Best Third-party Logistics (3PL) Companies for 2023

For its fulfillment service, ShipBob charges a single fulfillment fee for each order, which includes pick and pack (up to four picks), basic packaging materials, and shipping costs.

Clients’ bills are assessed and updated daily, and all charges are visible in a fully itemized format from your dashboard. In the same tab, shipping details can be toggled to estimate variable order costs.

To get pricing for freight and import services, contact ShipBob.

• Advanced warehouse network: ShipBob has a large network of 35 warehouses in the US for optimized inventory distribution.
• Global reach: To reach your international customers, ShipBob has DDP (Delivery Duty Paid) cross-border shipping as well as a network of eight non-US warehouses for local fulfillment.
• Startup-friendly and scalable: With a low minimum monthly spend of $250 and the resources to support unlimited growth, ShipBob works with businesses of all sizes.
• Simple onboarding: New ShipBob clients onboard with the help of a dedicated Implementation Specialist who stays with you for 30 days. This dedicated rep helps you move stock and order management into its system without downtime.
• Growth Plan: ShipBob offers a program for startups and microbusinesses that has no order volume requirements and provides tools to help scale. The Growth Plan users can self-onboard for free or purchase premium onboarding with the help of an Implementation Specialist for $499.
• Branded packaging: ShipBob can manage custom packaging for your products, including branded packaging, marketing inserts, and gift notes.
• Integrations: ShipBob integrates with top ecommerce shopping carts, seller marketplaces, and other tools that your business uses. However it doesn’t integrate with Etsy or Groupon.
• Import services: The FreightBob program uses faster ships and priority discharge at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California to shorten transit time to 15-30 days. The staff books your LCL freight on guaranteed weekly sailings at competitive rates, even for small shipments. These shipments can clear customs during transit, and skip the destination transload and container freight station (CFS) steps, which makes the journey faster and more predictable.

• Not Amazon Seller Fulfilled-Prime (SFP)-eligible: ShipBob is not eligible for Amazon Seller-fulfilled prime (SFP), meaning you can’t use it to fulfill Amazon Prime orders. To sell on Amazon, you must either use non-Prime FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) or ShipBob’s FBA prep services to split your inventory between ShipBob and FBA. For a similar SFP-eligible fulfillment partner, try ShipMonk.
• No export or domestic freight services: Other than China-US shipping and the management of inventory distribution to its network of warehouses, ShipBob does not work freight. We recommend Redhawk Logistics for North American freight needs.

ShipBob has a generally positive rating on trusted review sites, with many 5-star reviews highlighting their account managers’ responsiveness and knowledge, as well as the usefulness of their software and express shipping option.

However, negative reviews have increased recently, resulting in a drop in their Trustpilot rating from “Excellent” to “Good.”

Some negative reviews mention operational errors such as late orders, incorrectly addressed shipments, and misplaced inventory. These issues are attributed to ShipBob’s use of subpar contracted warehouses and employees. Overcharging and hidden fees, as well as poor customer service, are also cited in negative reviews.

• Trustpilot: 4 / 5 stars, 550+ reviews
• Capterra: 3.8 / 5 stars, 90+ reviews
• G2: 3.5 / 5, 90+ reviews
• Shopify: 4.4 / 5, 150+ reviews

Because of its specialized services, Red Stag may be more expensive than other ecommerce 3PLs. If your business needs only simple storage and fulfillment of lightweight, small, and/or manageable items, consider others on our list.

• Optimized packaging: Unlike ShipBob (which receives complaints about using larger boxes than are needed) Red Stag packs your orders with the intention of protecting the merchandise and reducing dimensional weight. It can even create custom nonstandard boxes for your products, along with custom packing materials and inserts.
• Special handling: Red Stag is one of the only providers that offers liability insurance and advanced 24/7 security. Plus, it’s the most cost-effective option for shipping and storing oversized items, whereas ShipBob charges extra large-package fees.
• Customer service: Red Stag offers exceptional client services and specialized stock storage and tracking procedures for its sellers. Assistance is just a phone call away—seven days a week. It even offers a zero-shrink guarantee, plus a $50 payment to the client for any mistake made on Red Stag’s part (in addition to standard reimbursement).
• Fast service: Red Stag will have your inventory processed and ready to go within two days of receiving it in its warehouse. It promises same-day pick-and-pack for orders coming in as late as 5 p.m. (the most generous cutoff time in the industry), and it has two-day delivery to most of the continental US.
• Simple onboarding: Red Stag plans your startup or migration to its systems—plus, it offers a 30-day free trial (excluding shipping costs) to ensure it’s the right fit.
• Integrations: Red Stag integrates with top ecommerce shopping carts, seller marketplaces, and order management for order processing and shipment tracking. Its connectivity is strong, although ShipBob has more variety.

• Not international: While it can ship internationally, Red Stag does not have warehouses outside the US. Consider ShipBob for greater distribution options.
• Costly for small, lightweight, manageable goods: Red Stag’s operation and pricing are geared towards special handling, so it’s not the most affordable option for easy-to-ship items. We recommend ShipBob.

It’s hard to find Red Stag reviews online; most of the ratings you’ll find are from Red Stag employees, not customers.

But most of the existing user reviews praise the courtesy, promptness, and professionalism of Red Stag’s client support team, as well as the high accuracy of their services. Some European users express satisfaction with the company’s flexibility and attentiveness.

Most negative reviews are from previous employees or truckers rating their experience working for the company. A few positive reviews mention disappointment with the company’s previously limited shipping network, but Red Stag has now expanded to shipping with UPS, USPS, Amazon, and OnTrac.

• Google: 4.3 / 5 stars, around 65 reviews
• WebRetailer: 4.9 / 5 stars, around 10 reviews

NTG fees are built into your freight rates. You select the freight carrier and shipping rate, and that’s what you pay—no added service fees or upcharges. Plus, there’s no cost to open an NTG account. Added services, such as freight spend analysis, are available and generally free for regular clients too.

Most rates for similar providers are also customized. However, estimated freight fees range from $6.55 to $21.98 per pound. NTG does not list rates online, but you can request a quote.

To learn more about how freight 3PL and broker fees work, visit our freight brokers buyers guide.

• Wide range of services: Schedule LTL, partial, and full-truck freight for standard or specialty loads. Unlike others on our list, you can get time-critical delivery or temperature-controlled transit and storage. NTG works for infrequent shippers as well as steady deliveries.
• Expertise: NTG’s reps know how to spot savings opportunities through flat-rate freight classification and negotiated dimensional rates to reduce your freight spend. They also know how freight insurance works and ensure your loads are properly covered. Employ them to manage as little or as much of the process as you wish.
• Simple onboarding: Your NTG account rep will walk you through your dashboard features, cover classification, and other key designations, along with scheduling, booking, and bill-of-lading (BOL) creation tools.
• Integrate Beon Insights to ecommerce: NTG uses a restful API for integrations, whereas others have partnerships with ecommerce platforms. However, once integrated, you get excellent analytics, including carrier cost and performance.
• Management systems: Manage freight rate shopping, booking, and tracking yourself in the NTG management dashboard or let account pros handle some or all of the booking and tracking for you—it’s up to you.

• Not a fulfillment service: Its freight-focused services include warehousing, but it doesn’t offer inventory management, parcel shipping, distribution, or order fulfillment services. Consider ShipBob, Red Stag Fulfillment, and Whitebox.

Similar to Red Stag, many of the NTG reviews you’ll find online are from employees and carriers. The company doesn’t have any ratings on trusted review sites like Trustpilot or Capterra.

On NTG’s Google listings, most customers have left positive ratings and praised NTG’s customer support and delivery services —although some spoke of additional charges after-the-fact and damaged items. There are a large number of negative reviews from truckers and carriers.

FreightPros, a company that was acquired by NTG in 2020, has received a handful of user reviews in the past few years. On Trustpilot, positive reviews cite their experience getting the best prices and excellent ease of use. Recent negative Freightpros reviews state that the carrier postponed the pick-up and eventually canceled the deal altogether.

• Google: 3.4 / 5 stars, 300+ reviews
• Trustpilot: 4.2 / 5 stars, 200+ reviews (for FreightPros)

Like NTG, most of Redhawk Logistics’ fees are built into freight shipping and service rates; you submit your needs and receive bids from carriers. Advanced needs, such as distribution, are quoted. Redhawk Logistics prices are extremely competitive with other top broker services and it generally delivers low rates, even for occasional and low-volume shippers. Larger accounts can receive volume freight or class-based discounts, too.

• Heavy-haul: If you sell large cargo, from steel coils to prefabricated houses, Redhawk can handle your loads. It understands DOT guidelines and the travel challenges a heavy load presents. NTG may have truckers in its network, but Redhawk specializes.
• Bulk order management: Redhawk can work with bulk order fulfillment for manufacturers, wholesalers, and importers who don’t want to manage their own distribution.
• Redhawk Transportation Management System (TMS): While Redhawk works with thousands of carriers, it integrates with 70+ LTL carriers through its TMS. Use it to compare LTL vs parcel rates, tender shipments, create shipping labels, and get reports and analytics. It’s the only 3PL we found with a TMS system.
• Integrations: Like NTG, Redhawk Logistics offers API integrations to show real-time freight rates in your checkout for online order shipping via freight.
• Spot savings opportunities: Redhawk can identify the correct National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) numbers to help lower your freight class and look for carriers that negotiate volume rates, waive dimensional weights, or ship under a flat class to help reduce your freight spend.

• Not an ecommerce fulfillment service: Like NTG, Redhawk Logistics focuses on freight. While it can help with bulk order fulfillment, consider ShipBob, Red Stag, or WhiteBox for regular ecommerce.

Like NTG, Redhawk doesn’t have any ratings on trusted user review platforms, such as Trustpilot or Capterra. The company’s Google listing has a moderate number of reviews, which include ratings from carriers, employees, and customers.

User reviews of Redhawk Logistics are almost entirely positive, with many glowing 5-star ratings that mention staff going above and beyond to provide excellent customer service. Reviewers also state that Redhawk understands small business’s needs and can accommodate irregular sales cycles.

Unlike NTG, most Redhawk reviews from carriers and employees are highly positive as well.

• Google: 4.1 / 5 stars, around 50 reviews

Whitebox doesn’t publish pricing details online, so you have to contact the provider to request a quote. Users pay a monthly “all-in fulfillment fee” that covers all related charges except storage, which is billed additionally.

This fee includes Whitebox Dashboard for managing sales, promotions, and inventory and a suite of packaging supplies. Advanced cross-channel data-management software is also available at an additional cost or free to clients who meet a minimum billing requirement.

Whitebox also offers a growth agency option, which charges a commission based on a fixed percentage of the client’s sales. Third-party sources say Whitebox charges an onboarding fee of $3,000 and a 10% commission on product sales.

In addition to these costs, you’ll also be paying marketplace and FBA fees, so the total impact on your bottom line can be substantial. Because of this, we recommend Whitebox for product manufacturers and sellers with substantial markups. Whitebox can be the ideal full-service partner due to its extensive and well-developed turnkey services.

Here are things to consider when you look at Whitebox’s price tag:

• Whitebox markets your products: Whitebox markets your goods via listings on Amazon and other sales channels—like eBay and your own shopping site. This includes profitability studies, professional product photography, and SEO-targeted descriptions.
• Whitebox manages Amazon FBA: Whitebox sets up Amazon FBA logistics and oversees the day-to-day tasks like tracking sales, assessing restock needs, and tracking costs.
• Whitebox pays you: As your products sell, Whitebox tracks sales, receives payments, and deposits revenues into your account each month—less your fees.

• Lets you focus on your business: In a nutshell, Whitebox is a 3PL company that lets business owners focus on development, production, and other profitable areas instead of dealing with direct-sales headaches.
• Multi-sales: While others on our list may work with other retailers, Whitebox makes a concerted effort toward multi-channel management, handling advertising and fulfillment for Amazon, integrating with ecommerce sites like BigCommerce and online stores for major brands like Costco, Walmart, Best Buy and Chewy, and even managing your dropshipping for you. Only ShipBob offers such a range of integrations.
• Creates and manages sales channel listings: It professionally photographs your goods and creates SEO-targeted product listings on Amazon, eBay, your website, or other specified sales channels. Then, it monitors listing search results on sales channels and organic search to optimize rankings and brand exposure.
• Sales servicing: Deals with all customer service questions and returns across all channels.
• Amazon FBA stock preparation: Receives, counts, and examines your stock for any damage or quality issues before sending it to Amazon FBA, and correctly packages and distributes it into Amazon’s warehouse system per FBA requirements.

• Prohibitive order minimums: Whitebox’s high minimum requirement of 1,000 orders per month makes it incompatible with many small businesses and startups.
• Not for B2B: Whitebox isn’t geared for business-to-business (B2B) distribution. You’ll have to manage wholesale freight shipments to your resellers in-house or via a freight storage and distribution 3PL company like Redhawk Logistics.

Amazon seller ratings are the best place to judge the success of Whitebox. Its 4.9-out-of-5-star seller rating proves it delivers on its promises to buyers—and it can’t do that without handling Amazon orders efficiently. The company’s well-established seller account boasts 99% positivity on 1,600+ reviews in the last 12 months, which not only speaks to its functionality, but also increases listing visibility and buyer confidence.

Whitebox reviews outside of Amazon are scarce. The company’s Google listing has a number of reviews from employees and truckers, but few ratings left by clients themselves. The only few Whitebox user reviews are highly negative, citing overcharges, unmet SLAs, and frequent errors. These reviews were left about two years ago.

• Google: 3.0 / 5 stars, around 25 reviews
• Amazon: 4.9 / 5 stars, 29K+ reviews

Many small businesses opt to perform logistics-related tasks themselves—such as booking and managing freight or performing in-house order fulfillment. These processes are often easy to manage during the startup phase, but become impractical as business scales.

Here are six signs your business might need a 3PL company:

1. Your logistics costs are steadily increasing: A 3PL can help you scale more smoothly.
2. Your logistics team is overwhelmed: A 3PL brings expertise and the staff level needed for your tasks.
3. Customer service complaints are rising: A 3PL can make deliveries more efficient to improve customer satisfaction.
4. Your inventory is outdated and inaccurate: A 3PL can provide improved visibility, analytics, and operational efficiencies to optimize stored inventory.
5. You’re moving to a new facility or sales region: A 3PL can help you set up the warehouse, move products, and get started on the right foot.
6. You want to reduce risk costs: A 3PL takes on the burden of warehouse work and management, from workers’ compensation to environmental risks from mishandled products.

The first step is to understand what your company’s logistical pain points and priorities are, what your budget is, and what any future goals are. You should also take into account where you ship, your volume, and what channels you sell through. Third-party logistics companies vary widely in range, pricing, and expertise.

Once you know what you want, make a checklist and do your research. Be sure to look for companies that operate in your region. You can contact companies for information, but keep in mind that many customize plans to you, so the better information you provide, the easier for them to answer your questions accurately.

3PL (or third-party logistics) refers to any third-party service that relates to the planning and organization of how goods are moved, stored, and kept track of. Fulfillment providers are a type of 3PL company that specialize in the process of getting parcels to consumers.

While fulfillment companies focus specifically on receiving, storing, processing, and shipping customer orders, other 3PL companies can help with international freight, customs clearances, and LTL and FTL shipments.

4PL companies handle everything a 3PL company does—plus resources, technology, and infrastructure. Instead of outsourcing only your ecommerce logistics, you hire a 4PL company to handle the entire supply chain management and logistics. 4PL solutions are typically used by enterprise-level businesses.