3PL Scan-Based Workflows: Why Accuracy Starts With the First Scan

Most fulfillment errors do not happen at shipping. They start earlier, when inventory is received, moved, or picked without verification. This is why 3PL scan-based workflows sit at the core of modern fulfillment accuracy, because errors compound quietly long before a box ever leaves the dock.

Scanning is not about slowing people down or adding friction to the floor. It is about removing ambiguity from fast-moving operations so accuracy does not depend on memory or luck.

Why Manual Steps Create Hidden Risk

Paper logs, memory-based picks, and manual confirmations may appear efficient at low volume, but they fail quietly as order counts grow. Each unverified step introduces risk that is invisible until a customer complains or a retailer issues a chargeback.

Connor Perkins, Director of Fulfillment at G10 Fulfillment, sees this pattern repeatedly. "You want everything to be scanned in the warehouse, nothing done on paper," he says. "You can lose a lot of money in this industry by having people ship stuff wrong, or store it wrong, and now it's lost somewhere."

Scanning Creates a Single Source of Truth

Every scan becomes a confirmed data point that anchors inventory to reality. Bryan Wright, CTO and COO of G10 Fulfillment, explains why this matters operationally.

"A good WMS tracks inventory through the warehouse at every point that you touch it," Wright says. "That product is accounted for from the dock to the truck, and that data is always current."

Accuracy Improves Before Orders Are Picked

Many brands focus almost exclusively on pick accuracy, but errors often originate during receiving or internal movement. If inventory starts wrong, it stays wrong.

Maureen Milligan, Director of Operations and Projects at G10 Fulfillment, highlights why receiving scans matter. "We will take in your inbounds, we will get them received and reported back to you within our SLAs," she says. That discipline ensures inventory is correct before it is ever sold.

Scanning Supports Both D2C and B2B Fulfillment

B2B fulfillment raises the cost of mistakes. Labels, pallets, routing guides, and ASN requirements leave no margin for error once freight leaves the building.

Joel Malmquist, VP of Customer Experience at G10 Fulfillment, points to the results scan-based workflows enable. "We have over 99.9% ship accuracy of these orders," he says. That consistency is built on verification at every step.

Workflows Guide People Instead of Just Recording Actions

Modern scan-based workflows do more than record what happened after the fact. They actively guide associates through the correct sequence of actions.

Wright explains how this reduces errors on the floor. "The system tells the associate where to go, what to pick, and then confirms it is correct," he says. This guidance lowers training time and keeps performance consistent.

Scanning Becomes Critical During Peak Volume

Peak periods magnify small mistakes. When volume spikes, manual checks and memory-based processes break down under pressure.

Holly Woods, Director of Operations at G10 Fulfillment, describes the preparation required. "We start planning peak times months ahead of time," she says. Scan-based workflows provide stability when everything else is moving faster.

Visibility and Reporting Depend on Scans

Order monitoring, SLA tracking, and performance reporting all rely on scan data as their foundation. Without scans, dashboards become estimates instead of truth.

"They can actually watch those progressions going on," Milligan says. That visibility exists only because each movement is verified in real time.

What 3PL Scan-Based Workflows Really Deliver

Strong scan-based workflows reduce errors, protect margins, and make fulfillment predictable even as volume grows. They replace tribal knowledge with systems that scale.

For growing brands, scanning is not a technical detail buried in operations. It is the foundation of accuracy and the difference between controlled growth and constant cleanup.

The next step is straightforward. Choose a 3PL whose scan-based workflows make accuracy automatic, so fulfillment performance does not depend on who happens to be working a shift.