Fulfillment.com invoice audit

Fulfillment.com (FDC) operates a worldwide fulfillment network with strategically located facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and Australia. Built originally to handle high-velocity direct-to-consumer (DTC) campaigns, subscription boxes, and high-volume direct-response marketing, FDC is known for competitive base pick-and-pack rates when shipping thousands of orders per day.

However, behind FDC's volume pricing is one of the most accessorial-dense fee structures in the logistics industry. An FDC bill typically includes recurring catalog fees, receiving dock fees, carrier address correction markups, international exchange rate fees, and one of the shortest dispute windows in third-party logistics: a strict 15-day notification clause.

What Fulfillment.com publishes: catalog fees, dock rules, and the 15-day clock

Fulfillment.com structures client billing through a Master Services Agreement (MSA) accompanied by a personalized Fulfillment Proposal rate sheet. Key operational and billing rules include:

• Active SKU maintenance fees and catalog setup charges. Unlike 3PLs that charge only for physical storage space, FDC assesses recurring monthly fees for maintaining active SKUs in its Warehouse Management System (typically $5.00 to $15.00 per active SKU per month), alongside one-time setup fees for new SKU integrations. If a seasonal product sells out but remains marked "active" in the portal, it continues to accrue monthly maintenance fees indefinitely.
• Address correction administrative surcharges. When a package requires carrier address correction or postal rerouting, FDC passes through the carrier's fee (e.g., FedEx or UPS $19.50 fee) plus an internal FDC administrative handling markup (typically $5.00 to $10.00 per correction).
• Receiving dock appointment fees. Inbound freight requires scheduled dock appointments. Receiving is billed per carton or per pallet, but unannounced shipments, missed appointment windows, or late arrivals trigger mandatory "Dock Rescheduling" or "Unscheduled Receiving" penalty surcharges ($50.00 to $150.00 per incident).
• Multi-facility and multi-currency billing. Brands fulfilling from FDC's UK, European, or Australian warehouses often receive consolidated invoices converted to USD. The conversion rates frequently embed a 3% to 5% foreign exchange convenience margin above interbank rates.
• Credit card surcharge vs. pre-funded ACH escrow. Paying invoices by credit card incurs a 3.5% to 4.0% payment processing markup. FDC encourages merchants to maintain a pre-funded deposit account via wire or ACH, but minimum reserve thresholds are enforced.
• The 15-day dispute clock. Under FDC's standard agreement, invoice objections must be submitted in writing within fifteen (15) calendar days from the invoice date. Silence beyond day 15 constitutes full legal acceptance.

Operational fee category	Fulfillment.com standard terms
Inbound receiving	Per-carton or per-pallet flat rate + dock appointment verification
Base order fulfillment	Pick fee for first unit + discounted rate for additional units
Active SKU maintenance	Monthly fee per active SKU ($5–$15/SKU/mo)
Inbound dock rescheduling	$50.00 to $150.00 for missed or late appointments
Address correction markup	Carrier fee plus $5.00 to $10.00 FDC admin surcharge
Payment card processing fee	3.5% to 4.0% on credit card payments
Dispute notification window	Strict 15 calendar days from invoice issue date
Interest on past-due balances	1.5% per month or maximum allowable rate under Florida law

Checks that follow from Fulfillment.com's billing structure

1. Beat the 15-day dispute clock. Because FDC's dispute clause is unusually short (15 days), an audit cannot wait for end-of-month accounting reviews. The moment a bi-weekly or monthly invoice is issued, run your line checks immediately so that formal objections are stamped within the contractual window.
2. Audit the Active SKU maintenance register. Compare the number of SKUs billed on the "Monthly SKU Maintenance" line against your actual physical inventory list. If you have 80 active selling SKUs, but FDC bills maintenance fees for 240 SKUs because discontinued items, obsolete packaging variations, or bundled promo codes were never archived in the WMS, you are paying hundreds in ghost software maintenance fees each month.
3. Scrutinize address correction administrative markups. Address corrections should only be billed if the original address supplied by your ecommerce store was genuinely invalid. Check the order records: if the customer provided a valid delivery address with correct ZIP code, and the carrier corrected a minor street suffix (e.g., "Avenue" to "Ave") without operational disruption, challenge the carrier surcharge and demand removal of FDC's $5–$10 administrative fee.
4. Verify volume discount tier thresholds. FDC agreements often feature tiered volume pricing (e.g., $2.50 per order under 5,000 orders/mo, dropping to $2.10 between 5,000 and 15,000 orders). In high-volume months where you crossed a tier boundary, verify that the discounted rate was applied retroactively to all qualifying orders or stepped down correctly, rather than billing all volume at the higher base tier.
5. Check inbound dock appointment penalty charges. For every "Unscheduled Receiving" or "Dock Rescheduling" surcharge, cross-examine the carrier's delivery appointment confirmation. If your freight forwarder or LTL carrier confirmed an appointment slot and delivered within that window, but FDC's dock delays pushed unloading into the afternoon, the resulting penalty fee is a warehouse delay, not a merchant penalty.
6. Audit international currency exchange rates. If you fulfill out of FDC's Birmingham (UK) or Venlo (Netherlands) facilities and are billed in USD, compare the exchange rate used on your invoice against the official daily closing rate on the invoice date. Exchange spreads exceeding contracted terms should be credited back.
7. Verify card processing fee exclusions. If you maintain a pre-funded ACH account or pay by bank transfer, ensure that no 3.5%–4% payment processing fee was added to the invoice total.
8. Check storage pallet and bin snapshots. Verify that empty bins cleared after stock sell-out were released from your storage tally, rather than being counted as occupied space through the end of the billing cycle.

Raising a dispute with Fulfillment.com

FDC requires billing disputes to be sent directly to its Finance and Account Management teams. All disputes must identify the specific invoice number, line IDs, shipment tracking numbers, and state the exact dollar discrepancy supported by contractual quotes.

Because of FDC's 15-day dispute cutoff, always request written email confirmation of dispute receipt from your account manager before the deadline expires.

To: Fulfillment.com Billing & Account Management
Subject: Formal Billing Dispute – Invoice #[INVOICE_NUMBER] – [MERCHANT_NAME]
Date: [TODAY_DATE]

Dear Fulfillment.com Billing Department,

Upon line-by-line reconciliation of invoice #[INVOICE_NUMBER] against our executed Master Services Agreement (MSA) and confirmed Rate Schedule dated [CONTRACT_DATE], we have identified [COUNT] billing discrepancies totaling $[TOTAL_OVERCHARGE_AMOUNT].

Summary of audited discrepancies:
1. [Line/Ref ID]: Billed [Rate/Service] at $[BILLED_RATE]. Agreed contract tier is $[CONTRACT_RATE]. Variance: $[OVERCHARGE_AMOUNT]. (Ref: Contract Section [SECTION_NUM])
2. [Line/Ref ID]: Unauthorized accessorial surcharge [NAME] of $[SURCHARGE_AMOUNT] billed without prerequisite contract triggers.
3. [Line/Ref ID]: Dimensional weight (DIM) billed at [BILLED_WEIGHT] lbs vs verified packaging volume of [ACTUAL_WEIGHT] lbs. Variance: $[DIM_OVERCHARGE].

Per our agreement, this dispute notification is formally submitted within the contractual dispute window. 

Please confirm receipt and apply a credit memo of $[TOTAL_OVERCHARGE_AMOUNT] to our account, or provide a revised invoice within 10 business days.

Sincerely,
[YOUR_NAME]
[MERCHANT_NAME]
[ACCOUNT_NUMBER / MERCHANT_ID]