Marketing Agency for 3PL Companies
Brands change 3PL rarely, and when they do, they decide fast. The provider that is already on their list, with the right locations and integrations, gets the call.
Logistics companies we work with
Why it is different
We help 3PLs and fulfillment providers be on that list before the switch starts, and win the evaluation when it comes.
F5 is a digital marketing agency for logistics companies. For 3PLs, that means capability proof first and creative second.
Why 3PL marketing is different
A brand looking for a 3PL does not search for "logistics services". It searches for what it needs: Shopify fulfillment in Texas, B2B pallet storage near the Port of Savannah, cold storage for supplements.
The evaluation is detailed. Operations checks locations, SLAs and integrations, finance checks pricing models and minimums, and someone asks for references. A 3PL website that says "we are flexible and customer focused" gives none of them what they need.
The timing is the hard part. Most brands only look when something breaks: a peak season that went wrong, a move into a new region or a new sales channel. Marketing has to keep you visible in between.
For the channel-by-channel view, see our guide to 3PL marketing, and for pipeline on its own, our 3PL lead generation service.
Why F5
Why F5 for 3PL
3PLs sell on capacity and reliability, the same proof points that moved container space for iContainers.
- 2008 Iván Tintoré co-founds iContainers in Barcelona to book ocean freight online, before anyone called it “digital forwarding.”
- 1M/mo Organic visits the inbound engine, built by Oriol Lampreave, reached before iContainers was acquired by Agility Logistics Group in 2019.
- +60 Logistics companies F5 has marketed, from carriers to freight-tech.
- +5,000 Qualified leads generated for logistics clients, at a +24% average conversion rate.
How we help
How we help 3PLs win more business
F5 helps 3PLs and fulfillment providers win more clients by making every location, service and integration findable in Google and AI assistants, reaching brands when they outgrow their current provider, running ads that fill space before peak season, and building proof pages that shorten a long evaluation.
- SEO and AI search
GEO
On the list AI gives a growing brand
Brands ask ChatGPT for "a 3PL in Dallas that integrates with Shopify". We make your locations, integrations, certifications and minimums consistent across your site, directories and listicles, so assistants recommend you.
- SEO and AI search
SEO
Pages for every location and integration
One page per warehouse, service and platform integration, with real capacity and requirements. That is how brands search for a 3PL, and it filters out the inquiries you cannot serve.
- 3PL lead generation
Outbound
Brands at the moment they switch
Lists of brands whose order volume, funding or new retail channel signals they are outgrowing fulfillment. Contact timed to that moment, which is often months before an RFP.
- B2B digital marketing
Paid ads
Fill space before peak
Search ads on location and service queries, and LinkedIn to operations and e-commerce leaders, scheduled ahead of Q4 so new clients are onboarded before peak, not during it.
- Website design
Website and CRM
Proof that shortens the evaluation
Capability pages with SLAs, accuracy metrics, integrations and site photos, a qualification form that asks for order volume and SKUs, and CRM tracking from inquiry to signed contract.
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Triggers
Buying triggers our outbound watches for 3PLs
- A brand raises funding or launches in a new retail channel
- Order volume or SKU count grows past what in-house fulfillment handles
- A brand expands to a new region and needs a second node
- Contract renewal windows and the run-up to peak season
- Marketplace fee or policy changes that push sellers off marketplace fulfillment
Who we work with
3PLs we work with
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E-commerce fulfillment providers
Sells to: DTC and marketplace brands shipping parcels to consumers.
Where marketing starts: Integration pages (Shopify, Amazon, marketplaces), pricing clarity and case examples by product type.
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B2B and retail distribution 3PLs
Sells to: Manufacturers and brands supplying retailers and distributors.
Where marketing starts: Retail compliance, EDI and routing guide proof, and pages by location and channel.
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Contract logistics providers
Sells to: Large shippers outsourcing a whole operation under a multi-year contract.
Where marketing starts: Account-based outreach, solution pages by industry and content for procurement.
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Cold storage and temperature-controlled 3PLs
Sells to: Food, beverage and pharma brands with strict temperature and compliance needs.
Where marketing starts: Certifications and validation up front, and content written for quality teams.
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Regional and multi-site warehouse networks
Sells to: Brands that need to be closer to their customers in a new region.
Where marketing starts: Location pages with real capacity, dock and labor details, found by people searching that market.
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Specialty 3PLs
Sells to: Brands with hazmat, oversized, high-value or regulated products.
Where marketing starts: Capability and compliance pages for the niche, and search for the specific requirement.
How a brand picks a 3PL
- 1
Something breaks
A missed peak, a new region or a new channel shows the current setup no longer fits.
What we build
Content that answers the trigger: when to switch 3PL, how to add a region, what a channel needs.
- 2
Builds a longlist
Searches by location, channel and product, and asks peers and AI assistants for names.
What we build
Location, integration and use-case pages, and visibility in AI answers for the category.
- 3
Sends an RFP
Asks five or six providers for pricing, SLAs and references.
What we build
An RFP-ready capability pack and a fast, structured reply.
- 4
Visits and checks
Tours the warehouse, calls references and tests the integration.
What we build
Case examples, references and onboarding timelines that make the decision safe.
- 5
Signs and expands
Starts with one site or channel, then adds more if it works.
What we build
Account expansion content and outreach for the next site or channel.
Common challenges we see in 3PLs
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Everyone says the same thing
Flexible, scalable, customer focused. When every 3PL uses the same words, the brand decides on price.
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Capacity that sits empty
Space and labor are paid for either way, so slow months hurt more than a slow pipeline should.
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Long gaps between switches
Brands rarely change provider, so leads are lumpy and marketing is easy to cut in the quiet months.
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The wrong inquiries
Start-ups with a few orders a month fill the inbox while the accounts that fit never find you.
Our approach
- Website design
Proof over promises
Locations, certifications, integrations, SLAs and pricing models, published where an operations team looks first.
- SEO for logistics
Win the location searches
Pages for every site and region, so you appear when a brand searches for fulfillment or storage in that market.
- Outbound marketing
Be on the list before the switch
Account lists built on buying signals such as funding, new channels or new regions, and outreach timed to them.
- Inbound marketing
Content for every stakeholder
Guides for operations, finance and the founder, from pricing models to onboarding, so the whole buying group has what it needs.
The process
How this works in practice
Our work with 3PLs usually includes:
- 1 Capacity, location and customer profile map: which clients fit and where you have room
- 2 Website structure with location, integration and use-case pages
- 3 SEO and AI visibility for location, channel and product queries
- 4 Buying signal lists and outbound to brands likely to switch
- 5 Lead generation forms that qualify by volume, channel and product
- 6 CRM tracking from first contact to signed contract
Key outcomes
What this enables for your business
- Inquiries from brands that fit your volume, product and locations
- Empty capacity filled with contracted clients
- A clear position that is not just "flexible and scalable"
- Visibility in search and AI answers for the markets you serve
- A pipeline that keeps moving between switching seasons
Right fit
Who this is not for
This is not a fit for 3PLs that:
- Want any client regardless of volume or fit
- Cannot share locations, capacity or pricing models
- Expect contracts in weeks from a channel that builds over months
- Want brand awareness without a pipeline target
Proven results
Case studies
How logistics companies have turned their website into a business development channel. More in our case studies.
Interworld Freight, a freight forwarder and NVOCC in Miami, came to F5 with a website that generated nothing. We rebuilt it, targeted the trade lanes their shippers search for, and made the website their main business development channel.
Read the case study-
Customs broker & 3PL · New York, since 1989CargoTrans
“They understand tariffs and trade compliance well enough to write about it; we only need to correct small details.”
Anthony DeFilippis, Co-CEO -
Freight management platform · UKTrucks on the Map
A strong product with no website behind it. Built from zero around the four problems a transport planner has, with demo booking as the goal.
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Freight forwarder · FloridaExFreight
A site broken by a failed update. Rebuilt with plain-language service pages, a one-minute quote flow and every RFQ tracked.
Learn more
Related insights and resources
More on 3PL marketing, marketing for warehousing companies, buying signals and logistics branding.
More industries
Other logistics companies we market
FAQ
Questions about 3pl marketing
Where can I find 3PL clients?
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Where can I find 3PL clients?
+Brands look for a 3PL in search, in AI assistants, on marketplaces and platform partner directories, and through referrals from agencies and consultants. Being listed with real data in those places, plus outbound to brands that are about to outgrow their setup, covers most of where clients come from. Our 3PL lead generation service focuses on that last part.
How do 3PLs get new customers?
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How do 3PLs get new customers?
+The 3PLs that grow steadily do three things: they are specific about the clients they fit (volume, SKUs, channels), they publish pages for each location and integration, and they contact brands at a trigger such as funding or a new retail channel. Generic "end-to-end logistics" messaging gets lost. Read our 3PL marketing guide.
Can ChatGPT recommend my 3PL?
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Can ChatGPT recommend my 3PL?
+Yes, when your locations, integrations and requirements are clear and consistent across your site and the directories assistants read. We publish answer-first location and service pages and track how often ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude name you for queries like "3PL in Dallas for Shopify brands".
What is the difference between this page and 3PL lead generation?
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What is the difference between this page and 3PL lead generation?
+This page covers the full marketing program for a 3PL: positioning, search, AI visibility, ads, website and outbound. 3PL lead generation is the outbound part on its own, for 3PLs that already have a strong site and need more conversations with brands.
Can you help us fill space before peak season?
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Can you help us fill space before peak season?
+Yes, if we start early enough. Brands need weeks to onboard, so campaigns for Q4 should run from mid-year. We focus ads and outbound on brands with the profile your empty space suits, rather than any inquiry that arrives.
How do we stop getting inquiries we cannot serve?
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How do we stop getting inquiries we cannot serve?
+Publish your minimums and fit openly: order volume, SKU range, product types and channels. Then ask for them in the form. Fewer inquiries arrive, but more of them become clients, and sales stops spending time on brands that were never a match.
Do you work with small 3PLs?
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Do you work with small 3PLs?
+Yes. A single-site 3PL with a clear niche, such as supplements, apparel or oversized goods, can own that niche in search and AI answers. What matters is knowing which clients you want more of.
Do you work with cold storage and specialty 3PLs?
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Do you work with cold storage and specialty 3PLs?
+Yes. Cold storage, hazmat, bonded and pharma-grade 3PLs sell on certifications and compliance, which makes proof pages and specific search terms even more important. See our guide to cold chain marketing.
Get in touch
Talk to us about your next clients
Tell us what you sell and who buys it. We will tell you, honestly, whether this is the right channel for you and what it would take.
- 1 We reply within one business day, from a person, not a sequence.
- 2 A 30-minute call on what you sell, to whom, and how you close today.
- 3 If we can build demand for it, we say what it would take. If not, we say that too.
Prefer to talk now? Pick a 30-minute slot or write to hi@f5-out.io.