Best 3PL Fulfillment Companies For Managing eCommerce Logistics

Overview of eCommerce Fulfillment Companies

An eCommerce company is a dependant on its various partners to manifest its services from the digital world to the customer's doorstep. Such partners enable businesses to establish a virtual store without much hassle. These services allow eCommerce companies to fulfil their orders, and the process involves a multitude of steps between receiving the order and delivering it to the doorstep of a customer. 

With several fulfilment businesses operating throughout the world it can become difficult to decide which one suits the needs of your business. Therefore, in this article, we bring to you the best eCommerce fulfilment and third-party logistics companies in the world. The article sheds light on the various services these companies provide to help you understand the requirements of your business. 

Top 10 Best 3PL (3rd Party Logistics) eCommerce Fulfillment Companies [2023 Updated List]

1. FedEx 

FedEx is a major international logistics company. It was established in 1971 in the United States and has since spread its operations to more than 220 nations and territories around the world. It is one of the largest shipping and logistics services companies internationally, employing 600,000 people and processing an average of 12.5 million packages every day. 

FedEx is a popular eCommerce fulfilment service provider. It offers several 3PL services for online sellers including warehousing, inventory management, express delivery services, international air, land and sea freight as well as customs clearance. Apart from these, it offers value-added services which include distribution, last-mile delivery, labelling, and packaging solutions. 

2. DHL 

DHL is a global logistics giant with operations in more than 220 countries. It has been a key player in the international 3PL industry facilitating thousands of online sellers from around the world. It was founded in 1969 in the US. It is a part of the Deutsche Post Group and is a household name in Europe. DHL employs a massive workforce of over 380,000 people worldwide to process and handle approximately 1.8 billion shipments every single year. 

DHL offers several order fulfilment solutions for eCommerce businesses including freight solutions, shipping services, express delivery solutions, as well as shipping solutions for sensitive and bulk items. It also offers several third-party logistics solutions including warehousing, order distribution, transportation, as well as integrated logistics services. 

3. Aramex 

Aramex is one of the largest shipping companies in the world which was founded in 1982 in the Emirate of Dubai. It offers several logistics and fulfilment solutions to businesses around the world with a reach of more than 22 countries. It employs more than 17,000 people worldwide and processes over 100 million orders every year. 

Aramex offers a wide range of solutions for ecommerce businesses throughout the world. Some of its offerings include express shipping, warehousing, cargo transport, cross-border shipping as well as 3PL services. It offers several dedicated solutions for eCommerce companies such as packing, labelling, cash-on-delivery, package insurance and more.

4. UPS

UPS (short for United Parcel Service) is a global logistics company. It was established in 1907 in the United States and is currently operating in more than 220 countries internationally. It is the largest logistics company in the world in terms of revenue and employs a massive staff of 500,000 employees in several nations and territories. The carrier processes roughly 4.7 billion packages annually, making it one of the largest players in the field. 

UPS offers several eCommerce fulfilment services to businesses around the world. Its solutions include express delivery, warehousing, and freight. It offers specialized solutions for shipping heavy, sensitive and dangerous items. It also offers a suite of value-added services to ecommerce merchants such as packing, labelling, and scheduled pickups.

5. Ceva

Ceva Logistics is a French logistics and supply chain management company headquartered in Marseille. It was founded in 2007 in France and has spread worldwide to over 160 countries and almost 800 office locations. It employs a workforce of more than 78,000 personnel handling 2.8 million tons of surface freight, 429k CBM of sea freight and 363k tons of air freight.

Ceva’s offerings include dedicated solutions for several industries including retail, technology, healthcare and more. It offers several fulfilment solutions for eCommerce businesses including warehousing, inventory management, cross-border delivery, last-mile delivery and reverse logistics. It also offers value-added services such as packaging of products, cargo insurance and customs clearance among others. 

6. DCL

DCL Logistics is a 3PL services provider headquartered in California. It was founded in 1982. It offers turnkey logistics services to online businesses around the world. It is a major logistics service provider with an average of 2.5 million packages handled every day. 

DCL offers a variety of services for online sellers including express shipping options such as same and next-day delivery and cross-border shipping. It also offers several dedicated 3PL services for eCommerce companies including warehousing solutions, inventory management, order tracking and more. 

7. Blue Dart 

Blue Dart is an Indian logistics company founded in 1983. It is currently headquartered in Mumbai and serves more than 220 countries and territories around the world. It is a part of the Deutsche Post Group. Blue Dart is a major eCommerce 3PL solutions provider in India with over 11,000 vehicles, 2113 facilities with almost 3 million sq. ft. of warehouse space, and a workforce of 12,200 people. 

Blue Dart offers express shipping services and cross-border eCommerce solutions along with custom clearance services. It also provides businesses with warehousing, packaging and temperature-controlled shipping solutions to facilitate a smoother delivery supply chain. 

8. GLS 

General Logistics Systems is a British-owned Dutch-headquartered multinational logistics company. It was established in 1999 and is a subsidiary of the Royal Mail Group. It is a popular eCommerce logistics service provider in Europe and works with more than 250,000 clients around the world. It has a presence in over 40 countries and employs a workforce of 21,300+ people.

GLS offers several dedicated eCommerce solutions such as express delivery and freight forwarding, transporting over 600 million packages every year. It owns several sorting and processing facilities with more than 1400 depots in over 70 nations.

9. Omni Logistics 

Omni Logistics is an American 3PL solutions provider operating in North America, Central America, Asia and Europe. It is a major eCommerce fulfilment solutions provider around the world and offers tailored solutions for several industries including healthcare, technology and more. 

Omni Logistics offers various third-party logistics solutions such as warehousing, air, sea and surface freight, distribution and express delivery. It also offers value-added services such as small courier delivery, white-glove logistics, product assembly, packing and repacking of products, custom labelling as well as special deliveries. 

10. ShipBob 

ShipBob is an international eCommerce logistics and fulfilment services company startup. It was founded in 2014 in the United States and currently operates in more than 220 countries and territories around the world. Its fulfilment network is spread across the continents of North America and Europe supporting more than 5000 businesses. It currently employs more than 900 people. 

ShipBob offers several services for fulfilling online orders to businesses around the world. Its offerings include warehousing, packaging, and shipping of online orders. It also allows businesses to manage split inventories across multiple locations. It offers express delivery solutions and allows customers to receive their orders within 2-days in select regions. Apart from these, it also allows businesses to assess their performance through comprehensive reports on the fulfilment process. 

Factors to Consider before Choosing a 3PL Ecommerce Fulfillment Company

The choice of the 3PL partner will essentially determine the delivery and shopping experience on your platform. As you are likely to have very few 3PL partners, you must carefully make these choices. To make this process easier, we have listed a few factors you should consider before choosing a logistics partner for your company.

1) Network Coverage

Ideally, you would want to choose a logistics partner with a wide distribution and delivery network, so your growth is not limited by its reach. You will also have to consider the strength of the carrier where your orders are mostly delivered. For example, a carrier that may have a strong delivery network in tier-1 cities will not necessarily deliver to many remote locations in the country. Therefore, the distribution network's reach must be considered when choosing a feasible 3PL partner for your ecommerce business.

2) Scalability

Many carriers have a widespread distribution network, but they cannot process higher order volumes. If your carrier cannot process higher volumes, it will hamper the delivery and shopping experience on your website and hinder your company's growth. You have to ensure that the logistics partner you choose is compatible with the goals of your business.

3) Technological Capabilities

As your ecommerce business begins to grow, you will focus on more customer experience rather than just being able to deliver your orders. In such cases, the carrier's technological capabilities can significantly impact. In addition to this, the API Integration process of the carrier can also limit the number of customer experience and shipping management services you can avail yourself to enhance your order fulfillment process.

4) Additional Services

As an ecommerce company, you may not always have the resources or the flexibility in your operations to set up the fulfillment infrastructure. Therefore, while choosing a 3PL partner, you will have to look for carriers that provide warehousing and inventory management services. It is also important to choose a carrier that can provide returns services, as it has become an integral part of modern-day ecommerce.

5) Customization Capabilities

As you grow and your ecommerce turns into a platform/brand, you will want to introduce branding in every place possible. This can include a brand logo on the shipping label, branded packaging, and even dedicated vehicles for transport. If you envision a brand in the near future, make sure your carrier has customization capabilities that will allow you to incorporate these changes into your delivery supply chain.

FAQs

1) What are the main criteria for choosing a 3PL Ecommerce Fulfillment company?

When choosing a 3PL partner for your ecommerce business, you will keep the 4 C’s in mind – Coverage, Capacity, Compatibility, and Cost. You must ensure that your carrier can deliver to all your target areas at an affordable cost for your business. Along with this, you must ensure that the carrier API is compatible with all the dashboards and automation software you currently use or plan on using.

2) Are there any benefits of having a 3PL ecommerce fulfillment partner?

Using a 3PL partner for your ecommerce delivery operations can have many benefits. The primary benefit of using a carrier as a 3PL partner is that it saves you on shipping costs. Since you have a contract with the carrier, you can negotiate special rates and avail of volumetric discounts. This allows you to scale your operations at a much higher rate. Along with this, a single 3PL partner allows for a faster and smoother fulfillment process, fueling expansion and customer satisfaction. 

Final thoughts

The fulfilment of eCommerce orders is an intricate process. It involves multiple players and several steps only to achieve the singular goal of satisfying the customer. Since customer retention is important to the success of any business, an online seller must use the services of a reliable fulfilment company. Through this article, businesses can get a broad idea of what the biggest names in the industry have to offer.