3PL warehouse providers are counted by the US statistical agencies as establishments in warehousing and storage, NAICS 493, an industry the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports monthly by employment and the Census Bureau counts by establishment, and most of the establishments in it are small. A shipper comparing providers looks at location, services, rates, accuracy, systems and references; a small provider competing for that shipper wins on the last four, because it cannot win on the first two against a national network. This page is about how the market is counted and how a small provider is compared, and what the systems line in that comparison costs, which the free warehouse management system cost worksheet on this site works from the quote in front of you.
How the market is counted
Warehousing and storage is an industry code, NAICS 493, with general warehousing under 493110; the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports its employment, hours and earnings on its industries-at-a-glance page and the Census counts its establishments. Neither counts 3PLs as such, because a 3PL is a business model rather than a code, but nearly every third-party warehouse files under it, and the establishment counts are how a small provider sees how many buildings it competes with.
How a shipper compares providers
Location and the services list come first and disqualify most of the field. Among the rest the comparison is rates (space and handling per unit), the accuracy and service figures the provider can show, the system it runs and whether the shipper can see into it, and references from clients of the same shape. A small provider with a clean weekly report, a scanned WMS and an SOP per client is comparable on all four.
Where the small provider competes
On the figures and the system, which cost far less than the network. A WMS at $79 a month with two extra users, four scanners and $1,500 of set-up is $4,328 in the first year on the worked example; a weekly report worked the same way every week costs an hour. Pickpathly Pro keeps the SOPs, reports and standards per client so the comparison can be shown rather than claimed.
Questions people ask about 3pl warehouse providers
How many 3PL warehouse providers are there in the United States?
The statistical agencies count warehousing and storage establishments under NAICS 493 rather than 3PLs by name; the Census establishment counts and the BLS industry page cited below are the measured sources. This site quotes no count of its own.
What do shippers look for in a 3PL provider?
Location and services first, then rates, reported accuracy and service, the system and its visibility, and references. The worksheets on this site produce the reported figures a small provider is compared on.
Can a single-building 3PL compete with a national provider?
For clients whose volume fits one building and whose customers are within its reach, yes, on rates, accuracy, service figures and attention. The system and the reporting are the parts a small provider can match cheaply.