MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Sept. 23, 2026 — Many growing brands in the Greater Toronto Area start out the same way. First it's boxes in a garage, then a small unit, and before long a lease on a building nobody planned to manage. RGX Group has provided warehousing and logistics services in the region since 2009. The company is now sharing the checklist its team walks through when owners ask a simple question: should we keep doing this ourselves, or hand it off?

The answer comes down to numbers, and several of them are moving this fall. Ontario's general minimum wage goes up to C$17.95 an hour on Oct. 1, from C$17.60. Industrial asking rents across the GTA have eased to about C$16 per square foot, roughly 13% below their 2023 high, according to Colliers figures. Cheaper rent helps. It doesn't pay for racking, forklifts, insurance, software or the five-year lease most landlords still ask for. U.S. companies that use the Toronto area as their base for Canadian sales face the same costs, with customs and cross-border shipping on top.

"Nobody calls us because they're excited to give up control," said Raj, Anand at RGX Group. "They call because packing orders has quietly turned into somebody's full-time job, and then three people's. At that point you're running a warehouse whether you meant to or not. We'd rather they decide based on a few things they can measure than on one bad week in December."

What to watch for

RGX operates more than 300,000 square feet of warehouse space in Mississauga and Brampton. Based on what its team hears from new clients, these are the signs that 3PL fulfillment is starting to beat an in-house setup:

Payroll is rising faster than orders. If the fourth packer you hired added less than the third, or you rebuild a seasonal crew from scratch every fall, your cost per order is climbing even while revenue looks fine.

You're paying all year for space you only fill in Q4. Or the reverse: you're turning away inventory in November because the racks are full. With 3PL warehousing, storage grows and shrinks with the season instead of the lease.

Mistakes cost more than you think. A wrong item here, a missing insert there, a return nobody checks. None of it shows up as one line on the P&L, but it adds up. Dedicated pick and pack services use barcode scanning to catch errors before a box leaves the building.

You pay whatever the carrier charges. A brand shipping a few hundred parcels a week has little room to negotiate. A 3PL shipping for many clients usually has more.

You sell in more places than you used to. Your own website, Amazon, wholesale accounts and retail replenishment all come with different packing and labeling rules. RGX handles eCommerce fulfillment, retail distribution and FBA prep center work in the same buildings, so clients aren't juggling separate processes.

When to keep it in-house

Outsourcing isn't always the right move, and RGX says so plainly. Very low volumes, made-to-order products and brands where the hand-packed box is part of what customers pay for can all be good reasons to hold off.

"Some people we talk to should wait, and we tell them that," Raj said. "If you ship 50 orders a week and your packaging is part of the brand, keep doing it. Take another look when fulfillment starts eating the hours you should be spending on product and customers. That usually happens a few months before the spreadsheet shows it."

Compare cost per order, not just rent

For companies considering outsourced fulfillment, RGX suggests building a simple side-by-side model first. The in-house column should include rent and common-area charges, wages at the new minimum plus payroll taxes and benefits, equipment, warehouse software, packaging, insurance, the cost of errors and the owner's own time. The 3PL column should be a full warehouse fulfillment quote covering receiving, storage, pick fees, packaging and shipping, with written targets for order accuracy and daily cutoff times.
"You should be able to read a 3PL quote in one sitting," [Spokesperson Name] said. "If you can't line it up against what you're spending now, keep asking questions, whether that's with us or anyone else. The point is to know your real cost per order before you sign a lease or a contract."

GTA businesses and U.S. brands expanding into Canada can request a fulfillment cost comparison from RGX Group. The company responds to quote requests within one business day.

About RGX Group

RGX Group is a warehousing and logistics company based in Mississauga, Ontario, serving the Greater Toronto Area since 2009. With more than 300,000 square feet of warehouse space in Mississauga and Brampton, the company offers 3PL logistics services including warehousing and distribution, eCommerce fulfillment, pick and pack, kitting, FBA prep, dropshipping and specialized storage. Clients include Second Cup Coffee and companies in retail, automotive and consumer goods. Learn more at rgxgroup.ca.

Media contact:

Company Name · RGX Group
Address: 2425 Meadowpine Blvd., Mississauga, ON L5N 6L7 ·
Mobile: +1 (647) 499-8174