Configuring Your 3PL Providers

Configure your 3PL providers to match your fulfillment contracts. Accurate settings ensure 3PL Pulse tracks the right deadlines and calculates credits correctly.

Adding a Provider

1. Go to Providers from the main navigation
2. Click Add Provider
3. Complete the four configuration tabs: General, Timing, SLA Terms, and Connection

General Settings

Provider Type

Select your 3PL from the list. Known providers (ShipBob, Deliverr, etc.) come with standard SLA defaults that you can customize.

Choose Custom if your provider isn’t listed—you’ll set all values manually.

Display Name

Name your provider for easy identification. If you have multiple locations with the same 3PL, include the location (e.g., “ShipBob Chicago” or “ShipBob Las Vegas”).

For known provider types, we’ll auto-generate a name if you leave this blank.

Shopify Location

This is the most important setting. Link your provider to its Shopify location so 3PL Pulse knows which orders belong to this provider.

Select the Shopify location that corresponds to this 3PL’s warehouse. When Shopify assigns an order to that location, we’ll automatically associate it with this provider.

If you don’t map a location, orders won’t be assigned to this provider and you’ll see incomplete data.

Timing Settings

Timezone

Set your provider’s local timezone. This affects when cutoff times and SLA deadlines are calculated.

For example, if your 3PL is in Chicago (Central Time) with a 2:00 PM cutoff, select America/Chicago. An order placed at 1:00 PM CT will be same-day; an order at 3:00 PM CT will be next-day.

SLA End Event

Choose when to consider an order “shipped” for SLA purposes:

Option	What It Measures	Best For
Carrier Pickup	When the carrier takes custody of the package	Most accurate—matches actual ship date
Label Created	When the shipping label is printed	Providers who report this first
Fulfillment Completed	When the 3PL marks the order done	Fallback if carrier data isn’t available

Recommendation: Use Carrier Pickup when possible. This is when your customer’s package actually leaves the warehouse, giving you the most accurate SLA measurement.

Excluded Days

Select which days shouldn’t count toward SLA calculations:

• Weekends: Saturday and Sunday
• Holidays: US federal holidays

If your provider’s contract excludes weekends from SLA calculations, check Weekends. A “1 business day” SLA for a Friday order would then have a Monday deadline, not Saturday.

SLA Terms

Configure the terms from your 3PL contract. These determine when orders are considered on-time or late.

B2C Orders

Toggle this on for direct-to-consumer orders. Most providers have this enabled.

Cutoff Time: Orders received before this time are processed same-day. Orders after are processed the next business day.

Common cutoff times:

• 12:00 PM (noon) - Standard for most 3PLs
• 2:00 PM - Extended cutoff
• 5:00 PM - End of business day

SLA Target: How quickly orders should ship after the cutoff:

• Same day: Ships the same business day (before cutoff)
• 1 business day: Ships next business day
• 2 business days: Ships within 2 business days
• 3 business days: Ships within 3 business days

Credit Per Breach: The dollar amount your provider owes per late shipment. Check your contract for this value. This helps you track credits owed for SLA breaches.

B2B Wholesale

Coming soon. This will support bulk shipments to retailers with different SLA terms than consumer orders.

Connection Settings

After saving your provider, return to edit it and access the Connection tab to set up automatic data imports.

Connection options vary by provider:

• API: Direct integration via OAuth or API token (available for ShipBob and other supported providers)
• SFTP: Automated file imports on a schedule (for providers that support it)

For manual CSV uploads, use the Data Sync page instead of the Connection tab. See Importing 3PL Data for detailed setup instructions.

Common Configuration Scenarios

Single 3PL, One Location

The simplest setup:

1. Add your provider
2. Map it to your Shopify location
3. Set your SLA terms
4. Connect your data source

Multiple Locations, Same 3PL

If ShipBob handles your East Coast and West Coast fulfillment:

1. Add “ShipBob East” → map to East Coast Shopify location
2. Add “ShipBob West” → map to West Coast Shopify location
3. Each can have different SLA terms if your contracts differ

Multiple 3PLs

If you use ShipBob for US orders and a local provider for international:

1. Add each provider separately
2. Map each to its corresponding Shopify location
3. Configure SLA terms based on each contract

Verifying Your Setup

After configuring a provider:

1. Check the dashboard - You should see orders appearing for this provider
2. Verify location mapping - Orders from that Shopify location should show up
3. Test SLA calculations - Review a few orders to confirm deadlines look correct

If orders aren’t appearing, double-check your Shopify location mapping.

Editing Provider Settings

1. Go to Providers
2. Click on the provider you want to edit
3. Make your changes across any tab
4. Click Save

Changes to SLA terms affect how future orders are calculated. Historical orders keep their original SLA calculations.

Next Steps

• Import your 3PL data to start tracking performance
• Understand your metrics once data is flowing
• Troubleshoot sync issues if you run into problems