Shipping 1,000+ Orders Monthly? Here’s When to Move to a 3PL

Wondering if it’s time to move to a 3PL? Shipping over 1,000 orders a month is often the tipping point to rethink your fulfilment strategy. Rising courier costs, delayed deliveries, and complex multi-state fulfilment can quickly overwhelm your current setup.

Tools like ShipStation may have been fine when you started on Temu or eBay, but now they slow you down with cumbersome label creation, slow inventory syncing, and limited rate options.

You've hit a turning point. It's time to decide: upgrade your internal systems or partner with a third-party logistics provider (3PL).

This article will help you recognise the signs it’s time to switch, and choose the right fulfilment path to scale your business sustainably.

Scale Smarter with 3PL Fulfilment

Outgrown DIY shipping? Streamline operations and deliver faster with a 3PL solution built for growing Australian brands.

Get a Quote Now

DIY Shipping vs 3PL

Once you're shipping more than 1,000 orders a month, entry-level tools like ShipStation start falling short. This is where most growing e-commerce brands face a critical choice: invest in better tools or let a logistics partner handle the heavy lifting.

Upgrading your systems gives more automation and integration for in-house fulfilment. Outsourcing to a 3PL lifts the burden from your team, handling storage, packing, and shipping with faster turnaround and fewer errors.

For Australian businesses, this decision carries extra complexity. You're often dealing with long delivery distances, multiple courier services, and international shipping regulations like GST and customs.

Now’s the time to assess your team, tools, and growth goals. Then choose the fulfilment path that supports your next stage of scale.

5 Signs You’ve Outgrown DIY Shipping

When fulfilment starts draining your time, team, and margins, it’s a sign that something has to change. Here are five warning signs that you’ve outgrown DIY shipping:

1. Inventory isn’t syncing quick enough, leading to overselling or stockouts as your systems struggle to keep up across multiple platforms.
2. Manual label batching consumes your day. Time that could be better spent growing your business.
3. Marketplace fulfilment is failing. Delays or broken integrations with channels like Temu, Amazon, and eBay are costing sales and damaging ratings.
4. Courier rates are no longer competitive. Without proper rate shopping tools, you're paying more and shrinking your margins.
5. Fulfilment is taking over your day. It’s no longer a backend task; it’s become a daily drain on focus and efficiency.

These red flags signal it's time to upgrade your software or hand shipping off to a 3PL. Delaying the move means slower fulfilment, lower customer satisfaction, and lost revenue with every order.

Option 1: Upgrade Your Shipping Stack

For brands that want to stay hands-on, upgrading your shipping tech can extend the life of your in-house fulfilment setup. It gives you more control, more automation, and the ability to scale without handing over operations to a third party.

In Australia, this often means integrating directly with carriers like Australia Post, StarTrack, TNT and Toll. Advanced platforms can also handle GST compliance, remote area surcharges, and customs for international orders to help you stay efficient across borders.

Top tools to consider:

• ShipEngine: Developer-friendly APIs and multi-carrier support to build custom shipping workflows.
• Veeqo: Strong inventory syncing and order routing, with an easy-to-use dashboard.
• EasyPost / Ordoro: Automation-focused systems that connect with major marketplaces and couriers.

Pros:

• Full control over how you pick, pack, and ship
• Real-time visibility into your orders and stock
• Lower fulfilment costs if your warehouse is running efficiently

Limitations:

• Still requires warehouse space, staff, and management
• Doesn’t solve bottlenecks caused by physical capacity or peak season spikes

If your operations team and infrastructure are solid, this path can work. But if you’re running out of space or people, more software won’t fix the root problem. That’s when outsourcing becomes the smarter next move.

Option 2: Hand It Over to a 3PL

Outsourcing to a 3PL means handing off storage, picking, packing, shipping, and returns to a dedicated logistics provider. A good 3PL integrates with your sales channels so orders are automatically routed for fulfilment without manual effort from your team.

One Melbourne-based fashion brand turned to Couriers & Freight after outgrowing its warehouse. Orders from Shopify, Amazon, and eBay now sync directly with Couriers & Freight’s system. Their team picks, packs, and ships within 24 hours, choosing the most cost-effective courier for each destination.

As a result, delivery times dropped by 30%, fulfilment errors became rare, and internal staff were reallocated to marketing and product development.

Pros:

• Faster delivery options for customers
• Access to discounted courier rates through volume aggregation
• Fewer fulfilment errors with experienced warehouse teams
• More time to focus on growth initiatives

Limitations:

• Ongoing storage fees based on space or pallet count
• Pick and pack fees per order or item
• Set-up costs or monthly minimums

This model is ideal for brands scaling fast, selling across multiple platforms, or shipping nationwide. It takes the fulfilment load off your team without sacrificing speed or quality.

Final Comparison: Which Path Is Right for Your Business?

Choosing between upgrading your shipping stack or partnering with a 3PL depends on your operational setup, team capacity, and scalability goals.

Consider:

1. Does the business have the infrastructure and systems to manage increased order volumes internally?
2. Are current fulfilment processes efficient enough to support ongoing growth?
3. Would outsourcing improve delivery speed, accuracy, or team focus compared to the current setup?

Businesses with capable internal logistics teams may benefit from advanced shipping software and tighter in-house control.

For other businesses, a 3PL can ease the day-to-day fulfilment burden and free resources for sales, marketing, and enhancing customer experience.

A hybrid approach works well for brands with mixed fulfilment needs. For instance, direct-to-consumer (DTC) orders handled in-house, while marketplace orders (Amazon, Etsy) are outsourced to a 3PL.

Couriers & Freight supports both hybrid and fully outsourced models, giving you the flexibility to scale at your own pace. For many businesses, starting with a partial rollout is a practical way to test 3PL performance without giving up full control.

Make Your Fulfilment Work for You

Once your business is shipping over 1,000 orders a month, fulfilment can either support growth or slow it down. Tackling bottlenecks early means faster delivery, happier customers, and a team that can stay focused on what matters.

Couriers & Freight offers outsourced, hybrid, and fully tailored fulfilment solutions designed to meet the needs of growing Australian brands.

Talk to our logistics team today to explore a smarter, more scalable way to ship, without the operational stress.

Scale Smarter with 3PL Fulfilment

Outgrown DIY shipping? Streamline operations and deliver faster with a 3PL solution built for growing Australian brands.

Get a Quote Now