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 Third party logistics (3PL) providers provide additional support for specific phases of the shipping business, acting as a link between the outsourced distribution and fulfilment phases of the supply chain. While 3PL services have always been a key player in supply chain operations, their involvement is increasing as companies' sourcing, manufacturing and customer bases become progressively more multinational. 3PLs can provide warehousing, transportation, picking and packaging solutions - essentially covering any logistics service that a brand manufacturer cannot handle. Brand manufacturers tend to use 3PLs when their start-up facilities and systems outgrow their scale. for example, a start-up company selling cosmetics out of its garage might start getting a lot of orders on its e-commerce site. Suddenly, its manual processes are unable to meet the needs of its customers. Instead of buying its own fleet of warehouses and trucks, the startup might hire a 3PL to handle some or all o...