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Expanding your business into the U.S. market presents an incredible opportunity, but it also comes with significant logistical challenges. For Canadian and international brands, fulfilling orders across the vast United States requires more than just a good product. With today’s customer expectations for fast, affordable shipping and a volatile trade landscape, a strategic approach is essential. Today, we sat down with two industry experts: Brandon Rollins, Director of Marketing at Fulfillrite, a top U.S. 3PL, and Adayra Lopez, Vice President of Sales at InterFulfillment, a leading Canadian 3PL. They share their insights on the value of coast-to-coast fulfillment and how it can help brands succeed. This blog explores the critical role of a U.S. based 3PL eCommerce fulfillment partner in helping your business succeed.
The New Reality of U.S. 3PL eCommerce Fulfillment
U.S. customers have high expectations. Fast, cheap, and trackable shipping is the default, with two-day delivery being the norm. As Brandon Rollins of Fulfillrite explains, a key mistake many brands make is underestimating the impact of U.S. geography. Shipping from New Jersey to California is far more expensive and time-consuming than shipping to a nearby city. To effectively compete, you must have a fulfillment strategy that accounts for the country’s size. Even a regional warehouse within 500 miles can significantly lower costs and speed up delivery by taking advantage of cheaper Zone 1-4 shipping rates.
Navigating Cross-Border and Tariff Challenges
For brands shipping into the U.S. from Canada or overseas, a host of cross-border challenges can create a poor customer experience. Surprise fees and weeks-long customs delays are a real risk. According to Adayra Lopez of InterFulfillment, these issues make it difficult to scale your business without a local partner. Recent U.S. tariff changes and the closing of the de minimis loophole for certain imports have made shipping goods direct from overseas much more expensive, forcing brands to rethink their strategies to avoid the shock of high landed costs. Paperwork mistakes, like misclassifying items, are also common and can lead to costly fines and further delays, Rollins said.
Mitigating Risk with a US-Based 3PL eCommerce Fulfillment Partner
In this volatile environment, brands relying on international shipping expose themselves to significant risks. The clear trend among successful DTC brands entering the U.S. market is to set up a U.S. based fulfillment operation before they launch. This proactive approach helps them navigate tariffs and other complexities in advance. By partnering with a U.S. 3PL eCommerce fulfillment provider, you can import your goods in bulk, clear customs once, and then fulfill orders domestically. This mitigates tariff risks, reduces cross-border fees, and ensures faster delivery times. As Rollins advises, working with regional experts who understand the nuances of the U.S. market is a smart move to stay flexible as trade policies evolve.
The Ultimate Strategy: A North American Fulfillment Network
For brands targeting both the Canadian and U.S. markets, the most effective strategy is to leverage a dual-warehouse model. This means partnering with a trusted Canadian 3PL eCommerce fulfillment like InterFulfillment and a U.S. partner like Fulfillrite. By localizing inventory in both countries, you gain unprecedented efficiency. Your goods are strategically placed closer to your target customers, which dramatically reduces shipping costs and times in both markets. This approach not only mitigates tariff risks and cross-border fees but also provides the flexibility to scale your business seamlessly across North America. This powerful partnership between a Canadian and U.S. fulfillment provider is the key to building a truly resilient 3pl eCommerce fulfillment strategy.
About Fulfillrite
Fulfillrite is a U.S. based 3PL eCommerce fulfillment that provides fast, accurate order fulfillment for eCommerce and crowdfunding brands. With warehouses in New Jersey and Salt Lake City, they offer a coast-to-coast fulfillment solution. Fulfillrite integrates with all major e-commerce platforms, provides same-day fulfillment, and connects each customer with a dedicated account representative.
About InterFulfillment
InterFulfillment is a Canadian-based 3PL eCommerce fulfillment that provides fast, reliable, and accurate order fulfillment for DTC, B2B, and B2C enterprises and businesses. With strategically located facilities in Toronto and Vancouver, they offer a coast-to-coast fulfillment solution. InterFulfillment integrates with all major e-commerce platforms, provides same-day processing, and helps businesses scale with a reliable and adaptable service strategy.
Coast-to-coast fulfillment is a strategy that uses warehouses on both the east and west coasts of a country to reduce shipping costs and delivery times. For Canada, this means using fulfillment centers in both Toronto and Vancouver.
For Canadian brands expanding to the U.S., partnering with a U.S.-based 3PL is a great strategy. Companies like Fulfillrite provide a coast-to-coast fulfillment solution in the U.S., with warehouses on both the east and west coasts. This helps you reduce shipping times and costs for your American customers.
A Canadian 3PL provides essential local expertise. They help you avoid the high costs and complexities of cross-border shipping, manage unique Canadian regulations, and ensure faster domestic delivery for your customers.
Our strategic dual-location model ensures faster, more cost-effective shipping to every part of Canada. By fulfilling from the closest location, we can reduce transit times and take advantage of better shipping rates.
For U.S. brands, using a Canadian 3PL is a more efficient strategy. You can import your goods in bulk, clear customs once, and then fulfill orders domestically, avoiding the high costs and long delivery times associated with shipping individual orders from the U.S.
We use advanced technology to provide automated rate shopping, which compares carrier rates to find the best option for every order. We also offer same-day processing to ensure your products get to your customers as quickly as possible.
