"Now our companies are like blood brothers. I can't wait to show up at your corporate picnics and sheepishly smile when you catch me taking coffee from the break room."
1. Section: What's an FSA?
You're here because you want info about FSAs... and that's exactly what we're going to give ya! Just like those baddies in the first Indiana Jones movie, PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR FACE HORRIFICALLY MELTED OFF BY GETTING EXACTLY WHAT YOU DESIRE AND MORE:
A Fulfillment Services Agreement (FSA) is the contract you sign with a warehouse or fulfillment center or 3PL (third‑party logistics) provider to get your boxes from your stockroom (or, uh, dingy garage where you've been fulfilling orders) to your customer’s door.
The FSA lays out what services they'll provide for you, how they’ll charge you, and who handles what if things go wrong. Think of it as a game rulebook for shipping, and while you're at it, go ahead and think of yourself as a nerd for thinking that way.
Here’s what typically gets covered in an FSA:
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Scope of Services: storage, picking, packing, shipping, returns.
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Pricing & Payment Terms: per-order fees, storage costs, plus maybe annual fee bumps tied to CPI or cost-of-living.
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Service Level Agreement (SLA): speed, accuracy standards, penalties for messing up.
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Term & Termination: how long it lasts and how to exit.
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Liability & Insurance: what happens if stuff breaks or vanishes.
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Change Orders: protocols for altering scope or fees over time.
In the U.S., these are common between e‑commerce businesses and 3PLs. They’re essential, and without one, you risk unpaid bills, lost inventory, or being left scrambling if problems pop up.
2. How U.S. fulfillment services use FSAs
FSAs have been around forever, but unlike the dinosaurs they have yet to be wiped out by a meteor impact / catastrophic volcanic activity. Fascinating, isn't it?
When a U.S. fulfillment company like Innotrac, ShipRelay, Mix-Mix Mail (obviously the best fulfillment company *cough, cough*), or a Shopify logistics partner gets a new client, they whip up a custom FSA:
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They define the go-live date (first shipment)
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They detail Exhibit A or scope: SKUs stored, packing specs, shipping carriers .
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They lock in annual price increases, often tied to consumer price index or healthcare cost trends.
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They include change-order rules so clients can add services or SKUs cleanly.
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They set termination notices, often 90 days out.
These FSAs keep both sides honest... and who doesn't like honesty? (PUT YOUR HAND DOWN RIGHT NOW, ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S EVIL TWIN, UN-HONEST ABE. Who keeps inviting this guy...?)
Thanks to the FSA, the fulfillment provider knows what to charge, and clients get predictable billing and service standards.
3. How Mix‑Mix Mail uses FSAs
"We've got your back. That's right, it's written... HERE on the FSA."
At Mix‑Mix Mail, we treat your FSA like our shipping Bible (non-denominational). We treat your FSA like the coding of our DNA. We treat it like a baby brutha! A little baby brutha! Perfect in every way!
Here’s our approach:
Clarity from the start
Before we start storing or shipping your products in Tokyo or LA, we work with you to come up with the scope: SKUs, volume, packaging specs, returns handling, label options, carrier choices with you. No surprises.
3.2. Transparent pricing
We list setup fees (if any), Warehousing costs, Pick & Pack pricing, and give you an estimate or two for what shipping fees will look like.
3.3. Performance guarantees
We commit to SLA standards like 99% pick accuracy and same‑day shipping cutoff for orders received by a certain time.
3.4. Flexible updates
Putting your store on pause while you're on vacation, have an unusually large drop shipment, or have something entirely out of the ordinary come up that's related to your business? Just let us know. We’ll formalize it in a change order to the FSA. Super duper simple, just the way we all like it.
3.5. Easy exit terms
We know plans change and that love is fleeting (but diamonds are forever). Our FSA term is typically month-to-month, auto‑renewing unless terminated with 30‑days notice. If you decide to leave us (and break our hearts), just let us know. No hard feelings (other than the crushing loneliness of you not being with us anymore), and we'll do our best to coordinate a smooth transition!
4. Why our FSA works for you
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Avoids billing surprises: you know each line item upfront.
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Ensures consistent quality: our performance standards are right there for you to see, and you can rub them in our face if we ever fail to meet them.
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Gives flexibility to scale: adding new SKUs and services are easy peasy.
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Protects your brand & inventory: clear liability and terms.
TL;DR
A good FSA should be clear. And you could always have a lawyer look it over, or their well-known and significantly cheaper cousin, ChatGPT.
An FSA is like the shipping playbook between your store and your logistics partner. Mix‑Mix Mail’s version is objectively superior, because it's designed for e‑commerce brands seeking clarity, performance, and flexibility... without needing a lawyer to understand everything.
Considering 25–500 orders/month?
If you want to keep your brand moving (and your boxes), let’s talk! Our FSA process is straightforward, our warehouse teams know ASINs from SKUs, and our services are so customizable . Visit our Contact Us page to get started. (≧◡≦)