A California 3PL warehouse on the I-5
Alvy Logistics is a California 3PL with a single warehouse: 58,000 sq ft of ambient, dry space in Valencia, in north Los Angeles County. We are not a network of California fulfillment warehouses. Every client’s inventory sits in that one building, where all of our 3PL services run, and from there it ships to customers across the state and the West. If your buyers and stores are mostly around Los Angeles, our Los Angeles 3PL page covers local delivery and the drive times into the city.
Why use a 3PL in California?
Three reasons come up in almost every conversation:
- Your goods already arrive here. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together are the busiest container port complex in the United States. Holding stock in Southern California turns the inbound leg into a 60 to 65 mile trip instead of a cross-country one.
- Your customers are here. California is the most populous state in the country, and the rest of the West is a short ground run away.
- You do not want to run a warehouse. A lease, racking, staff and a warehouse system are a large fixed cost. A 3PL turns that into storage and handling you pay for as you use it. Our guide on 3PL vs renting warehouse space runs the comparison.
How do you choose the best 3PL warehouse location?
Start with a map of your orders, not a map of warehouses. Plot a few months of order destinations and look at where the weight sits. If most of it is in California and the neighboring Western states, a fulfillment center in California keeps those orders in the lower parcel zones.
Then look at the inbound side. If your goods come through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a building on the I-5 is on the way north. If they come by truck from suppliers in the Central Valley or Northern California, the I-5 brings them straight down to Valencia. Last, decide whether you need one node or several. For most brands shipping a few hundred to several thousand orders a month, one well-placed California 3PL warehouse is simpler to run than inventory split thin across three.
A West Coast 3PL and fulfillment center for brands based in the East
Brands that already ship from an East Coast warehouse often add a West Coast 3PL as a second node. Western customers wait longer and pay more in zone charges when every parcel crosses the country. With a share of fast-moving stock in Valencia, West Coast orders ship from the West.
The work on our side is receiving your replenishment, storing it and running ecommerce fulfillment for western orders. Transfers can arrive on your own carrier, or move as LTL shipping for smaller lots and a full truckload once volume builds, arranged through Accurate Freight Systems LLC, the licensed property broker in our group, and quoted per job. Inventory and orders for the western stock sit in the Logiwa client portal, so you can check what is on hand without calling anyone.
How onboarding works
- Quote. You send your SKU count, order history with destinations, how stock arrives and any packaging or routing guide requirements. We price storage, handling and pick and pack from your real orders.
- Setup. Your SKUs are set up in Logiwa and your store connected, for example Shopify, before the first delivery, so received stock shows in the client portal and orders flow straight in.
- First inbound. We receive your first containers or pallets, count them against the packing list and report any shortage or damage.
- Go live. Southern California fulfillment starts from Valencia, and orders for the rest of California and the West ship from the same dock.
Before you move inventory into California
A few things are worth sorting out before stock arrives, and none of them are ours to decide for you. Imports must clear customs before they ship to us, because this is not a bonded warehouse. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration treats an out-of-state seller that stores inventory in a California fulfillment center as engaged in business in the state, which means registering and paying sales or use tax on sales to California customers, so check with your accountant. If a product needs a Proposition 65 warning, that is the brand’s responsibility: OEHHA’s regulations place it on the manufacturer, producer, packager, importer, supplier or distributor.
The building has its own limits as well. There is no climate-controlled storage, hazmat is not accepted, and food and supplements cannot be stored because this is not an FDA-registered facility.
Comparing 3PL companies in California
Among 3PL companies in California, we fit brands and distributors shipping a few hundred to several thousand orders a month, or wholesale volume by the pallet. Below a few hundred orders, packing in-house usually costs less. Send your SKU count, a breakdown of orders by state and how the stock will arrive, then call (661) 344-8766 between 8am and 8pm Pacific, Monday to Friday, or request a quote for a callback from a coordinator during business hours and a written quote with every charge on its own line.
