Best Fulfillment Center in Los Angeles and the Surrounding Areas

Ecommerce fulfillment, the act of outsourcing your shipping and warehousing, enables online stores to cut costs, expedite the shipping process, and spend more time on other aspects of the business. However, it's essential to choose the ideal fulfillment partner, ideally one with warehouses located where your customers live. That's why we want to find you the best fulfillment center in Los Angeles, because the city serves as a hub for US shipping and you can find excellent fulfillment partners that cater to tech-related and ecommerce-oriented businesses.

The list of fulfillment services in Los Angeles is in fact a long one, so we compared them all for you and consolidated the list to our top five contenders.

Keep reading to learn all about the best fulfillment center in Los Angeles.

The Best Fulfillment Services in Los Angeles

Finding the ideal fulfillment services doesn't necessarily mean partnering with a company in your area. However, it's helpful knowing that your fulfillment provider at least has warehouses within an area where many of your customers reside. A warehouse in Los Angeles offers several advantages: one of them is that your shipments should get to customers on the west coast rather quickly. In addition, Los Angeles fulfillment centers make sense when shipping to most of the lower 50 states, Alaska, Hawaii, and even some international shipments across the Pacific Ocean. Essentially, Los Angeles still has immediate access to the eastern states, but provides that rare opportunity to also reach “out-of-the-way” regions like Alaska, Hawaii, other Pacific islands, and even far northeastern states like Oregon and Washington.

If this all sounds good to you, keep reading to learn more about the best fulfillment center in Los Angeles, and some alternative options that fall into our list of the best fulfillment services in LA (most of which are around the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), making for even easier shipping).

Best Fulfillment Center Los Angeles: ShipBob

ShipBob, a well-known ecommerce fulfillment provider, offers a fulfillment center in Los Angeles (actually Moreno Valley, CA – just an hour east of LA), along with various other cities, and they continue to expand all over the US and world. It's our top pick for this list of LA fulfillment services because of its focus on ecommerce businesses, its ability to ship a large volume of orders.

ShipBob sells itself as a tech-enabled 3PL (3rd-party logistics) brand, giving you a cohesive system for sending your products to a warehouse in Los Angeles and leaving them to get picked and packed when customers want them. Onboarding is simple with ShipBob, and you receive a wonderful inventory and order management system at no extra cost that integrates with your online store. Not to mention, the reporting and analytics come in handy when checking into areas like revenue and stock levels along the way.

Advantages

• Custom solutions for all ecommerce stores, including options for B2B orders and international fulfillment.
• Integrations with the most popular ecommerce platforms, such as WooCommerce, Shopify, Bigcommerce, Wix, Squarespace, Square Online, and more.
• An end-to-end customer experience that combines with your reports and analytics.
• Inventory and order management that tracks your products and allows you to see a timeline of where everything is in the fulfillment process.
• 2-day express shipping
• Distributed inventory based on where your customers live.
• Excellent integrations and support for selling on third-party marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart.

Locations

The ShipBob headquarters is located in Chicago, IL. Distribution centers are scattered throughout the US, with a few in other places like Europe and Canada.

The fulfillment center in Los Angeles handles many of the west coast shipments, but you can also find ShipBob fulfillment center locations in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, New Jersey, Floria, Wisconsin, and more.

Click here to view the entire list of ShipBob locations.

Fees

ShipBob offers free quotes for all potential customers, since each company's fulfillment requirements are different.

However, the base shipping and storage fees are rather transparent:

• Receiving – A flat-rate pricing model. $25 for all receiving in the first two hours, with a $40 per man-hour charge after the initial two hours.
• Storage – A monthly charge of $40 per mallet per month, $10 per shelf per month, and $5 per bin per month.
• Pick and pack – Most of this is included in your overall cost, You get four free picks per order with an additional $0.20 per pick when the order exceeds four picks.
• Standard packing – All standard packaging is included, with free dunnage, tape, and boxes, all of which are plain. You can pay extra for custom packing.
• Shipping – These fees vary based on elements like dimensions, weight, and destination.

Read our comprehensive ShipBob review here.

2. ShipMonk

Also just east of the Los Angeles city center, the ShipMonk warehouse in San Bernardino, CA offers an opportune location for online stores trying to reach customers on the west coast. Shipmonk is known for integrating with top sales channels and ecommerce platforms, allowing you to free up stressful parts of the job and know that products get to customers on time.

Similar to ShipBob, the Shipmonk company provides a full cloud-based software to manage your fulfillment, including a portal for inventory, orders, shipping, and warehousing. Combined with that, you gain access to several shipping center warehouses, strategically located on the coasts of the US, included that fulfillment center in Los Angeles.

Some other reasons to consider Shipmonk are that you get shipping discounts, excellent customer support, and unique fulfillment opportunities, like for subscription boxes or crowdfunding.

Advantages

• A quick, free setup with the Shipmonk software, along with no order minimums.
• Full ecommerce fulfillment, along with retail fulfillment as well.
• Niche fulfillment services for duty paid shipments, FBA prep, and subscription boxes.
• Integrations with top ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
• Options to sell on marketplaces such as Amazon and Walmart.
• Pre-defined packaging and shipping guidelines you set forth, for if you wanted special packaging or your logo on the box.
• Tools to find the best shipping rates from the top mail carriers.
• Tracking numbers so your customers know exactly where their products are in the shipping process.
• A robust portal for returns and exchanges, cutting out the need to get another software.
• A beautiful inventory software system for checking on orders, seeing revenue, and understanding stock counts.

Locations

Shipmonk has three fulfillment center locations: one in Los Angeles, another in Pittson, PA, and a third in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

This covers all major coasts of the United States.

Fees

Shipmonk pricing varies based on which of the following fulfillment solutions you choose:

• Ecommerce
• Subscription box
• Retail
• Amazon

For ecommerce, the pricing depends on your monthly orders.

For instance, a 500 order month has the following fees:

• $2.50 first item pick fee per order
• $0.50 for additional items per order
• $0.20 for promotional inserts
• $2.00 + $0.50 per additional items for return processing

The first item pick fee per order, and the additional items fee, decreases as your order numbers increase. In short, it becomes more economical with higher monthly orders.

After that, you must choose a storage requirement, all of which have different prices:

• Small bin – $1 per month
• Medium bin – $2 per month
• Large bin – $3 per month
• XL bin – $4 per month
• Pallet – $20 per month

Finally, Shipmonk has additional costs for things like special projects, container unloading, minimum picking, kitting, and packaging materials.

View all costs from Shipmonk here.

3. Red Stag Fulfillment

Red Stag Fulfillment has retail and ecommerce fulfillment, with warehousing services, inventory planning tools, and omni-channel fulfillment for when you sell on multiple marketplaces. The fulfillment centers in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, UT cover all orders going to the western part of the United States. Not to mention, you receive shipping discounts and same-day fulfillment options for your customers.

Really, it doesn't matter where you plan to ship, considering Red Stag Fulfillment offers east coast, west coast, national, and Amazon fulfillment services. You can also rest easy knowing that Red Stag Fulfillment integrates with the top ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, while also connecting you to unique marketplaces and platforms like eBay, Ecwid, and Foxycart.

Furthermore, Red Stag Fulfillment offers web-based inventory and order monitoring, with the option to include ecommerce return processing as well.

Advantages

• You receive order fulfillment guarantees and support for shipping and storage all across the US.
• Integrations with platforms like Shopify, Magento, OpenCart, and Prestashop.
• Same-day fulfillment and ecommerce shipping returns.
• An online order and inventory management center to keep an eye on your products.
• Live, accurate reporting that allows for faster decision making.
• Optimized ecommerce packaging with discounts and consolidation.
• Custom packaging designs with unique tape, boxing, and your logo stamped on the box.

Locations

Right now, Red Stag Fulfillment has fulfillment services in Los Angeles; Salt Lake City, UT; Harrisburg, PA; and Knoxville, TN.

This means your products can reach the majority of Americans within 1-2 days. They also offer a speedy alternative to the Amazon Fulfillment program, keeping up with the speed and efficiency of Amazon.

Fees

Although Red Stag Fulfillment states customers receive steep shipping and storage discounts, it's required to contact a sales team representative to get a true quote for your particular business.

Read our comprehensive Red Stag Fulfillment review.

4. ShipBots

ShipBots is another Los Angeles-based fulfillment center.

Through their customer API integrations, their software will automatically sync with your online store and begin importing orders. After that is where the order is fulfilled. They pick and pack your order and ship it.

ShipBots also offers Amazon FBA Prep services. Within 24 to 48 hours your products will be prepped and sent to Amazon. All products are shrink or bubble wrapped and pricing is dependent on the amount of SKUs.

All of ShipBots warehouses are equipped with temperature control to ensure your products are protected against dust and debris.

Advantages

• Dedicated account management.
• Temperature controlled rooms that are perfect for cosmetics.
• Same day fulfillment
• High volume shipment processing
• Located right in the heart of LA
• Multiple warehouses in strategic parts of the US ensure a quick delivery
• 100s of ecommerce integrations
• Very good shipping discounts
• Actionable reports show a breakdown of costs, number of units and orders

Locations

• Los Angeles, California

Fees

Shipbots pricing varies based on which of the following fulfillment solutions you choose:

• Ecommerce
• Subscription box
• Retail
• Amazon

For ecommerce, the pricing depends on your monthly orders.

For instance, a 500 order month has the following fees:

• $1.75 pick fee per order
• $0.75 for each item per order
• $0.20 for promotional inserts
• $2.00 + $0.50 per additional items for return processing

Custom Storage rates.

Because Shipbots offers a fully customized VIP fulfillment solution, it is required to contact a sales team representative to get a true quote tailored to your particular business needs.

5. ShipDazzle

ShipDazzle has its main fulfillment center in Los Angeles. All quality control and storage happens there. The company also picks and assembles each order from the Los Angeles fulfillment warehouse. Pair that with custom branding and the ideal shipping methods for one of the best fulfillment services on the west coast.

Another area to think about is the shipping communications. ShipDazzle already has a system for sending out tracking information to both you and the customer. These perks, along with the clear pricing structure, make ShipDazzle an excellent choice for those interested in shipping from California.

Overall, you're partnering with a company that has a warehouse and fulfillment service, but you're also receiving an efficient technology setup, with order and shipping management included.

Advantages

• Extremely clear pricing.
• Integrations with Amazon, eBay, and other large marketplaces.
• Integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other ecommerce platforms.
• Discounted postage rates to ensure you keep your costs low.
• Low order minimums and highly competitive pricing, even when compared to FBA.
• A customer service-oriented partner known for personal attention and customize boxes.
• A quality inspection process that cuts down on the number of defective or wrong orders sent to customers.

Locations

ShipDazzle has one fulfillment center in Los Angeles.

Fees

When it comes to fees, it's tough to beat ShipDazzle on its transparency and low pricing. It all starts with the picking and packing, which have the following fees:

• Order processing – $1.70 per order
• Pick and pack – $0.30 per item
• Returns – $2 per order

The storage pricing looks like this:

• Bins – $1-4 per month
• Pallets – $20 per month

Contact the ShipDazzle sales team for special pricing or custom cases. It appears that ShipDazzle does a superb job of outlining fees upfront, but you also have the opportunity to expand upon that pricing for your own unique situations.

Choosing the Right Fulfillment Service in Los Angeles

From ShipBob to ShipDazzle, the best fulfillment services in Los Angeles range from large operations to small. The good news, however, is that all these fulfillment center options cater to small and large online stores. Partnering with one of them ensures your ability to ship quickly and to cut costs. And the cost savings usually get better as your monthly shipments increase.

Now, the question is, which of the best fulfillment services in Los Angeles is right for you?

Here's a list of our final recommendations:

• ShipBob – Ideal for all online stores that want warehouses throughout the US and a transparent pricing model.
• Shipmonk – An excellent fulfillment service on all three primary coasts of the US, with transparent pricing and support for unique shipping needs, like subscription boxes.
• Red Stag Fulfillment – A service with four current shipping and storage centers in the US. Red Stag doesn't outline fees very well but they're known for custom packaging and same-day fulfillment.
• Fulfilltopia – This one's ideal for scaling since the network of fulfillment centers expands beyond Los Angeles. However, you may lose some quality control if they outsource those services in some way. You must contact them for fees. Benefits include custom packing materials and rapid fulfillment.
• ShipDazzle – A smaller fulfillment company with one location in Los Angeles. Having said that, it's a strong operation with transparent fees and a focus on customer service.

Overall, your best bet is to contact each of these fulfillment centers and figure out who you enjoy working with the most. Low pricing is most likely a top priority for ecommerce businesses, but don't forget the importance of quality customer service, fast shipping, and technological offerings.

If you have any questions about a fulfillment center in Los Angeles, or you'd like to suggest some of your other favorite fulfillment services, let us know in the comments section below.