3PL RFP Template
Canada, 2026
This is a free 3PL RFP template for Canada: a six-sheet Excel workbook, with the four working sheets reproduced below so you can copy them. It holds a 21-field company profile, a 39-line requirements checklist, a rate comparison matrix with 2026 Canadian benchmarks, and a vendor scorecard with 8 weighted criteria, and it supports an 8 to 12 week RFP process.
A six-sheet Excel workbook for running a third-party logistics RFP: the company profile vendors quote against, a requirements checklist built for contract and dedicated programs, a rate comparison matrix pre-loaded with 2026 Canadian benchmarks, a weighted vendor scorecard that calculates its own totals, and an open-book cost model for comparing a management fee structure against closed-book unit rates.
Benchmark ranges current as of Q2 2026. Free to download and free to use, including on a process we are not part of.
Download the 3PL RFP template. The company profile sheet, the requirements checklist, the rate comparison matrix pre-loaded with 2026 Canadian benchmarks, and the weighted vendor scorecard. One Excel workbook, ready to send to vendors.
The template: sheets 1 to 4
Sheets 1 and 2 go to every bidder. Sheets 3 and 4 stay internal. The same tables are in the Excel workbook, where the scorecard totals calculate themselves.
Company profile: the 21 fields
| Field | What to enter | Why it changes the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Company name | Your answer | Identifies the account so the quote is tied to one named requirement. |
| Contact name / email | Your answer | Gives the vendor one point of contact, so questions and the shared Q&A reach the right person. |
| What you sell (product categories) | Your answer | Product type sets storage method, packaging, handling rules and insurance exposure. |
| Sales channels (Shopify / Amazon / retail / wholesale) | Your answer | Each channel has its own routing, labelling and delivery-window rules, and the mix sets the integration work. |
| Monthly order volume, current | Your answer | Sets the base labour and pick volume the fulfillment rate is built on. |
| Monthly order volume, peak month | Your answer | Peak volume sets the staffing and space headroom the vendor must hold, so it moves the price. A vendor that cannot see the peak prices the risk in. |
| Average units per order | Your answer | Units per order drive pick time. More units per order means more labour per order. |
| SKU count (active) | Your answer | SKU count drives slotting, bin count and pick path design. |
| Pallet positions needed, average | Your answer | Average pallet positions set the space and storage fee. |
| Pallet positions needed, peak | Your answer | Peak pallet positions set the capacity the vendor must reserve, which is often charged for. |
| Monthly pallets in / out (B2B) | Your answer | B2B pallet flow sets the dock, labour and handling charge per move. |
| Inbound freight profile (containers / LTL / parcel) | Your answer | Containers, LTL and parcel inbound need different dock time, labour and receiving fees. |
| Containers per month (if any) | Your answer | Container volume sets destuff labour and dock scheduling. |
| Temperature requirements (ambient / refrigerated / frozen) | Your answer | Refrigerated and frozen space cost more than ambient and limit which buildings can quote. |
| Special handling (hazmat, oversized, lot tracking, expiry) | Your answer | Hazmat, oversized, lot tracking and expiry handling need certified space, extra process and a WMS that supports them. |
| Returns volume (% of orders) | Your answer | Returns rate sets inbound inspection labour and restocking effort. |
| Target markets / ship-to regions | Your answer | Ship-to regions set carrier zones, transit time and where inventory should sit. |
| Preferred warehouse city or cities | Your answer | The city sets the rent, labour cost and carrier access in the quote. |
| Target go-live date | Your answer | The go-live date sets how much mobilisation time the vendor has, and rushed starts cost more. |
| Contract length you will accept | Your answer | Contract length decides how much setup and capital cost the vendor can spread over the term. |
| Budget range (monthly, all-in) | Your answer | A stated monthly budget lets vendors tell you early whether the requirement fits. |
Requirements checklist
39 line items in 6 sections. Mark each Required, Preferred or Not needed. The vendor completes the last column.
| Section | Requirement | Required / Preferred / Not needed | Vendor response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial | Open-book vs closed-book costing | ||
| Management fee basis (fixed / % of throughput / cost-plus) and rate | |||
| Gainshare / productivity incentive mechanism | |||
| Contract term length | |||
| Volume commitment and flex bands (minimum and maximum) | |||
| Indexation / CPI adjustment clause | |||
| Capital contribution required (racking, MHE, systems) and amortisation schedule | |||
| Exit and transition assistance terms | |||
| Peak-season capacity guarantee | |||
| Itemized invoicing (no bundled 'handling' lines) | |||
| Operating | Dedicated vs shared space | ||
| Dedicated vs shared labour | |||
| Shift patterns and coverage (days, hours, weekends) | |||
| MHE list (type, count, age) and ownership (3PL-owned / leased / client-owned) | |||
| WMS name and who licenses it (3PL system / client system / third-party) | |||
| WMS integration method (API / EDI / flat file / manual) | |||
| EDI transaction sets supported (850 / 856 / 810 / 940 / 945) | |||
| Labour model and rate basis (dedicated FTE vs variable / piece-rate) | |||
| Same-day ship cutoff (specify time) | |||
| Cross-dock / transload capability | |||
| Temperature-controlled zones (if required) | |||
| Compliance & Risk | Insurance types carried and limits (general liability, warehouse legal liability, cargo, cyber) | ||
| Business continuity / disaster recovery plan | |||
| Security accreditation (C-TPAT, PIP, ISO 28000, or equivalent) | |||
| Food / pharma certifications where relevant (HACCP, CFIA, GDP) | |||
| Health and safety record (TRIR or lost-time incident rate, last 3 years) | |||
| Subcontracting policy (which functions, if any, are subcontracted and to whom) | |||
| Performance & Governance | Which KPIs are contractually committed (list them) | ||
| Service credit / remedy structure | |||
| QBR cadence | |||
| Reporting and data access (self-serve dashboard, API, standard report package) | |||
| Named account manager | |||
| References | Comparable programs by size (sq ft, throughput) | ||
| Comparable programs by sector | |||
| Ecommerce & Integration (if applicable) | Shopify / DTC platform integration | ||
| Amazon / marketplace integration | |||
| FBA prep services | |||
| Kitting / bundles / subscription boxes | |||
| Returns processing & restocking |
Rate comparison matrix
Benchmarks are Warehouse Bridge network ranges, current as of Q2 2026, in Canadian dollars. Lines marked Not published are negotiated or program-specific charges: take them from the quotes and compare across the vendor columns.
| Line item | Unit | Vendor A | Vendor B | Vendor C | 2026 Canadian benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warehouse space, all-in net rent plus TMI | $/sq ft/month | $0.85 – $2.40 | |||
| Warehouse space, all-in net rent plus TMI | $/sq ft/year | $10 – $29 | |||
| Trailer parking, secured yard, 53 ft | $/trailer/month | $100 – $325 | |||
| Pallet storage, ambient | $/pallet/month | $8 – $28 | |||
| Bin / shelf storage | $/bin/month | Not published | |||
| Refrigerated storage | $/pallet/month | $15 – $34 | |||
| Frozen storage | $/pallet/month | $24 – $46 | |||
| Pallet in / out, ambient | $/pallet per move | $5 – $14 | |||
| Pallet in / out, temperature-controlled | $/pallet per move | $7 – $18 | |||
| Container deconsolidation | $/40-ft container | $225 – $500 | |||
| Receiving | $/hour or per line | Not published | |||
| Pick and pack, first unit | $/order | $1.75 – $5.00 | |||
| Additional unit | $/unit | Not published | |||
| Kitting | $/kit | Not published | |||
| Returns processing | $/return | Not published | |||
| Packaging materials | $/order | Not published | |||
| Monthly minimum | $ | Not published | |||
| Account management fee | $/month | Not published | |||
| Onboarding / setup fee | $ | Not published | |||
| WMS / tech fee | $/month | Not published | |||
| EDI per-document fee | $ | Not published |
Vendor scorecard
Score each vendor 1 to 5 per criterion. Weighted is score multiplied by weight, and the weights sum to 100%.
| Criterion | Weight % | Score 1 to 5 | Weighted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total cost to serve Modelled cost over the contract term, not the headline unit rate: space, labour, MHE, systems, consumables, management fee, capital recovery, pass-throughs and what happens at the top and bottom of the volume flex band. Score this off sheet 5, not off the rate card. | 20 | ||
| Commercial structure and risk transfer Open-book vs closed-book costing, management fee basis and rate, gainshare mechanism, indexation clause, volume commitment and flex bands, capital contribution and its amortisation, exit and transition assistance terms. | 15 | ||
| Operating capability fit Dedicated vs shared space and labour, shift patterns and coverage, MHE fleet type, count and age, peak capacity guarantee, temperature-controlled zones, cross-dock and transload, same-day ship cutoff. | 15 | ||
| Systems and integration WMS and who licenses it, integration method (API, EDI, flat file), EDI transaction sets supported, order and inventory data access, self-serve reporting and the standard report package. | 12 | ||
| Compliance and certification Insurance types and limits, security accreditation (C-TPAT, PIP, ISO 28000), food and pharma certifications where relevant, health and safety record over the last three years, business continuity plan, subcontracting policy. | 10 | ||
| References at comparable scale Live programs at similar square footage, throughput and sector. Completed reference calls, not names on a page. Ask each reference about the last service failure and how it was resolved. | 10 | ||
| Transition plan quality Named mobilisation team, milestone plan and critical path, inventory cutover method, systems test and parallel-run period, go-live risk register, and who carries the transition cost. | 10 | ||
| Governance and account management Which KPIs are contractually committed, service credit and remedy structure, escalation ladder, QBR cadence, named account manager, and the continuous improvement commitment. | 8 | ||
| Total | 100 |
Who this template is for
This workbook was built for requirements that get procured rather than shopped: dedicated or multi-client contract programs from roughly 50,000 sq ft, sustained throughput above a thousand orders per month or a few hundred pallet positions, multi-site network consolidations, and any requirement where procurement rules oblige you to run competitive bids.
The requirements sheet reflects that. The core of it is commercial structure, operations, compliance, performance governance, and references. Ecommerce and platform integration sits at the end as a short add-on section, because on a contract program the management fee basis, the flex bands, and the exit terms decide the outcome long before the Shopify connector does.
Below that scale, the honest answer is that a formal RFP costs more internal time than it recovers. Evaluate two or three pre-vetted operators directly instead, and keep sheet 3 as the comparison sheet. The workbook still does that job on its own.
What is in each of the six sheets
Read Me
The instruction sheet. It states what each tab is for, which sheets go out to vendors and which stay internal, and the volume threshold below which a formal RFP costs more time than it saves.
Send sheets 1 and 2 to every bidder. Keep sheets 3 and 4 internal, they are your evaluation working papers and sharing them tells vendors exactly where the scoring pressure sits.
Company Profile
21 fields that define the requirement vendors are quoting against. Filled in once, sent to everyone, identical for every bidder.
Covers current and peak monthly order volume, units per order, active SKU count, average and peak pallet positions, monthly pallets in and out for B2B flow, inbound freight profile and containers per month, temperature requirement, special handling (hazmat, oversized, lot tracking, expiry), returns rate, ship-to geography, target city or cities, go-live date, acceptable contract length, and budget range. Vague inputs here are the single largest cause of padded quotes. Operators price uncertainty as risk.
Requirements
A line-item checklist you mark Required, Preferred, or Not needed, with a notes column vendors respond in. Structured around what a dedicated or multi-client contract program is actually evaluated on.
Six sections. Commercial: open-book versus closed-book costing, management fee basis and rate, gainshare mechanism, term, volume commitment and flex bands, CPI indexation, capital contribution and amortisation, exit and transition assistance, peak capacity guarantee, itemized invoicing. Operating: dedicated versus shared space and labour, shift coverage, MHE list and ownership, WMS name and who licenses it, integration method, EDI transaction sets (850, 856, 810, 940, 945), labour rate basis, same-day ship cutoff, cross-dock capability, temperature zones. Compliance and risk: insurance types and limits including warehouse legal liability and cyber, business continuity plan, security accreditation, food and pharma certifications, health and safety record over three years, subcontracting policy. Performance and governance: which KPIs are contractually committed, service credit structure, QBR cadence, reporting and data access, named account manager. References: comparable programs by size and by sector. Ecommerce and integration sits last as a short add-on section rather than the core.
Rate Comparison
A normalization matrix. Every returned quote goes into one place, line by line, against three vendor columns and a pre-loaded 2026 Canadian benchmark column.
Line items are grouped as storage, handling and receiving, fulfillment, and account. The benchmark column is pre-filled with Warehouse Bridge network ranges (ambient pallet storage $8 – $28 per pallet per month, container destuff $225 – $500, pick and pack $1.75 – $5.00 per order, and the rest), so an outlier is visible without building your own comparables. The account block is where quotes usually diverge: monthly minimum, account management fee, onboarding and setup fee, WMS or technology fee, and EDI per-document charges are the line items most often left out of a headline rate.
Vendor Scorecard
Weighted scoring, one to five per criterion, across three vendor columns, with weights pre-loaded to sum to one hundred percent and a weighted total that calculates itself.
Criteria are the ones that predict program performance rather than the ones that are easy to score: modelled total landed cost per order rather than headline rate, integration fit, whether the operator ships to your customer geography from the right zones, references from shippers with your order profile, evidence of last peak season performance, contract flexibility on term and minimums and exit, onboarding speed and plan quality, responsiveness during the RFP itself, and facility fit on walkthrough. Adjust the weights before you score, not after you see the totals.
How to use it
The full sequence runs eight to twelve weeks on a contract program. The workbook covers the first four steps end to end; the fifth is the part no spreadsheet can do for you.
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Fill the Company Profile sheet
Complete all 21 fields on sheet 1, including twelve months of volume history with seasonality if you have it. Every bidder receives the identical profile. Do not tailor the requirement per vendor, that is what makes the responses incomparable.
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Mark the Requirements checklist
Work sheet 2 line by line and mark each item Required, Preferred, or Not needed. Anything marked Required should be something you would actually disqualify a vendor over. Use the notes column to state measurable targets rather than adjectives.
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Issue sheets 1 and 2 to a qualified shortlist
Invite five to eight operators that already serve your product category, already operate in your target market, and whose minimums fit your volume. Run one consolidated Q&A round and share every answer with every bidder so the quotes stay comparable.
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Normalize every quote on the Rate Comparison sheet
Enter each response into sheet 3 against the same line items. Model a total landed cost per order rather than comparing pick rates: pick fee, additional unit picks, packaging, storage divided by monthly orders, receiving amortized, plus the account block. Flag any line that sits outside the pre-loaded benchmark range and ask what is excluded.
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Score the finalists and walk the buildings
Score each vendor on sheet 4 before site visits, then again after. Visit the two finalists during an afternoon pick window rather than a scheduled morning tour, and confirm the building has the capacity headroom your peak month needs.
The longer version of this process, including the week-by-week timeline and the red flags that show up in responses, is in the guide to running a 3PL RFP in Canada. There are two worked requirement examples as well: a DTC ecommerce RFP and a B2B wholesale RFP.
The benchmarks the rate sheet is pre-loaded with
Sheet 3 ships with a benchmark column so a quote can be judged against something before you have three of them to compare. These are the same Warehouse Bridge network ranges published in the Canadian Warehouse Market Report, spanning 8 markets. Your city sits inside a narrower band than the national spread, so treat these as outlier detection rather than a target.
| Category | Line item | 2026 Canadian range | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage | Pallet storage, ambient | $8 – $28 | per pallet / month |
| Storage | Refrigerated storage | $15 – $34 | per pallet / month |
| Storage | Frozen storage | $24 – $46 | per pallet / month |
| Handling | Pallet in or out, ambient | $5 – $14 | per pallet, per move |
| Handling | Pallet in or out, temperature-controlled | $7 – $18 | per pallet, per move |
| Handling | Container destuff | $225 – $500 | per 40 ft container |
| Fulfillment | Pick, pack and ship, first unit | $1.75 – $5.00 | per order |
| Yard | Trailer parking, secured yard | $100 – $325 | per 53 ft trailer / month |
Warehouse Bridge network data, current as of Q2 2026. For a market-specific and volume-specific figure, the 3PL cost calculator models the storage and handling side directly.
What the template deliberately does not do
- It does not shortlist for you. The workbook assumes you already know which five to eight operators are worth inviting. Qualifying that list is most of the work, and getting it wrong produces three polite declines and two quotes you cannot use.
- It does not normalize a quote automatically. Operators structure fees differently on purpose. Sheet 3 gives you the line items and the benchmark, you still have to model your own cost per order from them.
- It does not replace the SLA. The requirements sheet asks which KPIs a vendor will contractually commit to. Turning those answers into definitions, targets, and service credits is a separate exercise, covered in the SLA and KPI guide and its scorecard workbook.
- It does not decide open-book versus closed-book. That call precedes the RFP and changes what a management fee even means. The contract logistics guide covers where each structure fits.
Take the workbook. Five sheets, 2026 Canadian benchmarks pre-loaded, yours to use on any process. Work email, and it downloads immediately.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 3PL RFP template?
A 3PL RFP template is a structured document set you send to shortlisted third-party logistics providers so they quote your business on identical terms. This one is a six-sheet Excel workbook: a read me, a company profile that defines the requirement, a requirements checklist covering commercial, operating, compliance, governance and reference criteria, a rate comparison matrix pre-loaded with 2026 Canadian benchmark ranges, a weighted vendor scorecard, and an open-book model that works out total cost to serve from an operating cost base, a management fee, and a gainshare split.
Is the 3PL RFP template free?
Yes. The workbook is free to download and free to use on any procurement process, including one that never involves Warehouse Bridge. Warehouse Bridge operates no warehouse of its own and earns nothing on the brand side, so there is no cost to a shipper for the template or for the matching service behind it.
What volume justifies running a formal 3PL RFP?
Roughly a thousand orders per month, or a few hundred pallet positions, is the practical floor. Below that, an eight to twelve week RFP usually costs more in internal time than it recovers in rate, and evaluating two or three pre-vetted operators directly gets to comparable pricing in days. The workbook still earns its keep at that scale as the comparison sheet, even without the formal process around it.
How many 3PLs should I invite to an RFP?
Five to eight invitations typically produces three to five real responses, which is enough for genuine comparison without burying the evaluation team. Fewer than three responses weakens your position at the negotiating table. More than eight signals the list was never qualified, and the strongest operators tend to decline rather than compete in a lottery.
What benchmarks are pre-loaded in the rate comparison sheet?
2026 Canadian network ranges by line item, current as of Q2 2026: ambient pallet storage $8 – $28 per pallet per month, pallet handling $5 – $14 per move, pick and pack $1.75 – $5.00 per order, refrigerated storage $15 – $34 and frozen $24 – $46 per pallet per month, and container destuff $225 – $500. Ranges span 8 Canadian markets, so your city sits in a narrower band than the national spread.
Do I have to give the template to every vendor?
Send sheets 1 and 2, the company profile and the requirements checklist. Keep sheets 3 and 4 internal. The rate comparison and the weighted scorecard are your evaluation working papers, and showing a vendor the weights invites a response engineered to the scoring rather than to the operation.
Running the requirement rather than the spreadsheet
If the shortlist is the part you do not have, that is the part Warehouse Bridge does. We operate no warehouse, so there is no building we need to fill and no steer in the introductions. Requirements go out to matched operators in one normalized format and come back comparable line by line.
For a scoped requirement, talk it through first: (289) 907-3794, or solutions@warehousebridge.ca. Program structures, thresholds, and what a dedicated versus multi-client program actually costs are set out on the enterprise page.
Scope the requirement before you issue it
Tell us the volume, the market, and the compliance profile. We will tell you which operators are worth inviting, and what the responses should look like.
Book a scoping call