Launch Fulfillment vs In-House Fulfillment
In-house works under 3K orders/month. Above that, the math typically flips. Honest take on when to outsource.
You're scaling past your in-house capacity
The signals: founder/COO doing pick-pack instead of running the business, BFCM volume breaks your operation rather than capitalizing on it, multi-channel inventory out of sync. Above ~3K orders/month, outsourcing typically saves 18–25% per order while freeing your team for higher-leverage work.
Plus: peak capacity, compliance posture, and integrations that take months to build internally.
You're under 3,000 orders/month
Below ~3,000 orders/month, in-house fulfillment from a small warehouse or even a garage is typically more cost-effective per order. The fixed costs of a 3PL relationship don't pencil out yet.
If you have a co-founder running ops as part of their role and your products are simple to pack — stay in-house until volume forces the switch.
Criteria comparison
| Criterion | Launch Fulfillment | In-house fulfillment |
|---|---|---|
| Per-order cost | $4–$8 all-in | Variable — labor + overhead |
| Peak capacity | Elastic — built for 10× peak | Hard ceiling |
| Founder time recovery | Yes — fully outsourced | No |
| Compliance posture | cGMP, FDA, MoCRA built in | DIY — major effort |
| Integrations | 100+ pre-built | Manual / custom |
| Returns operations | Full reverse logistics | Manual sorting |
| Min volume to be efficient | ~3K orders/month | Best under 3K |
Honest credit
Direct control
Total visibility, instant adjustments, no handoffs.
Brand learning
Founders see customer feedback unfiltered.
Lower fixed cost
Below 3K orders/month, no 3PL minimums to clear.
Outsourcing questions
Will switching disrupt my orders?
Most clients switching from another 3PL run parallel for 2 weeks. Inventory transfers in waves so neither operation goes dark. Your customers don't see the switch.
How long does the switch take?
30 days from signature to first live shipment, plus 2 weeks of parallel run for validation. Faster than most onboardings the first time around.
Will my account manager change?
You get a dedicated account manager from day 1 — not a ticket queue. Same person through onboarding, daily ops, and quarterly reviews.
Get a custom quote based on YOUR numbers
See exactly what switching from In-house fulfillment to Launch would cost — based on your SKU count, channel mix, and volume. 24-hour turnaround.