Sellers know that partnering with the right 3PL is essential to scaling their business. A 3PL, like Cart.com, can help with Amazon FBA prep, labeling and shipping to Amazon warehouses and fully support FBM and seller-fulfilled prime.
Further, a dependable and cost-effective 3PL can help you expand outside of Amazon's ecosystem while reaping benefits such as improved inventory management, faster shipment times, greater flexibility, omnichannel fulfillment capabilities and more. To get you started, we compare the top 3PLs for Amazon sellers below.
How to evaluate 3PL providers
Finding the right 3PL requires a close evaluation of your business needs and the offerings of a prospective 3PL. Sellers should consider the following questions:
Evaluating 3PL providers: 5 factors to consider
| Distribution location |
Does your 3PL provider have fulfillment and distribution centers in locations where your customer base is located? Your 3PL should ideally have locations nearby to your customers, enabling them to provide fast service to those areas. |
| Scalability |
Can your chosen 3PL handle increased demand during peak seasons? Your 3PL should be able to scale and grow along with your company, enabling you to deliver high levels of customer service. |
| Fulfillment accuracy |
Does your provider offer high fulfillment accuracy rates? It’s essential to verify that your provider can meet your customers’ expectations and avoid costly errors in quantity, quality and other important specifications. |
| Integration |
Does your 3PL integrate easily with Amazon and other platforms? Verify that your chosen 3PL can integrate with your company’s marketplace platforms and other software. |
| Fees |
Are pricing and storage fees upfront, fully transparent and competitive? The best 3PLs will be clear about their pricing structure. |
The best 3PL companies for Amazon sellers: a comparison
The right 3PL for your business or brand requires taking a closer look at factors like order volume, fulfillment speed, cost and multi-channel fulfillment. While some focus solely on Amazon fulfillment, others provide more options for selling across multiple platforms.
| Feature | Cart.com | Amazon FBA | Amazon MCF | ShipBob |
| Best for |
D2C & B2B sellers needing scalable fulfillment |
Amazon-only sellers |
Multi-channel sellers |
Small & mid-size ecommerce |
| Fulfillment speed |
2-day shipping |
Prime 2-day shipping |
Standard Amazon shipping |
2-day shipping |
| Storage costs |
Competitive, flexible pricing |
Charged by volume & time |
Charged by volume |
Standard pricing |
| Custom packaging |
Yes |
No (Amazon-branded only) |
No |
Yes |
| Multi-channel fulfillment |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Customer support |
Dedicated account managers |
Limited seller support |
Standard support |
Email & chat |
Cart.com
Cart.com is one of the best 3PLs for Amazon sellers and is dedicated to customer success. Cart.com provides reliable and scalable omnichannel fulfillment solutions that help businesses and brands flourish inside and outside Amazon. With 14 nationwide omnichannel fulfillment and distribution centers across the U.S., Automated AI-powered warehouse management and dedicated customer support, Cart.com enables Amazon sellers to manage orders across DTC, marketplaces and wholesale channels seamlessly, handle volume spikes and scale efficiently while maintaining service levels. Further, you can take advantage of a wide variety of shipping customization options and branded unboxing experiences that will improve the customer experience.
Cart.com also provides support for both FBA and FBM operations, including assistance with FBA prep, labeling and shipping to Amazon warehouses, which ensures products meet Amazon's requirements and are processed smoothly. Because we support FBM and Seller-Fulfilled Prime, we can help businesses maintain fast and reliable fulfillment while keeping control over inventory.
Amazon FBA
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is the most popular choice for many Amazon sellers because of its 2-Day Prime shipping, the added perks of advertising their products with this shipping option and Amazon’s built-in inventory management tools. However, there are important drawbacks to consider, such as high storage fees, limited branding options and strict inventory requirements.
Amazon enforces inventory limits based on a seller’s sales velocity. If products don’t sell quickly, you might face restrictions on how many units you can send to FBA. Further, sellers need to tread carefully, as violating Amazon’s Terms of Service, whether intentionally or accidentally, can quickly result in suspensions or account bans, in worst cases, leaving sellers without access to their inventory.
For these reasons and more, sellers might use FBA for high-volume, fast-moving items while working with a 3PL for multi-platform fulfillment and long-term storage. This would help to reduce the risks and challenges of working under Amazon’s policies and fee structures.
Amazon MCF
Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) enables sellers to benefit from Amazon’s large logistics network when fulfilling orders from other marketplaces like Shopify, Walmart and eBay. Sellers choose this option because it is cost-effective. However, it also has limitations.
MCF’s processing times can be inconsistent, resulting in delayed deliveries and penalties from marketplaces with strict fulfillment SLAs. Further, unlike other 3PLs that offer shipment customization options, MCF ships all items in Amazon-branded packaging. This could thwart your ability to reinforce brand identity and even confuse customers who ordered from other platforms.
Currently, Amazon is incentivizing MCF participation by offering lower fees and more flexible inventory limits, but this may not last for long. Aggressive pricing can be used to attract businesses before tightening restrictions and raising fees over time. Sellers should consider whether Amazon’s long-term priorities will always align with their own.
ShipBob
ShipBob is another popular 3PL option, especially for small to mid-sized ecommerce brands. They offer 2-day shipping and multi-channel fulfillment, making it a feasible alternative to Amazon FBA. However, ShipBob’s pricing can be less competitive for high-volume sellers. Additionally, customer reviews suggest that fulfillment can be inconsistent and unreliable and lead to unexpected challenges when sales peak and volume increases.
Partner with Cart.com
Cart.com is one of the best 3PLs for Amazon sellers, offering complete fulfillment and logistics solutions to support the needs of D2C and B2B brands. We support your business as it grows and scales outside the Amazon marketplace, providing fast, reliable delivery, AI-driven inventory management, flexible warehousing, greater packing customization options and dedicated customer support.
If you’re ready to optimize your fulfillment strategy with Cart.com, reach out today!
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