Inside the Shifting Role of Pharma 3PLs: Resilience, Regulation, and the Road Ahead

Third-party logistics providers (3PLs) play a critical role in the pharma supply chain, being tasked with the management of specialized logistics functions that manufacturers, distributors, or dispensers may be unable to support due to resource constraints, cost considerations, or other operational limitations.

For the third year in a row, Pharmaceutical Commerce examined the most significant challenges facing pharma 3PLs, while simultaneously assessing how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to shape current market conditions and influence the sector’s outlook into the next decade.

Those interviewed include the following:

• Joel Wayment, vice president/general manager, Cardinal Health Third-Party Logistics and Packaging Solutions
• Danny Williams, president, channel management and 3PL, EVERSANA
• Chris Armstrong, vice president and general manager, McKesson Third-Party Logistics
• Robert Saunders, senior vice president of revenue and marketing, Frontier Scientific Solutions
• Alina Chesnokova, vice president, global 3PL commercialization, Cencora
• Matt Wolf, chief commercial officer, CareTria

The following roundtable-style discussion has been edited for length and clarity.

Pharma Commerce: Could you provide a general overview of how the third-party logistics process works in today’s pharma landscape?

Danny Williams: Across the pharmaceutical industry, today’s third-party logistics, or 3PL, is not simply outsourcing a non-core competence for a transactional vendor relationship. 3PL providers offer a complete range of supply chain, order-to-cash, and revenue management services for the biopharma industry that are adaptable and scalable. An ideal partner offers efficient and cost-effective solutions to assist companies lacking infrastructure and expertise to manage warehousing, distribution, order-to-cash, and revenue management services in a quality-compliant manner. A partnership that leverages the infrastructure and experience of the 3PL enables the manufacturer to focus on its core competency of discovering and developing therapies for patients in need.

But it’s so much more than outsourcing warehousing and distribution. A 3PL should be focused on orchestrating a regulated, data-rich, end-to-end value chain to help life-altering and life-changing medications get from manufacturers to hospitals, clinics, and ultimately, patients. The goal of any third-party logistics in the pharma industry is always the same: get the right therapy to the right place, to the right patient, on time, within control—every time.

Chris Armstrong: 3PL providers offer a complete range of supply chain management services that are adaptable to help businesses swiftly respond to market demands, including launch strategy and support; data and reporting; product management; and financial customer services. For manufacturers preparing their first launch, one critical element is implementing the compliance infrastructure to comply with all federal and state laws and regulations. For established manufacturers, program optimization and scalability are continued priorities. An ideal partner offers efficient and cost-effective solutions to assist companies that lack the infrastructure to handle warehousing, distribution, and order management.

Q: What factors should manufacturers consider when selecting a 3PL, and what array of services should a quality 3PL provide?

Robert Saunders: In today’s regulatory environment, selecting a 3PL is no longer primarily about footprint or throughput. Manufacturers are increasingly evaluating partners based on compliance maturity, governance discipline, and their ability to operate consistently within validated systems. Regulators now expect greater transparency and traceability across the supply chain, placing increased responsibility on logistics partners to demonstrate control, not just capability. This has elevated the importance of documented processes, escalation pathways, and operating environments that are inspection-ready by design.

As a result, manufacturers are looking for partners who can integrate seamlessly into their quality frameworks and operate within infrastructure that already meets the highest standards. For 3PLs, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity—those able to align with purpose-built, regulated environments are better positioned to support advanced therapies while maintaining regulatory confidence and protecting patients.

Alina Chesnokova: Manufacturers should consider factors such as scale and experience, value-added services, and customer service, while ensuring the 3PL provider can deliver tailored solutions to support their business goals and specific needs. For example, small biotech companies launching their first therapy often require a strategic partner that can deliver comprehensive commercialization support, guiding them through market access, regulatory compliance, and global distribution. Larger companies, on the other hand, depend on 3PLs to scale efficiently across geographies, allowing them to focus on innovation.

A quality 3PL should create value beyond distribution, delivering integrated solutions—order-to-cash, both in-country and across borders; as well as network review services; relabeling and repacking; title model programs; and import/export support—to reduce vendor complexity and drive efficiency.

Joel Wayment: There are going to be some items that are considered table stakes, one of which is having the facilities to be able to store the product, but I think the things that manufacturers should be looking at when they’re looking for a 3PL go beyond that. Manufacturers want to also look for 3PLs that are continuing to innovate, continuing to do things focused on the future, including how that 3PL can help support a manufacturer’s goals and mission as an organization.

Whether that is investing in new storage capabilities or new technology, whether that’s looking at different ways to provide value of how products are moving through the supply chain, improving the types of shippers and containers that are being used throughout supply chain. What’s also critical for manufacturers that doesn’t always get brought up is really understanding and looking for the right culture and fit. There are a lot of 3PLs out there, but you want to partner with somebody that closely aligns to what your mission and culture are as an organization.

Q: Although we’re about six years removed from its onset, what valuable lessons did you learn during the COVID-19 pandemic that have helped improve efficiencies?

Matt Wolf: I think our whole industry put in focus the need for very clear and concise business continuity plans. Every single service provider in the industry was forced to deploy at least some level or all of their business continuity planning. It really pushed us to not only execute that, but as a result, really refine and enhance this, which led to things like redundancy.

Redundancy is critical. At CareTria, we have redundant warehouses. We have warehouses in Indiana, Tennessee, and New Jersey, so that we have that ability, based on the need and based on that business continuity plan, to really be adaptable on where we can provide services. I think this really forced us to think differently in the industry on how we think about partnerships, because ultimately, at the end of the day, we were trying to get care and product to the patient. It wasn’t a matter of, “I’m CareTria and you’re XX company.” It was, how do we get that patient in need the life-saving medication to them as quickly as possible?

One of the other things I would say that is more evolving, is the introduction of more technology into our distribution warehouses. That did two things. That allowed us to overcome challenges that might have historically been people in that process, because all of us had big waves of team members that just couldn’t come to work because of the epidemic. But it also allowed those team members to level up in some cases, so the technology really could be accretive to allow them to do something else that was leveling up their career.

Armstrong: In the six years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, several critical lessons have improved 3PL efficiencies across the market. One of the most significant insights is the necessity of a strong, resilient supply chain infrastructure—an essential foundation for managing large-scale distribution efforts. The pandemic highlighted how quickly circumstances can change, and the ability to adapt and respond to unprecedented challenges has now become a defining standard for biopharma 3PL providers. This shift underscores the importance of flexibility and agility as core operational principles. Secondly, is the recognition that success in today’s environment requires both an expert team and cutting-edge technology.

Advanced tools that provide real-time visibility, robust reporting, and seamless connectivity through EDI (electronic data interchange/API (application programming interface) integrations enable automation and streamline processes, driving efficiency at every stage.

Q: Heading further into 2026, which trends affecting the pharmaceutical industry will 3PLs be on the lookout for?

Chesnokova: 3PLs must keep pace with rising demand for advanced cold chain solutions, as half of global product launches by 2027 will require cold storage. Growth in areas like oncology and immunology are adapting networks and facilities to handle more complex therapies, such as cell and gene therapies (CGTs). We’ve more than tripled ultra-low and cryogenic storage capacity in the US and have expanded cold chain capacity across our network in Europe, including developing a dedicated specialty unit equipped with cryogenic technology in the Netherlands.

Through conversations with our customers, we also know that cost pressures, supply chain complexities, and the need for operational efficiency are driving a shift in how they operate. They increasingly seek partners that can deliver integrated support across multiple geographies to simplify supply chains, reduce vendor management burdens, and accelerate commercialization, which allows them to focus on innovation.

Williams: Several things come to mind. First, with the continued global rise of biologics and CGT, the need for temperature-sensitive storage and tracking will continue. Advanced cold chain solutions are now a basic requirement for participating in the 3PL space, given the increasing demand for temperature-sensitive medications. So anticipate increased attention and a focus on refrigerated, frozen, and deep-frozen services. Many brands are turning to direct-to-patient (DTP) models that integrate telehealth, e-prescribing, and home delivery. 3PLs must support both traditional distribution channels as well as the evolving channels, such as DTP.

One recent change in the US that we are seeing is pharmaceutical manufacturers on- or near-shoring more production. This creates challenges for manufacturers and CDMOs (contract development and manufacturing organizations), who will need more warehousing for finished products and potentially shortened cycle times. 3PLs that offer a comprehensive set of services to help the pharma manufacturers overcome industry challenges while helping the brand achieve its goals will be in high demand.

Q: What level of impact do you anticipate 3PLs and their role within the industry having over the course of the next decade?

Saunders: Over the next decade, 3PLs will play an increasingly central role in enabling pharmaceutical innovation to reach patients safely and reliably. As therapies become more specialized and regulatory expectations continue to rise, success will depend on combining scale with control and flexibility with validation. Rather than building every capability independently, many 3PLs will operate within collaborative ecosystems that provide access to purpose-built infrastructure and governed transport pathways. This model supports expansion while maintaining the highest standards of quality and compliance.

The future of pharmaceutical logistics will be defined by collaboration bringing together science, infrastructure, and execution to ensure that life-changing therapies move through the supply chain with integrity, ultimately improving and saving lives.

Wolf: I see 3PLs’ role actually dramatically increasing over the next 10 years, and it’s this continued emergence and growth of first-time launchers. They’re looking for these alternative ways to distribute their product, same as small biotechs. That 3PL model is actually a model that’s been tried and true in Europe. A lot of the distribution moves through 3PL versus what we see here in the US, so I think particularly these biotech and first-time launchers are trying to really lean on that model. It’s because they see the significant savings that they can endure, and also, the whole channel strategy is completely evolving, where, historically, you were trying to move as much product into the channel as you could to try to get uptake.

We’ve moved past these small molecule assets and more into these high-cost, specialty, complex agents, where it’s not about moving a ton of product into the channel; it’s about getting the product to the right person at the right time, at the right temperature. That is really square in the middle of the power swing of what 3PLs can do.

Wayment: I think 3PLs will be able to help manufacturers move faster and more efficiently. One of the great values that a 3PL provides pharmaceutical or biotech manufacturers is that manufacturers can focus on their core. They can focus on drug discovery, drug development, getting drugs to out to the market to improve patient lives, while letting 3PLs do what they do very well, which is logistics and all the back-office activities that take place.