3PL KPIs and what to put in your SLA
Updated 2026-10-31
A 3PL contract usually has an SLA in it. Fewer stores actually check it. That's a shame, because the numbers are mostly sitting in your Shopify orders already.
Here are the ones we think are worth watching, and how to word them so there's no argument later.
Dispatch on time
The share of orders that leave the warehouse by the promised time. Usually something like "orders in before 2pm ship the same working day". Measure it from order created to fulfilment created in Shopify.
Write the cut-off time, the time zone and what counts as a working day into the SLA. Also agree what happens with orders that are on hold for stock or fraud checks, so those don't skew it either way.
Processing time
How long an order sits before it ships. The median tells you the normal day. The slowest 10% tells you where the complaints come from. Watch both.
Pick accuracy
Right item, right quantity, right customer. You'll mostly find mistakes through returns and support tickets, so tag those in your helpdesk. Agree in the SLA who pays for a mis-pick: the reship, the postage and the return.
Fill rate and stock accuracy
Fill rate is the share of orders that ship complete the first time. If it drops while you have stock on paper, the stock count in the warehouse is probably off. Ask for regular cycle counts and a clear process for fixing differences.
Receiving time
How fast new stock gets put away and becomes sellable. A slow dock means you sell out on your own website while the boxes sit there. Agree a number of working days from delivery.
Make the SLA count
An SLA with no consequence is a wish list. Ask for credits when a target is missed, a monthly report, and a review meeting when things slip two months in a row. Keep your own numbers too. That's what the ForthMatch app does: it reads your Shopify orders and checks them against the SLA you set. You can use the scorecard template to keep it on one page.
Questions people ask
What is a good on-time dispatch rate for a 3PL?
It depends on what you agreed. Pick a target that matches your customer promise, write it into the SLA with a cut-off time and time zone, and measure it from your own order data rather than relying only on the 3PL report.
Can I measure 3PL performance from Shopify data?
Mostly yes. Order created and fulfilment created times give you dispatch and processing time. Cancellations, partial fulfilments and returns give you hints on fill rate and accuracy. ForthMatch does this for free inside Shopify.
Which KPI should I look at first?
On-time dispatch. It is the easiest to measure and the one your customers feel first.
Related guides
3PL scorecard template (free, copy and use) | ForthMatch
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