It's a 3PL that picks, packs, and ships limited-release merchandise — the burst of orders that hits when a brand launches a drop. The difference from standard fulfillment is the shape of the work: a flat, quiet baseline broken by sudden launch-day spikes, plus kitting and branded packaging so each unit feels like part of the release.
Plan for two windows. Onboarding a new 3PL takes a few days — at Simpl, 5–7 days to get set up. Then get your inventory to the warehouse ahead of the launch so receiving clears first; Simpl receives inventory in 1–3 days. Together those two windows run 6–10 business days once inventory is in the building. Add transit time to get inventory there and a buffer for your specific launch date, so start earlier than the calendar math alone suggests.
Yes — this is kitting and assembly work. A 3PL set up for drops can add tissue, branded inserts, insert cards, and assembled kits to each order. Simpl runs kitting and custom packaging in-house, the same work behind our corporate gift fulfillment, so each order ships with the inserts and packaging the drop calls for, not a bare box.
Pricing varies by 3PL, but watch for two things: the per-order rate and whether there's a monthly minimum. With Simpl, pricing starts at $7/order flat, with the first three picks, packaging, and postage included, and merch-drop fulfillment carries no monthly minimum. You pay flat-rate fees for the storage, pick/pack, and shipping you actually use. For drop brands with uneven volume, that keeps a quiet month between launches from turning into a bill for volume you didn't ship.
Many drops run on Shopify, and the 3PLs above support it to varying depths. Simpl integrates natively with Shopify (and also with Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Squarespace) rather than through a third-party connector app, so there's no separate integration to configure and maintain on launch day.
