What Is E-Commerce Logistics?

Logistics e-commerce outsourcing is the transfer of warehousing, pick and pack, despatch, returns handling and stock record-keeping to an outside operator. Payroll2Bangladesh runs those functions from Dhaka for foreign brands, expatriate-run companies and local online sellers, and prepares the customs, tax and foreign exchange records that Bangladeshi law attaches to each consignment.

What the service covers in practice:

  • Order processing and pick-and-pack — orders are released, picked, packed and despatched from Dhaka against your own packing rules.
  • Inventory management and stock records — every unit movement writes to a count you can audit, with reorder points you set.
  • Returns and last-mile follow-up — failed deliveries are chased and returned parcels graded against your rules, in Bangla and English.
Seller at a desk with a laptop and clipboard beside labelled cardboard parcels on shelving

Which Services Are Included?

Nine service lines run inside one agreement: goods receipt, storage, pick and pack, branded packing, despatch, cross-border clearance support, returns, stock reporting and buyer contact handling. Each line has a written boundary, a named owner on our side and a record that leaves an audit trail. Foreign companies and expatriate-run sellers keep commercial control of catalogue, pricing and marketing while the physical and statutory work sits with Payroll2Bangladesh in Dhaka.

The nine lines below are covered under one agreement.

Receiving and Storage

Inbound cartons are counted against your packing list, checked for damage and put away to a numbered bin location on the day they arrive. Stock sits on racking segregated by client, so your units are never pooled with another brand’s inventory. Any shortage or damage is logged and reported to you before put-away closes.

Live Inventory Records

Every unit movement writes to a stock record you can read: opening count, receipts, picks, returns and closing count. Because each line carries a reference back to a receipt or an order, a disputed figure can be traced instead of argued. You set the reorder point and we flag lines that cross it.

Branded Packing Work

Your own cartons, inserts, tape and labels are stored beside your stock and applied at packing. Where you supply artwork, we hold the print stock and reorder against a level you agree. Packaging that must carry Bangla-language product information for domestic buyers is checked against that requirement before the first despatch run.

Customs and Cross-Border

Imported stock needs a goods declaration under section 81 of the Customs Act, 2023 before it can be released. We prepare the commercial documents your clearing agent needs, track the consignment through assessment and file the arrival record against it. Duty and tax stay payable by the importer of record named on the declaration.

Flexible Storage Space

Space is allocated by pallet and shelf position rather than by a fixed room, so a seasonal peak takes more locations and a quiet month releases them. The location count and occupied volume appear in your stock report. Hazardous, temperature-controlled and high-value lines are quoted separately because they need segregated storage.

Returns and Refunds

Returned parcels come back to a dedicated goods-in lane, are opened, graded against your rules and then restocked, held for inspection or written off. Each decision is recorded against the original order number with photographic evidence where you ask for it. Refund authorisation stays with you; we supply the condition evidence and the date.

Reporting and Data

A standing report set covers opening and closing stock, receipts, despatches, returns and shrinkage for the period, with the movement detail behind each figure available on request. Reports are issued on the cadence written into your schedule and in a format your accountant can reconcile against purchase invoices and tax records.

Lower Impact Delivery

Where your catalogue allows it, orders travelling to the same delivery area are consolidated into one despatch and cartons are sized to the order rather than to a single default box. Packing material is reused where its condition permits. These are operating choices you switch on or off per product line.

Buyer Support Cover

Delivery questions, address corrections and failed-delivery follow-up are handled by a named team in Dhaka working in Bangla and English. That team follows your escalation rules and hands anything commercial straight back to you. Contact windows and channels are fixed in the agreement rather than left open-ended.

What Does Each Service Tier Cover?

Three configurations share the same warehouse operation. The first shapes the physical handling around your catalogue, the second adds people and process cover, and the third changes how the work is paid for. Read across the three tabs to see which set matches your order profile, then fix the boundary lines in the service schedule rather than assuming a default.

Built Around Your SKUs

Bin sizes and pick paths set from your own SKU dimensions.
  • Layout by SKU — bin size and pick path set from your dimensions.
  • Seasonal re-slotting — fast lines move nearer the packing benches.
  • Recorded revisions — every layout change dated in the operating file.

Packing for the Market

One packing instruction per destination, applied at the bench.
  • Destination rules — domestic and export parcels packed differently.
  • Language checks — Bangla labelling applied before the first run.
  • Document sets — invoice and insert matched to the route.

Promotions and Inserts

Campaign material held as stock and applied by rule.
  • Rule-driven inserts — applied by product, order value or region.
  • Dated start and stop — campaign windows fixed before they open.
  • Counted back — unused material returned to count and reported.

Cover Across the Cycle

One contact carries an order from goods-in to closure.
  • Single owner — one named contact for each consignment.
  • Written handover — notes stay attached to the order record.
  • Coordinated escalation — customs and payment handled behind that contact.

Guidance on Local Rules

Changes that touch your shipments are flagged, not interpreted.
  • Change flagged — circulars affecting your consignments are notified.
  • Named authority — the issuing body identified on every notice.
  • Clear boundary — advisory work stays with your own adviser.

Defined Contact Windows

Hours, channels and escalation levels written into the agreement.
  • Fixed windows — contact hours agreed rather than assumed.
  • Queued and acknowledged — out-of-window requests answered at the next opening.
  • Stated as scope — an arrangement, never a delivery promise.

Charges Follow Volume

Warehouse cost moves from a fixed lease to counted movements.
  • Per-unit drivers — storage, picks and despatches all counted.
  • Agreed in writing — structure fixed before the first receipt.
  • Traceable invoices — each line tied to a movement record.

Cash Flow and Records

Movement detail arrives with the invoice for financial operations.
  • No idle payroll — staffing cost is not carried between peaks.
  • Faster reconciliation — movement file matches the invoice line by line.
  • One record set — the same file feeds the ledger.

Cross-Border Settlement

Records prepared for the bank handling your inward remittance.
  • Shipment evidence — despatch and carrier records assembled per consignment.
  • Invoice trail — commercial invoice matched to the export record.
  • Bank-ready file — the set an authorised dealer bank asks for.
Configured Logistics

Built Around Your SKUs

Bin sizes and pick paths set from your own SKU dimensions.
  • Layout by SKU — bin size and pick path set from your dimensions.
  • Seasonal re-slotting — fast lines move nearer the packing benches.
  • Recorded revisions — every layout change dated in the operating file.

Packing for the Market

One packing instruction per destination, applied at the bench.
  • Destination rules — domestic and export parcels packed differently.
  • Language checks — Bangla labelling applied before the first run.
  • Document sets — invoice and insert matched to the route.

Promotions and Inserts

Campaign material held as stock and applied by rule.
  • Rule-driven inserts — applied by product, order value or region.
  • Dated start and stop — campaign windows fixed before they open.
  • Counted back — unused material returned to count and reported.
Support and Escalation

Cover Across the Cycle

One contact carries an order from goods-in to closure.
  • Single owner — one named contact for each consignment.
  • Written handover — notes stay attached to the order record.
  • Coordinated escalation — customs and payment handled behind that contact.

Guidance on Local Rules

Changes that touch your shipments are flagged, not interpreted.
  • Change flagged — circulars affecting your consignments are notified.
  • Named authority — the issuing body identified on every notice.
  • Clear boundary — advisory work stays with your own adviser.

Defined Contact Windows

Hours, channels and escalation levels written into the agreement.
  • Fixed windows — contact hours agreed rather than assumed.
  • Queued and acknowledged — out-of-window requests answered at the next opening.
  • Stated as scope — an arrangement, never a delivery promise.
Flexible Payment Terms

Charges Follow Volume

Warehouse cost moves from a fixed lease to counted movements.
  • Per-unit drivers — storage, picks and despatches all counted.
  • Agreed in writing — structure fixed before the first receipt.
  • Traceable invoices — each line tied to a movement record.

Cash Flow and Records

Movement detail arrives with the invoice for financial operations.
  • No idle payroll — staffing cost is not carried between peaks.
  • Faster reconciliation — movement file matches the invoice line by line.
  • One record set — the same file feeds the ledger.

Cross-Border Settlement

Records prepared for the bank handling your inward remittance.
  • Shipment evidence — despatch and carrier records assembled per consignment.
  • Invoice trail — commercial invoice matched to the export record.
  • Bank-ready file — the set an authorised dealer bank asks for.

Who Is Accountable for What?

Outsourcing moves the work, not the legal duty. The importer of record, the registered seller and the exporter named on a remittance all stay with your business, while Payroll2Bangladesh prepares, files and retains the records those roles depend on. The table below draws the boundary for the four duties that most often cause a dispute, and names the rule behind each one. Registration duties are set out in National Board of Revenue guidance.
Duty on Each Shipment Rule That Governs It Party That Carries It
Goods declaration on import Customs Act, 2023, section 81 Your importer of record
Tax registration for the seller Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012, section 4 Your registered selling entity
Inward remittance reporting Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 Your authorised dealer bank
Stock accuracy and movement evidence Your written service schedule Payroll2Bangladesh

Where the middle column names a statute, the duty sits with your entity and cannot be moved by contract. Choose the arrangement that supplies the evidence your entity needs, and treat any offer to absorb the duty itself as a warning sign. Foreign exchange duties follow the Bangladesh Bank guidelines.

Our Written Commitments

Four commitments sit behind the table and are written into every service schedule. They are stated as boundaries rather than as promises about speed, because carrier performance and customs timing are decided outside this warehouse. Each one can be tested against a document you already hold.
  • Accountability — one named owner per consignment, and a written handover whenever that owner changes.
  • Jurisdiction — the stock, the staff and the records sit in Bangladesh and answer to Bangladeshi law.
  • Continuity — operating rules live in a versioned file, so a change is dated and a dispute is settled against the text.
  • Confidentiality — your catalogue, buyer data and pricing structure are not shared with another client of ours.

How Does Onboarding Work?

Onboarding runs as five stages and closes when your first live order leaves the building. Each stage produces a document, so you can see where the account stands without asking for an update. The sequence below is the standard path for a brand importing stock into Bangladesh; a seller who already holds stock locally starts at stage three instead.
  1. Scope and boundary — The SKU list, order volume, destinations and the split of duties are written into a service schedule that both sides sign.
  2. Import and clearance — The goods declaration is filed by your importer of record, using commercial documents prepared from your packing list.
  3. Goods-in and count — Stock is received, counted, put away to numbered locations and reconciled against your own records before it goes live.
  4. System link and test orders — Your store or order sheet is connected, then test consignments are picked, packed and tracked from bench to delivery.
  5. Live despatch and reporting — Live orders begin to release and the first stock and movement report is issued on the cadence in your schedule.

Note — Stage three is the first point at which stock is under our control and our count. Everything before it depends on documents your own importer and bank must issue.

Where the Boundary Sits

The lines below state what this service covers and what it does not, in the words we would use in the schedule itself. They are written as boundaries so that a question about scope can be settled by reading one sentence rather than by negotiating after a problem has already happened.
  • Stock is counted, stored and despatched by us; it is owned and insured by you.
  • Commercial documents are prepared by us; declarations are filed by your importer of record.
  • Refund and credit decisions are made by you; the condition evidence is produced by us.
  • Carrier selection and negotiated rates are agreed with you before the first despatch run.
  • Tax advice and clearing agency are outside this scope and require a separate appointment.

Why Run Fulfilment From Bangladesh?

Bangladesh gives an online seller a large domestic buyer base, an import route served by established sea and inland container clearance points, and a labour market that supports warehouse work at scale. Payroll2Bangladesh operates the warehouse side of that under Bangladeshi law, so a foreign brand can sell locally without leasing a shed or hiring a fulfilment team. The trade-off is that the customs and remittance steps stay with named parties inside Bangladesh.

This route suits sellers who want local delivery and local buyer contact without building a Bangladeshi operation of their own.

Hands packing a carton beside a tablet with delivery and order icons overlaid

Which Records Do You Receive?

Every handling stage produces a document, and those documents are the deliverable you can audit. The table below lists what is created at each stage and what each record proves, so your finance team knows which paper answers which question. Records are retained for the period written into your schedule and released to you on request.
Handling Stage Record Produced What It Evidences
Goods-in Receipt note with counted quantity and bin location Quantity accepted into store
Despatch Packing list and carrier tracking reference Handover of the parcel to the carrier
Return Condition grading note against the original order Basis of the refund decision
Period close Stock and movement report for the period Opening and closing counts for your ledger

If a figure on your ledger is questioned, the record in the middle column is the one to pull first. Each of them carries the order or consignment reference that ties it back to a counted movement.

Where to Read Next

Three reference paths sit beside this page for buyers who are still scoping the work. Each answers a question that tends to arrive before a fulfilment contract is signed: what else can be outsourced, how the staffing side is handled, and whether the logistics function is worth moving at all. None of them asks you to make contact.

Wider BPO Service Range

Fulfilment is one of several back-office functions that can move to the same Dhaka team. Our BPO services in Bangladesh page sets out the full range, including accounting, payroll and customer contact work, with the same boundary and record discipline applied to each. Read it when you are scoping more than one function at once.

Staffing on the Ground

A warehouse contract does not cover the people you need in commercial, finance or support roles. Our HR and workforce services page explains how staff are hired, contracted and paid in Bangladesh, and which employer duties stay with your own entity. Read it before assuming fulfilment alone closes your staffing gap.

Why Logistics Matters

If you are still deciding whether to outsource at all, our article on why logistics matters to a business sets out the operational case in plain terms, without reference to this service. It is the shortest way to test the argument against your own order profile.

Why Choose Payroll2Bangladesh?

Payroll2Bangladesh runs payroll, HR and employer of record work for foreign employers in Bangladesh, and the fulfilment operation sits inside that same compliance discipline. You deal with one Bangladeshi entity for the warehouse, for the staff who run it and for the records your auditors ask to see. Our employer of record services cover the people side where you need staff on the ground rather than only stock.

Since 2007, Payroll2Bangladesh has delivered 35 HR and payroll services across all 8 divisions of Bangladesh, with warehouse staff employed under the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006. Reviewed by Sabina Yeasmin, Head of Payroll & HR Compliance — see our team and track record.

Sites Near Dhaka Routes

Storage sits within reach of the Dhaka distribution routes and the inland container depots that most import consignments clear through, which shortens the road leg between clearance and put-away. Site selection is made against your destination mix and your import route rather than against one default warehouse.

Built Around Your Rules

Pick logic, packing standard, return grading and escalation thresholds are written from your requirements and held in one operating file. When a rule changes, that file is versioned and the change is dated, so a later dispute is settled against what was actually agreed at the time rather than against memory.

Systems and Traceability

Every unit movement carries a reference that ties back to a receipt, an order or a return. Stock counts reconcile to that movement history rather than to a periodic estimate, which is what an auditor or a tax officer asks to see when a figure on your return is questioned.

What Do Buyers Ask Most Often?

What is fulfilment outsourcing?

Logistics e-commerce outsourcing is an arrangement where an external operator holds your stock and runs the physical order cycle: goods-in, storage, picking, packing, despatch and returns. Your business keeps the catalogue, the pricing, the marketing and the customer relationship. The operator keeps the count, the movement records and the evidence behind them. The legal duties attached to importing and to tax registration stay with your own registered entity and are not transferred by the contract.

How does this change my costs?

It converts fixed cost into variable cost. A leased warehouse, racking and a standing warehouse payroll are replaced by charges that follow counted movements: units stored, orders picked and consignments despatched. A quiet month therefore costs less than a peak month. It does not automatically make fulfilment cheaper, and we do not present it that way. Whether it does depends on your order volume, your storage profile and how much idle capacity you carry today.

Can foreign sellers use this?

Yes. A foreign brand or an expatriate-run seller can place stock with a Bangladeshi operator without registering a local company for the warehouse itself. The sequence runs in this order.

  1. Appoint an importer of record in Bangladesh for the consignment.
  2. File the goods declaration required by section 81 of the Customs Act, 2023.
  3. Confirm registration under section 4 of the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012 for the selling entity.
  4. Agree the stock, despatch and reporting boundary in a written service schedule.

Do you handle customs for me?

Not as your legal agent. We prepare and retain the commercial documents a clearing agent and an importer of record need, and we track each consignment through assessment and release. The declaration under the Customs Act, 2023 is filed by or for the importer of record, and duty and tax remain payable by that party. Where you need someone to act as your clearing agent or to give tax advice, including tax return support, that is a separate appointment.

Ready to Move Your Fulfilment?

Send your SKU list and your monthly order volume. We return a scope note and the boundary schedule for your review.

Discuss Your Fulfilment Setup