3PL Fulfillment: What It Is and How It Works
Grow Your eCommerce Business by Outsourcing Fulfillment to Experts
5,000+ brands trust AMZ Prep to store, pack, and ship their products from 50+ fulfillment centers across 6 countries. Amazon FBA prep, DTC fulfillment, and multi-channel logistics from one partner.
Trusted by 5,000+ brands worldwide
What Is 3PL? Third Party Logistics in Plain English
3PL stands for third party logistics. A 3PL company stores your inventory, picks and packs orders, and ships products to your customers. You focus on building your brand. They handle the warehouse.
Instead of renting space, hiring staff, and negotiating carrier rates yourself, you send inventory to a 3PL warehouse. Their systems connect to your sales channels. When a customer orders from your Shopify store, Amazon listing, or Walmart page, the 3PL picks the product, packs it, and ships it the same day.
The result: faster delivery, lower shipping costs, and zero warehouse headaches.
A good 3PL does more than move boxes. They manage inventory across locations, handle Amazon FBA prep compliance, process returns, and give you real-time visibility into every SKU. They become an extension of your operations team.
How 3PL Fulfillment Works: 6 Steps
From the moment your inventory arrives to when your customer opens the box. Here is the flow.
Receive Inventory
Products arrive at the warehouse. The receiving team counts every item, inspects for damage, and verifies SKUs against your shipping notice. Stock levels update in real time.
Store Strategically
Each product gets assigned an optimal warehouse location. Fast sellers go to prime picking spots. Slower SKUs get stored efficiently. This speeds up pick times and lowers your costs.
Receive Orders
A customer buys from any of your sales channels. The order flows into the warehouse management system automatically. No manual entry. No delays. Instant processing.
Pick and Pack
The warehouse team pulls the right products, verifies quantities, selects the right box size, and adds any branded inserts or protective materials. Every order is packed to your specifications.
Ship to Customer
The system selects the best carrier based on speed, cost, and destination. Labels print. Packages scan. Orders leave the warehouse within hours of placement at negotiated rates.
Track Everything
Tracking info flows back to your store and to your customer automatically. Your dashboard shows fulfillment analytics, delivery performance, and inventory velocity across all locations.
Why Brands Outsource Fulfillment to a 3PL
In-house fulfillment works at 10 orders a day. At 100+ orders, it becomes a full-time job. At 500+, it needs dedicated staff, warehouse space, packing stations, WMS software, and carrier accounts.
Those fixed costs add up fast. Rent. Utilities. Insurance. Payroll. Equipment. Shipping supplies. And you still pay retail carrier rates because your volume is too low for enterprise discounts.
A 3PL spreads those costs across thousands of brands. You get warehouse infrastructure, trained staff, and carrier rates you could not negotiate on your own. You pay per order, not per month. When volume spikes during a product launch or holiday season, the 3PL absorbs it without you hiring temp workers.
The math is simple. Most brands save 15% to 30% on total fulfillment costs within 90 days of switching to a 3PL. And they get their time back to focus on product development, marketing, and sales.
| Factor | In-House | 3PL Partner |
|---|---|---|
| Warehouse cost | Fixed rent + utilities | Pay per pallet used |
| Staff | Hire, train, manage | Included in service |
| Shipping rates | Retail pricing | Enterprise discounts |
| Peak season | Hire temp staff | Built-in capacity |
| Technology | Buy + maintain WMS | Included in service |
| Scalability | Lease more space | Instant capacity |
| Multi-location | Manage multiple sites | One partner, 50+ sites |
3PL Services Built for eCommerce Brands
From Amazon FBA prep to DTC shipping to B2B retail compliance. One partner. Every channel.
Amazon FBA Prep
FNSKU labeling, poly bagging, bundling, case packing, and shipment plan creation. Zero rejected shipments. Full Amazon compliance from receiving to check-in.
DTC Fulfillment
Same-day processing, branded packaging, and 20+ carrier network. Nationwide 1 to 2 day ground shipping. Your brand experience, delivered to the doorstep.
eCommerce Order Fulfillment
Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, TikTok Shop, and Walmart. All channels funnel into one system. One inventory pool. One dashboard. Zero manual work.
B2B Retail Fulfillment
EDI compliance, routing guides, and retail-ready packaging for Walmart, Costco, Target, and more. Full vendor compliance from purchase order to delivery.
Seller Fulfilled Prime
Maintain the Amazon Prime badge while fulfilling from AMZ Prep warehouses. Critical for big and bulky, meltables, and categories FBA deprioritizes seasonally.
Cold Storage 3PL
Temperature-controlled warehousing for supplements, food, beverages, and cosmetics. FIFO rotation, lot tracking, and expiration date management built in.
What Makes AMZ Prep Different
5,000+ brands, $3B+ in annual GMV, and a network built from the ground up since 2016.
Amazon-First Expertise
AMZ Prep was built around Amazon speed and compliance. FNSKU labeling, case pack configs, shipment plan creation, and 5-way split routing that eliminates placement fees. That same operational precision applies to every other channel.
FBA Prep Services →50+ Locations, 6 Countries
Fulfillment centers across the US, Canada, UK, and Europe put your inventory within 1 to 2 day ground shipping of most customers. Distributed inventory reduces shipping zones, cuts costs, and speeds up delivery without air freight.
View All Locations →No Ticket Queues
Every brand gets a dedicated Slack channel, a named account manager, and a 2-hour SLA response. Weekly execution calls. Monthly and quarterly business reviews. AMZ Prep operates as part of your team, not a vendor behind a ticket system.
Talk to Our Team →Real Technology
Navigate (PrepCommerce Suite) automates shipping plan creation, pushes labels to the warehouse, and routes shipments to Amazon FBA automatically. Real-time inventory visibility, automated reorder alerts, and multi-channel order management from one dashboard.
Explore Navigate →Built to Scale
From 100 orders a month to 100,000. The infrastructure, team, and systems already exist. AMZ Prep has supported startups growing into 7-figure brands and helped enterprise brands through their fastest growth periods. The system scales before you need it to.
Success Stories →Transparent Pricing
No hidden fees. No surprise charges. Custom pricing based on your order volume, product specs, and service needs. Volume discounts as you grow. No multi-year lock-in contracts. You know exactly what you pay for every month.
View Pricing →Which Brands Benefit from 3PL Fulfillment
Amazon FBA Sellers
Amazon's compliance requirements change constantly. One mislabeled product or wrong case pack means rejected shipments and lost sales. AMZ Prep stays current with every policy update and handles all prep work to spec.
- Zero rejected shipments across all product categories
- 5-way split routing eliminates placement fees
- 2 to 4 day check-in times via Middle Mile
- Automated shipping plans through Navigate
Shopify and DTC Brands
DTC brands need more than a warehouse. They need branded unboxing experiences, fast shipping, and a partner who treats every package like it represents the brand. Because it does.
- Custom packaging, branded inserts, and gift messages
- Same-day processing for orders before cutoff
- 1 to 2 day ground shipping from regional warehouses
- Full Shopify Plus integration
Multi-Channel and International Brands
Selling on Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, eBay, and TikTok Shop at the same time creates fulfillment complexity fast. Managing that across the US, Canada, and UK adds customs, duties, and cross-border logistics on top.
- One inventory pool across all sales channels
- Fulfillment centers in US, Canada, UK, and Europe
- Cross-border shipping with customs and duty management
- Centralized dashboard for every order, every channel, every country
Warehouse Locations That Reduce Shipping Costs
The closer your inventory sits to your customers, the fewer shipping zones you pay for. AMZ Prep operates 50+ fulfillment centers across North America, UK, and Europe.
United States
Coast-to-coast coverage with facilities in KY, NV, TX, PA, SC, CA, and more. 1 to 2 day ground shipping to 95% of US consumers.
US Fulfillment →Canada
10+ fulfillment centers in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Hamilton. Cross-border shipping to the US with customs and duty management.
Canada Fulfillment →United Kingdom
UK-based fulfillment for European expansion. Local inventory, local shipping rates, and compliance with UK import regulations.
UK Fulfillment →US East Coast
Rapid delivery to the densely populated northeastern markets. PA and SC facilities cover zones 1 to 3 for the majority of east coast orders.
East Coast Fulfillment →US West Coast
CA and NV facilities serve west coast customers and handle Pacific imports. Direct port-to-warehouse receiving for overseas inventory.
West Coast Fulfillment →Europe
European fulfillment centers for brands expanding into EU markets. Local inventory positioning for faster delivery and reduced cross-border fees.
Europe Fulfillment →Evaluate, Compare, and Choose the Right 3PL
How 3PL Pricing Works
Receiving fees, storage, pick and pack, shipping. Understand every line item so you can compare quotes accurately and spot hidden charges before signing.
View AMZ Prep Pricing →3PL vs Amazon FBA vs In-House
Each model has trade-offs. FBA works for Amazon-only sellers. In-house works at low volume. A 3PL works when you need multi-channel flexibility and scale.
Get a Custom Comparison →Fulfillment by Region
Your warehouse location determines your shipping zones and delivery speed. Explore AMZ Prep fulfillment by country to find the right network for your customers.
Explore All Locations →3PL Fulfillment Questions, Answered
3PL stands for third party logistics. It means outsourcing warehousing, fulfillment, and shipping to a specialized provider instead of managing it yourself.
A 3PL receives your inventory, stores it, and ships orders automatically when customers buy. The system connects to your Shopify, Amazon, or Walmart store for real-time processing.
Costs include receiving, storage, pick and pack, and shipping fees. AMZ Prep provides custom quotes based on your volume and SKU profile. View pricing details.
When fulfillment takes more time than growing your brand, storage runs out, or order volume exceeds your team's capacity. Most brands benefit at 100+ monthly orders.
FBA is a 3PL for Amazon orders only. It does not fulfill Shopify, Walmart, or DTC orders. Multi-channel brands need a full-service 3PL like AMZ Prep.
A 3PL handles physical logistics. A 4PL manages multiple 3PLs and oversees the entire supply chain strategy as a consultant.
You do. The 3PL stores and manages your products on your behalf. Full ownership and control stays with you.
Yes. AMZ Prep integrates with Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, eBay, TikTok Shop, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and more from a single inventory pool.
AMZ Prep onboarding takes 3 to 5 weeks from initial consultation to go-live. Includes pricing setup, system integration, and inventory transfer.
Yes. Send your branded boxes, inserts, and promotional materials. AMZ Prep incorporates them into every order to match your unboxing experience.
Ready to Outsource Your Fulfillment?
Get a custom quote based on your order volume, product specs, and fulfillment needs. No commitment. No pressure. Just the numbers.
5,000+ Brands Trust AMZ Prep
Real results from real brands. See why operators choose AMZ Prep over other 3PLs.
"AMZ Prep cut our FBA check-in time from 20+ days to under 5. We stopped worrying about stockouts and started focusing on growth."
"We moved our Amazon replenishment to AMZ Prep and kept our DTC 3PL. Best decision we made. Storage costs dropped 60%."
"The Slack channel alone is worth switching for. Real humans, real answers, same day. We went from ticket queues to instant support."