3PL & fulfillment for importers
Cleared customs? The next step is storing your inventory and fulfilling orders. A 3PL handles warehousing, pick-and-pack and shipping so you can sell on Amazon, Shopify or direct.
Where a 3PL fits in the import journey
Importing is a sequence: classify the goods and stack the duty, clear the entry through a licensed customs broker, move the freight, then store and fulfill. A third-party logistics provider owns that last stage. You bring goods in by the container; the 3PL receives them into a warehouse and ships individual orders to your buyers — with the returns, tracking and multi-channel routing that online selling needs.
It is the natural step after customs clearance: once your duty is paid and the entry is filed, the goods are yours to sell, and a 3PL turns a pallet of inventory into fulfilled orders.
What a 3PL costs
Fulfillment pricing is built from four parts, and providers weight them differently:
- Receiving — unloading and checking your inbound container or pallets.
- Storage — per pallet or cubic foot, per month. Slow-moving inventory costs more to hold.
- Pick & pack — per order, plus per additional item in the order.
- Outbound postage — the carrier rate to your customer, often at the 3PL's negotiated discount.
Because the mix depends on your order profile — order size, units per order, turnover and destinations — the only reliable comparison is your real numbers against two or three quotes.
Before you fulfill: get the landed cost right
Fulfillment is one line in your true unit economics — duty and freight are the others. Stack the duty with the tariff calculator, add freight and insurance in the landed-cost calculator, and size parcels with the chargeable weight calculator so the shipping cost you plan for is the one carriers actually bill.
Frequently asked questions
- A third-party logistics provider (3PL) receives your inventory into a warehouse, stores it, and picks, packs and ships orders to your customers. For importers, it is the step that happens after customs clearance — you import in bulk, then the 3PL fulfills individual orders for Amazon, Shopify or DTC channels.
- Once you are importing enough volume that storing and shipping orders yourself becomes the bottleneck — typically when you sell online and need fast, reliable order fulfillment. Until then, you might ship directly from the supplier or self-fulfill. A 3PL makes sense when order volume, returns and multi-channel selling outgrow a spare room or garage.
- Most 3PLs charge across four buckets: receiving (unloading and checking your inbound container), storage (per pallet or cubic foot per month), pick-and-pack (per order and per item), and outbound postage. Quotes vary widely by provider, location and volume, so compare a few against your actual order profile.
- No. A customs broker clears your goods through CBP at the border; a 3PL stores and ships them afterward. They are sequential steps — clear customs first, then fulfill. StackTariff lists licensed customs brokers separately under Customs brokers.