What is a 3PL warehouse?
A third-party logistics provider (3PL) handles warehousing, fulfillment, and transportation on behalf of manufacturers, importers, and brands — so you don't have to own or operate the infrastructure yourself.
DAW is a full-service 3PL: we receive your freight, store it in our owned facilities, pick and pack orders, and ship them out. You get real-time inventory visibility through our portal. We handle the labor, the dock, and the compliance.
Unlike most 3PLs, we own our buildings. That means your rate isn't exposed to lease escalations, and our operations aren't constrained by a landlord's requirements.
What makes us different from other 3PLs
We own the buildings
All four facilities are owned by DAW. No lease pass-through. Your storage rate reflects our real cost structure, not a landlord's escalation clause.
Food-grade as the baseline
Every facility is food-grade certified — not a single zone, not an upgrade tier. If your product has food-safety requirements, we're already compliant.
Family-owned, personally accountable
We've been family-owned since 1934. The person you call has the authority to fix your problem. We respond within one business day. Personally.
Minnesota and Georgia coverage
Twin Cities and Atlanta metro — two of the most important distribution nodes in the Midwest and Southeast. We're positioned where your freight moves.
Container unloading at scale
3,000+ containers per year. Automotive, metals, food, general imports. We turn containers fast without losing control of the count or the paperwork.
Real-time client portal
Your inventory, your transfers, your shipments — all in one place. Live data, not a weekly spreadsheet. Built on enterprise ERP so it scales with you.
We specialize, we don't generalize
Decades of vertical experience. We know the compliance requirements, the timelines, and the cost of a missed shipment in your industry.
Minnesota and Georgia 3PL facilities
Four owned warehouses. 686,000 sq ft total. Strategically located to serve the Midwest and Southeast with minimal transit time.
Buford, GA
302,000 sq ft · 42 dock doors · Food-grade certified · I-985 access · Serves Atlanta metro and Southeast distributors
Twin Cities – 3 Facilities
Eagan (144K), Little Canada (140K+), and Newport (100K) covering the full Twin Cities metro. I-35, I-494, and I-94 access.
3PL warehousing: what you need to know
How does 3PL warehousing pricing work?
3PL warehousing is typically priced on a combination of pallet storage (per pallet per month), handling fees (inbound and outbound per pallet), and any value-added services. At DAW, we build transparent rate cards based on your volume, SKU count, turn velocity, and any special handling requirements. Because we own our buildings, our pricing is stable — we don't pass lease increases through to clients.
What's the difference between 3PL and 4PL?
A 3PL (third-party logistics provider) owns or operates physical warehousing and transportation assets — the actual dock, the actual forklift, the actual driver. A 4PL manages logistics on your behalf without owning the assets, acting more as an orchestrator. DAW is a 3PL: we physically handle your freight in our buildings with our people.
Does DAW do food-grade warehousing?
Yes — food-grade is our baseline, not an upgrade. All four DAW facilities are food-grade certified. We maintain FDA-compliant receiving procedures, lot tracking, FIFO rotation, allergen segregation protocols, and expiry management. We've handled everything from single-SKU private label runs to multi-SKU Fortune 500 grocery distribution.
Can DAW handle container devanning and import freight?
Yes. We unload 3,000+ containers per year across automotive, metals, food, and general commodity imports. We have dedicated container unloading teams, piece count verification, ERP-captured receiving, and customs broker coordination. If your supply chain touches a port, we handle the warehousing side.
What size companies does DAW work with?
We work with Fortune 500 companies and regional manufacturers alike. We're large enough to handle high-volume operations but structured to give smaller clients direct access to decision-makers. If you're outgrowing your current setup or evaluating 3PL for the first time, we'll tell you honestly whether we're the right fit.
Ready to talk 3PL?
Tell us your volume, your SKU count, and what you're moving. We'll come back with a real answer within one business day.