Third-party logistics.
Same building as your product.
Forward and reverse 3PL in the same building where your product is built. Outbound fulfillment, inbound returns. No transfer, no second vendor.
We Made It. We Store It. We Ship It.
When your contract manufacturer also runs your 3PL, there’s no transfer between facilities, no second vendor to coordinate, no gap between “what was built” and “what’s on the shelf.”
Inventory accuracy goes up. Lead times go down. One team owns it end to end — production floor to loading dock to customer doorstep. Lotus has run integrated 3PL warehousing and fulfillment for over 31 years, aligned with WERC (Warehousing Education and Research Council) practice.
- Same building as manufacturing — zero transfer overhead
- One inventory system, one accountable team
- Forward and reverse logistics in one operation
- 24/7 secured, climate-controlled storage
- Consigned-inventory programs — customer-owned stock, drawn down on consumption
- Integrated with post-sale and asset recovery
3PL Warehousing & Kitting Services
Inbound through outbound. One team, one building.
Pick, Pack, Palletize & Label
B2B and retail order fulfillment with palletizing, labeling, and routing guide compliance.
Kitting & Assembly
Custom kit builds, sub-assembly packaging, promotional bundles, component aggregation.
B2B & Retail Fulfillment
Major retailer routing guides and labeling. EDI on request for retailer programs.
E-Commerce Fulfillment
DTC order processing, carrier-integrated, with same-day shipping windows.
Inventory, Consignment & RMA Depot
Real-time tracking, cycle counting, FIFO/LIFO, consigned-inventory programs (customer-owned stock, drawn down on consumption), RMA depot with SKU-level reporting.
Drop-Ship Programs
Drop-ship management for retailers, marketplaces, B2B channels.
Forward Out. Reverse In.
Most warehouses run one direction. Ours runs both: outbound fulfillment and inbound returns in the same building.
Returns get triaged, refurbished, restocked, or recovered without leaving the facility — tied into our post-sale and asset recovery. Unrecoverable units are disposed of under ISO 14001. Less waste, lower cost, better data.
- Outbound fulfillment for B2B, retail, and DTC
- Returns intake, triage, and disposition
- Refurbishment and restocking under one roof
- Inventory accuracy across the full cycle
From Inbound to Doorstep
Receiving through dispatch — every step under one roof.
Inbound Receiving
Product arrives from manufacturing or outside suppliers. Verified, scanned, put away in real time.
Storage & Inventory
Climate-controlled, secured, barcoded. Real-time visibility — every SKU, every location.
Order Processing
Orders received via client portal, API, or manual entry. Routed and labeled automatically.
Pick, Pack & Verify
Trained team picks, packs, and verifies every order against the manifest before it leaves the dock. Pre-delivery inspection (PDI) built in for program-specific QC.
Ship & Track
Carrier-integrated dispatch. Tracking visible to your team and customer.
Sq. Ft. Facility
Order Accuracy
Industry Partners
Avg Lead Time
Plug Into Your Systems
Your team sees real-time inventory and order data through our client web portal — the same view we see. For deeper integration, we stand up a REST API to your ERP or e-commerce platform, or EDI for retail channels.
No double entry, no batch syncs, no month-end surprises. Cleanroom and manufacturing lines feed the same warehouse system.
- Real-time inventory visibility via client web portal
- REST API for custom ERP or WMS integration
- E-commerce platform connections
- EDI available on request for retailer compliance
- Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) available for the programs we run
3PL Warehousing & Distribution FAQ
3PL stands for third-party logistics. A 3PL provider handles warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution for another company — receiving inbound product, storing it in their facility, picking and packing orders, and shipping to end customers or retail partners. Most modern brands use a 3PL because the alternative — running your own warehouse, hiring fulfillment staff, and integrating shipping carriers — is operationally heavy and capital-intensive. Lotus runs a 300,000 sq. ft. ISO 9001-certified 3PL operation in Canton, Michigan, USA.
Kitting and assembly is the process of grouping multiple SKUs into a single shippable unit before order fulfillment. The 3PL pulls components from inventory, combines them into a kit (sometimes with light assembly, packaging, or instruction inserts), and stores or ships the kit as one unit. Common kitting use cases include retail-ready bundles, subscription box programs, configure-to-order products, and promotional packs. Lotus offers full kitting services including custom kits, assembly-to-order, retail-ready packaging, and drop-ship fulfillment.
In-house warehousing means you operate your own warehouse — you sign the lease, hire the workforce, buy the equipment, integrate the WMS, and absorb the seasonal capacity risk. 3PL warehousing means you outsource all of that to a partner. The 3PL absorbs the fixed-cost overhead and you pay per unit stored and shipped. For most growing brands, 3PL is the more capital-efficient model, especially when product volumes are seasonal or when the business needs to scale quickly without locking into long-term leases. The trade-off: less direct control over operations, which is why partner selection matters.
Yes. Lotus operates fulfillment, kitting, and pick-pack-ship as integrated services within the 3PL — not as separate vendors. Your team works with one operational partner across all of it. Kitting can run in parallel with manufacturing in the same facility, so when finished goods come off the assembly line, components are already staged for kit assembly. This co-location eliminates the cross-vendor coordination overhead most brands deal with.
Lotus provides full 3PL warehousing including receiving, storage, inventory management, kitting, pick-and-pack, shipping, forward logistics, reverse logistics, and returns processing — all from our 300,000 sq. ft. facility in Canton, Michigan, USA. Drop-ship fulfillment, retail-ready packaging, and configure-to-order programs are also supported.
Every client gets a web portal with live visibility into inventory, orders, and shipments, backed by our custom in-house inventory management software. Deeper integrations — REST API to your ERP or WMS, or EDI for retailer compliance programs — are available on request.
Yes. We manage the full logistics chain in both directions — from inbound raw materials and finished goods distribution (forward) to returns processing, RMA handling, and asset recovery (reverse). Both operate from the same facility, eliminating coordination overhead.
Because manufacturing and warehousing are in the same building, products move from the assembly line directly to storage and shipping with zero transit time. This reduces handling, eliminates damage risk, shortens lead times, and simplifies your supply chain to a single partner.
We serve consumer electronics, energy storage, automotive, EV, drone, robotics, and display device industries. Our warehousing is designed for the specific handling, labeling, and compliance requirements of each sector.
Yes. We provide drop-ship fulfillment to your end customers, retail partners, and distribution centers. Orders can be initiated via your e-commerce platform, ERP, or directly through our client portal. Custom packaging, branded inserts, and retail compliance labeling are all supported.
Ready to consolidate manufacturing and fulfillment?
Our team responds within one business day.