Wholesale Value-Added Services That Turn Basic Fulfillment Into Real Differentiation

Wholesale value-added services are often treated like optional extras until a retailer suddenly demands special prep, custom kitting, or one-off bundling that your warehouse is not ready to handle. Search trends show operators asking how do I add value-added services to my 3PL or why is my 3PL not offering customization, usually after scrambling to meet a retailer requirement that never should have been a surprise.

If you have ever had to MacGyver a retail packaging request at the last minute, this will feel painfully familiar.

Why value-added services matter in wholesale

Wholesale is not just about moving boxes. It is about meeting retailer expectations that change by season, by program, or by promotion. Value-added services act as the operational glue that connects product to retailer-specific formats. Kitting, relabeling, bundling, shrink wrapping, component assembly, or seasonal packaging can determine whether a retailer expansion succeeds or stalls.

Joel Malmquist, VP of Customer Experience at G10, explained the stakes. "If you do not do it right, you get those massive chargebacks." Missing a retailer-specific requirement becomes expensive immediately.

Where value-added service workflows usually break

Most 3PLs treat value-added services as side tasks instead of structured workflows. Workstations are improvised. Instructions sit scattered across emails. Teams use guesswork instead of documented processes. That is how mislabeled bundles, incorrect builds, or packaging errors end up costing brands money and credibility.

Connor Perkins, Director of Fulfillment, sees the fallout constantly. "One of the pain points our clients have experienced with previous 3PLs is inventory accuracy. Maybe their previous 3PL was not great at picking the orders accurately. So they were losing money by shipping wrong items or wrong quantities of items." If inventory accuracy is shaky, value-added builds collapse immediately.

Why D2C-first 3PLs cannot deliver wholesale value-added services

D2C fulfillment focuses on speed and simplicity. Wholesale value-added services require space, planning, quality checks, and retailer understanding. D2C-first WMS platforms do not support multi-step processing, component allocation, build-to-order logic, or batch-level visibility. As a result, custom work becomes messy, slow, or inaccurate.

Bryan Wright, CTO and COO, explained why. "A bad WMS will not track inventory 100 percent. A good WMS tracks inventory through the warehouse at every point you touch it." Value-added services need that level of traceability.

How communication delays ruin value-added workflows

Value-added requests often come with urgency. Retailers push promotions. Buyers adjust orders. New programs appear mid-quarter. When a 3PL routes your questions through slow ticket queues, the delays push your requirement from manageable to crisis mode.

Joel sees this constantly. "At some 3PLs you get thrown into a ticketed queue, and you get different people replying every time. It can take days, if not weeks, to get a resolution." Value-added work cannot survive communication lag.

G10 avoids the bottleneck entirely. "You call one person. That is it. And things get done," Joel said.

What strong wholesale value-added services look like

Good value-added services follow a structured process. Instructions are documented clearly. Work cells are organized. Inventory is verified before builds begin. Every component is scanned, every step validated, and every finished unit tied back to the WMS. Retail-specific requirements guide the workflow, not memory or improvisation.

Connor described how the foundation is built at onboarding. "When we onboard a client who sells into places like Amazon or Walmart, the process changes depending on where they are selling. We work through all of their routing guide requirements and make sure the warehouse is ready before the first order ever drops." Value-added execution succeeds because preparation is disciplined.

Value-added execution under pressure at G10

Some of the toughest value-added challenges appear during seasonal ramps, promotional builds, and short-notice retailer requests. These are the moments that expose whether a 3PL can deliver or scramble.

Joel shared a moment when a Target inbound arrived late. "Our supervisor, warehouse manager, and several employees worked the entire day into the night, then came back at 5 a.m. to make sure we had the routing completed." The team handled value-added tasks alongside regular prep without losing accuracy.

Another example came during a viral D2C spike. "The client asked, Can you help us? And we said, Yeah, we gotcha. Then we sent a truck to the carrier at midnight." Even with chaos unfolding, value-added work remained clean and controlled.

The bottom line for wholesale brands

Wholesale value-added services are not extras. They are the difference between meeting retailer expectations and drowning in deductions or delays. When value-added work is structured, responsive, and accurate, retailers see your brand as reliable. When it is improvised, problems multiply quickly.

If you want value-added services that expand your capabilities instead of adding stress, reach out to G10. You will get clean execution, fast communication, and wholesale-ready customization that keeps retailers happy.