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4 December 2025
Master RFPs and RFQs in E‑Commerce Logistics Across Europe: A Detailed Guide
4 December 2025If you’re a non-European seller, chances are your first step into the EU market was Amazon FBA. It’s the obvious move: you don’t need local warehouses, you don’t need to figure out couriers and you instantly get access to Prime delivery. For many brands, it’s the quickest way to “be present” in Europe without actually being here.
But once sales start picking up, the experience often changes. Costs creep up. Inventory limits start getting in the way. Receiving times stretch longer than expected. And the more your operations depend on FBA, the harder it becomes to control margins or shape the customer experience the way you want.
That’s the point where a lot of brands begin asking a simple question: Is FBA still the best long-term setup for us?
For many, the answer is now “not really”.
What makes Amazon FBA a good option for starters, but not so much for scaling your brand and how is 3PL better for growing brands? We'll tell you everything you need to know in this article.
OUR GOAL
To provide an A-to-Z e-commerce logistics solution that would complete Amazon fulfillment network in the European Union.
The most common challenges brands face with FBA in Europe
Most international sellers walk into FBA with the same expectation: once the products reach Amazon’s warehouses, everything else should run on autopilot. And in the early months, it often feels that way. Inventory moves smoothly, fees seem reasonable, and the convenience of having Amazon handle fulfilment can easily overshadow the operational details happening behind the scenes.
But things start to look different as volumes increase, product lines expand or seasonality becomes a bigger factor. That’s when sellers begin to experience the parts of FBA that wasn't highlighted in onboarding guides or promotional materials. The model works extremely well for Amazon, but not always for brands trying to build stable, predictable operations across the EU.
Sellers start noticing patterns: fees that rise faster than revenue, warehouses that suddenly refuse new shipments, receiving times that fluctuate without explanation and customer returns that quietly eat away at margins. And because these issues rarely appear one at a time, the operational strain compounds. A delay in inbound receiving can cause a stockout. A stockout affects rankings. Recovering rankings increases ad spend. Increased ad spend reduces margin — and so on.
This is the stage where many brands begin questioning whether FBA is still supporting their growth or slowly holding it back. Let's look at some of the challenges that come up the most often among sellers operating in Europe.
1. Rising FBA costs
In the beginning, FBA fees feel simple: a storage fee, a fulfilment fee and maybe a few add-ons. But once you grow, the cost structure becomes much more complex — and much harder to predict. Storage fees in Q3 and Q4 can triple compared to regular months, especially for products with larger dimensions. Long-term storage fees hit any SKU that doesn’t move fast enough, which becomes a problem for brands with wider catalogues or seasonal items.
Then there are the “hidden friction points”:
relabelling fees if Amazon finds mismatches
removal fees that spike during peak season
return processing fees that vary depending on the category
storage penalties tied to the Inventory Performance Index (IPI) score
Individually, these charges seem small, but when you multiply them across thousands of units and multiple EU markets, they can shift a profitable SKU into break-even territory. Many sellers describe this stage the same way: “It’s not that FBA is expensive; it’s that the cost curve becomes unpredictable.” And unpredictability is the enemy of scaling.
2. Inventory limits and inbound restrictions
One of the biggest pain points for non-European sellers is not being able to send inventory through FBA when they actually need to. Amazon introduces inbound limits based on historical performance, IPI score and warehouse capacity — none of which the seller can influence directly. So even if you have a container ready at the port, Amazon may simply refuse to accept it.
This can create a chain of operational problems:
stockouts during paid campaigns
overspending on emergency air freight to restore stock
losing the Buy Box because inventory arrived too late
wasting seasonal opportunities because shipments were delayed
To make things more complicated, receiving slots can open and close within hours, depending on the load at Amazon’s fulfilment centres. Sellers often find themselves planning logistics around what Amazon is willing to accept, not what makes sense for their business. This becomes increasingly difficult when goods are shipped from the US or Asia, where lead times are already long and expensive to adjust.
3. Little control over customer experience
FBA is designed to deliver fast, standardized fulfilment — which is great for speed, but not for brand building. For many sellers entering Europe, this becomes a serious strategic limitation once they start developing repeat customers or want to stand out in saturated categories.
With FBA, you can’t:
choose your own packaging style
add inserts, thank-you cards or warranty instructions
create bundles, multi-packs, starter kits or gift sets on demand
ensure returned items are inspected the way you would inspect them
Amazon’s priority is efficiency, not differentiation. As a result, every package looks the same regardless of whether it’s a premium brand or an inexpensive commodity product. For brands investing in storytelling, identity and customer retention, this lack of control becomes a direct obstacle to long-term growth — especially if they plan to expand into D2C sales in Europe.
4. Unpredictable receiving times
Ask five sellers about Amazon receiving times in Europe, and you’ll get five different answers — all of them correct. One week your inventory might be checked in within 48 hours. The next week it might sit for 10, 14 or even 20 days before becoming available for sale.
Receiving times depend on warehouse congestion, staffing levels, inbound volume, seasonality and Amazon’s internal priorities. But from the seller’s perspective, these delays can completely derail planning:
inventory arrives late, so scheduled PPC pushes underperform
ranking drops because products go temporarily out of stock
new product launches lose momentum
seasonal SKUs miss their sales window
For international sellers, this unpredictability is even more damaging, because they already deal with long lead times and high shipping costs. When an inbound delay happens inside FBA, there’s nothing the seller can do to speed it up — and that lack of control creates real financial risk.
5. Cross-border complexity inside Europe
The EU is a single market, but when it comes to fulfilment, it might as well be ten different ones. Each country has its own VAT rules, courier pricing, consumer behaviour, and regulatory requirements. FBA tries to simplify this through programs like Pan-EU, but for many sellers the costs outweigh the benefits.
Common issues include:
higher cross-border fulfilment fees when shipping from central hubs
VAT registration complexity in multiple countries
regulatory differences in product compliance
expensive movement of goods between EU countries under the FBA network
difficulty testing smaller markets due to high per-unit fulfilment fees
For example, shipping a product from Germany to Spain or Italy via FBA can cost significantly more than fulfilling the same order from an independent 3PL in the Netherlands or Poland. Sellers expecting “one European fulfilment cost” quickly discover that Amazon’s internal pricing structure pushes them toward only a handful of large markets — making it harder to expand across the region.
6. Returns that quietly destroy margin
Return rates in Europe are significantly higher than in the US, especially in categories like fashion, footwear, electronics, home decor and beauty. FBA handles returns automatically, but the way returns are processed often results in lost inventory value.
Typical frustrations include:
no detailed quality check before marking items as unsellable
products declared “customer damaged” even when fixable
slow processing that locks up inventory for weeks
limited visibility into return reasons
nearly no control over refurbishment or repackaging
If you sell products with high return sensitivity (e.g., apparel or consumer electronics), these issues can dramatically impact profitability. Many sellers only realize the scale of the problem after reviewing a full quarter of returns and noticing that a large percentage of units could have been resold — if only they had more control over the process.
Why more sellers are turning to 3PL fulfilment in Europe
For most international sellers, Amazon FBA is the natural first step into Europe. It’s fast, it’s convenient and it removes a lot of operational headaches. You ship your products to Amazon, they handle storage, shipping and returns, and you can focus on selling instead of figuring out European logistics. For a new market, that’s hard to beat.
But sooner or later, many brands reach a point where FBA stops being as smooth as it was at the start. Fees grow faster than revenue. Inventory limits show up at the worst possible time. Receiving times stretch for no clear reason. And the more your business depends on FBA, the more you start feeling how rigid the whole system is. You can’t control packaging. You can’t adjust the way orders are handled. You can’t influence how returns are processed. It works — but only on Amazon’s terms.
There aren’t any public numbers that tell us “how many sellers switched from FBA to 3PL,” but the behaviour on the market is pretty obvious: more brands are actively looking outside Amazon for fulfilment support. Not because FBA suddenly becomes unusable, but because at some stage sellers realise they need something more flexible, predictable or simply better suited to how their business works.
So now, let's look at what exactly Third-party-logistics companies have to offer that FBA can't.
1. Full control over inventory and inbound flow
One of the first things sellers notice when they move part of their operations to a 3PL is how much calmer planning becomes.
With FBA, you’re constantly working around limits and rules: you can’t always send as much stock as you want, when you want, and even if the truck is at the warehouse gate, Amazon can still decide not to receive it that day.
With a 3PL, the dynamic is completely different as you can:
send full containers or pallets without worrying about sudden inbound limits
plan replenishments based on your promotions, not on Amazon’s internal capacity
agree on clear inbound SLAs (e.g. “goods received and available in 24–72 hours”)
consolidate stock from multiple suppliers before it’s shipped out to different markets or channels
For international sellers, this is huge. Instead of guessing how FBA will behave next month, they can treat inventory as something they actually manage — not something they’re allowed to send “if the system says yes”.
2. More predictable costs and flexible operational models
Another common reason brands bring in a 3PL is simple: they’re tired of surprises on their FBA invoices.
With FBA, the cost structure looks clear on paper, but in reality it includes a long list of variables:
seasonal storage spikes, long-term storage fees, removal fees, relabelling, special handling, category-specific returns… It’s manageable at small scale, but once your EU sales grow, it gets harder and harder to know your real margin per SKU.
Most 3PLs work differently. You typically get:
a straightforward storage fee
a clear pick & pack fee
transparent shipping prices by destination / weight / service level
optional extras clearly listed and agreed in advance
That doesn’t make logistics “cheap” by default, but it makes it predictable. And predictability is what finance teams and founders care about when they’re planning next year’s budget, pricing or ad spend.
On top of that, 3PLs are usually more flexible in how you work with them. You can start with:
just long-term storage for overflow stock
or storage + fulfilment for one region (e.g. EU, UK)
or a full setup including returns, refurbishing, kitting, custom projects
You don’t have to flip a switch from “100% FBA” to “100% 3PL”. For many brands, the winning model is mixed: core SKUs stay in FBA, while a 3PL handles everything FBA doesn’t do well (overflow stock, D2C, special bundles, returns, new markets).
3. Real control over customer experience
If you sell a commodity product and don’t care about branding, FBA’s standard box is fine. But if you’ve invested time and money into building a brand, one-size-fits-all packaging becomes a problem. This is where 3PLs shine. They give you room to turn fulfilment into part of your marketing, not just an operational cost.
With a Third-party-logistics partner, you can:
choose packaging that fits your brand: branded boxes, tissue paper, stickers, eco packaging, etc.
include inserts, thank-you notes, discount codes or product guides
build custom bundles or starter kits on demand, not just as pre-packed SKUs
set specific packing rules for fragile, premium or gift items
define how damage checks and quality control should work before an order leaves the warehouse
All of this has a direct impact on how customers perceive your brand in Europe. The same product in a generic Amazon box feels entirely different from a product that arrives in packaging that looks and feels like you. And if you plan to grow your own D2C store alongside Amazon, that control over experience becomes non-negotiable.
4. Faster, consistent inbound receiving and stable SLAs
With FBA, you might be used to this pattern: sometimes inbound is processed in 1–2 days, sometimes in 10–15, and there’s not much you can do about it.
For launches, seasonal products or influencer campaigns, that’s a real risk. You can have perfect timing on the marketing side and still miss the window simply because your stock is “waiting to be received”.
3PLs usually operate on much simpler, more transparent rules. When goods arrive:
they’re booked into the system within a fixed, agreed time frame
you get visibility into what’s been received and what’s still in transit
exceptions can be discussed with an actual person, not a generic support queue
That doesn’t mean nothing ever goes wrong — it’s logistics, things happen. But when they do, you can talk to a team that knows your account and can adjust priorities. For brands shipping from Asia or the US, even a few days of guaranteed inbound stability can be the difference between a successful season and a missed one.
5. Easier EU cross-border distribution from one central hub
One of the biggest practical advantages of using a 3PL in Europe is how much easier cross-border shipping becomes. Instead of spreading inventory across multiple FBA countries, you can keep stock in one or two strategic locations (for example, Poland or the Netherlands) and still deliver quickly to most EU markets.
This has a few clear benefits:
you manage one main stock pool instead of fragments of inventory scattered across the EU
you avoid a lot of internal FBA transfer complexity and costs
you can test new markets (like the Nordics, Austria or Eastern Europe) without committing large amounts of stock locally
shipping prices are often more predictable and, for many destinations, simply lower than equivalent FBA cross-border rates
For brands that want to go beyond “Germany + France only”, this centralised setup makes life much easier. You can plug multiple sales channels into the same warehouse: Amazon, your own shop, local marketplaces and even B2B wholesale.
6. More efficient, margin-friendly returns handling
Returns won’t disappear. Especially not in Europe. But you can decide whether they’re just a cost — or an opportunity to recover value.
With FBA, you don’t get to design the returns process. You accept how Amazon handles it. Items may be marked as unsellable, written off or liquidated without much nuance.
A 3PL gives you:
a defined check-in process for returns (what is checked, how, and what is documented)
grading rules: A/B/C quality levels, re-sell vs refurbish vs scrap
the option to re-pack, re-label or combine returned units into new sellable sets
better visibility into reasons for returns, by SKU, country or channel
This is especially important in high-return categories. Instead of simply absorbing the loss, you can actively manage returned stock and keep more of it in circulation. Over a year, that can be a meaningful difference in margin and cashflow.
7. Freedom to scale beyond Amazon
Maybe the most strategic reason sellers add a 3PL is this: it gives them the freedom to think beyond Amazon.
As long as FBA is your only logistics setup in Europe, Amazon is effectively your only serious sales channel. Yes, you can ship from FBA to some other channels in some configurations, but it’s not what the system is optimised for.
Once you have a 3PL in place, you can:
run a serious D2C store with local delivery times
experiment with regional marketplaces (Zalando, Cdiscount, Allegro, eMAG, etc.)
test subscription models or curated boxes
support B2B or wholesale orders from the same stock
keep fulfilment running even if your Amazon account faces issues or policy changes
In other words, you get flexibility. If tomorrow Amazon changes a policy, a fee or a program that affects your business, you’re not stuck. You have an independent logistics backbone in Europe that you control.
How FlexLogistics support sellers who want more flexibility in Europe
If you’re at the stage where FBA feels a bit too rigid, too unpredictable or simply not aligned with how you want to run your European operations, that’s exactly where we come in. At FlexLogistics, we work with brands that started out on Amazon, just like you, but eventually realized they needed more control, clearer cost structures or a fulfilment setup that adapts to their business instead of the other way around.
We don’t force a single model. You choose the level of support you actually need.
For some sellers, we act as a simple overflow warehouse where they store extra stock before sending it to FBA. Others rely on us for full European fulfilment: storage, picking and packing, returns processing, custom packaging and multichannel shipping. And many use a hybrid setup, where some SKUs stay in FBA while everything else runs through us.
What matters most to us is flexibility. You can start small, adjust as you scale and expand your setup as your European business grows. You can test new SKUs or new markets without locking inventory into multiple Amazon warehouses. And you can build your D2C presence in Europe without losing the speed and reliability customers expect.
Here’s what brands usually appreciate the most when working with us:
fast and predictable inbound receiving (typically within 24–72 hours)
no storage limits or inbound restrictions
transparent, stable costs without seasonal surprises
full control over packaging and branding
efficient returns handling with real value recovery
easy integrations with Amazon, Shopify and major EU marketplaces
If you’re considering adding a 3PL to your European strategy — or you simply want a more flexible setup to complement FBA — we’ll be happy to walk you through the options. Reach out to us using the contact form below or the contact link, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Amazon FBA is still one of the fastest ways for international sellers to enter the European market — and for many brands, it’s the right place to start. But as operations grow, the limitations of a one-size-fits-all fulfilment model become harder to ignore. Rising fees, inbound limits, slow receiving times and a lack of control over packaging or returns can easily get in the way of healthy, predictable scaling.
That’s why more sellers are now looking beyond Amazon for part of their logistics. A 3PL doesn’t replace everything — and it doesn’t have to. What it offers is flexibility: the ability to manage inventory on your terms, shape customer experience the way you want and expand into new markets or channels without building an entirely new infrastructure from scratch.
Whether you’re looking to complement FBA or gradually shift more operations outside of it, the most important thing is having options. And that’s exactly what a well-chosen 3PL gives you.
If you’re ready to explore how this could work for your business, feel free to reach out to us using the form below — we’ll be glad to help you map out the next steps.
