Last week’s numbers
The six core KPIs, against the week before.
The KPIs to Get From Your 3PL Every Week
If you only look at the invoice, you find problems a month late. These are the numbers to see every week.
Measure the Warehouse the Way Your Customer Feels It
A fulfillment report is only useful if it measures what your customer experiences. For an apparel brand that means the right size in the box, shipped when you promised, with stock counts you can trust and returns that turn back into sellable inventory quickly.
A weekly report from a person
Your account manager sends a weekly performance report covering service levels, shipping costs and inventory status, and the client portal shows SKU-level counts, inbound status and every order as it moves through pick, pack and ship.Returns data every month
Monthly summaries of return trends, SKUs and reasons, so a sizing problem on one style shows up.Receiving you can see
Each inbound is matched to your advance shipping notice, every SKU is photographed, and discrepancies are logged in your portal.Alerts
Automated alerts can be set for low stock levels or shipping exceptions.Someone to review it with
All client requests are acknowledged within two hours, and support is never outsourced.
What you get from OC3PL:
The Core Weekly KPIs
Six numbers, each measured from your side of the business.
| KPI | How to measure it | Why it matters for apparel |
|---|---|---|
| Order accuracy | Orders shipped with the right style, size, color and quantity, checked against your support tickets | A wrong size costs an exchange, two labels and trust |
| Ship-time performance | Time from order placed to the carrier’s first scan, not to label creation | A printed label is not a shipped package |
| Same-day rate | Share of orders imported before the cutoff that actually left the same day | Drops and launches live or die on this |
| Inventory accuracy | Cycle counts and receiving discrepancies, by SKU | Wrong counts mean overselling some sizes and sitting on others |
| Receiving time | Time from delivery at the dock to stock available to sell | New collections cannot sell until they are slotted |
| Return processing time | Time from a return arriving to it being restocked or set aside | Slow returns stall exchanges and hide sellable stock |
Agree on the definitions with your 3PL before you start. Two parties measuring the same KPI differently is how monthly reviews turn into arguments.
Measure From the Right Timestamp
The most common way a fulfillment number looks better than reality is the starting point. A provider that measures from label creation can report healthy ship times while boxes sit on the dock. Compare the time the order was placed against the carrier’s first scan instead.
The same applies to receiving. Measure from the time the delivery arrived, using the receiving notice, to the time stock was available to sell. For accuracy, compare the warehouse’s number with your own support tickets for wrong items and missing items.
Bring the gaps to a scheduled review. With an account manager on site, the person in the meeting can go and look at the cause.
Apparel-Specific Numbers Worth Watching
- Return rate by style and size. If one size of one style keeps coming back, the size chart or fit is the problem, not the warehouse. See why apparel gets returned.
- Stock by size, not just by style. A style that is in stock overall can be sold out in the sizes that sell. See size curve planning.
- Aging inventory. Units that have not moved in months carry storage every day. See dead stock.
- Cost per order, fully loaded. Every fulfillment charge for the period divided by orders shipped. See apparel cost per order.
- Shipping cost per order and per unit, by package type.
What to Do When a Number Slips
- Find the orders behind the number. A KPI is an average; the cause is in specific orders.
- Separate warehouse causes from your own. Wrong items and late shipments are warehouse problems. Late forecasts, unlabeled inbound and last-minute packaging changes are yours.
- Agree on one fix and one owner, with a date.
- Check the number again the following week.
A good partner will tell you which problems are theirs and which are yours. That is easier when the account manager is in the building. Your account manager works on site at our Anaheim fulfillment center, in the same building as your inventory. When something is urgent you call and talk to a person who can walk to the shelf and fix it. Call anytime. We are here. We got you.
Monthly and Quarterly Reviews
The weekly review keeps the operation on track. Longer reviews look at the trend and the plan. Monthly, look at return reasons by style and size, aging inventory and fully loaded cost per order. Quarterly, look at the season ahead: drops, peak, new channels and any retail accounts, and what the warehouse needs to prepare.
Building Your Weekly Review
Thirty minutes, the same agenda every week.
Exceptions
Lost packages, mis-picks and receiving discrepancies, with causes.
Next two weeks
Inbound shipments, drops, promotions and forecast changes.
One improvement
One thing to fix, one owner, one date.
Common Questions
Weekly performance reporting sent by your account manager, covering service levels, shipping costs and inventory status, plus monthly summaries of return trends, SKUs and reasons. The client portal shows SKU-level counts, inbound status and order tracking.
From the time the order was placed to the carrier’s first scan. Measuring from label creation can make ship times look healthy while boxes sit on the dock.
Order accuracy, receiving turnaround, shipping cutoff performance and inventory accuracy, with clear definitions, how each is measured and reported, and what happens when a target is missed.
Order accuracy by size and color, ship-time performance, stock by size, return rate by style and size, and fully loaded cost per order.
Yes. Automated alerts can be set for low stock levels or shipping exceptions. Set the thresholds with your account manager using your real supplier lead times.
Yes. Agree the definitions and starting timestamps before you begin, so the weekly review is about fixing problems rather than arguing about numbers.
Related Reading
More detail, in OC3PL’s own guides.
High-Volume Apparel Fulfillment at OC3PL
The overview: what we handle, how a garment moves through the building, and every apparel guide.
What is Real-Time SKU-Level Reporting for E-commerce?
Discover how real-time SKU-level reporting helps DTC brands improve inventory management, prevent stockouts, and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
How Data-Driven Fulfillment Lowers Costs & Boosts Accuracy
See how data-driven fulfillment lowers operating costs, improves order accuracy, and creates a better customer experience that drives growth.
How To Audit Your 3PL After a Disaster Peak Season
Was your peak season a nightmare? Learn how to audit 3pl provider performance, spot red flags, and conduct a data-driven 3pl performance evaluation
How to Compare New 3PLs After a Rough Peak Season
Peak season disaster? Learn how to choose a new 3PL by comparing services, pricing, and technology. A complete guide to upgrading your fulfillment partner.
Apparel Inventory Accuracy Across Size Runs
Why apparel inventory counts drift across sizes and colors, and how receiving checks, slotting, scanning and fast returns keep every size in stock.
Apparel 3PL Checklist: 20 Questions to Ask
Twenty questions an apparel brand doing 1,000+ orders a month should ask any 3PL, how to score the answers, and OC3PL's own answer to each.
See What Our Weekly Report Looks Like
Send us your monthly order volume, SKU count and where you sell. You will get a line-item quote, and a person on site you can call.