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The SHIPMAX blog.

Practical, opinionated notes on fulfilment, shipping and scaling, from the team behind the Lead Exchange.

A man looking concerned beside a warehouse goods-in door with a Warehouse Closed, Administration Notice sign taped up, and a pallet of boxes tagged £100 per tonne
3PL selection3PL contracts

If Your 3PL Goes Bust, What Happens to Your Stock? 9 Checks Before You Sign in 2026

UK warehouse terms cap liability at £100 a tonne. What happens to your stock in a 3PL insolvency, and 9 checks to run before you sign.

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A cardboard parcel stamped Customs Hold and Duty Due lying beside a gravestone reading RIP De Minimis, in front of a border checkpoint with US, EU and UK flags each marked with a red cross
Shipping3PL

Cross Border Parcel Shipping is... Dead: RIP

The exemptions that built direct-to-consumer e-commerce are being switched off everywhere. What replaces them, and the customs-duty lever many brands miss.

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A diesel pump reading 199.9p with a rising price arrow, a freight truck and shipping containers behind it, and a transport invoice with the fuel surcharge line circled in red
Shipping3PL

Diesel's a Penny Off £2. Your Supply Chain Is Already Paying.

Crude is back near $100, diesel is flirting with £2, and a fuel duty rise lands in January. Where fuel volatility hits your supply chain, and the fix.

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A 'Which? returns investigation' graphic showing a shocked man with an exploding-head effect, next to a parcel labelled 'Returns', a laptop showing 'Easy Returns', and a printed return label.
returnsreverse logistics

Amazon refunds in two days. Other big retailers take up to twelve. The gap is usually the warehouse.

Which?'s investigation found major UK retailers breaking refund law. It's not dishonesty, it's a returns process never checked after go-live.

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"NEW EU PARCEL RULES START NOV 1st" text over a parcel with a barcode label and an EU map background.
EU customscustoms

The New EU Customs Rule That's Actually a Product Data Problem

From 1 November 2026, every B2C parcel into the EU needs three product identifiers per line item. What's changing, and what to fix before the deadline.

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"Searching for 3PL? Check this first!" text next to a checklist covering data & reporting, space & capacity, pricing & fees, invoicing & transparency, and returns & reverse logistics.
3PL selectionfulfilment onboarding

Searching for a 3PL? Check This First!

The 3PL search doesn't stall because 3PLs are hard to find. It stalls because brands can't answer basic questions about their own operation.

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