If goods are shipped to a 3PL/e-commerce company which receives the goods directly from the manufacturer, stocks the goods and ships it out to a distributor or end-user, they will be seen as the MDR importer. If you are using the services of a fulfillment provider and they are conducting activities such as storing products, packaging/relabelling, handling customer returns, etc., they might be considered a distributor by EU regulators.
The importer can also be a separate entity / company designated by the manufacturer to fulfill the obligations of the MDR (article 13) importer requirements. At GrowthImports we fulfill this role by being specialized in the MDR importer role, providing European wide, independent hassle-free importing so manufacturers nor distributors do not have to struggle with the requirements and liabilities.
