How it works
Fair comparisons based on what you actually ship
1. You connect your channels
You log in with your webshop (Shopify, WooCommerce), paste a read-only API key (bol, Lightspeed, Magento, Shopware, PrestaShop, Sendcloud, MyParcel, Picqer) or upload an order or shipping export (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Zalando, Kaufland, ChannelDock, Channable and any other CSV). You can also just enter your web address or fill in everything yourself.
We read the orders or shipments from the last 30 to 90 days once. From those we calculate totals and delete the rest straight away. We never store API keys or access tokens anywhere.
2. Your shop profile
From your data we derive: orders per month and seasonal peaks, items per order, number of products, parcel sizes (letterbox, parcel, XL), destinations, sales channels, the sector of your products (based on product titles) and, if you connect shipping software, your current carriers. If something isn’t right, you adjust it. You also say what your partner must be able to do: returns, custom packaging, same-day, chilled, and so on.
3. The fulfilment companies
We collect fulfilment companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and the German border region from public sources (such as business listings with address and reviews) and read their websites: which integrations, carriers, services, specialisms, cut-off times and “from” prices they mention. Our bot respects robots.txt and visits only a few pages per site (more about our bot). Companies can claim and complete their profile; it then shows “Verified profile”.
What a company doesn’t mention on its website, we don’t know. Your matches then show it as a point to check, so you can ask about it.
Company details and terms. We take the Chamber of Commerce (KvK) and VAT numbers from the company’s website. Every month we check the VAT number with EU VIES, the European Commission’s register. If the registered name matches the company, the profile shows “VAT number valid”. We also read the general terms and conditions and automatically pick out the points that matter to webshops: liability, who insures the stock, notice period and minimum term. This is an indication, not legal advice. Read the terms yourself before you sign.
4. How the match score and the order work
First we drop companies that can’t do what you strictly need: chilled storage if you ask for it, a minimum number of orders above your volume, or a distance greater than your maximum. Then each company gets a score from 0 to 100 based on:
| Component | What we compare |
|---|---|
| Channels | Does the company mention integrations with your webshop and marketplaces? |
| Requirements | Does it offer the services you tick (returns, same-day, B2B…)? |
| Products | Experience with your sector; XL products and dangerous goods weigh heavily. |
| Volume | Does your order volume suit their minimum and their size? |
| Shipping | Cut-off time, the same carriers you use now, location relative to your customers. |
| Reliability | Google reviews (weighted by number), how complete the profile is and a valid VAT number. If you sell expensive products, we flag a low liability cap from their terms as a point to check. |
| Distance | Only if you enter your postcode. |
Paid visibility. FulfilmentMatch is free for webshops. We earn from fulfilment companies that have a partnership with us, for example for extra visibility or for managing their profile. As a result, partners can appear higher in lists and matches. That only applies if they already fit your profile well; we don’t show a partner that doesn’t meet your hard requirements. In the company directory, how complete a profile is and how many reviews a company has also play a part.
Quote requests. Your request only goes to the companies you choose, at first without your name and contact details. They respond through their portal: with a question, a quote or a decline. After a quote, a company can also contact you directly; you can see this on your request page. This changes nothing about your match score or the order. Everything is free for you.
Widget on their own website. Fulfilment companies can put their FulfilmentMatch score, with a link to their profile, on their own website. If that widget is on their own domain (we check this ourselves, every week), they rank slightly higher in the company directory and in the lists by place, carrier and industry. In matches they get a small bonus, but only if they already fit your profile well, just like paid visibility. The widget changes nothing about the FulfilmentMatch score itself.
5. The FulfilmentMatch score
Every fulfilment company with at least 5 reviews gets a score from 0 to 10. It appears on the profile and in the widget companies can put on their own website. It is a different score from your match score: that one is about your webshop, this one is about the company itself.
| Component | Weight | What we measure |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 60% | The average rating (Google, and Trustpilot where available). With few reviews we pull the average towards 4.2, so a handful of reviews doesn’t decide the outcome. |
| Number of reviews | 10% | More reviews give a more reliable picture; above 100 it no longer adds anything. |
| Profile details | 20% | How complete the profile is: location, integrations, carriers, services, cut-off time and rates. |
| Checks | 10% | A VAT number that is valid according to EU VIES, and whether the company manages its own profile (verified profile). |
Paid visibility does not count towards the score. Below 5 reviews we show no score, only what the company does well: themes that come up in several reviews and details we have checked. Reviews come from Google and are not checked or filtered by us.
6. Requesting quotes
You choose up to five companies and send one request. We share your contact details and your shop profile (the totals, no customer data) only with the companies you choose.