Contract logistics in Europe, committed volume, committed service
Once your volume is steady, ad-hoc handling stops making sense. Get matched to European partners for contract logistics — a longer-term operation with agreed service levels, capacity and pricing built around your forecast rather than the spot market.
The difference
Agreed service levels, priced for the long term
Contract logistics trades flexibility for certainty: you commit volume, the partner commits capacity, service levels and price. The matching filters to European partners willing to structure a real agreement around your forecast — dedicated or shared resource, defined SLAs and transparent rates — so cost and performance are predictable as you scale rather than repriced every peak.
SLAs and dedicated capacity
Filter to partners that will commit to agreed dispatch times, accuracy and capacity for your volume — dedicated space and labour where it is warranted — instead of best-effort handling that competes with everyone else's orders.
Predictable, transparent pricing
See partners offering rates structured for committed volume with the cost lines set out, so you can forecast your fulfilment spend and avoid the surcharges that make ad-hoc handling hard to budget.
How contract logistics works
- 01
Describe your volume
Tell us your steady and peak volumes, your forecast, the markets you serve and the service levels your customers expect, so a partner can size a real commitment.
- 02
Compare on terms
Partners are filtered to those willing to contract for your volume in your markets, then scored on service levels, pricing structure and flexibility to grow, not just headline rate.
- 03
Request an intro
Send a request and negotiate the SLAs, capacity and term that fit, so both sides commit to something workable rather than signing a generic template.
- 01
Size the operation
The partner plans space, labour and systems around your forecast volume, dedicating resource where the commitment justifies it and sharing it where that is more efficient.
- 02
Set the service levels
Dispatch cut-offs, accuracy and capacity are agreed and written down, so performance is measurable against a standard rather than assumed.
- 03
Review and flex
The operation is reviewed against the SLAs and your changing volume, with terms built to flex through peak rather than repriced under pressure.
Put your fulfilment on a real contract
Start from the directory, or publish a store profile and let the matching find a European partner ready to commit capacity, service and price to your volume.
What is contract logistics?
Contract logistics is a longer-term arrangement in which a brand commits volume to a logistics provider and the provider commits capacity, service levels and pricing in return, under a defined agreement rather than ad-hoc, pay-as-you-go handling. It typically covers warehousing, inventory management, pick and pack, and distribution, structured around the brand's forecast, and may use dedicated space, labour and systems for a single client or shared resource across several, whichever the volume justifies. The value is certainty on both sides: the brand gets predictable cost and measurable performance — agreed dispatch cut-offs, accuracy and capacity written into service-level agreements — and the provider can invest in the operation because the volume is committed. This suits businesses whose demand has become steady and forecastable, where the flexibility of spot handling is worth less than reliable service and budgetable cost. Across Europe it often underpins multi-market distribution, where a brand needs a consistent standard applied across the countries it serves. Contract logistics sits alongside standard 3PL fulfilment rather than opposing it: a 3PL executes the work, and the contract is the framework of commitments, terms and reviews that governs how it is delivered and priced over time.
Also called: contracted fulfilment, dedicated logistics, logistics service agreement
Common questions
What is contract logistics?
A longer-term arrangement where you commit volume and the provider commits capacity, service levels and pricing under a defined agreement, rather than ad-hoc handling. It covers warehousing, pick and pack and distribution, structured around your forecast, and gives both sides predictable cost and measurable performance.
How is it different from pay-as-you-go fulfilment?
Ad-hoc fulfilment prices each activity as it happens and makes no capacity or service commitment. Contract logistics trades some of that flexibility for certainty: agreed SLAs, reserved capacity and rates set for committed volume. Once your demand is steady, that predictability is usually worth more than the flexibility of the spot market.
When should I move to a contract?
When your volume is steady and forecastable enough that reliable service and budgetable cost matter more than repricing every order. If demand is still lumpy or unproven, ad-hoc handling keeps you flexible. Share your forecast so the matching only surfaces partners willing to contract for your actual volume.
Does a contract mean dedicated warehouse space?
Not necessarily. A contract can use dedicated space and labour where your volume justifies it, or shared resource across several clients where that is more efficient, and often a mix. What is committed is the service level and capacity, not always exclusive space. Discuss which model fits your volume with each prospective partner.
What should the SLAs cover?
At minimum, dispatch cut-off times, order accuracy, and the capacity the partner will hold for your peaks, all measurable and reviewed. Good agreements also set out pricing structure and how terms flex as your volume changes. Written service levels are what make performance comparable rather than a matter of trust.
Explore further
When to use a 3PL
The point at which committing volume starts to pay.
Fulfilment costs in Europe
The cost lines a contract makes predictable.
4PL vs 3PL in Europe
Which provider model your contract should sit with.
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