Choosing a third-party logistics (3PL) provider is a high-stakes decision, and it can have an immense impact on your business’s performance over the long haul. By outsourcing your warehousing, inventory management, and order fulfillment operations to a 3PL, you can unlock opportunities to:
- Increase automation and efficiency across your logistics network
- Improve on-time delivery rates and customer satisfaction
- Decrease costs for storage, shipping, staffing, and inventory
- Drive business expansion across countries, customer segments, and industries
Third-party logistics providers can become trusted business partners, working with you to implement logistics solutions that can help fuel long-term business growth and development.
All of this is possible if you choose the right 3PL provider.
Sometimes, when a third-party logistics service isn’t meeting your expectations or adapting to the changing needs of your business, it might be time to switch 3PL providers.
In this article, we’ll explore three main reasons why companies switch 3PL providers—and detail what to expect in the process.
Reason #1 to change 3PL companies: pricing
One of the most common reasons that companies change third-party logistics providers is dissatisfaction with the provider’s pricing strategy and structure. When it comes to 3PL pricing structures, we see the following issues constantly arising:
Lack of transparency
A 3PL provider is meant to help a business cut costs across inventory management, warehousing, and fulfillment operations. But many 3PL providers make it difficult to determine if your company is actually realizing significant cost savings.
Traditional 3PLs’ pricing models are often dizzyingly complex and come with loads of hidden fees. As a result, you might struggle to understand your total cost of ownership for 3PL services.
Some 3PLs—like Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS)—offer simple, cost-effective pricing plans across its services. This way, it’s easy to calculate how much you’re spending to outsource your logistics operations, so you can assess whether your 3PL partnership is really beneficial for your bottom line.
Lack of flexibility
With sudden shifts in supply and demand, fluctuations in prices and inflation rates, and constant regulatory changes, today’s business world is unpredictable. To cope with this volatility, your company must have the ability to adjust logistics operations in real-time to scale up or down as needed.
However, many companies discover that when working with a 3PL, attaining this operational flexibility across their logistics operations is extremely difficult. They may get locked into rigid, multi-year contracts or volume/throughput commitments —or their third-party logistics services may not offer all the logistics services or reach they need as their business scales or targets new markets.
There are some 3PLs out there—such as ASCS—that offer flexible support that scales or shifts as your business needs change. With ASCS as your 3PL provider, you can add (or drop) services like ground freight, warehousing, and more as needed. This on-demand model gives you the ability to ramp up, slow down, or switch off your 3PL services depending on the changing dynamics and constraints across your supply chain. As a result, it can give your company a major competitive advantage.
Reason #2 to change 3PL companies: subpar performance
The second key reason why companies change 3PLs is that they are dissatisfied with their provider’s performance. When it comes to ecommerce fulfillment, for example, today’s customers demand speed (with deliveries typically in two days or less) and reliability (with delivery promises being met, rain or shine), and third-party logistics services must be able to fulfill those expectations.
To do this, your 3PL must have:
- A track record of on-time delivery performance. ASCS’ Multichannel Fulfilment (MCF) service, for example, has a 96.4% on-time delivery rate for all MCF orders worldwide.1
- A global network of fulfillment centers and other logistics facilities and resources located close to where your customers are. This will enable you to strategically position and pool your inventory, ensuring that you always have the right products in the right places at the right times to satisfy demand (at the lowest possible cost). The ASCS network spans more than 2,000 facilities in 27 countries—so you can position your stock as close as possible to your customer base, wherever they are (or position your company to expand into new markets).
- State-of-the-art technology. Many 3PLs utilize out-of-date, legacy technologies. ASCS’s advanced suite of technology includes the world’s largest fleet of warehouse robots (>1 million) and sophisticated AI-powered demand forecasting tools, so you can ensure your warehouse stock is at the right level, minimizing overstocking and reducing stockouts during peak periods.
If your 3PL doesn’t have the global network or cutting-edge technology you need to achieve peak levels of operational efficiency and delivery performance, then you probably want to look for a new provider.
1Based on all orders placed and delivered between October 2024 and September 2025, and measuring the percentage of orders that were delivered on or before the estimated delivery date generated upon order confirmation.
Reason #3 to change 3PL companies: growing pains
The third reason why many companies change 3PLs is that they realize, over time, that they’ve outgrown their 3PL provider. As businesses evolve, look to enter into new markets, and launch new product lines, they often find that the third-party logistics services they have been working with don’t have the resources and capabilities to help drive these initiatives.
To support your business as it scales, your 3PL provider must have:
- Geographic coverage in the locations where you hope to expand. ASCS, for example, is a 3PL with a global network in 27 countries powered by more than 1.5M+ employees across facilities—it most likely has a foothold in every market where your company operates today or will expand to in the future.
- Experience and expertise in the industries, customer segments, and product areas where you are trying to grow.
Ready to change 3PL companies? Choosing the right provider
The decision to change 3PL companies is a major one. Take the time to thoroughly evaluate your current and prospective 3PL providers before making any moves. But if you are experiencing issues with pricing, performance, or reach, you may want to reassess your relationship with your 3PL provider.
If you choose the right third-party logistics provider, they will become a true business partner, working with you to minimize the costs and complexity of your day-to-day logistics operations, boost your on-time delivery performance and customer satisfaction, and drive long-term business growth.
