What is a 3PL, and what do 3PL services include?
A 3PL, or third-party logistics provider, is a company that runs part of your supply chain for you, usually the warehousing, order fulfillment and shipping around your inventory. 3PL services typically cover receiving inbound freight, storing it, picking and packing orders, kitting, returns and the handoff to carriers, priced per pallet, per order and per hour of project labor. In 3PL logistics the inventory stays yours: the 3PL holds it, ships it on your instructions and shows you stock levels in a client portal, which at Alvy Logistics is the Logiwa client portal.
A 3PL provider you can drive to
Alvy Logistics runs one 58,000 sq ft warehouse in Valencia, California, just off the I-5 in the Santa Clarita Valley. Every client’s inventory sits in that building, and the people who receive it are the same people who pick, pack and ship it. That is the point: a 3PL where you can see the warehouse, meet the team and know exactly where your stock is.
Third-party warehouse or 3PL: what is the difference?
A third-party warehouse stores goods for other companies. A 3PL adds the order work and the transportation around that storage. At Alvy Logistics the same team that stores your pallets also picks orders, builds kits and books the courier, box truck or carrier pickup, so storage and fulfillment run from one inventory count. If you only need space, see warehousing services and pallet storage.
How does a 3PL work? Our 3PL warehousing services, step by step
A typical 3PL relationship with us runs in this order:
- Inbound. Containers and floor-loaded trailers are unloaded, counted against your packing list and put away. A short or damaged count is reported the day it happens, not at month end.
- Storage. Ambient, dry space, racked or floor-stacked, billed per pallet or per square foot.
- Orders. Ecommerce orders flow in from your store, for example Shopify, and are picked and packed; wholesale orders ship by the carton or pallet, built to the retailer’s routing guide with GS1-128 labels, advance ship notices and EDI.
- Outbound. Parcel carriers pick up at our Valencia dock, international parcels included; local courier and box truck runs go with Alvy as the carrier; LTL and truckload move through Accurate Freight Systems LLC.
- Returns. Returns come back to the same building and are processed there.
Is a 3PL right for a small business?
A 3PL starts to pay when packing and shipping take more of your week than selling does. We work best with brands and distributors shipping a few hundred to several thousand orders a month, wholesale accounts moving by the pallet, and companies that need overflow or seasonal space. Under a few hundred orders a month, doing it in-house is usually cheaper, and we will say so before you move any stock.
One building or a national 3PL network?
Large 3PLs split inventory across many buildings to shorten parcel zones. One building keeps your stock in a single count, with one team and a dock you can visit. That suits brands whose customers are mostly in the West: ground parcels from Valencia reach most of California, Nevada and Arizona in 1 to 2 days. If most of your customers are on the East Coast, a multi-node network, or a second warehouse there, may serve you better, and we will say so.
How do 3PLs charge, and what does our quote include?
Every quote lists storage, receiving, order handling and any project labor as separate lines, so you can see what each part of the job costs. Postage is added by carrier and service. Pick and pack is priced from a sample of your actual orders, so the rate on your quote reflects how you really ship. Business clients are invoiced. Send a month of orders and your pallet count, and ask for a written quote.
Choosing a 3PL in Southern California
Location matters more than most 3PL sales pages admit. A Valencia building sits north of the Los Angeles basin traffic, about 60 miles from the ports, with the I-5 running north to the Central Valley and the 14 east toward the high desert. See 3PL in Los Angeles and 3PL in California for how that plays out for your lanes, and our guide to 3PL pricing for the numbers.
