What Is a 3PL? A Guide for Ecommerce Sellers

By Hardway Enterprises · Updated June 2026

"3PL" gets thrown around a lot in ecommerce. Here is what it means, what a 3PL does, and how it differs from fulfilling orders yourself or relying only on FBA.

The definition

A third-party logistics provider (3PL) is a company that handles your warehousing and order fulfillment for you. You ship inventory to them; they store it, then pick, pack, and ship orders to your customers — and prep inventory for marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart.

What a 3PL handles

• Receiving and checking in your inventory.
• Storage in their warehouse.
• Pick & pack of customer orders.
• Shipping via discounted carrier rates.
• Returns processing.
• FBA / WFS prep and forwarding.

3PL vs FBA vs doing it yourself

Self-fulfillment gives you control but eats your time. FBA is great for Amazon but only Amazon, and storage fees can bite. A 3PL sits in the middle: it fulfills your DTC and multi-channel orders and preps inventory into FBA/WFS, so you are not locked to one channel.

When it makes sense

Once order volume, time, or space become a constraint, a 3PL usually pays for itself. See when to switch from self-fulfillment and how to choose a 3PL.