Choosing Your Ecommerce Fulfilment Model: In‑House, 3PL, Dropshipping Or Hybrid?
If you are planning Q1 to Q2 growth across Australia, your fulfilment model will shape your costs, delivery speeds, and the experience your customers remember. Whether you ship from your own garage in Byron, run a growing Shopify store in Melbourne, or you are mapping national lanes from Sydney to Perth, the right model will keep cash flow predictable and customers happy.
This guide explains what a fulfilment model is, the four common types, how they compare on cost, control, speed, and scalability, and how a hybrid approach can give you the best of all worlds. You will also see where Amazon fits in for Australian brands, and how Ballina Byron 3PL supports flexible configurations with WMS integrations and same-day dispatch.
First things first: what is a fulfilment model in ecommerce?
Your fulfilment model is the way you organise receiving, storing, picking, packing, and shipping orders to customers. It defines who holds your stock, who does the work, and how parcels travel to doorsteps. A good model aligns with your order volumes, product mix, service promises, and budget.
The four types of fulfilment
In‑house: You store inventory and handle picking, packing, and shipping yourself.
Third‑party logistics, also known as a 3PL: You outsource storage and fulfilment to a specialist partner.
Dropshipping: Your supplier holds stock and ships directly to your customer after you make a sale.
Hybrid: You mix two or more models. For example, in‑house for local wholesale, 3PL for national ecommerce, and dropshipping for bulky items.
Where each model fits for Australian SMEs
In‑house fulfilment
Best for early-stage brands and highly customised workflows. If you are launching a niche fashion label in Brisbane with 20 orders a week and you want full control of packaging touches, in‑house can be cost effective. You will need space, a basic WMS or disciplined spreadsheets, and time for carrier bookings. As orders climb beyond 40 to 60 a day, staffing, storage, and late cutoffs can become constraints.
Cost: Fixed costs rise with rent, racking, packaging, scanners, and staff. Per-order costs are often underestimated.
Control: Highest. Every pack-out and insert is in your hands.
Speed: Depends on your own labour and pickup times. Public holidays can create backlogs.
Scalability: Limited without hiring and expanding space.
3PL fulfilment
A 3PL provides receiving, storage, inventory accuracy, picking, packing, and freight management as a service. For example, Ballina Byron 3PL integrates your Shopify or WooCommerce store with a cloud WMS, then processes orders with same-day dispatch for orders received by 11am, and manages carriers across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and regional lanes.
Cost: Variable and predictable. Pay for storage used, picks, packs, and freight, which can be cheaper via bulk rates.
Control: High on standards and branding, with agreed packing specs; lower on day-to-day labour since the 3PL runs operations.
Speed: Consistent. Same-day processing windows, stable carrier pickups, and proactive account management.
Scalability: Strong. Scale without new leases or hiring.
What is an example of a 3PL? A specialist partner like Ballina Byron 3PL, which operates secure facilities in Ballina and Byron Bay, uses a cloud WMS, and offers negotiated carrier rates and returns handling.
Dropshipping
Your supplier ships directly to your customer. You never touch stock. Great for testing new SKUs or expanding your catalogue without tying up cash.
Cost: Lower upfront inventory cost. Per-order product costs can be higher. Less control over freight pricing.
Control: Lowest. You rely on supplier packaging quality and dispatch times.
Speed: Varies by supplier location. Overseas dropship can be slow to Sydney and Melbourne lanes compared to local 3PL dispatch.
Scalability: Easy to scale catalogue size, but customer experience can be inconsistent.
Hybrid fulfilment
Mix and match to suit product types and lanes. A common Australian setup is to keep bulky or slow movers with suppliers on dropship, place fast movers with a 3PL near the East Coast for same-day dispatch, and retain a small in‑house area for VIP custom packs or wholesale.
Cost: Optimised. Use variable 3PL pricing where it saves, keep niche packs in-house where they add value, and dropship bulky goods to avoid double handling.
Control: Balanced. You set standards with your 3PL and keep special cases close.
Speed: Fast for core lines via 3PL, acceptable for long-tail items via dropship.
Scalability: Strong. You plug in capacity as growth arrives.
A quick side-by-side comparison
Cost
In‑house: rising fixed costs; hidden labour overhead.
3PL: variable, transparent; leverage bulk freight.
Dropshipping: low inventory spend; higher unit cost.
Hybrid: targeted cost control by SKU and lane.
Control
In‑house: full control.
3PL: controlled via SLAs, packing specs, and WMS visibility.
Dropshipping: limited.
Hybrid: control where it matters most.
Speed
In‑house: depends on your team and pickups.
3PL: same-day processing windows and steady carrier pickups.
Dropshipping: variable by supplier location.
Hybrid: fast for core SKUs, variable for the rest.
Scalability
In‑house: capped by space and staff.
3PL: scalable through partner capacity and processes.
Dropshipping: catalogue scales easily; experience varies.
Hybrid: scale operationally while keeping flexibility.
Lane examples across Australia
Sydney to Melbourne: For fashion or FMCG with daily volume, a 3PL on the East Coast keeps cutoffs late enough for next business day express, with regular road linehaul for standard service.
Brisbane and Gold Coast to Perth: Long haul time and cost can be tamed by smart carrier mix and cubic optimisation. A 3PL can switch between express and road depending on product dimensions and delivery promise.
Regional NSW to capital cities: Same-day dispatch from a coastal NSW facility still hits metro Melbourne and Sydney quickly, while keeping storage costs accessible.
A simple scenario to make it real
You are a fashion brand launching nationally from the Gold Coast. You forecast 25 orders a day in February, ramping to 120 a day by April. You sell small parcels with seasonal peaks around public holidays.
Start hybrid: keep a small in‑house bench for VIP kits and influencers. Move fast-moving SKUs into a 3PL for national orders.
Connect Shopify to the WMS: orders flow in, inventory syncs, and low-stock alerts trigger reorders.
Use bulk-rate carriers: lower your average shipping cost per order.
Promise cutoffs confidently: orders placed before 11am dispatch the same day.
As volume stabilises, shift more SKUs to the 3PL to reduce your internal labour. Keep your custom packs in-house if they are part of your brand story.
Is Amazon a 3PL in Australia?
Amazon does offer Fulfilment by Amazon for sellers on its marketplace, yet it is not a general 3PL for your whole multichannel operation. A 3PL supports your entire stack across Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace, wholesale, and returns. Amazon FBA focuses on Amazon-native listings, with specific prep rules and storage fee structures. Many Australian brands use a 3PL for their DTC site and wholesale, then hold a limited range in FBA for Prime-eligible items. The key is to manage inventory across both, using your WMS to keep visibility clean.
How Ballina Byron 3PL supports hybrid growth
Ballina Byron 3PL runs modern facilities in Ballina and Byron Bay with secure storage, accurate receiving and put-away, and a cloud WMS that integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace, CIN7, and Unleashed. Orders received by 11am are processed and dispatched the same day. Branded packaging, returns handling, and proactive account management keep your customer experience strong as you scale.
Flexible storage, pay for what you use.
Negotiated carrier rates and freight-savings analysis.
Cycle counts and stocktakes for inventory accuracy.
Systems integration during onboarding so your orders, inventory, and tracking sync automatically.
If you want to dive deeper into workflows such as picking methods, see our plain-English explainer on what is picking and packing.
Choosing the right model for Q1 to Q2
Under 30 orders a day with complex customisation: in‑house can work, with a plan to outsource when growth bites.
30 to 200 orders a day across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth: move to a 3PL to standardise speed and reduce total cost to serve.
Large catalogues with slow movers or bulky goods: hybrid, with dropshipping for long-tail items and a 3PL for fast movers.
Marketplace heavy: blend a 3PL for DTC and wholesale with selective Amazon FBA for Prime range.
Ask yourself:
Where are my customers, and what delivery promise matters?
Which SKUs drive 80 percent of orders?
What will my order profile look like by April?
What is my tolerance for fixed costs vs variable costs?
Quick answers to common questions
What is fulfilment model in ecommerce? It is the way you organise storage, picking, packing, and shipping for online orders.
What are the 4 types of fulfilment? In‑house, third‑party logistics, dropshipping, and hybrid.
What is an example of a 3PL? Ballina Byron 3PL, a specialist partner that stores stock, integrates your store, and dispatches orders same day across national lanes.
Is Amazon a 3PL? Not in the general sense. Amazon FBA serves its marketplace, while a 3PL supports multichannel operations, custom packaging, returns, and broader carrier strategies.
Ready to design a tailored workflow?
If hybrid sounds right, Ballina Byron 3PL can help you map SKUs to the best channel, connect your store to our WMS, and stand up same-day dispatch ahead of your next promotion. For a friendly, obligation-free chat and a freight-savings analysis, contact Andrew at andrew@ballinabyron3pl.com or +61 407 560 079.
