pre-packed versions all the way from your manufacturer.
import products from Asia but without spending several days filling the custom clearance documents
or sell through multiple channels (Amazon, Shopify, or country-specific marketplaces) where their stock needs to be synced, tracked, and fulfilled without errors.
You might not need any of those services right now, but in the future, when you, for example, decide to ship your products to several EU countries, knowing which extra services might help you out with additional workload and can you ask your 3PL provider for adding those services to your contract might really come in handy. So in the next sections, we’ll break down the most valuable of these extra services, show you how they work in practice and when it might be a good idea to reach to your 3PL provider and ask about those.
Value-added services: what else should your 3PL offer?
If you’ve just started working with a 3PL partner in Europe, you might be wondering: Do I actually need all these extra services they offer? Or, maybe more importantly, "Am I going to get charged for things I didn’t ask for?"
We hear those questions especially often from non-EU sellers who were earlier working with Amazon FBA, and almost every month they had unexpected charges and fees added to their invoice, sometimes for things they didn't even have much control over.
But a good 3PL doesn’t work like that.
The pricing for reputable 3PL companies services are transparent, and they won’t add any new services to your contract (or add any new charges to your invoice) without your approval. You can start with just the basics: warehouse space and outbound shipping, and then, as your needs grow, decide, what and when (and if) to add anything else.
But before you consider adding any additional services to your contract, you first need to know what those services include and are they worth considering, right? So below, you'll find the description of most common value-added services offered by 3PL companies and what they can give you.
1. FBA prep & forwarding
If you’re still using Amazon FBA in Europe, even just partially, you know how picky they can be. Wrong label? Wrong box size? Units not packed the way they want? Your shipment gets delayed, or worse, rejected. And then either they’ll charge you for fixing it or refuse to accept the shipment altogether...and charge fees for extra processing, handling, or rerouting. So preparing anything for Amazon needs to be done with extra care and attention - which is easier said than done if you have several pallets or boxes to prepare.
That’s why a lot of brands turn to their 3PL for help with FBA prep.
As part of the service, the FBA prep team will unpack your shipments, relabel every unit correctly, add polybags if needed, group SKUs into cartons, and prep everything to match Amazon’s requirements perfectly. Then they’ll forward it to the Amazon logistic centre you asked them to - or to three centres in different countries.
And here’s the most important part: they will always ask you first before adding changes to the earlier agreed on process. If the parcels come to their warehouse damaged and need repacking, they’ll ask. If they need additional information from you before they can create the labels, they'll ask. And you'll be told in advance if there are any extra fees or charges to be added to the next invoice.
It’s the opposite of what you get with Amazon, where they can quietly add €200 for processing, handling and sending the shipment back to you, just because the label didn't have the exact dimensions required, and the scanner didn't register the parcel.
Example: You send a pallet from your supplier in China straight to your 3PL in Poland. They split it into 5 smaller shipments for different FBA warehouses, relabel everything, fix the over-packed cartons, and once they have double-checked the parcels all meet the FBA standards, forward the parcels to the warehouses in Germany, France and Poland. You can check the shipment progress at the dedicated dashboard integrated with the 3PL systems.
2. Kitting & bundling
Let’s say you want to try something new: a holiday set, a limited-time bundle, or maybe a “2+1 free” promo. Sounds easy — until your factory tells you they need three weeks and a minimum of 2,000 units to even start. Meanwhile Amazon might say that the holiday bundles do not meet their strict FBA regulations, so unless you make the bundles meet FBA guidelines, they won't accept those at their warehouse.
A 3PL company can give you a third option: kitting and bundling service at your 3PL.
Instead of packing bundles at source, your 3PL can create them right in the warehouse and exactly how you asked them to bundle. For example, they can combine SKUs, add inserts, wrap items in tissue paper, stick on promo labels or customize the parcels in any other way you need them. And when the promotion ends, you csn go back right back to regular single-unit shipping.
This gives you full flexibility to test campaigns, run seasonal offers, or personalize orders even at a small scale, and only pay for the kitting/bundling service when you need it.
Example: You’re launching a “Valentine’s Set” that's made of two products you already sell plus one limited edition product. Your 3PL will then bundle them as orders come in, adds a red sleeve, and ships them gift-ready.
3. Customs clearance & import coordination
If you’re shipping goods from outside the EU, you already know how messy customs can get. One missing document, one misclassified HS code, one wrong consignee name - and your shipment sits in port or at the airport for days (or weeks), racking up storage charges.
This is where a good 3PL can also help you coordinate the import itself through a dedicated custom clearance service.
As a part of it, they will review your commercial invoices, check for any discrepancies or mistakes in the documents before departure, advising on correct commodity codes, coordinating with customs brokers or freight forwarders, and even acting as your indirect representative for import declarations in the EU. If you're using DDP terms, they’ll often be the ones helping ensure VAT and duties are declared and paid properly.
The result? Your products get from port to warehouse without sitting in limbo for a week.
Example: You’re importing a container from Vietnam. Your 3PL reviews the commercial invoice and notices vague descriptions like “mixed goods.” They help you rewrite it properly before the container leaves port — and that small fix means it clears in 24 hours instead of being held up for inspection.
4. Multi-channel integrations
So maybe you started on Amazon (like most sellers do) but now you’re also on Shopify, or selling through Zalando, or maybe you’ve got a wholesale deal coming up. Suddenly, you’re not just shipping orders… you’re juggling different platforms, stock levels, return rules, and delivery expectations all at once.
This is where a 3PL’s integrations can save you hours every week. Instead of forcing you to work on multiple spreadsheets or ask several different workers how the orders for the German's marketplace OTTO are going, they will integrate your sales channels with their system, so orders flow into their system automatically, inventory stays in sync, and you can check the order progress at any time via the dedicated dashboard.
They can also set up rules per channel — for example: using eco-packaging for D2C Shopify orders, but Amazon-compliant cartons for FBA. Or flagging retail orders for B2B prep while keeping daily D2C shipping running in parallel.
Example: You launch a campaign on your DTC store and get a spike in orders. Your 3PL’s WMS pulls those in automatically, ships them same-day, and updates your stock — all while your Amazon and Zalando orders keep flowing in as well. You just need to check the dashboard to see how many orders were already shipped and which ones are still waiting for processing.
5. B2C and B2B fulfilment in one place
Selling to individual customers is one thing. But as you grow, you’ll probably start getting interest from retailers, resellers, subscription boxes, or marketplaces that want bulk orders. And suddenly, you need more than just fast D2C shipping — you need B2B handling too.
That means packing pallets, adding packing lists, creating shipping documents, managing booking slots with stores or distributors, and sometimes even printing custom invoices. If your 3PL can’t handle this, you might have to split operations or hire additional third-party companies that can take up a part of the tasks.
A good 3PL can manage both sides under one roof, though. For example, they can ship single DTC orders to Paris and at the same time prepare a 120-unit B2B shipment to a distributor in Berlin, plus they know how to label boxes by PO, build compliant pallets, and meet retailer delivery standards. That way, you don't have t0 run B2C and B2B orders separately (unless you want!) but you can just leave managing both order fulfilment sectors to the 3PL company.
Example: You get a wholesale order from a European cosmetics chain. Your 3PL picks 500 units, packs them in retailer-ready boxes, includes required paperwork, and coordinates delivery to their warehouse — while your everyday online orders ship out as usual.
6. Returns & Amazon removals handling
Returns are part of the game, especially in Europe, where customers are used to flexible return policies. But if your current setup involves sending returns to your home country (or just letting Amazon destroy unsold inventory)… you’re probably burning cash.
A good 3PL can take that load off your shoulders as they can receive returns locally, inspect the items, repackage what’s still sellable, and update your stock levels — so you can resell without sending things halfway around the world. And if something’s damaged or needs to be discarded, they’ll document it properly, tell you in advance about the issue and then handle disposal according to the EU standards.
Same goes for Amazon removals. If you’ve ever had to clear out non-compliant or unsold stock from FBA, you know how frustrating (and expensive) it gets. Your 3PL can receive those removals, sort through the inventory, and let you decide what happens next — restock, rework, bundle, or recycle.
Example: You run a spring cosmetics promo that sadly doesn’t perform, and you decide to remove 300 units from Amazon. Instead of paying for destruction of the items or shipping them back to your main warehouse in the USA, you ask the 3PL partner to take care of those. Then they will receive the items, repackage what’s in good shape, and use those units for a summer campaign bundle later.
How FLEX. Logistics can help your e-commerce brand grow?
Like we mentioned earlier, you might not need any of those services at the moment yet. Now the priority might be to cut shipping time and costs by moving to local storage and deliveries rather than shipping your product through half of the globe. And working with a 3PL service might help you with those issues.
But when your product range is expanding, channels multiplying, and you’re no longer just selling on Amazon or shipping a few international orders a day, those value-added services might really come in handy, as they can help deal with issues such as:
You miss an FBA labelling update, and your stock sits in limbo.
Your spring bundles arrive from China already packed and paid for… and then don’t sell.
A Zalando order needs a special packing slip, but your warehouse can’t generate it.
Returns come back to the USA from five countries, and you need to spend time checking what’s resellable.
Your shipment gets stuck in customs because your invoice, the package contains, “Men's shoes.”
The thing is, not all 3PL partners offers such services - or they might claim they do, but can't answer any of your questions related to checking the quality of returning items or bundling sets. So it's best that you spend a bit more time thinking which of those services you might need in the future and then question your potential or existing 3PL partners about those, so if you'll need FBA prep or bundling services, the 3PL partner will be able to set those for you in matter of moments.
At FLEX. Logistics, all those services are a part of our offer for e-commerce brands:
- We prep thousands of units every week for Amazon warehouses in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and beyond. We know the barcode formats, pallet rules, and packaging quirks of every marketplace — and we’ll never forward anything without your approval. If you need to remove unsold stock from FBA, we’ll receive, sort and rework it to keep it usable.
- Need to launch a seasonal bundle for DTC? Add an insert for a paid influencer campaign? We do this daily — without you needing to repack at source or create new SKUs. Bundles are created on demand, straight from your existing inventory.
- We have "tried and tested" processes for both B2B and B2C models, so we can ship 1 unit to a customer in Portugal and 200 units to a retailer in Germany — no need for separate logistics for wholesale and DTC.
- ...and more :)
All of this is backed by our network of strategically located warehouses — in Germany, Poland, Czechia, France, and the UK — giving you faster delivery across Europe and local stock positioning for cross-border growth. And just like we mentioned earlier: we never add a service or fee without your explicit approval. You stay in control. Always.
Want to talk through your current setup and see where we could help? Reach out to us, and we’ll review your needs and suggest the best way to upgrade your current logistics model, without forcing you to decide on the first meeting.
Value-added services really can add value to your e-commerce brand
When you’re just starting out in Europe, it’s tempting to look at logistics as a fixed checklist:
- Warehouse space
- Pick and pack
- Delivery across the EU
And yes — that’s the baseline. But as your brand grows, so do the gaps. Suddenly, you need to get 300 units from Shenzhen into five Amazon FBA warehouses without a single labelling error. You want to test a product bundle on Shopify next week — but your supplier can’t repackage in time. You start selling on Zalando, and the packing slip has to match exact platform rules. Here's where the additional services like custom clearance, bundling and kitting or returns management can save plenty of your time, money and nerves as well.
And the truth is, you probably won’t need all of these from day one. But knowing they’re available (and when they’re worth adding) is what lets you scale without scrambling. So whether you’re expanding beyond FBA, launching your first D2C store in the EU, or looking for a cleaner, more predictable logistics setup — it’s worth asking more from your 3PL partner.
Not just “Can they ship my orders?”,
but “Can they grow with my business?”
If the answer is yes — you're on the right track.
