What Is The Best 3PL For Your eCommerce Order Fulfillment Needs?

Share this post
Table of Contents

For eCommerce retailers that have outgrown their in-house shipping and order fulfillment methods, working with a third-party logistics company is the next step to supporting their businesses. These shipping and order fulfillment companies can assist with transporting, warehousing, inventory management, reverse logistics, and offer freight services.

Wondering how to choose the best 3PL for eCommerce order fulfillment? With so many shipping partners to choose from, it can be difficult to select the right one. Working with the wrong partner can lead to endless “Oh Ship!” moments and difficulties for your business. It’s important to ask questions and ensure your partner is in tune with your business objectives. Ideally, you want to work with a partner that is responsive to your needs, affordable, and can manage all of your growing inventory. Here is the main difference between working with a local 3PL versus a nationwide 3PL. 

Benefits of Local Shipping Partners

If your customer base is specific to a certain state or city, a local shipping partner may be beneficial. You won’t need to worry about the extra costs of delivering your orders across the country and could still use ground shipping. You may also have success with a local 3PL if you have a lower order volume. Because most local logistics companies only have one warehouse, online retailers with high volume will quickly grow out of these spaces. However, if your business is still in the beginning stages, one warehouse may be just what you need. As your business grows, you may want to consider switching your 3PL for a partner that has multiple fulfillment centers to house all of your merchandise.

Benefits of a Nationwide 3PL

A national 3PL like ShipNetwork is an ideal partner for businesses with customers across the country. Using multiple fulfillment centers in the most populated US cities will help your online business cut down on shipping costs and deliver orders faster. The closer your products are to your customers, the less it will cost you. You will even have the ability to deliver packages using 1 to 2-day ground shipping. 

Another benefit of using a nationwide 3PL is the amount of space available to house your products and the staff available to meet your customer demands. Local shipping companies may have limited staffing and only one fulfillment center. This can be difficult to manage a large number of orders, especially during popular holiday shopping days like Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. With the right nationwide 3PL, you will not have to worry about running out of shelving for your incoming inventory and will always get your orders out on time.

Whether you chose to work with a 3PL in the city you live in or connect with a shipping and fulfillment company with locations across the country, it’s important to make sure your partner treats your business like their own.

At ShipNetwork, we believe your shipping partner should be an extension of your business. We help eCommerce retailers scale their businesses and avoid making catastrophic “Oh Ship!” Moments.


ShipNetwork is the leader in eCommerce order fulfillment services and freight brokerage. RSL offers national fulfillment services and a network of 15 US fulfillment centers located in Anaheim (CA), Atlanta (GA), Austin (TX), Chicago (IL), Denver (CO), Houston (TX), Las Vegas (NV), Miami (FL), Olean (NY), Reno (NV), Salt Lake City (UT), and Scranton (PA). Their state-of-the-art technology allows for integration with popular shopping cart platforms and online marketplaces including Amazon, Big Commerce, Channel Advisor, eBay, Magento, ShipStation, Shopify, Volusion, Walmart Marketplace, and WooCommerce. RSL offers modern fulfillment solutions for leading eCommerce retailers focused on reducing shipping costs, improving order accuracy, decreasing shipping times, and increasing customer satisfaction.

Contributors
Get expert shipping advice delivered straight to your inbox.
Share this post

For eCommerce retailers that have outgrown their in-house shipping and order fulfillment methods, working with a third-party logistics company is the next step to supporting their businesses. These shipping and order fulfillment companies can assist with transporting, warehousing, inventory management, reverse logistics, and offer freight services.

Wondering how to choose the best 3PL for eCommerce order fulfillment? With so many shipping partners to choose from, it can be difficult to select the right one. Working with the wrong partner can lead to endless “Oh Ship!” moments and difficulties for your business. It’s important to ask questions and ensure your partner is in tune with your business objectives. Ideally, you want to work with a partner that is responsive to your needs, affordable, and can manage all of your growing inventory. Here is the main difference between working with a local 3PL versus a nationwide 3PL. 

Benefits of Local Shipping Partners

If your customer base is specific to a certain state or city, a local shipping partner may be beneficial. You won’t need to worry about the extra costs of delivering your orders across the country and could still use ground shipping. You may also have success with a local 3PL if you have a lower order volume. Because most local logistics companies only have one warehouse, online retailers with high volume will quickly grow out of these spaces. However, if your business is still in the beginning stages, one warehouse may be just what you need. As your business grows, you may want to consider switching your 3PL for a partner that has multiple fulfillment centers to house all of your merchandise.

Benefits of a Nationwide 3PL

A national 3PL like ShipNetwork is an ideal partner for businesses with customers across the country. Using multiple fulfillment centers in the most populated US cities will help your online business cut down on shipping costs and deliver orders faster. The closer your products are to your customers, the less it will cost you. You will even have the ability to deliver packages using 1 to 2-day ground shipping. 

Another benefit of using a nationwide 3PL is the amount of space available to house your products and the staff available to meet your customer demands. Local shipping companies may have limited staffing and only one fulfillment center. This can be difficult to manage a large number of orders, especially during popular holiday shopping days like Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. With the right nationwide 3PL, you will not have to worry about running out of shelving for your incoming inventory and will always get your orders out on time.

Whether you chose to work with a 3PL in the city you live in or connect with a shipping and fulfillment company with locations across the country, it’s important to make sure your partner treats your business like their own.

At ShipNetwork, we believe your shipping partner should be an extension of your business. We help eCommerce retailers scale their businesses and avoid making catastrophic “Oh Ship!” Moments.


ShipNetwork is the leader in eCommerce order fulfillment services and freight brokerage. RSL offers national fulfillment services and a network of 15 US fulfillment centers located in Anaheim (CA), Atlanta (GA), Austin (TX), Chicago (IL), Denver (CO), Houston (TX), Las Vegas (NV), Miami (FL), Olean (NY), Reno (NV), Salt Lake City (UT), and Scranton (PA). Their state-of-the-art technology allows for integration with popular shopping cart platforms and online marketplaces including Amazon, Big Commerce, Channel Advisor, eBay, Magento, ShipStation, Shopify, Volusion, Walmart Marketplace, and WooCommerce. RSL offers modern fulfillment solutions for leading eCommerce retailers focused on reducing shipping costs, improving order accuracy, decreasing shipping times, and increasing customer satisfaction.

Take Advantage of Over
50 Million Packages in Purchasing Power

Request a Quote