What we commit to, in writing
Cut-off times, receiving and returns turnarounds, response times, and what happens when we miss one. The same standards go into your service agreement.
Most 3PL websites will not tell you when your orders actually leave the building. You find that out after your stock has already moved.
This page sets out what Parcelo commits to: when orders dispatch, how quickly inbound stock becomes sellable, how long returns take, and what happens when we miss one. The same standards go into your service agreement, so nothing here is a line you cannot hold us to.
Dispatch
Orders received before the cut-off on a business day are picked, packed and handed to the carrier that same day.
- A cut-off exists because carriers collect within a fixed window each day. An order confirmed after the carrier has been is not a same-day order anywhere.
- The difference between 3PLs is not whether they have a cut-off. It is whether you were told what it was before you signed.
- Weekend orders queue for the next business day, which is worth knowing before your first busy week rather than during it.
| Order received | Dispatched |
|---|---|
| Before 12:00 Sydney time, Monday to Friday | Same business day |
| After 12:00, Monday to Friday | Next business day |
| Saturday, Sunday or a NSW public holiday | Next business day |
Receiving your stock
Inbound deliveries are booked in advance. You tell us the date and what is coming; we are there to receive it, count it and make it sellable.
- Booking a delivery takes you about a minute and it is the difference between stock that is live this afternoon and stock nobody was expecting.
- Discrepancies between what you sent and what arrived are reported to you the same day we count it, not at the end of the month.
| Inbound delivery | Counted and sellable |
|---|---|
| Arrives on a booked date | Same business day |
| Arrives without a booking | Not covered by this standard |
Returns
A return is not finished when the parcel arrives. It is finished when the item has been inspected, graded, and either put back into sellable stock or set aside, and you have been told which.
| Return received | Inspected, graded and actioned |
|---|---|
| Any business day | Within 3 business days |
Getting hold of us
Operational questions are answered within one business day, by the person actually running your fulfilment.
In practice most are answered the same day. One business day is what goes in writing, because a commitment is only worth publishing if it still holds when things get busy.
When we miss
If an order is with us before the cut-off and does not dispatch that business day, the pick and pack fee for that order is not charged. It comes off your invoice without you having to ask or notice.
The remedy is automatic rather than generous, and that is the point. One that gets applied every time without you having to chase it is worth more than a bigger one that turns into a conversation about whose fault it was.
What is deliberately not on this page
There is no accuracy percentage here. Publishing one would ask you to trust a figure nobody outside this business has audited. Accuracy commitments belong in your service agreement, where they are specific to your account and actually enforceable.
There is no delivery time either. We control when a parcel leaves; the carrier controls when it arrives. A 3PL that promises you a delivery date is promising you somebody else's performance.
Common questions
- What time is your dispatch cut-off?
- 12:00 Sydney time, Monday to Friday. Orders received before then are dispatched the same business day. The cut-off is set against the carrier collection window rather than chosen for marketing reasons, and if it changes, this page changes with it.
- Do you dispatch on weekends?
- No. Carriers do not collect on weekends, so a Saturday order cannot physically leave until Monday regardless of who is in the building. Weekend orders are picked and staged so they go out first thing on the next business day.
- What happens if I miss the cut-off?
- The order dispatches the next business day. If it is genuinely urgent, tell us and we will do what we can, but we will not pretend that is a standard we can hold to every time.
- How quickly can I sell stock after it arrives?
- Stock delivered on a booked date is counted and made sellable the same business day. Deliveries that arrive without a booking are handled as soon as we can, but they sit outside this standard because nobody was expecting them.
- Do you guarantee delivery times?
- No, and be careful with any 3PL that does. Once a parcel is with the carrier, delivery timing is the carrier's performance, not ours. What we commit to is the part we control: that your order leaves on time.
- Are these standards actually in the contract?
- Yes. These are the standards written into the service agreement, along with the account-specific commitments that are not appropriate to publish on a website. You see the agreement before any stock moves.
Not sure what your fulfilment would actually cost?
Work out a realistic range first, then get a quote based on your real numbers.