B2B and wholesale pick fees: each vs. case vs. pallet pick

Why the pick unit matters on wholesale orders#

The same wholesale order can cost several times more billed in eaches than as pallets and cases: in the illustrative example below, a 600-unit order bills $310 in eaches and $50 as one pallet plus 10 cases. B2B lines can also sit on their own part of the rate card and may not appear in a typical DTC month.

A case or pallet pick moves many units in one touch, with less labor per unit than eaches, so 3PLs price it per case or pallet.

How 3PLs bill wholesale orders#

On activity-based rate cards, a wholesale (B2B) order is billed as picks in eaches, cases, pallets or a mix, often plus an order fee. Many cards list B2B rates apart from DTC rates; one large network's published card, current in 2026, lists a B2B order fee, each, case and pallet picks, and a pallet-building fee⁸.

Among Implentio customers' 3PL contracts with outbound fulfillment charges, these lines appeared on invoices in the 12 months to October 2026. The shares show what was billed, not what contracts allow, and under-represent B2B because those customers are mostly DTC brands.

Each pick (eaches, break-pack)#

An each pick is a pick fee per single unit picked, also billed as a unit pick, item pick or piece pick. Picking eaches from an opened case is called break-pack or split-case picking; IWLA's standard terms for merchandise warehouses allow an extra charge for it².

Eaches fit small store orders and quantities below a case pack. Some cards price wholesale eaches at their own B2B rate⁴; others use the DTC pick rate, and a few carry first-pick logic into wholesale, with a wholesale first-pick fee and a lower additional-pick fee (Per-order fees, first-pick vs. additional-pick, and per-unit pricing). Ask which applies and get the answer in writing, with the rate.

Case pick (carton pick)#

A case pick is a charge per full, unopened case (carton) picked, also billed as a carton pick, carton pull, master carton pick or case charge. GS1, the product-identification standards body, identifies product at separate packaging levels: each, inner pack, case and pallet¹. Your rate card should say which level it means by "case".

Some cards tier case rates by carton weight or size; one billing system's help page shows a case-pick rule for cases of 0 to 20 pounds⁷. Others price inner and master cases differently, set case rates by SKU or retailer, or allow case picks only below a weight ceiling or on quantities in exact multiples of the case pack.

Pallet pick (pallet out)#

A pallet pick is a charge for a full pallet pulled from storage and shipped, also billed as pallet out or outbound pallet handling.

A pallet pick usually means a full pallet of one SKU pulled from storage and shipped as is. Cases built onto a mixed pallet are usually billed as case picks, plus a pallet-build fee, pallet and wrap on some cards⁸. Some cards instead price mixed-SKU pallets at their own per-pallet rate (one 2023 rate sheet⁹) or split single-touch and multi-touch pallets.

One billing system's help page describes location rules: a pallet pick when the pick empties the location and that costs less, or one per location whatever the quantity⁵. Some warehouses, especially traditional B2B ones, bill the outbound pallet move at receipt inside an in/out handling charge, so a full pallet ships with no separate pick line^2,3. Public companies file some of their contracts with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which publishes them, so a few 3PL contracts can be read in full; one of them is the 2020 warehouse contract cited here³. Retailer agreements can also set when a full pallet applies (How retailer order rules change your 3PL bill: full pallets, carton labels and BOL fees).

Order-fee variants#

A B2B order fee (also billed as B2B order processing or a wholesale order fee) is a per-order charge for wholesale or retail orders. A wholesale order fee is usually higher than a DTC order fee, because wholesale orders take more work: routing guides, carton labels, documents and pallets.

Some 3PLs tier it by shipment mode (parcel vs. LTL or routed freight), by retailer or routing-guide requirements, and by EDI vs. manually keyed orders. Its scope varies: one published card bills it once even when an order ships as split packages⁸, while other cards bill bills of lading, carton labels, outbound ASNs (the notice a 3PL sends a retailer, EDI 856) and pallet wrap as separate lines (EDI transaction fees and retailer compliance labeling).

Each vs. case vs. pallet pick at a glance#

The four lines compare as follows:

What decides which unit you're billed#

Five things decide the billed unit; any of them can leave full cases billed as eaches.

In the invoices we review, a frequent reason full cases bill as eaches is a case pack that's missing or wrong in the 3PL's item master.

1. Item master (product master). Units per case and cases per pallet must be set for each SKU; one billing system's help page says its carton rates work only when carton quantities are set at product level⁶.
2. Order quantity. Only full cases and pallets can convert; how the remainder bills depends on the contract (table below).
3. Billing rule. One billing system can convert to the largest full unit, always bill the base unit, or apply a pallet location rule⁵.
4. Order type. B2B rates can apply only to orders carrying a B2B marker, such as a reference-number prefix⁴; unflagged orders can fall to DTC rates.
5. Contract definitions. What a case is, when a pallet pick applies, and whether full-case DTC orders get case picks.

Partial cases can bill three ways; the contract should say which (illustrative case $2.00, each $0.50):

Treat a missing case pack as a setup gap, not intent: check who supplied the data, then ask for a corrected item master and, where the contract allows, a re-bill.

The break-even rule: when a case pick beats eaches#

A case pick costs less than eaches when a case holds more units than the case rate divided by the each rate, and the same test works one level up for pallets:

At the illustrative rates below, $2.00 ÷ $0.50 = 4 units per case and $20 ÷ $2.00 = 10 cases per pallet, so a 12-unit case and a 40-case pallet favor the larger unit, if your contract lets the 3PL bill it. If loose cases need a pallet build that a full pallet doesn't, add the build fee to the case side. To compare whole quotes, see How to compare rate cards apples to apples.

What good looks like#

A wholesale-ready rate card defines each, case, inner pack and pallet, and says when a pallet pick applies, how partial cases bill and whether the outbound pallet move is billed at receipt. Item-master case packs match your supplier cartons, B2B and DTC rates are labeled separately, and invoices show picks by unit for each order.

For fee ranges, see What do 3PLs charge? Fee-by-fee ranges, with methodology and caveats. Neither 2026 industry report we found reports case- or pallet-pick rates. The Fulfillment Advisor's 2026 survey of 500 warehousing and fulfillment providers, which may include non-ecommerce warehouses, reports an average of $4.86 to pick and pack a one-item B2B order¹¹; 3PL Hub's 2026 pricing report puts the 2025–26 median B2B order fee on quoted rate cards at $3.98 per order, without defining what it covers; the report's 22% quote-spread model leaves B2B fees out¹².