Certifications Your Fulfillment Provider Should Have That Can Help Your Brand Scale

Last Updated: November 04, 2024

When you outsource fulfillment and logistics to a third-party provider (3PL) you need to ensure you are trusting your business with the right company. There are many types of fulfillment companies, choosing the right fit for your brand is imperative to run a successful ecommerce business.  

Your fulfillment provider is responsible for many aspects of your brand, most importantly properly storing products, accurately packaging customer orders, and quickly getting parcels to shipping carriers. To run these many processes efficiently, and to take quality care of your products, a 3PL needs to adhere to rigorous quality control standards.  

Before working with a new 3PL, verify what certifications and registrations they hold. This is a key to how high their quality of work will be—and when you find a 3Pl with high standards, your business is more likely to thrive.  

Why Does Quality Control Matter in Fulfillment? 

If you want packages to get to customers quickly and accurately (irrespective if your customers are individuals, retailers, marketplaces, or other businesses) you need to ensure there are many quality checks in place throughout the fulfillment process.  

Without strict quality control standards issues can arise. Here are some reasons why your 3PL’s attention to quality control may help your brand grow.  

• Ensures order accuracy, minimizing errors in shipments. 
• Reduces product returns and associated costs. 
• Increases customer satisfaction by meeting expectations. 
• Maintains brand reputation through reliable service. 
• Helps detect and address inventory issues early. 
• Ensures regulatory compliance, especially for sensitive products. 
• Reduces waste by preventing damaged goods. 
• Increases efficiency and speeds up order processing. 
• Builds customer trust through consistent, quality service. 
• Supports scalability by standardizing processes. 

Certifications and Standards to Look for in a 3PL  

Warehouses can largely operate under whatever rules and processes they want. There aren’t many regulations that they have to abide by. Working with a 3PL who holds quality certifications is key to knowing your products are in good hands.  

• ISO 9001 – certifies quality management principles, standardizing practices to ensure products and services meet consistent quality standards. A fulfillment provider with this certification ensures operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement within their business processes.  
• ISO 14001 – establishes environmental management guidelines, helping organizations minimize their environmental impact, improve resource efficiency, and ensure regulatory compliance through sustainable practices for a greener footprint. 
• ISO 45001 – sets requirements for an occupational health and safety system, aiming to reduce workplace risks, enhance safety, and demonstrate commitment to employee well-being. 
• B Corp – verifies a company’s social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency, promoting responsible practices that benefit employees, communities, and the environment. While a 3PL may not be a certified B Corp, there are many things they can put in place to align with ecommerce brands who are certified as a B Corp – these include attention to eco-friendly practices, and transparency in operational procedures.  
• CMGP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) – standards guide handling and storage to prevent contamination, ensure product quality, and maintain regulatory compliance across warehousing and distribution in the healthcare sector. While this certification is often used for facilities that handle perishable goods, it’s best practice for any fulfillment provider to have it.  
• SOC 1 and 2 – audits assess controls over financial reporting (SOC 1) and data security, privacy, and availability (SOC 2), essential for trust in data integrity. These certifications are most important to have when an ecommerce business goes public. Often the 3PL will obtain these certifications and then pass them to the brand, or vice versa.  
• PCI payment control and compliance – ensures secure handling of cardholder data, protecting against payment fraud and enhancing trust through standards for data encryption, storage, and processing in transactions. While a 3PL may not always be the entity who control and processes payments, there are circumstances where this information will be passed through a 3PL’s data exchange.  

Vertical-Specific Certifications Your Fulfillment Warehouse Needs  

Some ecommerce brands may have specific needs that require their vendors to hold unique certifications. Products that contain alcohol, perfumes and cleaning products for example, need to be stored, handled, labeled and shipped according to very specific dangerous goods standards. A perfume brand whose 3PL doesn’t adhere to those standards may put their business in jeopardy.  

• Dangerous Goods Certification – ensures a warehouse can safely handle, store, label, and ship hazardous materials. Ecommerce brands working with dangrous goods products may include perfumes, cosmetics, lithium-ion batteries, metal batteries, and other products. Dangerous Goods (DG) compliance ensures your 3PL follows regulations to prevent accidents, spills, and exposure risks within warehousing environments. 
• FDA FSMA – the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires facilities to implement food safety protocols. This is particularly important to ecommerce brands selling food and beverage products.  
• FDA UDI – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires the implementation of Unique Device Identifier (UDI) which are specific labels used for traceability of medical devices, safeguarding public health in warehousing and distribution. 
• Safety Quality Food (SQF) Audit – verifies that food storage and handling meet global safety standards, preventing contamination and ensuring high quality, crucial in warehousing for food products.  
• DEA Controlled Substances Certification – authorizes storage and handling of controlled substances, ensuring compliance with strict security, tracking, and reporting requirements in warehousing to prevent misuse. 
• Temperature Control – confirms regulated temperature control in storage and transit, preserving product quality for sensitive items like food, pharmaceuticals, and perishable goods in warehouses. This is often called cold chain.  
• ISO 13485 – specifies quality management requirements for medical devices, ensuring safety, risk management, and regulatory compliance. It’s essential for manufacturing, designing, and maintaining medical devices effectively. 

Bottom Line

For high-growth ecommerce brands it can be challenging to hire the right type of vendors to support an efficient supply chain. Many fulfillment providers will say they can meet perfect accuracy and efficiency, but where they may fall short you won’t know until there are issues, and your customers aren’t happy.  

Before contracting a 3PL, ask about the quality control standards they follow, including what warehouse certifications they hold.  

Tags: warehouse management