A 3PL, or third-party logistics provider, is a company that manages fulfillment and logistics services for ecommerce brands. This can include inventory storage, picking and packing orders, shipping, returns, and other services that help brands move products to customers more efficiently.

A 3PL helps ecommerce brands outsource fulfillment so their internal teams can focus on growth, sales, marketing, product development, and customer experience. The right 3PL can also help improve shipping speed, order accuracy, inventory visibility, and operational scalability.

An ecommerce brand should consider using a 3PL when order volume becomes difficult to manage in-house, fulfillment errors increase, shipping costs become harder to control, or the team needs more time to focus on growth. A 3PL can also be helpful when a brand expands into new sales channels, marketplaces, wholesale, or retail.

A 3PL usually provides services such as warehousing, inventory management, order fulfillment, pick and pack, shipping, returns, kitting, custom packaging, and reporting. Some 3PLs also support specialized needs like lot tracking, temperature control, hazmat handling, marketplace prep, and B2B fulfillment.

To choose the right 3PL, look for a partner that can support your order volume, sales channels, product requirements, technology integrations, shipping needs, and customer experience standards. Growing ecommerce brands should also evaluate communication, visibility, flexibility, pricing, and whether the 3PL can scale with the business over time.