Third-Party Logistics (3PL)
Category: logistics
Outsourcing warehousing, fulfillment and shipping to a specialized logistics provider.
Third-Party Logistics (3PL) providers offer outsourced warehousing, fulfillment, and shipping services. For e-commerce sellers, 3PLs handle inventory storage, order picking, packing, and last-mile delivery. They enable sellers to outsource logistics without owning warehouses.
Examples
- • A Shopify seller uses a 3PL to store inventory and fulfill orders from multiple sales channels.
- • 3PLs charge per order fulfillment ($3-8/order) plus monthly storage fees ($10-40/pallet).
- • Popular 3PLs for e-commerce include ShipBob, Deliverr, and Red Stag Fulfillment.