Ecommerce 3PL Services From Storage to Delivery
3PL services are outsourced warehousing, order fulfillment and shipping: a third-party logistics provider receives your inventory, stores it, and picks, packs and ships every order for you. AMZ Prep runs 3PL services for Shopify and DTC brands, Amazon sellers and retail suppliers from 50+ fulfillment centers in six countries, with one inventory pool for every channel and starting rates published from $1.00 per order.
What a 3PL should take off your team, what it costs, how to compare providers, and where AMZ Prep fits. Every rate and term on this page is one we publish.
Key Takeaways
- A 3PL receives, stores, picks, packs and ships your orders, and handles returns. You pay per order and for the space you use.
- A 3PL bill is built from receiving, storage, pick and pack, and postage. Units per order and SKU count move it most.
- AMZ Prep: DTC fulfillment from $1.00 per order, FBA prep from $0.40 per item, no setup fees, month-to-month.
- Amazon FBA is built for Amazon orders. A 3PL can ship Shopify, Walmart, TikTok Shop, retail and FBA inbound from one inventory pool.
- AMZ Prep works with brands shipping 300+ orders a month across all channels. Onboarding takes 6 days, inventory is received within 24 to 48 hours of delivery, and orders received by 3 PM local time ship the same day.
Updated November 2026
What a 3PL Should Actually Take Off Your Team
A 3PL should run the whole order cycle: receiving, storage, order processing, pick and pack, carrier handoff and returns, and keep the inventory count right at every step.
What you should be able to check
- Discrepancies are logged at receiving, before stock goes live
- Order status matches what has physically happened
- A missing unit can be traced to a specific step
- Returns are inspected before they go back on sale
Every warehouse gets short shipments and mis-picks. The difference between providers is how fast they catch and fix them.
What Happens to an Order Inside a 3PL
Every order passes through the same stages. Most problems start at one of them, so these are the checks worth asking about.
| Stage | What to confirm | What usually goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Units are counted against the shipment notice before they can be sold | Stock goes live before short or damaged cartons are logged |
| Putaway | Fast sellers sit closest to packing | Pickers cross the building for your best-selling SKU |
| Order release | Orders reach the floor before the same-day cutoff time | Late imports push orders to the next day |
| Pick and pack | Items are scanned and checked before the label prints | The wrong item or quantity ships unnoticed |
| Carrier handoff | Tracking starts when the carrier has the parcel | Tracking shows a label, not a shipment, and customers chase it |
| Amazon inbound | Prep, labels and routing follow Amazon's requirements | Placement fees, slow check-in or rejected shipments |
| Returns | Items are graded before restock | Damaged returns go back on sale |
At AMZ Prep, every one of these steps has a written time, listed in the Key Takeaways above.
“Having warehouses near our customers changed everything. Costs went down, delivery got faster, and we could finally expand wholesale in California without paying crazy fees.”
Saved 30% on shipping and reached 2-day delivery across North America.
Read the case studyGet a QuoteWhen a 3PL Pays for Itself, and When It Won't
When fulfillment costs you more in time, errors and missed cutoffs than a per-order fee would. It usually shows up as a pattern, not one bad week.
Signs it's time
- Packing takes up the founder's or team's day
- Promotions and peak season leave backlogs that take days to clear
- Stock counts don't match what your store shows
- You pay retail shipping rates because your volume is too small to negotiate
- You need a second location, or a second country, to deliver faster
When it won't help: a 3PL runs a stable process well. If your SKUs, packaging or order rules change every week, settle those first.
AMZ Prep's minimum is 300 orders a month, counting FBA prep, DTC and shipping together.
| Factor | In-house | 3PL |
|---|---|---|
| Warehouse cost | Fixed rent and utilities | Pay for pallets or space used |
| Staffing | Hire, train and manage your own team | Included, scaled to order volume |
| Shipping rates | Retail carrier pricing | Rates from the 3PL's combined volume |
| Peak season | Temp staff hired under pressure | Capacity planned ahead of peak |
| Technology | Buy and maintain your own WMS | Included, connected to your channels |
| Growth | Lease and equip more space | Capacity across the existing network |
What You Actually Pay a 3PL For
A 3PL bill has four main lines: receiving, storage, pick and pack, and postage. Kitting, returns and special handling are added on top. AMZ Prep's DTC fulfillment starts at $1.00 per order, FBA prep at $0.40 per item and case forwarding at $1.50 per box.
| Cost line | What raises it | AMZ Prep |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Mixed cartons, missing labels, no shipment notice | Checked in against your SKU data on arrival |
| Storage | Slow-moving stock, oversized cartons | Priced on pallets or cubic feet used, not space reserved |
| Pick and pack | Several items per order, inserts, custom boxes | From $1.00 per order with standard packaging; kitting quoted per kit |
| Postage | Long zones, residential surcharges, dimensional weight | Passed through at the carrier price, no markup; zone skipping cuts parcel cost 25 to 32% |
| Amazon placement fees | Sending FBA stock to fewer Amazon sites than Amazon asks | $0 through Middle Mile, which splits shipments five ways |
| Integrations | A separate WMS and channel connectors | No setup or integration fees |
Get your quote built on real numbers
- Average units per order
- SKU count and product size
- Monthly orders by channel
- Return rate
- Kitting or custom packaging
A quote priced on single-item orders won't hold if most of your orders have three items. Full rates and worked examples are on the pricing page.
“Fulfillment multiplies everything that you do.”
Reached 100% Prime eligibility, saved seven figures a year and launched in the UK, EU and Canada in weeks.
Read the case studyGet a QuoteWhere Selling on Several Channels Gets Hard
Every channel draws on the same stock but sends orders its own way: Shopify through an app, Amazon FBA as prepped inbound shipments, retailers as EDI orders. The 3PL has to keep one accurate count across all of them.
See how each channel's orders reach the warehouse, and what the warehouse must get right for each, on the ecommerce fulfillment services page. Brands focused on their own store: see DTC fulfillment.
What to Ask on the Discovery Call, Demo and Pricing Call
Ask every provider the same questions, and ask to see the answers, not just hear them.
On the discovery call
- How many orders a day do you ship without delays?
- How do you catch discrepancies at receiving?
- Which tasks are billed as extras?
- What do you need from us before go-live?
On the demo
- Show an inventory discrepancy being resolved
- Show a multi-item order being picked and checked
- Show order status before and after carrier pickup
- Show how a return is graded
On the pricing call
- Which fees are fixed and which vary?
- How is storage measured?
- What makes invoices go over the quote?
- How long is the contract, and what is the notice period?
Our answers to the pricing questions are public: starting rates, postage at carrier price and month-to-month terms are on the pricing page.
Single-Site, Network, Prep Center or Specialist: Which Kind of 3PL Fits
3PLs differ more by setup than by service list. Network size helps with delivery speed and shipping zones; it does not fix inventory accuracy or slow receiving, which are process problems.
| Kind of 3PL | Where it helps | Where it gets harder | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-site 3PL | Direct contact and close process control | Long shipping zones to distant customers; less room for spikes | One-region DTC brands with a small catalog |
| Multi-site network 3PL | Stock near customers, shorter zones, room to grow | More sites to coordinate, so visibility matters more | Brands selling across regions, channels or countries |
| Amazon prep center | Fast, compliant FBA prep and labeling | Often ships only to Amazon, so DTC needs a second provider | Amazon-only sellers |
| Specialist 3PL | Handling built for bulky, fragile or temperature-controlled goods | Narrower service range outside that niche | Furniture, appliances, frozen or high-value goods |
50+ Fulfillment Centers in Six Countries
AMZ Prep is a multi-site network across the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the UAE.
How AMZ Prep, ShipBob, ShipMonk and ShipHype Compare
The biggest differences between ecommerce 3PLs are where their warehouses are, whether pricing is published, and which brands they turn away. Every provider has limits, AMZ Prep included.
| Provider | Network | Pricing | Watch for | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZ Prep | 50+ fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the UAE | Published: DTC from $1.00 per order, FBA prep from $0.40 per item | 300-order monthly minimum; not for arbitrage sellers under 2,500 orders or returns-only sellers | Brands selling on Amazon, DTC and retail from one inventory pool |
| ShipBob | 50+ locations in the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia | Custom quote | Rates and minimums are set in your quote, so compare the full rate card | DTC brands that want broad coverage, including Australia |
| ShipMonk | Fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, the UK and the Czech Republic | Custom quote | Dollar rates aren't published; get a quote on your real order profile | DTC and B2B brands that want to run on the provider's own software |
| ShipHype | Warehouses in Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Secaucus | Published: pick and pack from $1.17 per order | $999 monthly account fee in months under 500 orders; no FBA-only sellers | DTC brands in the US and Canada with a focused catalog |
Based on each provider's public website, November 2026. Terms change, so confirm current rates and minimums with each provider. For a longer list, see our guide to the best 3PL companies for ecommerce.
Why AMZ Prep Fits Brands Selling on More Than One Channel
AMZ Prep started in Amazon FBA prep. Today many of the 5,000+ brands we ship for are Shopify and DTC brands, and some never sell on Amazon.
One inventory pool for every channel
DTC, Amazon, marketplace and retail orders ship from the same stock, so you don't split inventory across providers.
Amazon inbound without placement fees
Five-way split routing through Middle Mile, with $0 placement fees.
Rates you can check
Starting rates are published. Postage is passed through at the carrier price, and zone skipping cuts parcel cost 25 to 32%.
Who we're not for
Brands under 300 orders a month, online and retail arbitrage sellers under 2,500, and sellers who only need returns processing.
“Partnering with AMZ Prep has really allowed us to serve our customers appropriately… and really allow us to improve our overall economics.”
Cut Canadian shipping costs by 41% and delivery time from 14 days to 3.
Read the case studyGet a QuoteWhat Brands and Agencies Say About AMZ Prep
Brands and agencies on why they moved their fulfillment to AMZ Prep.
Client Story
How 437 Reduced Fulfillment Costs by 30% and Achieved 2-Day Delivery
Toronto activewear brand 437 cut shipping costs by 25 to 30% per package and hit 2-day delivery across North America after switching to AMZ Prep.
Agency Partner
CEO of Emplicit Reveals Why AMZ Prep Beat Every Other Amazon 3PL Provider
Leading Amazon agency Emplicit trusts AMZ Prep to fulfill for their entire client roster after seven years of searching for the right FBA prep partner.
Warehouse Tour
How AMZ Prep Keeps Inventory Accurate at Scale
An inside look at AMZ Prep's warehouse operations, quality control systems, and the processes behind 99.8% order accuracy at 10M+ units a month.
Common Questions About 3PL Services
A 3PL (third-party logistics) service is outsourced warehousing and fulfillment. The provider receives your inventory, stores it, picks, packs and ships each order, and processes returns. You keep ownership of the stock.
Third-party logistics: a company that runs warehousing, order fulfillment and shipping for other businesses.
A warehouse stores inventory. A 3PL also works it: receiving, order processing, pick and pack, shipping and returns, with stock levels kept in sync with your sales channels.
It receives and counts your inbound stock, shelves it, picks and packs each order as it arrives, buys the label that meets your delivery promise, and handles returns, while keeping stock counts synced to every sales channel.
Test four things: whether one inventory pool can serve every channel you sell on, where its centers sit against your customers, whether its rates are written down before you sign, and how fast it receives stock. Then ask for references from brands your size.
When fulfillment costs more in time, errors and missed cutoffs than a per-order fee would. AMZ Prep works with brands shipping 300 or more orders a month across all channels.
From per-order and per-item handling fees, monthly storage, and margin on extras such as packaging, kitting and freight. Some also mark up postage, so ask whether shipping is billed at the carrier's price.
A 3PL does the warehouse work itself: receiving, storage, picking and shipping. A 4PL manages a brand's whole supply chain, often by coordinating several 3PLs, carriers and freight forwarders on its behalf.
You do. The 3PL stores and ships stock on your behalf; ownership and visibility of stock levels stay with you.
Yes. A 3PL connects to Shopify to import orders, sync inventory and send tracking back. AMZ Prep is Shopify Plus certified and runs its own Shopify app, Prep Parcel.
