Amazon Just Became a 3PL. Should Your Brand Use It?

On May 7 2026, Amazon launched Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS). For the first time, Amazon is renting out its warehouses, trucks, and delivery vans to any brand, not just sellers on its marketplace. Early named customers include Procter & Gamble, 3M, and Lands' End. (Source: DC Velocity)

The pitch is easy to understand. Use the same network that gets a Prime order to a doorstep in under 24 hours. The trade-off is less obvious, and it is what every SMB founder should think through before handing over the keys.

If you already sell on Amazon, you know what it feels like to depend on one company. The question for 2026 is whether you want to deepen that relationship across the rest of your operation, or whether you want a fulfillment partner that is not also your competitor.

Here is the honest case for each side.

The enterprise adopters just landed.

When Amazon quietly launched Supply Chain Services, the honest question was whether real Fortune 500 shippers would trust Amazon with their inventory. The answer arrived. Procter and Gamble is moving raw materials and finished goods through Amazon Freight. 3M is running distribution lanes on Amazon. Lands' End is using a unified inventory pool across sales channels. American Eagle is using Amazon parcel to deliver its own direct-to-consumer orders.

That is a real endorsement of the network, and it changes the pitch to smaller brands. Amazon is no longer selling a beta. It is selling a network that P&G trusts. If you are a US brand and want a neutral alternative, see US Fulfillment 3PL for Non-US Brands: How to Expand Faster for the mirror-image play. The right answer for most SMB brands is still no, but the reason has narrowed. It is not about network reliability anymore, that is now proven. It is about control, data, and the risk of building your fulfillment on a partner that also competes with you on Amazon.com.

What is Amazon Supply Chain Services?

Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS) is Amazon's new third-party logistics business. It lets any brand use Amazon's warehouses, freight network, and delivery vans, even if the brand does not sell on Amazon's marketplace.

Up until now, you could only use Amazon's network if you sold on Amazon. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) only worked for Amazon orders. Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) helped a little but had limits. ASCS drops the marketplace requirement entirely. You can now use Amazon's warehouses and delivery to ship Shopify orders, wholesale shipments, or DTC sales, even if you never list a product on Amazon.

This is Amazon doing to logistics what AWS did to cloud computing. Take internal capacity, package it as a service, and sell it to everyone.

The first brands signing up tell you who this is built for. American Eagle Outfitters is using Amazon’s parcel network, and Lands’ End is pooling its inventory inside Amazon’s network. Both are large national retailers with the volume to absorb Amazon’s terms, which is worth remembering if you are a smaller brand weighing the same move.

What does Amazon Supply Chain Services include?

Amazon calls it full-service. In practice, it covers four things:

Freight. Ocean shipping, over-the-road trucking, and trucking from US ports to the warehouse.

Warehousing and fulfillment. Storage and pick-pack inside Amazon's network of distribution centers.

Delivery. Amazon's own trucks and vans handle the last leg, the same ones you see on residential streets.

Returns. Customer returns flow back through the same Amazon system.

Amazon's pitch is speed and reach. Same-day and two-day are the headline numbers. The catch is that you cannot mix and match easily. Once your inventory is in Amazon's warehouses, swapping out just one piece (say, just the delivery) is hard.

What is the trade-off for SMB and growing brands?

Three real costs, none of which show up on a rate sheet.

1. Amazon sees all your data. Not just your Amazon sales. Your Shopify orders, your wholesale shipments, what is selling and what is not, where your customers live, how often they return, how big your peak season is. If you also sell on Amazon, the same company watching your shelf is now watching your full business.

2. Your brand disappears in the box. Amazon's packaging, shipping notifications, and delivery experience are built for Amazon, not for your brand. Custom inserts, branded boxes, and on-brand unboxing moments get limited or cut entirely.

3. Everything ends up in one basket. When the same company handles your freight, your storage, your delivery, and your returns, you have no leverage. Renegotiating rates is hard when that vendor is also holding your inventory and running your trucks.

For a brand still scaling, that last one is the real story. Freight savings can be real. The lock-in is the cost you only feel when you try to leave.

When does Amazon Supply Chain Services make sense?

One situation: you are already deep in Amazon. If 80% or more of your revenue comes through the Amazon marketplace and you already use FBA, adding ASCS for your remaining Shopify or wholesale orders is a small extension, not a big shift. You are already inside the system.

Outside of that, the speed is not worth what you give up. Most growing brands lose more than they gain.

When is an independent 3PL the better choice?

Most SMB and growing DTC brands sit here. You probably fit if:

You sell in more than one place (Shopify, Amazon, wholesale, retail) and you want one inventory pool that no single channel partner can see in full.

Your brand matters at the doorstep. Unboxing, custom packing slips, and on-brand returns are part of why customers come back.

You want to compare parcel rates across UPS, FedEx, USPS, and regional carriers, not be locked into one delivery network.

You expect to switch or add vendors as you grow. The freedom to leave is part of the deal.

An independent 3PL competes for your business on service and rate. It does not also compete with you for the customer.

How does 3PL Center compare?

3PL Center is an independent 3PL for growing brands across multiple channels. The difference compared to Amazon Supply Chain Services:

No marketplace conflict. We do not sell products. Your sales data stays your data.

Coast-to-coast US fulfillment with warehouses near the major US ports, so your inbound containers and outbound parcels both move short distances.

Multi-carrier parcel. We ship UPS, FedEx, USPS, and regional carriers, using our discounted carrier rates so you do not pay sticker price.

2 PM same-day cutoff. Orders that hit the warehouse by 2 PM local time ship the same day.

Real-time visibility in our WMS, plus container tracking from port to shelf.

Specialized capabilities for apparel, kitting and assembly, and subscription box brands.

We are not the right fit for every brand. For brands that want a fulfillment partner pulling for their growth, and not also competing for the same customer, we are worth a 15 minute call.