Third-party logistics (3PL) is the practice of outsourcing warehousing, pick and pack, and shipping to an outside operator that runs them on your behalf. In a classic 3PL relationship you still own the inventory, which is the line that separates it from dropshipping.
3PL or dropship: who owns the box on the shelf
The distinction matters because it decides where your money sits. Under a 3PL you buy the stock, ship it to the warehouse, and pay storage on it until it sells; the units on that shelf are your asset and your risk. Under dropship the supplier owns them until the moment one ships. Same parcel arriving at the same customer, completely different balance sheet.
A 3PL bill has more lines than a dropship bill: receiving, storage by pallet or bin, a pick fee for the first unit, a lower fee for each additional unit, packaging, and postage. Read the storage line hardest. Slow-moving stock in a 3PL quietly becomes a monthly subscription you are paying for the privilege of not selling something.
Most brands end up doing both eventually, dropshipping the long tail and holding their best sellers in a 3PL where the per-unit cost is lower. The peptide fulfillment pricing guide lays out how the fee structures compare.
Related terms
Per-vial pricing, no pack fees, shipped blind under your brand
Product at wholesale, $1 per vial to label it, postage at carrier cost, weekly invoicing on net-7. No setup fees, no monthly minimums, no minimum order quantities.
See the full pricing More definitions in the peptide fulfillment glossary, or read what peptide dropshipping is. FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY — NOT FOR HUMAN OR ANIMAL USE