When it comes to third-party logistics, having a shiny warehouse and a fast API is not enough to win the best contracts. Ecommerce brands are under massive pressure from their customers to ditch plastic and prove their green credentials are legitimate, and they are looking to their 3PL partners to provide the answers. If your packaging offer is still just 'Standard Box A' or 'Standard Box B', you are missing a huge opportunity to anchor yourself as a strategic partner rather than just a storage facility.
What are ecommerce brands looking for?
If you listen to the questions coming from procurement teams lately, they are not just asking about the price per pick. They want to know if you can help them achieve Ship in Own Container (SIOC) status to reduce waste. They are asking about the recycled content of the void fill you use. Most importantly, they want to know if you can provide the data they need for their own Environmental Social Governance (ESG) reporting.
Large ecommerce brands are increasingly being asked by retailers, marketplaces, and consumers to evidence packaging reductions with actual figures rather than broad sustainability claims. That means 3PLs are now expected to provide packaging weight data, recycled content percentages, and material usage reporting as part of their standard operational offering rather than as an added extra.
If a brand has to guess their packaging impact because their 3PL does not track it, they will eventually move to someone who does. Building a credible offer means being able to tell a client exactly how many tonnes of virgin plastic you have helped them strip out of their supply chain this year.
Right-sizing is the ultimate value-add.
We have all seen the social media posts where a tiny bottle of vitamins arrives in a box big enough to hold a toaster. It makes the brand look out of touch and makes the 3PL look lazy. Shifting to a right-sized packaging strategy is the easiest way for a 3PL to prove its worth.
It sounds incredibly simple, but in matching the box size more closely to the product, you are reducing the amount of void fill needed and fitting more parcels onto every delivery vehicle. This lowers the cost per unit for the client and cuts the carbon footprint of the final mile. It is one of those rare situations where the sustainable choice is also the most profitable one for everyone involved.
A fulfilment operation shipping thousands of parcels per week can see substantial reductions in transport volume simply by cutting out oversized cartons across a handful of SKU categories. Even relatively small adjustments to packaging dimensions can have a measurable impact on storage efficiency, pallet utilisation, and delivery costs over time.
Moving from 'vendor' to 'advisor'
A 3PL that wins in 2026 is one that acts as a packaging consultant. Instead of just waiting for the client to tell you what to use, you should be suggesting alternatives like water-activated tape or biodegradable mailers.
Show them the math on how a slightly more expensive paper tape can speed up their packing line. Offer a sustainable tier for their shipping options, using 100% recycled materials. Provide monthly reports on packaging consumption and material weights.
The strongest sustainable packaging strategies are rarely built around a single product swap. They come from consistently reviewing materials, reducing unnecessary packaging volume, improving data visibility, and finding efficiencies across the wider fulfilment process. For many ecommerce brands, that level of operational guidance is becoming just as valuable as the fulfilment service itself.
Send us a message, email sales@allpack.uk.com, or phone us on 01543 396 700 to book an appointment to see how we can assist you with an audit of your packaging weights and recycled content percentages, which can often reveal a path to lowering taxes, while increasing your sustainability credentials.