For the purposes of this 3PL directory we have grouped 3pl service providers into the following categories:
International Freight Forwarding / Customs Brokerage Services
International Courier Services
Warehousing and Order Fulfillment Services
Domestic Transportation Services
Other Services
International Freight Forwarding and Customer Brokerage Services
International freight forwarding services include the activities related to the shipping of goods across international borders via various transportation modes and can include:
Air Freight – via passenger or dedicated cargo airlines
Sea Freight – via shipping lines
Road – via cross border trucking companies
Rail – via railroad operators
Multi modal – using a combination of the above modes
International freight forwarders typically also provide customs brokerage and road transportation services as part of their end to end delivery service offering.
Customs Brokerage Services include activities related to facilitating the import and export customs clearance of goods being shipped from one country to another and include:
Preparing and lodging import and export documentation with the relevant customs authorities
Calculating and paying any duty and taxes if applicable
Providing advice in regards to import and export requirements
International Courier Services
International couriers provide a door to door service for shipping goods across international borders. The door to door activities include:
Pick up and delivery at origin and destination
Customs clearance at origin and destination
Shipping via Air Freight
International courier services are typically used for smaller or extremely urgent shipments.
Warehousing and Order Fulfillment Services
Warehousing and order fulfillment services include the activities related to storage of inventory and fulfilling customer orders as provided by a 3rd party logistics service providers and can include:
Receiving and putting away inbound inventory ordered from factories and suppliers
Storing and managing inventory prior to fulfilling customer orders
Picking , packing and shipping orders received from customers
Specialized services such as repackaging and relabeling of inventory to meet specific customer requirements – often referred to as value added services
Receiving and managing goods returned from customers
Domestic Transportation Services
Road transportation services include the activities related to transporting goods domestically by road and can include:
Picking up and delivering inbound inventory from ports, factories, or suppliers and delivering to warehouses for storage and subsequent order fulfillment
Picking up and delivering outbound inventory from warehouses or other locations and delivering to customers to fulfill orders