A Practical Guide To 3PL And How It Helps Your Business

Author: Jason Martin
Reviewed by: Ecommerce Operations Lead
Last updated: October 17, 2025

Executive TLDR

A third party logistics partner handles receiving, storage, pick, pack, and shipping so you focus on product and growth.
A central Midwest hub reaches most customers in 1 to 3 days by ground at lower cost than running your own buildings.
Barcode first processes, clean ASNs, and a simple pack matrix raise accuracy and reduce returns.
Small parcel rate shopping and right size packaging protect margin on every order.
The fastest wins come from one inventory pool, clear data, and a 30 day rollout plan.

Want a 3PL plan built around your brand — Talk to an Expert

What a 3PL does
When to move to a 3PL
How a good 3PL improves speed and accuracy
Cost control and shipping savings
Data, compliance, and category needs
A 30 day rollout plan
Why Product Fulfillment Solutions
FAQ

What a 3PL does

A third party logistics provider stores your inventory and ships your orders. The core services include receiving, putaway, storage, pick and pack, kitting, labeling, returns, and small parcel shipping. The best partners also help with retail and marketplace standards, simple system connections, and real time status.

Start with the basics you will use on day one:

Receiving and putaway with posted dock schedules and a target of 1 to 3 day dock to stock.
Pick and pack with scan at pick and a second scan at pack. See pick and pack services.
Right size packaging with a simple mailer and box matrix.
Small parcel rate shopping across national and regional carriers. See discounted shipping rates.
Kitting and assembly for sets, bundles, and subscriptions. See kitting assembly services.

If you sell on your own site and marketplaces, run orders from one pool under 3PL fulfillment and ecommerce fulfillment services.

When to move to a 3PL

You are ready when one or more of these are true:

You spend more time on boxes than on customers and product.
Order volume swings with promos or season and you cannot staff to match.
Storage fees, damaged orders, or late shipments are rising.
You plan to add marketplaces, retail, or subscriptions and need help with standards.

A strong partner converts fixed costs into variable, scales labor for peak, and gives you proven processes on day one.

How a good 3PL improves speed and accuracy

Barcode first operations
Scan at pick. Scan again at pack. Separate look alike SKUs and label bins in large, high contrast IDs. Accuracy climbs and returns drop.

ASN receiving and the dock
Send complete ASNs with counts by carton and pallet. Book dock times. Aim for 1 to 3 day dock to stock so inventory is sellable fast. Keep the same facts on every screen with real time information.

Centralized inventory, fast ground
A Midwest hub reaches most customers in 1 to 3 days by ground. You hit fast delivery and avoid paying air.

Retail and marketplace readiness
Use simple templates for unit, inner, carton, and pallet labels. Connect trading partners with EDI solutions and connections and prep sets with FBA prep services when needed.

Cost control and shipping savings

Trade fixed costs for variable
Rent, racking, scanners, WMS, and full time staff add up. Outsourcing converts most spend to a per order model. You pay for output, not idle capacity.

Right size every order
A posted packaging matrix picks the smallest safe mailer or carton by product family. This lowers DIM weight and reduces damage.

Rate shop every label
Blend national and regional carriers and match the cheapest option to the promise day. Protect margin with discounted shipping rates.

Data, compliance, and category needs

One product master, one truth
Each SKU needs title, barcode, dimensions, weight, case and inner, and hazard flags. Save label placement for unit, inner, carton, and pallet so nobody guesses.

Consumables and dated goods
For supplements, vitamins, and cosmetics, capture lot and expiry at receiving and enforce FEFO at pick. Review health and wellness fulfillment services.

B2C, B2B, and retail
Run direct to consumer and retail from the same pool. Add b2b retail fulfillment when you need case pack, pallet, or routing guides.

A 30 day rollout plan

Week 1, data and labeling

Build a clean product master, barcode, dimensions, weights, case packs, hazard flags.
Save unit, inner, carton, and pallet label templates and placement rules.
Draft the pack matrix by product family.

Week 2, inbound setup

Lock the ASN format and book dock times.
Post receiving checklists and create an exception lane.
Set 1 to 3 day dock to stock and report it daily.

Week 3, floor and picking

Slot fast movers near pack. Separate look alike SKUs. Print large bin IDs.
Turn on scan at pick and a second scan at pack.
Publish one daily cut off time and staff to clear the queue.

Week 4, pilot and tune

Run a live pilot with your top movers.
Track order accuracy, handling time, on time ship rate, billable vs actual weight, and cost per order.
Fix outliers and roll the playbook to the rest of the catalog.

Why Product Fulfillment Solutions

Central U.S. hub in Cincinnati for national 1 to 3 day ground coverage.
Barcode first receiving aligned to accurate ASNs for predictable dock to stock speed.
Pick and pack standards with right size packaging and second scan at pack.
Small parcel optimization that rate shops every label.
Kitting and subscription capability for bundles and sets.
Retail and marketplace readiness with EDI solutions and connections and simple label templates.

Talk to an Expert

FAQ

What does a 3PL handle day to day
Receiving, storage, pick, pack, labels, shipping, returns, plus kitting when needed.

How fast can we transition
Plan four weeks. Clean product data in week one, lock ASN and dock in week two, train and slot in week three, pilot and tune in week four.

Will I lose control of my brand experience
No. You define packaging, inserts, and service levels. Shared dashboards keep teams aligned.

Can one inventory pool serve my site and marketplaces
Yes. Standardize data and labels once, then route orders by promise and cost.

What accuracy should we expect
Target 99.7 percent or better with scan at pick and a second scan at pack.