Switching to a 3PL With Someone On Site

Brands that call us from a large 3PL are usually not unhappy about software. They are unhappy about what happens when something goes wrong. They describe raising a problem, waiting, following up, and still not knowing whether anyone has looked at the shelf.

They tell us there is nobody on site they can talk to. They tell us a fix that should take an afternoon takes several days. For a brand shipping a few hundred orders a month, that is frustrating. For a brand shipping thousands, with a drop on the calendar, it is expensive.

We are not in a position to describe how another company runs its operation, and we will not try. What we can tell you is what you get here, and let you compare it with your own experience.

• Your account manager works on site in Anaheim, in the same building as your inventory.
• When you need someone, you call and talk to a person right away.
• All client requests are acknowledged within two hours.
• Support is never outsourced. The people who answer you work for OC3PL, here in Southern California.

We're here. We got you.

On site is not a slogan. It changes how fast a real problem gets fixed, because the person you are talking to can walk to the dock, the shelf or the packing line while you are still on the call.

In each case, the difference is the same. You talk to someone who can look, not someone who has to ask someone else to look. Read more about how on-site account management works.

1. Where does my account manager work? Are they in the building where my inventory is?
2. When I call with an urgent problem, who answers?
3. How quickly are requests acknowledged, and how is that measured?
4. Is support handled by your own staff, or by a contracted call center?
5. How are sizes and colors slotted, and is every pick scanned?
6. How fast are returns processed, and what reports do I get on return reasons?
7. What do you need from me before a drop, and how far ahead?
8. What is on the invoice? Can I see a sample for a brand like mine?
9. Is there a monthly minimum or a long-term contract?
10. How long does onboarding take, and who runs it?

Our full list, with our own answer to each question, is the apparel 3PL checklist.

A clean move starts with a clean record of what you own and where it is. Before you tell your current warehouse you are leaving, export the data you will need to reconcile against.

• On-hand quantity for every SKU, including every size and color.
• Open orders, backorders and anything on hold.
• Returns received but not yet processed.
• Any inventory marked damaged, quarantined or set aside.
• Your order history, for forecasting and for building the quote.

Then check your agreement for its notice period, how inventory is released, and what the final invoice will include. Plan the move around those terms.

Inventory usually moves in waves. Ship the bulk first and keep enough at the old warehouse to cover orders while freight is in transit. Each inbound to OC3PL is received, photographed and slotted within one business day when it arrives labeled and scheduled with an advance shipping notice. See switching apparel 3PLs for the full sequence.

Your customers should not notice the move, except that problems get fixed faster. OC3PL integrates with the platforms most brands already use, including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Amazon, and the in-house team builds a connection if one does not already exist.

If you use a returns app, it can stay. Our integrations directory includes Loop, Happy Returns, AfterShip Returns, Narvar and ReturnGo. The return experience your customer sees stays the same while we handle inspection and restocking.

What does change: your return address, your warehouse location in the store, and the person you call. Update the return address the day the new warehouse goes live, and have the old warehouse forward anything that still arrives.

For the technical side of cutting over, see switching 3PL integrations without downtime.

Do not plan a move into the two weeks before a drop, a collab release or Black Friday. Move in a quiet stretch, run daily orders cleanly first, and let the first big event happen once the new team knows your catalog.

Most clients go live within five to ten business days, depending on complexity. More on picking your window in when to switch apparel 3PLs.

Switching because of support means the first weeks have to prove the support is real. This is how the start of an account works at OC3PL.

• A dedicated onboarding manager runs the setup with you, alongside the account manager who stays with you long term.
• Progress sits in a shared milestone tracker, so you can see where things stand without chasing anyone.
• Your integration is set up, every variant is mapped, and test orders run before inventory moves.
• Inbound shipments are scheduled against a dock appointment and your advance shipping notice.
• Every SKU is photographed at receiving, and anything that does not match is flagged in your portal.
• Daily orders go live first, and your account manager watches them closely, on site.
• Weekly reporting starts, covering service levels, shipping costs and inventory status.

If something is off during those weeks, you do not open a ticket. You call your account manager, who can walk to the dock, the shelf or the packing line and look. Small setup problems are fixed in minutes once someone in the building sees them.

By the time your first drop or promotion runs, the team knows your catalog, your packing instructions and your size runs. That is the point of having people on site: they learn your brand by handling it every day.

What we ask of you

A good start needs a few things from your side too. Clean variant data, labeled inbound cartons with an advance shipping notice, written packing instructions with photos, and a heads-up on drops at least a week ahead. With those in place, the switch is usually quiet. See how to prep apparel inventory for a 3PL and apparel 3PL onboarding.

Call us and tell us what has been going wrong. You will talk to people who work in the building, not to a sales script. We will tell you honestly whether we are a fit for your catalog and your volume.

If it helps, come to Anaheim and see where your inventory would live, how apparel is slotted, how returns are handled, and who you would be calling. Teddy Fresh, the Los Angeles streetwear brand, ships from our Anaheim warehouse.