Switch fulfillment providers: a practical checklist

1. Turn the reason for switching into a brief

Write down what needs to improve: unreliable inventory, unsuitable cutoff times or a missing system connection, for example. Separate recorded problems from assumptions. A lower picking fee will not resolve unclear ownership of inventory updates.

Prepare the same operating scenario for every candidate: product dimensions, variants, volumes, items per order, destinations and seasonal peaks. Include returns and additional handling rather than comparing a headline rate alone.

Turn each reason for leaving into something you can verify. If parcels leave late, establish whether the order reached the warehouse late, was picked late or waited for carrier collection. Record the relevant timestamps. Otherwise, the new service agreement may address a symptom while leaving the actual cause unchanged.

Separate routine work from exceptions. Gift sets, inserts, fragile goods and bundles can require different handling from a single standard product. Include representative orders and packing instructions in the brief. Ask candidates to identify which cases their standard service covers and which need a separate quote.

2. Confirm the exit and onboarding arrangements

Review the current notice and stock release terms before choosing a changeover date. Agree when the new partner can receive goods and when it can actually begin dispatching orders. Those dates need to work together.

Separate one-off transition costs from ongoing fees. Ask about stock counts, release handling, packaging, transport, receiving and any period when both warehouses remain active. A useful cost comparison requires specific proposals rather than a universal price estimate.

Compare proposals using the same volumes and period. A low picking charge can be offset by storage fees, minimum spend or extra handling. Establish what a pick means in each proposal: an order, a line or an individual unit. Ask how partial storage periods, repacking and unannounced inbound deliveries are charged.

Build one scenario for normal trading and another for a credible peak. Keep transition costs separate and identify figures that remain estimates. Rather than adding an unexplained contingency percentage, describe the events you need room to handle, such as an extra stock movement or an extended overlap between warehouses.

3. Reconcile stock before making it available

Agree an inventory handover record by SKU. Keep sellable, reserved, damaged and in-transit units distinct. Record differences before releasing inventory for sale from the new location.

A recorded transfer is not the same as confirmed receipt. Shopify, for example, documents separate transfer and full or partial receiving steps. Your handover plan should preserve that distinction regardless of which systems you use.

Check product master data before the move. The same SKU must not mean an individual pack in one system and a case in another. Validate units, barcodes, pack sizes and any lot or expiry requirements against a representative product sample. A mismatch at this stage can spread through the full inventory import.

Reconcile three records: confirmed opening stock, quantity actually dispatched and quantity actually received. Record damage and differences by SKU, not only as an overall total. Decide who investigates discrepancies and which units remain unavailable while they are unresolved. Stock in transit must not accidentally become sellable at both locations.

• Agree product identifiers and any required lot or serial tracking.
• Assign ownership of packing lists, transport, receiving confirmation and discrepancy resolution.

4. Give open orders and returns a clear owner

Set a cutoff rule for which warehouse handles each order. Include orders already transmitted but not yet picked. Two active connections must not independently release the same order for dispatch.

Returns can arrive after the main stock move. Decide which return address applies, whether goods need forwarding, who inspects them and how inventory is updated. Give customer service the transition rules so queries do not bounce between warehouses.

Create a handover list with a unique order reference, last known status, responsible warehouse and next action. Record a confirmed stop as carefully as a confirmed transfer. Deleting an order in the store does not establish that a warehouse has also cancelled a dispatch instruction already received.

Returns need a transition rule that lasts beyond the stock move. Include unidentified parcels, opened products, damaged goods and deliveries to the old address. Assign the decision on restocking, forwarding or other treatment. Customer service needs a simple way to identify which return instruction applies to a particular order.

5. Test the connection before changing order routing

Run more than a successful test purchase. Include a cancellation, partial shipment, stock shortage and return. Check that order status, tracking and inventory corrections agree across the systems involved.

Set acceptance criteria, named contacts and an incident process. An agreed limited launch may make checks easier, but a phased changeover is only useful if the stock arrangement and system routing support it.

Define acceptance as an observable chain: the order arrives once, the correct variant is handled, inventory changes as expected and shipping information reaches the store. Repeat the exercise with a rejected record or interrupted transfer. If someone fixes an issue manually during testing, document whether that intervention will also be needed in normal operation.

Agree the sequence of the changeover, who can approve it and what would stop it. Incorrect stock or duplicate orders may require a paused feed, a restricted stock allocation or a delayed release. A fallback does not necessarily mean moving all goods back immediately; the first step can be preventing new work from entering an unstable process.

6. Close the outstanding handover tasks

Review unresolved orders and inventory differences together during the initial operating period. Compare actual handling with the agreed scope and give each issue an owner and a due date.

Keep the previous arrangement open administratively until residual stock, returns, invoices and required data exports have been addressed. Starting successfully at the new warehouse does not automatically close those obligations.

During the launch period, review unresolved cases rather than relying only on averages. Which orders are waiting, and why? Which stock difference blocks a sale? Which return still needs a decision? A shared issue list with owners and due dates is more useful than a general statement that the transition is mostly going well.

Set clear closure conditions for the handover. These might include confirmed residual stock, assigned returns, transferred reports and resolved outstanding fees. Retire old access and automated feeds in an agreed sequence after required records have been retained and affected workflows have ended. Record which remaining tasks belong to normal operation.