Connect Shopify to a 3PL: How Growing Brands Build a Fulfillment Engine

Shopify sellers often begin fulfillment by doing everything themselves. Orders come in, labels get printed, boxes get packed, and trips to the post office become part of daily life. Growth changes that rhythm. A few dozen orders turn into a few hundred, and the question shifts from how do I ship all of this myself to how do I connect Shopify to a 3PL so the business can keep growing. The search term connect Shopify to 3PL has surged because merchants discover that linking the store to a warehouse is not enough. What matters is whether that connection stays accurate, fast, and stable as the brand scales.

Problems usually surface the same way. Inventory stops making sense. Shipments slow down. Customers begin asking where their packages are. The issue is rarely Shopify. It is the break between Shopify and the warehouse. Connor Perkins, Director of Fulfillment, sees this every week. "One of the pain points our clients have experienced with previous 3PLs is inventory accuracy; maybe their previous 3PL wasn't great at picking the orders accurately. So they were losing money by shipping wrong items or wrong quantities of items." When inventory and fulfillment drift apart, customers feel it immediately.

Why Connecting Shopify to a 3PL Takes More Than an App

Shopify makes integration look simple. Install an app, map a few fields, and send orders to the warehouse. But when order volume climbs, weak integrations reveal themselves. Orders stop flowing in real time. Tracking numbers lag. Inventory counts drift. The best connection is not a plug-in. It is a deeply aligned system where Shopify and the Warehouse Management System function as one.

A Direct Connection Keeps Customers Confident

Customers expect a seamless experience. They want shipping updates quickly and want inventory to reflect reality. Joel Malmquist, VP of Customer Experience, explains the ideal workflow. "There's a direct integration with Shopify where orders come in and flow directly into G10. We fulfill those, push back tracking to Shopify to show that the order hits, has been completed, which then fires an email out to the customer saying, your order's on the way." When the integration is strong, the 3PL becomes invisible.

Accuracy Comes From Deep Tracking Inside the Warehouse

Many brands connect Shopify to 3PLs that rely on limited or outdated systems. The result is slow updates and inaccurate counts. Bryan Wright, CTO and COO, outlines the difference. "A bad WMS system will not track inventory 100 percent as it should. A good WMS tracks inventory through the warehouse at every point that you touch it." With full tracking, oversells drop, shrinkage falls, and customer complaints fade.

The ability to adapt quickly is just as important. Bryan explains why G10 can respond fast. "We can make that change extremely quickly because we have our own development staff. We have our own support staff. I know the software inside and out." For Shopify brands launching new SKUs or expanding channels, this agility prevents costly delays.

Connecting Shopify to a 3PL Should Prepare the Brand for Retail

Many Shopify sellers think only about D2C during setup, but growth brings new opportunities. A retailer reaches out. A wholesale buyer places a test order. Amazon Vendor approvals arrive. Suddenly the brand needs compliance labeling, routing guides, pallet configurations, and EDI documentation that basic 3PLs cannot produce.

B2B Capability Must Be Built Into the Fulfillment System

Retail accuracy is non-negotiable. Chargebacks for incorrect labels or late shipments can wipe out profit. Joel explains the stakes. "What makes us unique in B2B shipping is the experience with these different retailers and our success rate with them. We have over 99.9 percent ship accuracy of these orders." A Shopify merchant stepping into retail cannot afford a fulfillment partner that learns on the job.

B2B performance depends on WMS architecture. Bryan explains where competitors fall short. "A lot of other people have created D2C software and they're trying to get into the B2B space, and they may not realize the significant amount of effort that it takes to be compliant for B2B customers." A Shopify integration should not limit expansion. It should fuel it.

The Right Connection Makes Shopify Fulfillment Faster

A strong Shopify-to-3PL link is not only accurate; it is fast. Customers expect two-day delivery as a baseline, and many expect same-day fulfillment. The integration determines how quickly the warehouse receives and processes orders.

Distributed Warehousing Reduces Transit Times

Speed is not only about software. It is also about location strategy. Holly Woods, Director of Operations, describes the network advantage. "We currently have locations in South Carolina, a couple in Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas. And we're always talking about new locations. This allows inbounds to come in faster, which means we can get it distributed faster." When Shopify brands place inventory closer to customers, both cost and delivery time improve.

Peak Season Reveals Whether the Integration Works

Every system looks good until Black Friday hits. Then the truth comes out. Holly explains how preparation keeps operations stable. "One thing that's great about G10 is our flexibility and agility; our workforce is incredibly good at pivoting. We start planning peak times months ahead of time." She gives an example of rising to a challenge. "We had inventory come in and it was delayed at the ports. Target has a deadline for delivery and that's it, no exceptions. Our team worked that entire day into the night, came back in the morning at 5 a.m. and got it ready." True integrations perform under pressure.

Support Shapes the Entire Integration Experience

Even the strongest systems need strong support. Shopify sellers want a partner who understands their brand, not a faceless ticket queue. Joel describes what merchants should expect. "If you're working with G10, your experience for getting help is that you can either email or call your direct point of contact. It's that simple." When support is personal, fulfillment challenges become solvable instead of stressful.

Jen Myers, Chief Marketing Officer, captures the emotional reality. "If you're outsourcing your service and logistics you're putting the heartbeat of your company in the hands of someone else. I wouldn't do it unless I know who's on the other end, someone I can call and talk to, who I feel cares about my business almost as much as I do." A great integration is built on trust earned through real action.

Shopify Sellers Know When It Is Time to Connect to a 3PL

Brands usually seek a 3PL when growth outpaces their systems. Orders increase, accuracy declines, and customers begin waiting longer. That is the moment when founders start asking how to connect Shopify to a 3PL that can keep up. Connor summarizes the decision. "As a growing business, the goal is to scale over time. Entrepreneurs need to look at their 3PL provider and say, can I scale with these guys and grow my business?" The right fulfillment connection answers that question through performance, not promises.

If your Shopify brand is entering its next stage of growth, connecting to a capable 3PL may be the most important operational step you take. A strong integration unlocks speed, accuracy, and capacity, turning fulfillment from a daily challenge into a strategic advantage.