- Outsource fulfilment once packing orders eats your week, or once you need stock close to Gulf shoppers.
- Choose by type: marketplace fulfilment for one channel, courier-led 3PLs for one contract with delivery and COD, tech-led 3PLs for multi-channel stores.
- Model the full rate card against your own order profile. Pick and pack, storage and delivery decide the real cost per order.
- Foreign sellers without a Saudi CR need a 3PL or partner that acts as importer of record.
- Pilot with one or two months of stock before you move your whole inventory.
Packing orders on your living-room floor works for the first hundred sales. After that, it eats your week.
That's when a 3PL steps in: it stores your stock, packs each order and hands it to the courier, often the same day.
The Gulf has plenty of good options. Couriers, marketplaces and fast-growing tech 3PLs are all building warehouses in Riyadh and Dubai.
Below you'll find 11 independently researched fulfilment providers, plus a 7-step way to choose, a worked monthly cost and the questions to ask before you sign. It's part of our directory of GCC service providers.
When do you need a 3PL?
You need a 3PL (third-party logistics provider) when fulfilment starts holding back your growth. That usually means you're spending hours packing, or your shoppers are waiting too long for delivery.
Think of a 3PL as renting a ready-made warehouse team. You send the stock, and they receive it, shelve it and ship every order your store sends them.
You'll want one when:
- You pass a few dozen orders a day. Packing yourself stops being cheap once you count your time.
- You sell to Gulf shoppers from abroad. Local stock means next-day delivery instead of a week in transit.
- You offer cash on delivery. A 3PL linked to COD couriers collects the cash and pays it back to you.
- You sell on several channels. One stock pool can serve Shopify, Salla, Zid, Amazon and noon.
Do you always need one? No.
If you sell only on Amazon or noon, their own fulfilment programmes may be all you need. Our comparison of noon fulfilment vs an independent 3PL shows where the line falls.
Which type of fulfilment provider fits your business?
GCC sellers pick from three main types of fulfilment provider. Each one is strong for a different way of selling.
| Best for | Examples | How you're billed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace fulfilment | Sellers whose sales mostly come from one marketplace | Amazon FBA, noon FBN | Published per-unit fees plus storage |
| Courier-led 3PLs | One contract for storage, delivery and COD across the GCC | Aramex, NAQEL, SMSA, Shipa | Quote-based, often bundled with delivery |
| Tech-led ecommerce 3PLs | Multi-channel stores, fast onboarding, extras like kitting and importer of record | Locad, Quiqup, Salasa, Starlinks, AyMakan | Pay-as-you-go, bundles or tiered plans |
Here's a simple rule of thumb:
- Selling mainly on one marketplace? Start with FBA or FBN.
- Running your own store with lots of COD? Look at a courier-led 3PL.
- Selling on three or more channels? A tech-led 3PL keeps one stock pool for all of them.
3PL and fulfilment companies serving Saudi Arabia and the UAE
The companies below were independently researched. They aren't ranked, and the order isn't a recommendation.
On each card, the "Best for" line is our summary of where the company fits. The bullet points are what the company says about itself, or what the press has reported.
How do you use the list? Find your provider type in the table above, then shortlist two or three cards with warehouses where your shoppers live.
Aramex (eCommerce fulfillment)
Best for: Sellers wanting one regional network for storage, GCC cross-border and COD
- Founded 1982; ~70 countries; revenue US$1.73bn and 16,292 employees in 2025 (Wikipedia)
- Integrated with Salla, Zid and Shopify apps; the company markets end-to-end ecommerce logistics
Naqel Express
Best for: Saudi-first sellers needing fulfilment plus a big domestic fleet
- The company says it handles ~20 million shipments a year
- Operations in 16 countries, 5,000+ employees, 4,000+ vehicles (company site)
Starlinks
Best for: Foreign brands needing importer of record + fulfilment in Saudi
- The company says it is 'Saudi Arabia's #1 Logistics Success Partner' (self-description)
- 500+ Parcel Point lifestyle venues across KSA
- SFDA-approved, ISO-certified multi-temperature warehouses
Salasa
Best for: D2C brands wanting fast Riyadh delivery and value-added services
- Delivery in as little as 2 hours from Riyadh dark stores (company claim)
- Customs clearance and bonded-zone storage for cross-border sellers
Locad
Best for: Multi-channel sellers (Shopify + Amazon + noon) wanting one inventory pool in UAE and KSA
- 3 UAE centres (Umm Ramool, Dubai South, DIP) and 1 in KSA (Al Mashael)
- The company says 25+ warehouses in 10 countries, 50+ carriers, 24-hour dock-to-stock
Quiqup
Best for: UAE D2C brands needing same-day Dubai plus a route into KSA
- 10+ years in logistics, 1,800+ partners (company site)
- 4.9 Google rating from 6,000+ reviews; 2-day returns (company claims)
Shipa (Agility)
Best for: Cross-border sellers wanting freight + clearance + fulfilment from one group
- 2.2m sqm of warehousing, 500+ last-mile vehicles, freight to 100+ countries (company site)
- Origin + destination fulfilment means you can consolidate abroad (e.g. China) and clear into GCC
AyMakan
Best for: Small and mid Saudi stores starting with low volumes
- Operating since 2013; covers all cities in Saudi Arabia (company site)
- Ready bundles from 20 shipments with no commitment
Fulfillment by Amazon (Amazon.sa / Amazon.ae)
Best for: Sellers whose main channel is Amazon
- Qualifying FBA listings get free shipping and Prime badges
- Promotions seen Oct 2026: 30% off referral fees, SAR 370 ad credit, free storage/returns for new-to-FBA ASINs (time-limited)
Fulfilled by noon (FBN)
Best for: Sellers whose main channel is noon
- noon's own fulfilment network; FBN listings get faster delivery badges on noon
- noon runs a Global Store / cross-border programme open to Chinese sellers; UAE-to-KSA Global Store sellers pay the UAE rate card with no extra global referral fee
- UAE FBN fees (schedule effective 1 Sep 2025): per-unit fulfilment fees by size/weight, category referral fees (e.g. 27% apparel/footwear, 15% home), AED 1 minimum referral fee
SMSA Express (e-fulfillment)
Best for: Saudi sellers wanting a large incumbent courier with fulfilment add-on
- One of Saudi Arabia's largest domestic express couriers (founded 1994); widely integrated with Salla and Zid
- Nov 2025: 'Micro Fulfillment' lets merchants store goods in 150+ hubs across KSA for delivery within hours or next day
- Says it operates in 15 countries
Need a provider in one country? See our lists of 3PL and fulfilment in Saudi Arabia and 3PL and fulfilment in the UAE.
How do you choose a 3PL in 7 steps?
Start with your orders, not with the provider, because once you know your volumes and where your shoppers are, the shortlist gets short fast.
- 1
Profile your orders
Write down monthly orders, number of SKUs, average units per order, how many cubic metres of stock you hold and what share of orders is COD. Every quote depends on these numbers.
- 2
Decide where your stock lives
Dubai free zones serve the UAE fast and ship across the GCC. Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam stock gives you one- to two-day delivery inside Saudi Arabia.
- 3
Check who is importer of record
To import into Saudi Arabia in your own name, you need a Saudi CR (commercial registration). Without one, pick a 3PL that offers importer-of-record service or works with a partner who does.
- 4
Match your integrations
Confirm a live connection to your store and channels: Shopify, Salla, Zid, WooCommerce, Amazon or noon. Orders should flow in automatically, and tracking should flow back.
- 5
Get the full rate card
Ask for every fee line: receiving, storage, pick and pack, extra items, packaging, delivery, COD and returns. Then model it against your own order profile.
- 6
Agree SLAs in writing
Same-day dispatch before a cut-off time, 99%+ pick accuracy, receiving within 24–48 hours, a fixed COD payout cycle and returns processed within 2–3 days.
- 7
Run a pilot
Send one or two months of stock for your best sellers first. Track delivery times, errors and how fast support answers before you move everything.
How do 3PLs charge?
Most GCC 3PLs quote a set of separate fee lines rather than one price. Few publish full rate cards, so you'll compare quotes line by line.
| Fee line | Usually charged | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | One-off | Often waived, up to AED/SAR 2,000 |
| Inbound receiving | Per carton or pallet | AED/SAR 2–5 per carton |
| Storage | Per cubic metre, pallet or shelf per month | AED/SAR 45–110 per cbm |
| Pick and pack | Per order, plus each extra item | AED/SAR 5–20 per order, +1–3 per extra item |
| Packaging | Per order | AED/SAR 1–5 |
| Last-mile delivery | Per parcel, by zone and weight | AED 12–25 (UAE), SAR 10–22 (Saudi) |
| COD handling | Flat fee or % of order value | SAR 3–14, or about 1% |
| Returns | Per return, plus reverse shipping | AED/SAR 5–15 |
You'll also meet three pricing models:
- Pay-as-you-go. You pay each fee line monthly, with no minimum. Common with tech-led 3PLs.
- Bundles and tiers. Prepaid shipment bundles or plan levels, such as AyMakan's bundles from 20 shipments.
- Enterprise contracts. Dedicated space and SLA penalties, in exchange for minimum spend and a longer term.
Worked example: what does a month of fulfilment cost?
Say you run a Dubai skincare brand on Shopify. You ship 500 orders a month at 1.5 units per order. Your stock fills about 4 cbm of shelf space.
You restock once a month (about 40 cartons), and 5% of orders come back. At mid-range fees, here's your month:
| Line | Calculation | Cost (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving | 40 cartons × AED 3 | 120 |
| Storage | 4 cbm × AED 60 | 240 |
| Pick and pack | 500 orders × AED 12 | 6,000 |
| Extra items | 250 extra units × AED 2 | 500 |
| Packaging | 500 × AED 2 | 1,000 |
| Returns processing | 25 returns × AED 10 | 250 |
| Delivery | 500 parcels × AED 15 | 7,500 |
| Total | 15,610 |
That's AED 31.22 per order. Pick and pack plus delivery make up 86% of the bill, while storage is just 1.5%.
For comparison, Amazon.ae charges AED 8.5–10.5 to fulfil a standard parcel up to 1 kg, delivery included. That fee only covers Amazon orders, though, so your Shopify, Instagram and noon orders still need a 3PL.
Want to see what COD adds on top? Try our COD cost calculator.
What should you ask before you sign?
Ask these questions to every 3PL on your shortlist. Clear, written answers are a good sign.
Send the same list to all of them, so you can compare answers side by side.
Curious how we researched the companies above? Here's how we vet service providers.
Saudi Arabia or the UAE: where should your stock live?
Your 3PL choice starts with where you hold stock. Each country has its own strengths, so many brands end up using both.
Saudi Arabia is the bigger market. Stock in Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam gives next-day delivery across the main cities, and same-day in Riyadh with some providers.
- Import duty (mostly 5%) and 15% VAT are paid when goods enter.
- You need a Saudi CR to import in your own name and receive COD into your own account, or an importer-of-record partner.
- Regulated goods need SABER or SFDA approval at import.
See our Saudi 3PL list or the full guide to fulfilment in Saudi Arabia.
A common path: start in a Dubai free zone, then add a Riyadh node once Saudi orders take off. Shein and Trendyol both moved inventory into local GCC warehouses in 2024, so local stock is fast becoming the norm. Our guide to Saudi vs UAE warehousing walks through the trade-offs.
Notes for Amazon and noon sellers
- Use the marketplace programme for marketplace orders. FBA and FBN listings get faster delivery badges, which tend to lift sales.
- Watch the launch offers. In October 2026, Amazon.sa was offering new FBA sellers referral-fee discounts and free storage on new listings for a limited time.
- Keep a 3PL for everything else. Your own site, social orders and overflow stock still need a home.
- Plan inbound early for peaks. Ramadan and White Friday slots fill fast.
For the details, see Amazon FBA in Saudi Arabia and noon fulfilment options.
Notes for Chinese and other foreign sellers
- Sort out importer of record first. Starlinks, Locad and Shipa say they offer importer-of-record or destination clearance services.
- Consider origin consolidation. Shipa says it runs fulfilment at origin and destination, so cartons from several factories can travel as one shipment.
- Label in Arabic before shipping. It saves relabelling fees at the 3PL.
- Get your freight right. You'll need a forwarder to bring stock in, so compare freight forwarders in the Middle East too.
Not sure who handles the paperwork? Our guide to importer of record services explains the options.
Get 3PL quotes
Share your order profile once. We'll match you with fulfilment providers that fit your countries, channels and volumes.
In this section
Frequently asked questions
3PL stands for third-party logistics. It's a company that runs your warehouse work for you: receiving stock, storing it, picking and packing orders, and handing them to couriers. Many GCC 3PLs also collect cash on delivery and process returns.
Sources & further reading
- Saudi Arabia Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Market — Mordor Intelligence
- Saudi delivery sector tops 124 mn orders in Q4 2025 — Mubasher (citing the Transport General Authority)
- In-house vs outsourcing: the true cost of fulfillment in the UAE — Quiqup
- Ecommerce cost per delivery in the UAE — Quiqup
- Amazon.sa selling fees and FBA pricing — Amazon
- Free zone warehousing in the UAE — Locad
- Cross-border players grow but trade shifts local — Redseer
This guide is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and fees change — always confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor.
Maya is MiddleEastEcom's lead guide and editor. She researches GCC marketplaces, payments and regulations and turns them into practical playbooks for sellers.
Meet Maya
