How Many 3PLs to Include in Your RFP (and How to Narrow the List)
How many 3PLs to include in an RFP at each stage: a 10-25 long list, an 8-provider short list, and 2-4 finalists, based on real client and practitioner numbers.
Deciding how many 3PLs to include in an RFP is one of the first real choices you'll make in the process, and more candidates isn't automatically better. A longer list means more proposals to normalize and compare later, and most of that extra effort doesn't change the outcome. Here's the funnel we use and why it works better than either extreme.
Start With a Long List, Not a Short One
Before you narrow anything, cast wide. We typically start with 10 to 15 candidates identified through basic research and filtering, sometimes up to 25 if the market for your specific niche (temperature-controlled, hazmat, apparel, whatever your product requires) is fragmented. At this stage you're not evaluating deeply. You're just making sure you haven't missed an obvious fit.
Narrow With an RFI, Not a Gut Check
From that long list, a quick information request (not a full proposal) narrows things down fast. A long list of 25 typically narrows to a short list of around 8 providers who've confirmed they can actually serve your geography, volume, and product type. This step matters because it's the difference between sending 25 full RFPs, a real time cost for you and every provider, and sending 8.
Get to Your Final Shortlist
From that shortlist of 8, a real RFP process should get you to 3 finalists or fewer. This matches what we consistently hear from brands who've been through it. One operator described starting with eight candidates, narrowing to four, then down to two, and knowing which two would be finalists almost as soon as the shortlist was set. Another described 20 initial provider calls narrowing to 5, then 3 or 4 finalists. A third described their process ending in a final shortlist of no more than three, ideally two.
That range, roughly 2 to 4 finalists, shows up often enough that it's a reasonable target regardless of your specific industry.
Why Not Just Pick 3 From the Start?
Because you don't know yet which 3 are right. Skipping the long list and RFI stages means relying on reputation or a quick search to guess your finalists, and you'll miss providers who would have been a strong fit but weren't top of mind. The wide-to-narrow funnel exists specifically so your final 3 are chosen based on actual fit data, not name recognition.
Why Not Include More Than 8 at the RFP Stage?
Because past a certain point, more proposals don't improve your decision. They just multiply your comparison workload. Once you're normalizing rate cards, SLAs, and contract terms across more than 8 providers, you're spending time on volume instead of depth. The brands who run this well cap the RFP stage at 8 and put the saved time into evaluating those 8 more carefully.
A Quick Rule of Thumb
Long list: 10 to 25. Short list (post-RFI): around 8. Finalists: 2 to 4. If your numbers at any stage look wildly different from this, it's worth asking whether you're screening too loosely or too aggressively for your specific situation.