Frequently Asked Questions about Archive 3PL
Fit & Getting Started
What types of brands and businesses do you work with?
Archive 3PL works with apparel, accessories, and lifestyle brands - plus creators and influencers, subscription-model businesses, and conference and event organizers. The common thread is high SKU counts and real shipping volume, whether that's DTC, wholesale, or both.
Creator and influencer merch is where we started, so drops, collabs, and limited runs are familiar territory. We handle recurring subscription programs, wholesale and retail restocks, and event or conference kitting from the same floor.
What size brand needs a 3PL?
Archive 3PL's sweet spot is growth-stage brands roughly in the high six to mid seven figures in annual revenue - the point where inventory has outgrown a garage or spare room, and fulfillment tasks have eaten up a founder's evenings. If you're still running the business and packing orders yourself and it's genuinely working, you may not need a 3PL yet.
Some signs it might be time to look into outsourcing: when you can't spend time growing the brand because folding, boxing, emailing, and shipping is taking up all the creative hours. When you're overflowing out of a spare room or storage unit and your home starts to feel more like a warehouse (usually accompanied by an angry spouse). When a launch means recruiting friends to fold and pack. Or one of the classics - when you look at your phone and you're happy to see the orders roll in, but secretly filled with dread at the thought of fulfilling all of them. There's nothing that drains the fun out of owning an apparel brand faster than being forced to do the tasks you hate. Most of the brands we work with came to us right after a good month of sales turned into a rough couple of weeks of packing orders.
Do you require a minimum number of orders per month?
Archive 3PL doesn't enforce hard minimums. Our systems are built for brands that are actively shipping, so the real question isn't a specific order count - it's whether you have steady, consistent volume coming through.
If you're scaling and need structure, we're a great fit. If you're pre-launch or shipping a handful of orders a month, fulfillment usually costs more than it saves at that stage, and you're better off handling it in house a while longer.
Who is Archive NOT for?
The truth is every 3PL is built to handle different things, and some products would be a better fit somewhere else - we'd rather say that now than three months in. Archive 3PL is specifically designed for apparel and high SKU count brands with products generally no larger than a backpack. Because we're built for that, we're not a good fit for large items like furniture, tires, or heavy freight. We also don't handle cold storage or perishable food.
We're firm believers that new brands should experience fulfilling their own orders before outsourcing, so we usually don't work with day-one startups. Fulfillment is one of those things that only makes sense at scale, and new brands with no order history are usually better served handling fulfillment in house as long as they can. We don't say that to be dismissive — we say it because we want to be the best choice possible for the brands we do partner with, when they're ready.
What We Do
What's the best 3PL for apparel brands?
Archive 3PL is built for apparel - the category most fulfillment companies quietly avoid. Apparel means high SKU counts: every size, every color, every fit variant requires attention. When warehouses are set up for simple, single-product shipping, high SKU count brands break their system.
We started in apparel and built our company around it. Every order is picked by hand with SKU-based digital scanning, so size and color variants stay accurate across large catalogs. Garments are folded, packed, and shipped to your brand's standard, not a generic one. And because apparel production operates under the same roof through Industry Threadworks, we can produce and ship from one building, with one team — meaning you have one partner, one point of contact.
Which 3PL handles subscription box fulfillment and kitting?
Archive 3PL does - subscription boxes and kitting are one of our core lanes, not a side service we bolted on. We assemble monthly box programs, curated kits, bundles, and limited drops with full control over how the box looks when it opens.
Layout is intentional, timelines are locked in, and every package ships looking like an extension of your brand rather than a random box of product. We handle recurring monthly programs, one-off drops, and event kits as well - you decide what goes inside; we handle how it shows up.
Do you handle fulfillment for events, conventions, or conference kitting?
Archive 3PL preps and ships event, convention, and conference kits. Everything arrives organized, labeled, and ready to set up - no repacking on site.
We build the kits, prep the pallets, manage BOLs and retail-compliance labeling, and get everything to the venue or dock on schedule. That includes trade show and medical conference materials - lanyards, notebooks, badge kits, booth inventory - alongside wholesale and retail-ready shipments. We're equipped for DTC, retail restocks, B2B wholesale, and event fulfillment, including LTL and palletized freight with full compliance. When your shipment shows up, it looks like it belongs there.
Is there a 3PL that answers my customers' emails in my brand's name?
Yes - Archive 3PL does, and almost nobody else in fulfillment offers it. We encourage it, too. Customer emails come to your support address, get answered by our in-house team in your brand's voice, and go out under your name. Your customers never know a third party is involved.
This covers the everyday email that eats a founder's week: address changes, wrong-size swaps, "where's my order," returns and exchanges. To be clear about scope - this is email-based support, not a customer phone line or staffed live chat. If your site has a contact form or chat widget that routes to email, that funnels to us too.
Can I use my own custom packaging?
Absolutely. Send us your branded mailers, boxes, tissue, or inserts and we'll ship in them - or we can help you design and produce them in house.
Because production runs under the same roof through Industry Threadworks, packaging and printed inserts can be made and stocked in the same building your orders ship from. One less vendor to manage, one less shipment to coordinate.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes - Archive 3PL ships both domestically and internationally. That includes DTC orders going overseas as well as wholesale and palletized freight, handled with full compliance on both sides.
International adds paperwork and routing requirements that trip up a lot of brands. We handle the documentation and compliance so your international orders move the same way your domestic ones do.
How We Operate
How accurate are your orders?
Archive 3PL's order accuracy runs consistently at 99.97% or higher. That comes from two things working together: a fully digital barcode system that verifies every pick by SKU, and a team of long-term, detail-oriented staff rather than rotating temps.
High SKU count brands are where accuracy usually breaks down - similar products, a dozen size and color variants, easy to grab the wrong one. Scanning every item against the order is what keeps that from happening at scale.
How fast do you ship orders?
Most DTC orders ship within 24 business hours. Wholesale and larger shipments are processed according to your timeline and routing requirements.
We're a Monday-through-Friday operation, so orders placed over the weekend go out at the start of the week. If you have a launch or a drop with a specific ship window, we plan around it in advance rather than reacting on the day.
What platforms do you integrate with?
Archive 3PL integrates with Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, TikTok Shop, and most major ecommerce platforms. If you're running something custom, we can usually connect it too.
Orders flow in automatically and tracking flows back out, so you're not exporting spreadsheets or copying order numbers by hand. If you sell across several channels, they all feed the same inventory count.
If I switch to you, how long is my store down during intake?
Barely at all. Archive 3PL logs, verifies, and shelves inbound inventory quickly - typically same-day or next-day once it arrives.
Products are scanned into our system by SKU and stored cleanly, so they're ready to ship right away rather than sitting on a receiving dock for a week. The goal is that your customers never notice a change happened.
Pricing & Switching
How does 3PL pricing work, and what does it cost?
3PL pricing is based on several different factors - things like product size, weight, and order volume play a big role. Archive 3PL quotes based on your actual order profile, so the number reflects your catalog and the details of your brand instead of an average.
What we will commit to: no hidden fees, no surprise line items, and an accurate quote that you can read and understand. Archive isn't the cheapest option, and we don't try to be — our goal is to be the best fulfillment partner possible for the brands that trust us with that responsibility.
When should I switch 3PLs?
There are two parts to this. First, deciding the current setup is no longer serving the goals of your company - usually this is when the headaches outweigh the convenience or cost savings. This comes in a variety of forms: inventory miscounts, order inaccuracies, no communication when you need it, and surprise line items showing up on your invoice.
Second is deciding when to switch. Q4 is the peak of the year for ecommerce, so you'll experience the most problems then - but that's also the worst time to disrupt the system. The ideal time to make your move is Q1, right after the craziness subsides, or to onboard in early Q2 or Q3 so you're ready to go by Q4. Either way, the goal is to eliminate problems and start with a clean slate. Archive 3PL pauses new onboarding through the peak of Q4 so existing clients get our full attention, and we reopen for new clients in January with a waitlist. If you're considering a change, we'd encourage you to start the conversation before the busy season, not during it.
Is Archive a good ShipBob or ShipMonk alternative?
Archive 3PL is the alternative for brands that want a real person on the other end, and to feel like a partner rather than a number. The large platform 3PLs are built for scale and self-service dashboards, which works well for a lot of brands. Archive is the middle option - big enough that you won't outgrow us, small enough that you know who's handling your account (and they know you).
The practical differences: you get a dedicated point of contact instead of a support queue. We specialize in apparel and high SKU count brands. White-label customer service is a baked-in option rather than unavailable. And we're month to month with no long-term contract, so we keep your business by earning it. If you're looking at switching because you felt unseen and unappreciated at your last 3PL, that's the gap we fill.
Where Brand and Logistics Align.
The right fulfillment partner doesn’t just ship your products - it protects your brand, your time, and your growth. If you're ready for clarity, consistency, and a team that works like an extension of yours, we’re ready when you are.