Find the Best Fulfillment Centers & Warehouses in Chicago for Ecommerce Fulfillment Services & Storage

Chicago is booming with opportunity for business and technology. The city has become a major hub for transportation, technology, and commerce which creates an abundance of opportunities for those basing their operations in Chicago. Along with these resources, Chicago has access to a variety of transportation modes that connect the city with the entirety of the continental U.S. and foreign countries. Chicago is an advantageous place to center your operations, so making the move to Illinois would be a great step to grow or maintain your business.

How to Find the Best Fulfillment Centers in Chicago

When searching for the best 3PL warehousing services in Chicago, people can run into unreliable lists or rankings. At times, companies pay to have their services listed on websites which can be misleading to those looking for the best 3PL warehouse for their business. The internet is not always a reliable source, so screening companies you may work with is important.

When it comes to finding the best 3PL logistics services, we truly vet each company so you can find the services that will help maintain and improve your operations. The warehouses we connect businesses with are screened based on the following standards:

• Number of Customers
• Years in Business
• Customer Retention Rate
• Annual Order Volume
• Order Accuracy Rate
• Shipping Accuracy Rate
• Inventory Accuracy Rate

With our years of industry experience and understanding of the level of involvement any size business requires, we can identify the services that best match your business’ needs. If you are looking for assistance in finding the right full-service warehouse or fulfillment company in Chicago, contact us today and we will provide any help you may need.

Why Use Warehousing in Chicago?

When it comes to benefits, Chicago has many opportunities and assets that will help your business flourish.

• Chicago Warehouses offer assess to a Major Hub—Chicago is seen as a hub for finance, commerce, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. The city has the third largest gross metropolitan product in the U.S. at $547 billion. The volume of exported and imported goods is also predicted to increase nearly 150% between 2010 and 2040. Chicago is also 10th in the world for high tech startups which means fulfillment centers have access to the most up-to-date technology and software. This allows for hassle free shipping, inventory, and customer service.

On a broader scale, Illinois is known as a major financial and business hub. The state is a leader in technology and is hailed as an advanced manufacturing leader. This means you will be able to secure high quality fulfillment services in Illinois.

• Chicago 3PLs Offer a Variety of Warehousing, Distribution, and Transportation Options—Illinois has access to land, water, and air transportation. Each of these options gives your business the ability to reach customers nationally and internationally.

Illinois is centrally located which creates immediate access to business in New York, Detroit, Cleveland, and Indianapolis as well as the rest of the continental United States. In the state, there is 15,989 miles of highways—such as I-70, I-80, and I-90—and 7,200 trucking establishments. In terms of railways, there are 9,982 miles of railroad that connect Illinois to Canada, Mexico, and the rest of the United States. BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad are the two railways that service Illinois, and 7,792 miles of those rails are Class I.

Chicago has access to 1,095 miles of navigatable waterways that connect to the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. The Port of Chicago is also designated as Foreign Trade Zone #22 which allows for lower shipping rates and taxes. These waterways allow for quick access to imports from foreign countries and creates opportunities for global relations.

There are two international airports and over 100 public airports in Chicago. O’Hare International Airport is one of the top 10 international airports in the U.S. and can reach 200 cities non-stop. Having access to these airways can help ensure products are received and shipped quickly and efficiently using a public warehousing service in Chicago.

How Many 3PL Warehouses are in Chicago?

In Landing Lakefront Terminal, there are 100 acres of warehouses and facilities on Lake Michigan and over 8,390,000 square feet of storage. In Lake Calumet Terminal, there are three transit sheds totaling over 315,000 square feet of facilities adjacent to 3,000 linear feet of ship and barge berthing. Overall, there is plenty of 3PL warehousing services available in and near Chicago. Furthermore, the 3PLs in Chicago offer every service imaginable, from logistics, 3PL storage and 3PL fulfillment, to 3PL warehousing and distribution.

How Much Does Ecommerce Fulfillment Services & Warehousing Services in Chicago Cost?

Fulfillment costs can often change across states and companies, so finding a set rate can be difficult. Typically, you will receive fees for all services that were provided to your business as well as a fee for integrating your operations with the 3PL company. At the end of each month, fulfillment companies will send an invoice with each service totaled up. The main 3PL fees in Chicago you will encounter will be:

• Initial Set-Up Fees
• Receiving Fees
• Storage Fees
• Fulfillment or “Pick and Pack” Fees
• Shipping Fees
• Returns Fees
• Other Miscellaneous Fees

Who Are the Best Fulfillment Services Companies in Chicago?

Selecting a third-party warehousing provider that best fits your business can be challenging. When searching for the best 3PL or fulfillment warehouses in Chicago on Google, the companies listed on certain websites have little data to support their claims. As we stated before, most of the lists of 3PL companies are profit oriented, so often, the warehousing services listed are included due to the amount of money they have spent. These sites further exhibit their monetary focus and bias through their inclusion of ads.

As an example, we poured through the lists of top 3PL companies in Chicago, and did some TRUE research into each of the most frequently listed companies. What we found is that many of these companies should not be included on the lists, and our comments are below:

TAGG Logistics

Tagg is an ecommerce order fulfillment provider with multiple US locations. They were recently acquired by Hub Group. Founded in 2006, the Pennsylvania-based Tagg has grown into a nationwide fulfillment provider. They have over 4 million square feet of warehouse space, and 18 facilities. That large footprint allows Tagg to reach almost 100% of the U.S. population within two days. While a large company, they may not be best suited to handle startup companies, or companies of a smaller size. Employees state that pay is low, and that the merger has caused a decline in the quality of their customer service. There is social media, but it has not been used since the merger. Surprisingly, they only have a 3.6 Star review, which is below the 4 Star benchmark for a “top” company.

Amware

Amware is a full-service transportation logistics and 3PL company with over 60 years of service in the industry. They offer streamline quoting using an auditing system. Gone are their manual processes. You can now sign up to have control over your pricing, rate, and carrier management without a subscription or contract. They have several contact us features to help provide good customer service including phone, email, and chat options. They do however have multiple bad reviews online pointing to their slow loading times, poor customer service, and appointment times not being met. They have active social media sites and would probably benefit the smaller client.

Diamond Fulfillment

Headquartered in Chicago, Diamond Fulfillment’s Midwest distribution facilities are ideally positioned to satisfy customers’ national fulfillment requirements with competitive rates and fast coastal delivery times. In 2002, they expanded and consolidated our three distribution facilities into one facility in Waukegan, IL. Several years later they expanded their facility to 100,000 square feet. They manage regulated materials and products in a secured FDA approved facility. For a company in business this long we were unable to find many reviews. Reviews are needed to get an idea about the reliability of a company. Performance reviews have long been standard operating procedure. They should request reviews from current clients, even if not all positive, and establish online social media sites.

Packdash

Pack Dash caters to the logistical needs of small- to mid-size retailers and operates out of the Chicago area. They opened a fulfillment center near downtown Tucson in August 2021. Known as a third-party logistics company, PackDash offers a range of customized services, including custom kitting, and responsive support with a dedicated Slack chat channel and agent for each client. Reviews state that they are responsive, accessible, and are sensitive to the needs and issues that small businesses face. Pros are multiple locations, and catering to the smaller client. For the cons, it appears the Illinois location might be closed – which is significant if true. Most reviews are positive, but they are mostly several years old. And the get a quote link on their homepage doesn’t provide a quick quote. You would then have to email the company to get a quote.

Partners Warehouse

Partners warehouse is a logistics services company handling all aspects of supply chain management needs. They were recently acquired by Red Arts Capital. The pros of using Partners for your warehousing and fulfillment needs is that they have been in business a long time. Partners Warehouse, founded in 1989 to provide rail transload services, has grown to offer a multitude of rail logistics solutions, handling thousands of cars annually. They have international warehousing services, and can handle consumer, industrial and bulk goods. They have a proven track record of efficiency and high customer service morale. The cons would be uncertainty. Now that they have been purchased by a larger conglomerate will they still be able to offer a wonderful customer service to smaller companies. They may have outgrown the small to mid-size businesses.

MAI Fulfillment

Mai in Chicago offers full-service B2C and B2B solutions for their clients. They offer warehousing and fulfillment, cross-docking, kitting, call centers, and freight services. MAI is a large company servicing some well-known companies such as Smucker’s and Serta. Due to their size and volume minimums, they may not be a great option for smaller startups. They do not publish their prices on their website. You can however request a quote after giving them information. They offer only one location, and it is hard to find any customer reviews. There are a couple of reviews that appear to be from past employees with a negative review of the workplace. But they do have a greater than 4 Star review, albeit from a low number of clients.

Edler Warehousing

Edler Warehousing is a warehousing and fulfillment company located in Chicago, Illinois. For over 85 years, Edler Warehousing has specialized on providing superior, individualized service that goes above customer expectations. Edler Warehousing has had a good number of online reviews, all of which point to the company as being very helpful. They have an on-site IT department and use a warehouse inventory software to manage clients’ accounts. Edler Warehousing uses its state-of-the-art warehouses to provide great services to clients and can provide several services. Overall, Edler Warehousing is a good option for your Chicago based warehousing provider.

eShipping Distribution

eShipping Distribution is a warehousing and fulfillment company with locations in various cities around the United States, as well as Chicago, Illinois. eShipping Distribution offers state-of-the-art warehousing and distribution services that are tailored to your company’s needs. Unlike other companies, eShipping Distribution has their companies pricing on the website for everybody to see. eShipping Distribution does not have many online reviews (with an overall rating that is a bit lower than we would normally like to see) to discern the company off, but employees do rate the company highly. Overall, eShipping Distribution offers high value services and is a great option for small businesses.

Axis Warehouse

Axis Warehouse is a third-party logistics and warehousing company with numerous locations in Illinois. Axis Warehouse offers innovative warehousing solutions and that fit their clients’ needs and work to dissolve the disconnect between high rated customer service and efficiency. Axis Warehouse offers more than 1,000,000 sq.ft. distribution centers and has proximity to the O’Hare Airport. Axis Warehouse does not have any reviews to view, which is a concern.

SPC Fulfillment

SPC’s fulfillment center is located within their digital print center in Niles, IL. They can combine both inventory fulfillment and digital print-on-demand while providing a safe and secure environment. SPC is in proximity of Chicago where an amazing 30 percent of all consumers in North America live within a one-day truck ride. SPC has invested heavily in next-gen digital and finishing equipment, being the first in the country to purchase Canon’s state-of-the-art Oce ProStream 1000 Inkjet press. This family run company is not only innovative but offers many new age technologies including AI and Augmented Reality. While SPC is offers many products and services, they may be too large to build the tight knit relationships most smaller companies look for. They also seem to specialize in printed matter, and may not be a great fit for many product fulfillment oriented deals.

Federal Warehouse Company

Federal Warehouse company has 105 years of experience in developing customized relocation plans to suit the unique needs of each of their customers. While we could find a little bit of information online, they do not appear to be in business anymore or they do not have a website – yet Google still shows them on listing sites and BBB. The past reviews for Federal Warehouse Company in Illinois were all very negative. From shady pricing, to promises not kept, these are the types of pieces of information that cause potential customers great pause.

R&K Logistics

R&K Logistics has two locations, one in Texas and one in Illinois. They can easily deliver all over the US and to Mexico and Canada. They offer an on-demand, web-based freight management system. With mixed reviews online we can see that some customers were unhappy with loads being cancelled and hidden pricing struggles. There was one positive Google review, but multiple negative reviews. Several customers were unhappy with communication. One negative is that R&K commented back to unhappy customers in a negative way that did not bring any solutions to their clients, which amounted to mostly back and forth arguing that makes the company look unstable. The customer is always right. They could respond to upset and unhappy customers by offering a remedy rather than arguing back and forth.

Our service can help you find the best fulfillment or 3PL company to assist in your warehousing operations. We make sure each third-party warehousing service we recommend is fully capable of supporting your business. To find the best match in Chicago for your operations, fill out a form or call our toll-free number for assistance from one of our experts.

Finding Warehousing in Chicago Can Make a Difference in Your Business

In terms of reach, Chicago has many resources to connect your business to the rest of the U.S. and other countries. With access to land, water, and air transportation, the possibilities are endless. Illinois itself is major hub for business, so moving your operations to Chicago would be advantageous. Chicago is one of the top 10 places to base a 3PL which creates intense competition. However, this obstacle can be mitigated by utilizing our resources to make finding the best warehouse space in Chicago as painless as possible.