Fulfilling customer orders is a crucial element for any eCommerce business. With business growth, managing the logistics for fulfilling customer orders becomes difficult for the company's in-house staff. This is where 3PL services come into the picture. 3PL stands for 3rd Party Logistics. 3PL enables eCommerce companies to outsource their logistical operations to a third-party logistics company and become free to focus on other aspects of the business such as growth, customer support, marketing, etc.
A third-party logistics (3PL) company handles shipping, warehousing, and fulfillment services for ecommerce businesses. This allows online sellers to focus on sales and marketing while the 3PL manages the logistics operations.
Typical services offered by 3PL providers include:
Outsourcing fulfillment and shipping operations to a 3PL offers several key advantages:
Important criteria to evaluate when selecting a 3PL provider include:
Taking the time to find the right 3PL partner pays dividends through more efficient, scalable fulfillment and shipping operations.
A third-party logistics (3PL) provider is a company that handles shipping, warehousing, fulfillment, and other logistics services for businesses selling products online or offline.
Typical services offered by 3PLs include: warehousing, order fulfillment, returns processing, inventory management, transportation, freight shipping, and more.
Key benefits of using a 3PL partner include: cost savings, flexibility to scale up or down, specialized expertise in logistics, expanded global infrastructure and shipping reach.
Important criteria when selecting a 3PL provider include: services offered, locations served, technical capabilities, industry experience, cost structure, and quality of customer service.
Yes, many 3PLs have an established worldwide infrastructure that allows them to handle global order fulfillment, including customs clearance, duties and taxes, and international shipping.
No, one of the benefits of using a 3PL is they provide warehousing services so you do not have to lease your own warehouse space and manage inventory storage.
Many 3PLs provide advanced technical integration between their order management system and major ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento and BigCommerce.