For years, a lot of 3PLs have quietly treated Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico as places not worth the trouble. The customers are there. The orders come in. But the shipping costs and transit times make it hard to quote with confidence, and harder to protect margin once the freight actually moves.

Today we are announcing a partnership that changes that. DiversiFi is teaming up with International Bridge (IB) to give 3PLs a faster, lower cost way to ship to every non continental U.S. destination, including Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, and APO/FPO/DPO military addresses.

As DiversiFi expands its bids and offerings beyond the continental United States, IB gives the 3PLs on our platform something they have not had before: real coverage, real speed, and real savings in the markets that have always been the hardest to serve.

Why Non Continental Shipping Has Been So Hard for 3PLs

These destinations sit outside the ground networks that make mainland delivery predictable. Getting a parcel to Honolulu, Anchorage, or San Juan takes air logistics, regional presence, and carrier relationships that most operations never build. So 3PLs tend to fall back on the same two options: pay premium rates through a national carrier, or tell the brand it is not worth shipping there.

Both options cost you. Premium rates squeeze margin on every shipment. Saying no leaves revenue on the table, and it gives a competitor a reason to pitch your client. When a brand tells you their customers in Hawaii or Puerto Rico are ready to buy, that is demand you should be able to serve profitably.

Who Is International Bridge?

International Bridge has been building non continental delivery infrastructure since 2003. The company started with 33 packages to Hawaii. Today, IB Non-Con ships millions of packages every year to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, and APO/FPO addresses.

That is more than 20 years of airline partnerships, tested contingency plans, and refined address validation. It is the kind of experience that is very hard to replicate, and it is exactly what a 3PL needs behind it when a client asks, "Can you ship to Alaska?"

“For years, sellers have treated Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico as places they simply couldn’t afford to ship. Customers there were ready to buy; the shipping costs and transit times just made it hard to say yes. With 2 to 5 day delivery and savings of around 30%, we’ve changed that math. These aren’t just markets you can reach now. They’re markets where you can grow your margin.”
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Chas Gorham, Vice President of Sales, International Bridge

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Coverage: Every Non Continental U.S. Destination

IB does not just cover one or two of these markets. It covers all of them, with local infrastructure in the places it delivers.

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IB also operates facilities in the markets it serves, not just mainland hubs. Mainland hubs sit in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Cincinnati. In Hawaii, IB operates in Honolulu, Lihue, Kahului, Kona, and Hilo. In Alaska, Anchorage and Juneau. In Puerto Rico, San Juan. Local teams respond in real time when conditions shift, which matters a great deal when weather or airline schedules change.

Speed: How the Zone Skipping Model Works

The reason IB can deliver in 2 to 5 business days comes down to how the network is built. Instead of moving parcels through every intermediate zone, IB flies them directly to the destination market.
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Cost: Where the Margin Comes Back

Typical savings of around 30% compared to traditional carriers is the number 3PLs will care about most, and it is worth thinking through what it means in practice.

When you are quoting a brand that ships to Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico, the shipping cost to those destinations has probably been a number you padded, or a destination you priced conservatively to be safe. With lower cost and faster delivery from the same partner, you can price those lanes more competitively and still protect your margin. In other words, these markets stop being a cost problem and start being a growth opportunity.
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That is the shift Chas describes in his quote above. The goal is not just to reach these markets. It is to make them profitable.

What This Means for 3PLs on DiversiFi

“Our job is to keep finding new ways to put more profit in our 3PLs’ hands. Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico have always been markets where the shipping math didn’t work. With International Bridge, it does, and that is a new margin opportunity our 3PLs can go after today.”
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Kevin Miller, Chief Product Officer at DiversiFi

DiversiFi was built to help 3PLs win more business and protect more margin. This partnership extends both in a direction that was hard to address before.

• Broader bids. As DiversiFi expands its bids and offerings outside the continental U.S., you can respond to prospects with non continental volume instead of carving those destinations out of the proposal.

• Stronger pricing in hard to serve markets. Lower cost and predictable transit give you room to quote Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico lanes with more confidence.

• Faster delivery for your clients' customers. A 2 to 5 day promise to markets that used to take longer, or cost far more, changes what your clients can offer at checkout.

• A better answer to the question brands are already asking. When a prospect says their customers in Hawaii or Puerto Rico are ready to buy, you can say yes and show them how.

• More capability without building it yourself. Air logistics, local teams, and airline relationships take years to build. Your clients get the benefit without you having to.

The bigger picture

Carrier diversification has been one of the biggest themes in logistics this year. The 3PLs that win are the ones with options, so they are never stuck absorbing whatever the national carriers decide to charge.

Non continental shipping is one of the clearest places that applies. It is a set of lanes where the traditional carrier answer has been expensive, and where a specialist with 20 years of experience can deliver a better one.

Getting Started

If your clients ship to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, or military addresses, or if you have been avoiding quoting those destinations, this is a good time to take a second look. Reach out to your DiversiFi account team and we will walk you through what the partnership makes possible. You can also learn more about International Bridge and IB Non-Con at myib.com.

The 3PLs that treat these markets as an opportunity, rather than an exception, are going to have a real edge with the brands that sell there. We are glad to be building that with IB.

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