Warehousing and fulfilment for your stock

Pure storage is the simplest arrangement: pallets go in, sit in racking and come out in full or in cases when you call them off. Charges are usually per pallet space per week, plus handling in and out. It suits manufacturers and wholesalers who ship in bulk.

Fulfilment adds pick, pack and dispatch of individual orders, usually fed automatically from your online shop or marketplace account. The warehouse holds your stock at item level, takes orders during the day, packs them to your specification and hands them to carriers against a cut-off time. Here the integration with your shop, the cut-off and the accuracy rate matter more than the storage price.

Many businesses need a mix: bulk stock on pallets feeding a pick face for single orders, plus occasional pallet deliveries to retailers. Describe your whole flow, not just the part you are worried about.

Warehouses price by activity, so two quotes can only be compared on the same assumptions. Give each provider the same numbers: average and peak pallet count, orders per month, items per order, the share of orders that come back, and the size and weight of a typical parcel.

Seasonality is the classic trap. A contract priced on an average month may carry minimum volumes, or it may lack the space and staff for your November. Ask how peak capacity is guaranteed and what happens to storage charges when stock sits longer than planned.

• storage per pallet or shelf location, and how part-used locations are charged
• goods-in handling: palletised, loose-loaded containers, labelling
• pick and pack per order and per additional item, packaging materials
• carrier rates, or whether you bring your own carrier accounts
• returns processing per item, including inspection and re-labelling
• system set-up, integration and monthly software fees
• minimum monthly charges and notice period

The contract should say how stock is recorded and counted, how often a full or rolling stocktake happens, and what tolerance for discrepancies is treated as normal. It should also state the warehouse's liability for loss or damage and the limit on it. Standard logistics terms often cap liability by weight or per claim, which may be far below what your products are worth, so check what your own stock insurance covers while goods are off your premises.

Many warehouse terms give the provider a lien over your goods for unpaid invoices. That is normal, but it means a billing dispute can stop you moving your stock. Agree the exit process in advance: notice period, how stock is handed over, who pays for loading out and how data is returned.

If you import goods from outside the UK, a customs warehouse lets you delay paying import duty and VAT until the goods are released into free circulation, and you pay neither if they are re-exported. The warehousekeeper must be authorised by HMRC. A public customs warehouse stores goods for other businesses, who are called depositors; depositors do not need their own authorisation, but they must be established in the UK and take on liability for the duty and VAT if it becomes due. Only limited handling is allowed inside a customs warehouse; more substantial processing needs a different customs procedure.

Alcohol, tobacco and some fuels are excise goods and need an HMRC-approved excise warehouse rather than a customs warehouse. Ask the provider which authorisation it holds for the goods you have.

There is one more check for overseas sellers. A business in the UK that stores goods imported from outside the UK, owned by or held for someone established outside the UK and offered for sale here, must be approved under HMRC's Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme before it trades. HMRC publishes a list of registered businesses, so a non-UK brand can confirm that a warehouse is registered before shipping stock to it.

Consumers who buy online can generally cancel their order up to 14 days after delivery without giving a reason, so returns are part of the model, not an exception. Decide in advance what the warehouse does with each return: check it against the order, grade its condition, put it back into sellable stock, refurbish, or set it aside for disposal.

The speed at which returns are processed affects how quickly you can refund customers and resell stock. Ask for the target time from arrival to restock, and how you will see the grading decisions in the system.

Source: legislation.gov.uk

Our form asks for pallet spaces, orders per month, the type of goods, the contract length and your start date. After confirming your phone number by text-message code and your email address by link, we offer the request without your name or contact details to warehouse and fulfilment providers in the area. The first provider to buy it gets it; no other provider will see it afterwards. The service is free for you.

We email you the provider's name, address and phone number before it receives your details, and every email lets you withdraw your consent. There is no guarantee a provider takes the request, and unsold requests are withdrawn after 21 days. We check only that the buyer is a registered business, not its standards, so visit the site and check any HMRC authorisation it claims.