Only US West Coast port that grew imports in 2025
Port of Oakland finished 2025 at 2.25M TEUs, the only major US West Coast port to post import growth. Drayage to our Bay Area dock keeps containers moving while LA and Long Beach drayage tightens.
Shopify 
3PL · Ecommerce Fulfillment
3PL · Ecommerce Fulfillment San Francisco 3PL for Shopify, Amazon, and Ecom Brands.
Same-day San Francisco fulfillment for Shopify, Amazon FBA, and ecommerce brands. 5 PM PT cutoff, custom-scoped pricing, no annual contract.
- from $1.05
- Pick + pack per order
- 5 PM PT
- Same-day cutoff
- Custom
- Quote on everything else
Trusted by brands shipping across west
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Toyota
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Pacific Foods
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Rad Power
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Mystery Ranch
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Brooklyn Bicycle
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Cobian
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BOCCI
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Merkury
Table of contents · 11 sections
- 01 Why San Francisco
- 02 What San Francisco unlocks
- 03 Shopify in San Francisco?
- 04 Amazon FBA in San Francisco?
- 05 Scope of work
- 06 Order flow in San Francisco
- 07 Cost drivers
- 08 What goes wrong in San Francisco
- 09 When San Francisco isn't a fit
- 10 Reach from San Francisco
- 11 Where in San Francisco?
- 12 San Francisco pricing
- 13 San Francisco 3PL FAQ
Written by the Vertex operations team
Marco, Kim, Tom & Sara · Receiving, Pick & Pack, FBA Prep, Account Management
Last reviewed by our team on May 10, 2026 against current Port of Oakland + CBRE Bay Area + Central Valley data.
Your San Francisco 3PL isn't in San Francisco. It's 20 miles south in Hayward or 65 miles east in Tracy, and the rent gap between those is roughly 2x.
Central Valley industrial trades at roughly one-third of SF Peninsula rents, with East Bay in between. The actual ecommerce operations that ship same-day to SF homes mostly run from the East Bay (Hayward, Fremont, Newark) or, increasingly, the Central Valley (Tracy, Stockton, Lathrop). Most "San Francisco 3PL" marketing pages hide this. We say it out loud.
We operate from the Bay Area as part of our 20+ warehouse US and Canadian network. This page covers what we ship from where, what we charge, where we win, and where we send you to a competitor.
Key takeaways
- 1
Your "San Francisco 3PL" is in Hayward, Fremont, or Tracy. SF Peninsula industrial trades at roughly 3x Central Valley rents, with East Bay in between (CBRE Q1 2026). The Central Valley is the only Northern California submarket actually growing, posting +1.7M SF of positive absorption in Q1 2026 while the East Bay bled 627,764 SF.
- 2
Port of Oakland was the only major US West Coast container port to grow imports in 2025 (KBC Advisors Year-End 2025). Oakland finished 2025 at 2.25M TEUs, holding the #9 US container-port rank, with a balanced 50/50 import-export split where roughly half of exports are agricultural. That two-way container story is something no LA or Long Beach 3PL can credibly match.
- 3
AI is now competing with ecommerce for East Bay industrial space. OpenAI signed two East Bay leases in Q1 2026 alone: 202,400 SF in Fremont (Milmont Drive) and 202,000 SF in Richmond (Portside Commerce Center). The East Bay industrial market is tightening from the demand side; the Central Valley is where ecommerce-fit capacity is moving.
- 4
We fit brands shipping 500+ DTC orders per month with significant West Coast or Bay Area demand, or import volume that benefits from Port of Oakland drayage. Below 200 orders per month, smaller East Bay operators like DCL Logistics (Fremont, 200,000+ SF) or boutique Hayward 3PLs beat us on cost, and we say so on the discovery call.
Why San Francisco
Why your San Francisco 3PL is in Hayward, Tracy, or Stockton
The geography buyers think they are buying is wrong. The city of San Francisco itself holds essentially zero meaningful industrial inventory. CBRE Q1 2026 puts the San Francisco Peninsula industrial market at 5.4 percent vacancy at national top-five expensive territory. Oakland (East Bay) industrial finished Q1 2026 at 7.6 percent vacancy, the East Bay shedding 627,764 SF of net absorption that quarter. Drive 60 minutes east into San Joaquin County and the Central Valley clocks in at 8.8 percent vacancy with 1.7M SF of positive net absorption, the only Northern California submarket actually growing. Link Logistics describes Central Valley warehouse rents as roughly half of comparable Fremont or Silicon Valley space. The Kidder Mathews 1Q 2026 East Bay report shows average asking rents fell 10.6 percent year over year, leasing dropped 49.1 percent year over year, and sales volume fell 77.7 percent year over year. The East Bay is softening; the Central Valley is where the growth is going.
Port of Oakland distinguished itself in 2025 as the only major US West Coast port to post growth in import volumes (KBC Advisors Top US Container Ports Year-End 2025). Oakland finished 2025 at 2,253,976 TEUs (essentially flat at -0.4 percent year over year) and held the #9 US container-port rank, while Los Angeles, Long Beach, and the Northwest Seaport Alliance all printed import declines as cargo diverted east. Oakland runs a balanced 50/50 import-export split (1.12M import TEU plus 1.14M export TEU) versus Los Angeles's roughly 60/40 import-skewed mix. About half of Port of Oakland exports are agricultural (citrus, grapes, apples, lettuce, broccoli, stone fruit, refrigerated protein), with direct vessel service to Asia and an 11-day transit to Japan for fresh produce. That makes Oakland uniquely positioned for two-way containers, something LA cannot match. OAK air cargo handled 1.08 billion pounds in 2024 and houses FedEx Express's largest West Coast hub. SFO moved 541,998 metric tons of cargo in FY 2025. The Bay Area has the air-cargo backstop other West Coast metros lack.
Three operational risks worth saying out loud, because a Bay Area 3PL that doesn't mention these on the sales call is hiding something. First, the Hayward Fault: the East Bay industrial corridor sits directly on the Hayward Fault Zone, which the USGS rates among the highest-risk urban faults in the country. Any "Hayward 3PL" pitch that skips seismic bracing and business continuity is hiding something. Second, PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs: late-summer wildfire-driven PSPS events hit East Bay industrial corridors annually, and a 3PL without backup generation will go dark exactly when Q3 inbound containers are drayed off the port. Third, California regulatory weight: California's minimum wage, mandatory benefits, Prop 65 product-warning compliance, AB 5 contractor classification, and out-of-state nexus tax exposure make Bay Area 3PL operations 30 to 50 percent more expensive than Phoenix or Vegas. The Reddit consensus among out-of-state DTC brands is uniform: signing with a California 3PL creates a physical nexus that triggers California sales tax filing and, depending on structure, franchise and income tax. We name these on the discovery call.
What it unlocks
What a San Francisco 3PL gets you that a Midwest 3PL can't
We operate in the Bay Area as part of our 20+ warehouse US and Canadian network, positioned for Port of Oakland drayage and same-day delivery to the SF Peninsula.
Skip the Peninsula premium
Central Valley industrial trades at roughly one-third of SF Peninsula rents, with East Bay in between. Our Bay Area footprint sits in the regional industrial corridor at a fraction of Peninsula rent.
Direct lane to Northern California FBA
We route direct to Amazon OAK4, OAK3, SFO5, SFO7, and SCK4. Port of Oakland to FBA inbound the same week without a cross-country leg first.
Same-day to 4.7M Bay Area customers
From our Bay Area facility, same-day to the SF Peninsula, Oakland, San Jose, and the broader 4.7M-person SF-Oakland-Fremont metro. 1-day to all of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Arizona.
For Shopify brands
Should Shopify store owners have a 3PL in San Francisco?
A San Francisco 3PL is the right call for a Shopify brand when Bay Area same-day, Port of Oakland import speed, or California consumer access matters more than per-order cost. Below 200 monthly orders, a Bay Area 3PL almost never pencils out, and a smaller East Bay or Sacramento operator will run cheaper. Above 500 orders per month with meaningful West Coast demand, the East Bay versus Central Valley node decision becomes a 2x storage-cost question.
Yes if
- You import via Port of Oakland. Oakland was the only major US West Coast container port to grow imports in 2025 (KBC Advisors), and its 50/50 import-export split keeps drayage capacity deeper than LA / Long Beach during peak.
- West Coast accounts for 40 percent or more of your demand. Same-day to the 4.7M-person Bay Area plus 1-day to all of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Arizona keeps your customer-promise stack honest.
- You want Central Valley rates, not Peninsula or East Bay premiums. Our Bay Area footprint sits in the regional industrial corridor where rates run a fraction of the Peninsula.
- You ship 500+ DTC orders per month. Below that, smaller East Bay operators (DCL Logistics, ShipHype, Hayward boutiques) or Sacramento-based 3PLs beat us on price.
No if
- Your demand is heavily East Coast (above 60 percent). Shipping from the Bay Area adds Zone 6 to 8 surcharges to most of those parcels. We can split inventory across our Atlanta + LA + Bay Area nodes, but if you want a single-node setup, an Atlanta or NYC-region operator is cheaper.
- Cold-chain biotech fulfillment (2-8°C or -20°C, FDA-compliant). Our Bay Area facility runs ambient-only. South San Francisco specialty 3PLs (Cardinal Health, World Courier, McKesson, biotech-specific boutiques near SFO) anchor that submarket.
- Sub-200 orders per month. The California cost structure, including labor, Prop 65 compliance overhead, and nexus tax exposure for out-of-state brands, means the per-order cost at our volume floor is higher than what a small East Bay or Sacramento boutique 3PL charges.
If "yes" lands on you, the next question is which Shopify-side workflow tests separate ops-grade Bay Area 3PLs from ones that look good on a sales call. Six questions to ask any operator below.
| Workflow | What should happen | What usually breaks | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| New order arrives | In the pick queue near real time | Polling intervals over 5 minutes; orders missed during peak | How often does your sync run, and what is the worst-case lag? |
| Inventory level changes | Pushes back to Shopify in real time | Daily batch updates → oversells during peak hours | Is inventory sync push or pull, and at what frequency? |
| Tracking number written | Posts to Shopify the moment carrier scans | Manual upload at end of day; customer emails arrive late | When exactly does tracking hit Shopify? |
| Pre-order / backorder | Order holds, ships when stock arrives | Order silently fails or ships partial without notice | How does your WMS handle backorders without losing the customer relationship? |
| Returns refund trigger | Refund triggers on return scan-in (or on inspection pass) | Returns sit unprocessed for days, customer service workload | What event triggers the refund: receipt, inspection, or restock? |
| Subscription orders | Routed separately, with subscription-specific packouts | Sub orders treated as one-time DTC, no recharge protection | How do you tag and prioritize Recharge / Skio subscription orders? |
For Amazon FBA brands
Should Amazon FBA brands have a 3PL in San Francisco?
A 3PL in San Francisco alongside Amazon FBA gets specific value when you import through Port of Oakland and want first-port prep before routing to Amazon's Northern California fulfillment centers (OAK4, OAK3, SFO5, SFO7, SCK4). Pure FBA-only domestic-supplier brands rarely need it.
Yes if
- You import through Port of Oakland. We receive containers via Bay Area drayage, polybag and FNSKU-label inside 24 hours, and route to OAK4 / OAK3 / SFO5 / SFO7 / SCK4 the same week.
- You sell on Amazon AND Shopify (or DTC). FBA does not handle your DTC orders. We do both from one inventory pool.
- You want to throttle FBA storage during slow seasons. We hold overflow at our Bay Area facility at the regional rate (well below Peninsula) and re-route to FBA when demand returns, sidestepping FBA long-term storage fees.
- You want to skip Amazon's prep markup. Our Bay Area prep is quoted per unit against your real polybag, FNSKU, and bundle scope, and typically beats Amazon's prep service fees on the same SKU set.
No if
- 100 percent Amazon FBA, no other channel. If you do not run DTC or wholesale, going direct to FBA from your supplier (with Amazon Global Logistics or a freight forwarder) is usually cheaper than adding a 3PL leg.
- Domestic suppliers in the Northeast or Midwest. If your inventory ships from a NJ or OH factory, the Port of Oakland advantage does not apply. A regional 3PL closer to your supplier saves freight.
- You do not import in container quantities. LCL or air-freight import volumes do not generate enough Oakland-drayage savings to justify the California cost structure.
Most multi-channel Amazon sellers importing through Oakland benefit from a Bay Area 3PL specifically because Port of Oakland is the only major West Coast port that grew imports in 2025 and gives you optionality on FBA versus DTC routing per SKU.
Scope
What a San Francisco 3PL should and shouldn't handle
A common mistake brands make when scoping a San Francisco 3PL is treating it as a generic warehouse. Warehouses store things. A 3PL is closer to an operations team that happens to live in a warehouse. Knowing the line between what we own and what stays with your team prevents the most common onboarding fights, especially when California nexus tax and Prop 65 compliance enter the picture.
✓ The 3PL owns
- Receiving containers via Port of Oakland drayage to our East Bay (Hayward / Fremont) or Central Valley (Tracy / Stockton) facility
- Receiving OAK and SFO air cargo for high-value or time-sensitive inbound
- Storing inventory in racked, lot-tracked, FIFO-rotated locations
- Picking, packing, and shipping DTC orders against a 5 PM PT same-day cutoff
- Routing inbound shipments to Amazon FBA Northern California centers (OAK4, OAK3, SFO5, SFO7, SCK4)
- FNSKU re-validation and FBA spec updates so Amazon does not reject your inbound
- Prop 65 product-warning relabeling and inventory restickering when California compliance interpretations change
- Returns receiving, inspection, restocking or disposition per your written rules
- Cycle counts and quarterly physical inventory
- EDI-compliant retail outbound (856 / 940 / 810) for Shopify B2B and West Coast retail accounts
✗ The brand owns
- Demand planning and reorder timing. You own this; we feed the data.
- Customer service and chargebacks. We feed tracking and exception data; your CX team handles the conversation.
- Marketing copy on packing slips and inserts. You supply the artwork; we apply it.
- Carrier rate negotiation. You can use your own carrier accounts; we route to whichever rate card you supply.
- Custom packaging design. Bring the spec; we execute the packout.
- California sales tax and franchise tax filing. We are not your tax counsel. We will tell you that signing with a California 3PL creates physical nexus; we will not file the returns.
- Biotech cold-chain GMP fulfillment. We run ambient-only. For FDA-compliant 2-8°C and -20°C clinical trial material and finished pharmaceutical storage adjacent to SFO, we refer to specialty South San Francisco operators.
- CBSA-bonded customs warehousing. We are not a designated bonded facility. For brands needing duty-deferred holding, we refer.
Order flow
Inside a San Francisco 3PL: 10 steps from Port of Oakland or Hayward / Tracy truck to porch
From the moment your container clears the Port of Oakland and runs the 22-mile I-880 drayage to our East Bay dock (Hayward / Fremont), or the 65-mile I-205 / I-5 run to our Central Valley dock (Tracy / Stockton), to the moment your customer's parcel scans on their porch. OAK and SFO air cargo run as the secondary lane for time-sensitive inbound. Here is the exact path. Ten steps, mapped to who does what and where the typical 3PL drops the ball.
- 01
Inbound notice
Your supplier or freight forwarder sends an ASN (Advance Shipping Notice) or simple email with PO, expected SKUs, container count, and ETA. We pre-allocate a receiving dock window at our East Bay or Central Valley facility.
What is this?
An ASN is a structured file (EDI 856 or our standard CSV / spreadsheet) that lists every SKU, expected quantity, container or pallet ID, and ETA before the freight arrives. With an ASN, our receiving team pre-prints labels, pre-assigns rack locations, and starts unload the moment the truck checks in. Without an ASN, every container takes 2 to 4 extra hours because we have to reverse-engineer the shipment on the dock. We accept both EDI and a simple template if your supplier is small.
- 02
Oakland drayage or truck arrival
Container arrives via Port of Oakland drayage to our East Bay (Hayward / Fremont, 22-mile run on I-880) or Central Valley (Tracy / Stockton, 65-mile run on I-205 / I-5) facility. Driver checks in, dock door is assigned, unload begins.
What is this?
Drayage is the truck leg from the Port of Oakland container terminal to our facility. East Bay drayage runs roughly 22 miles south on I-880 to our Hayward / Fremont dock; Central Valley drayage runs roughly 65 miles east on I-205 and I-5 to Tracy / Stockton. We coordinate the chassis, the drayage carrier, and the appointment window. For high-value or time-sensitive imports, OAK or SFO air cargo is the alternative; both airports sit within 30 minutes of our East Bay facility. Domestic restocks and sample shipments arrive via standard LTL.
- 03
Receive + count
Cases are unloaded, scanned, counted against the ASN. Discrepancies (short / over / damaged) are flagged and photo-documented inside 24 hours.
What is this?
Every case gets a barcode scan against the ASN line item. If the count matches, the SKU moves to putaway. If it does not (short ship, over-ship, damaged outer), our team photo-documents the variance with timestamps and dock-door ID, then logs it in our exception queue. You get an email within 24 hours with the photos, the variance, and our recommended next step (claim with carrier, request supplier credit, accept and adjust on-hand).
- 04
Putaway
SKUs are binned to designated rack or floor locations using our WMS. Lot codes and expiry dates captured at this step for food / supplements / beauty SKUs. Prop 65 warning labels validated at putaway for California-sold inventory.
What is this?
Putaway is the act of moving received cases from the dock to a permanent rack or floor location. Our WMS assigns the location based on velocity (fast-movers near the pack table, slow-movers in deep storage), pallet height, and lot rotation rules. For food, supplements, and beauty SKUs we capture lot code and expiry at putaway so FIFO (First-In-First-Out) picks always grab the earliest-expiring stock first. For Prop 65 affected SKUs, we validate that the current warning label matches the latest California interpretation before the unit moves into pickable inventory.
- 05
Order sync
A good WMS pulls orders from Shopify, Amazon, BigCommerce, and your ERP near real time. New orders appear in the pick queue automatically. We run Datex Footprint for this.
What is this?
Order sync is the live link between your sales channels and our pick queue. A good WMS polls Shopify, Amazon Seller Central, BigCommerce, and ERP systems frequently so the order is in the pick queue shortly after checkout. We run Datex Footprint for this. Inventory levels push back to your store when the pick is confirmed, which prevents oversells during traffic spikes.
- 06
Wave release
Orders are batched into pick waves based on carrier cutoff time. DTC same-day orders run first, B2B and retail run second.
What is this?
A wave is a batch of orders released to the floor as a single pick task. We organize waves by carrier sweep time (UPS at 4 PM, FedEx at 5 PM, USPS at 5:30 PM PT) and by service level. DTC same-day orders run in the first wave because their cutoff is tightest. B2B and retail outbound run in later waves where the carrier sweep is later. This sequencing keeps small fast orders from waiting behind a large pallet pick.
- 07
Pick
Pickers scan each item against barcode and bin location. A good WMS rejects mispicks before they reach the pack table. That is how an operator holds pick accuracy in the high-nineties consistently.
What is this?
Picking is the moment a worker grabs the right SKU off the shelf for an order. A good WMS forces a barcode scan at every pick, comparing the scanned SKU against the order line. If they do not match, the system blocks the pick and routes the worker back to the correct bin. That double-check is what keeps a 3PL at high-nineties shipped-correct accuracy across high order volumes.
- 08
Pack + label
Packers select carton, add inserts, generate carrier label, weigh, and tape. Each pack table runs a triple-check process before the parcel leaves the station.
What is this?
At the pack station, the worker selects the right-size carton (we calculate dim weight to keep your shipping costs low), adds any inserts (thank-you cards, samples, marketing flyers you supply), prints the carrier label, weighs the parcel, and tapes. Three checks happen before the parcel leaves: SKU match, label match, and weight sanity check. If any fail, the parcel goes to a re-pack station before it ships.
- 09
Carrier handoff
Parcels stage by carrier (UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, Canada Post). Carrier sweeps happen at fixed daily windows. Tracking pushes back to Shopify and Amazon automatically.
What is this?
Parcels stage in carrier-specific zones near the loading dock. UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, and Canada Post each have their own daily sweep window with us. The moment a carrier scans a label at sweep, that scan event pushes back to your Shopify or Amazon order page so the customer sees a tracking number in real time. No manual tracking uploads, no end-of-day batch lag.
- 10
Returns
Inbound returns are received, inspected against your disposition rules (restock, refurbish, scrap), and the result writes back to inventory. You get a daily returns report.
What is this?
Returns come back to a dedicated returns dock. Our team inspects each item against your disposition rules (which you set during onboarding): restock if A-grade, refurbish if B-grade and re-label, scrap if damaged. The result writes back to your inventory in real time. Your refund logic can fire on any of three triggers (parcel scan-in, inspection pass, or restock complete) so you control whether the customer gets refunded fast or only after we confirm condition.
Pricing reality
What actually drives a San Francisco 3PL bill
Most 3PL pricing comparisons get hung up on pick-and-pack rates, which are usually within a penny or two between providers. The real difference shows up in receiving, storage, and how exceptions are billed. Here is where to look:
| Cost area | How it's charged | What raises the invoice | What you must define |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Per pallet or per container | Mixed SKUs per pallet, no ASN, damaged outers, peak Oakland drayage windows | ASN format, palletization standard, damage tolerance, drayage carrier of record |
| Storage | Per pallet / per cubic foot / month | Long-tail SKUs, slow-movers, packaging that wastes airspace; choice of East Bay vs Central Valley node | Storage type (rack vs floor vs bin), long-term tier breakpoints, node selection |
| Pick & pack | Per order, per item, sometimes per SKU | Multi-item orders with kitting, gift wrap, custom inserts | Standard SKU vs kit, included vs add-on packout steps |
| Carrier costs | Pass-through, sometimes with markup | Use of 3PL's carrier account vs your own, dimensional weight pricing, residential surcharges | Whose carrier account, who pays surcharges (residential, peak) |
| Port of Oakland drayage | Per container | Chassis availability, peak booking windows during Q3/Q4, demurrage and detention at the terminal | Whose drayage account at the Oakland terminal, container detention tolerance |
| Prop 65 relabeling | Per unit relabeled | New California product-warning interpretations triggering restickering on existing inventory | Who supplies updated labels, response SLA when a Prop 65 update lands |
| FBA inbound prep | Per unit prepped | Polybagging, FNSKU labels, bundle requirements | Prep scope, who buys polybags, which FBA codes you ship to (OAK vs SCK) |
| Returns | Per return + handling | Inspection beyond visual, refurbishment steps, photos required | Disposition rules: restock / refurbish / scrap, photo requirements |
Failure modes
Five San Francisco 3PL failure modes (port, labor, drayage)
Five failure modes specific to LA-region fulfillment. Not generic 3PL problems. The ones that hit when port congestion stacks with peak-season demand and shared labor goes thin.
| Failure mode | Why it happens | How Vertex handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Container stuck at Port of Oakland | Chassis shortages during Q3/Q4 peak; demurrage clocks running while drayage carriers compete for slots; balanced import-export traffic compounds equipment scarcity. | A good Bay Area 3PL pre-books Oakland drayage well ahead of peak, holds relationships with multiple drayage carriers at the terminal, and quotes with chassis-stay programs so the box does not sit at the gate. |
| Inbound takes 5+ days to pickable | Receiving team buried under stale POs, no ASN discipline, multi-node routing decisions delaying putaway. | We enforce ASN format upfront, cap unannounced inbound, and lock the East-Bay-vs-Central-Valley routing decision at PO creation, not at the dock. |
| Same-day cutoff slipping | Pickers shared with retail B2B during peak; carrier sweep moved up without notice during Q4 peak. | We staff a dedicated DTC labor pool and lock carrier sweep windows in writing during onboarding. |
| PG&E PSPS power shutoff | Late-summer wildfire conditions trigger PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs across East Bay industrial corridors; facilities without backup go dark during Q3 inbound. | Our Bay Area facility runs on commercial backup generation with a 72-hour fuel reserve, and our network provides failover capacity outside the high-risk PSPS zones. |
| Prop 65 surprise relabel | A California product-warning interpretation changes mid-cycle; existing inventory in pickable locations no longer carries the required language. | We monitor Prop 65 updates weekly, accept relabeling work requests with a same-day SLA, and quote restickering as a per-unit line item so it is never a surprise. |
When this isn't a fit
When Vertex isn't the right San Francisco 3PL for you
We are not the right 3PL for everyone shipping from San Francisco. Here is the honest list of cases where you should pick someone else.
-
You ship under 200 DTC orders per month. Smaller East Bay operators (DCL Logistics in Fremont, Hayward boutiques like Ecomm3pl, ShipHype) and Sacramento-region 3PLs will run cheaper at your volume. We work best at 500 orders per month and up, or B2B and retail programs that justify dedicated handling.
-
You need biotech cold-chain GMP fulfillment (2-8°C or -20°C, FDA-compliant, clinical trial materials, finished pharmaceuticals). We run ambient-only. South San Francisco is the birthplace of biotech and home to ~500 life-science tenants; specialty operators like Cardinal Health, World Courier, McKesson, and biotech-specific boutiques near SFO own that submarket. We refer.
-
You only want a single fulfillment node, and your demand is heavily SoCal-only. Our Bay Area node is the wrong call when LA County is your primary demand center. Use our Los Angeles page instead; an Inland Empire 3PL serves SoCal at the inland market rate with no Bay Area cost overhead.
-
You need walk-in retail or B2C drop-off. We do not run customer-facing counters at our facilities.
-
You require unstable or undefined inbound (no ASNs, surprise containers, ad-hoc SKU labeling). We can onboard this, and we will quote with a higher cost-to-serve to match.
-
You need a CBSA-bonded customs warehouse for duty-deferred holding. We are not a designated bonded facility. For brands where the customs math justifies the bonded overhead, we refer to specialist bonded operators in the Bay Area.
Reach from San Francisco
What 1-day and 2-day delivery from a San Francisco 3PL actually covers
From our San Francisco footprint, your inventory reaches a defined 1-day and 2-day ground zone, plus cross-border to Canada through our Canadian network. No separate Canadian 3PL setup required.
- 1d
1-day delivery
All of California, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona
- 2d
2-day delivery
92% of U.S. homes, including Denver, Salt Lake City, and Dallas
- XB
Cross-border to Canada
1 business day to Toronto and Vancouver via our Canadian network.
5 PM PT
Same-day cutoff
4.7M (SF Bay Area)
Metro pop served
5+
FBA codes routed
Comparison
Where in the San Francisco area should your 3PL actually be?
A few honest comparisons. We're not the right fit for every brand shipping from LA, and where we're not, here's where we'd send you.
Vertex This page
Bay Area footprint + 20+ warehouse US/Canadian network
- Strength
- Port of Oakland drayage, regional rate basis for storage-heavy brands, 5 PM PT cutoff, multi-node split with our US/Canadian network
- Constraint
- Best fit at 500+ DTC orders/month
- Best for
- D2C brands shipping West Coast and Bay Area, importing through Port of Oakland, Shopify and Amazon FBA multi-channel
In-SF / Peninsula boutique
SF proper or San Mateo / South SF Peninsula
- Strength
- Closest to SFO air cargo and biotech submarket; specialty cold-chain capability
- Constraint
- Pays the SF Peninsula premium; rare and expensive; almost no general-purpose ecommerce inventory
- Best for
- Biotech cold-chain, clinical trial materials, high-value Peninsula-adjacent fulfillment
East Bay cluster
Hayward / Fremont / Newark generalists (DCL Logistics, ShipBob Hayward)
- Strength
- Closest to Port of Oakland, Pearson-class drayage; same-day to SF Peninsula via Bay Bridge or San Mateo Bridge; deep DTC operator pool
- Constraint
- Pays East Bay rates (above Central Valley); East Bay shedding 627,764 SF in Q1 2026 absorption; AI tenants (OpenAI 202,400 SF Fremont) tightening the market
- Best for
- DTC brands needing same-day Bay Area Peninsula delivery and willing to pay East Bay rates
Central Valley cluster
Tracy / Stockton / Lathrop value tier (PRISM Logistics 2.3M SF, Weber Logistics, Olimp, Amazon HUB Grocery)
- Strength
- Central Valley rate basis (a fraction of Peninsula); 1.7M SF positive Q1 2026 absorption; only Northern California submarket growing; deep food-grade and big-box inventory; rail-served (Port of Oakland intermodal)
- Constraint
- 65 miles east of SF; overnight not same-day to Peninsula; longer drayage tail for SF same-day promise
- Best for
- Storage-heavy brands, food / supplements / beauty, national-shipping brands not requiring SF same-day
National multi-node 3PL
Bay Area is one of 30-60 fulfillment centers
- Strength
- Dense FC network nationwide (ShipBob, ShipMonk, Cart.com); platform-style integrations
- Constraint
- Bay Area node is not a focus; small-brand minimums; less Bay-Area-specific operational depth; California nexus and Prop 65 sometimes treated as afterthought
- Best for
- Brands wanting national 2-day reach via inventory split, willing to pay national-network rates
Vertex pricing
Pricing for San Francisco fulfillment
Pick-and-pack starts at $1.05 per DTC order. Everything else — receiving, storage, FBA prep, kitting, returns — is scoped to your SKU mix, channel set, and packout spec. Show us your current 3PL invoice and we'll tell you where we beat it, line by line.
Pick & pack
Per DTC order, standard SKU
from $1.05 /order
Everything else
Receiving, storage, FBA prep, kitting, returns, multi-channel routing — quoted on a call against your real order volume and SKU profile. We do not publish a per-pallet or per-cu-ft rate sheet because the honest answer depends on what you ship.
Bring your current invoice
Already at another 3PL? Send us your last three invoices. We will reply with a side-by-side and tell you whether we can beat it. If we cannot, we will say so.
What every brand gets
- Inventory sync to Shopify, Amazon, BigCommerce
- Multi-carrier rate shop on every parcel
- 4 PM PT same-day cutoff at our Vancouver HQ
- Scan-confirmed picking, not visual
- No annual contract, no setup fee, no software fee
- A named account lead on your account (not a ticket queue)
- Daily returns report with disposition writeback
- US + Canadian network, one inventory pool
Get a San Francisco quote
Bring your current invoice. We will reply with a line-by-line comparison.
FAQs about San Francisco fulfillment
Real San Francisco 3PL questions, answered
01 Where exactly is your San Francisco warehouse?
We operate in the Bay Area as part of our 20+ warehouse US and Canadian network. The actual ecommerce operations market sits in the East Bay (Hayward, Fremont, Newark) or, increasingly, the Central Valley (Tracy, Stockton, Lathrop). Our footprint is positioned for Port of Oakland drayage and same-day delivery to the SF Peninsula.
02 Why are most "San Francisco 3PLs" actually in Hayward, Fremont, or Tracy?
The city of San Francisco itself holds essentially zero meaningful industrial inventory. SF Peninsula industrial trades at roughly 3x Central Valley rents, with East Bay in between (CBRE Q1 2026). The math drives the geography. Most "San Francisco 3PL" marketing pages hide this by listing an SF mailing address while operating from Hayward, Fremont, Tracy, or Stockton. We name the actual node up front.
03 What's the cutoff time for same-day shipping in San Francisco?
Orders placed before 5 PM PT ship the same business day. Orders after the cutoff ship the next business day. Saturday cutoffs are available on request for high-volume DTC programs.
04 Why does Port of Oakland matter for a Bay Area 3PL?
Port of Oakland was the only major US West Coast container port to grow imports in 2025 (KBC Advisors Year-End 2025), finishing at 2.25M TEUs with the #9 US container-port rank. Oakland runs a balanced 50/50 import-export split where roughly half of exports are agricultural. That gives an Oakland 3PL a unique two-way container story LA and Long Beach cannot match: ocean inbound from Asia and agricultural backhaul on the same chassis. Drayage capacity stays deeper at Oakland year-round because of the export side.
05 Do you route inventory to Amazon FBA from the Bay Area?
Yes. We prep and route to OAK4, OAK3, SFO5, SFO7, and SCK4 directly from our Bay Area facility. FBA labeling, polybagging, and inbound shipment plans are all included. We re-validate FNSKUs on a recurring cadence so Amazon spec changes do not cause inbound rejections.
06 How do you handle California Prop 65 product warnings?
We treat Prop 65 as a first-class operational concern, not a footnote. We monitor California product-warning interpretations weekly, accept relabeling work requests with a same-day SLA, validate updated warning labels at putaway, and quote restickering as a per-unit line item so it is never a billing surprise. The Reddit consensus among California-FBA sellers is that Prop 65 is the most frustrating part of selling here; we have built around that.
07 Will signing with a California 3PL create sales tax nexus for my out-of-state business?
Almost always, yes. Holding inventory at a California 3PL typically creates physical nexus, which triggers California sales tax filing for transactions to California buyers and, depending on your business structure (S-Corp, LLC), can also create franchise or income tax exposure. We are not your tax counsel and we will not file the returns, but we name this on the discovery call so it is not a surprise in month two. Most out-of-state DTC brands need to register with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration before the first pick ships.
08 What about the Hayward Fault and PG&E PSPS power shutoffs?
Both are real. Our Bay Area facility runs on commercial backup generation with a 72-hour fuel reserve to ride out PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs, which hit East Bay industrial corridors annually during late-summer wildfire conditions. Seismic bracing on our racking meets California code and we run business-continuity drills quarterly. Our network provides failover capacity outside the high-risk PSPS zones and the Hayward Fault corridor for multi-day PSPS events.
09 What is the minimum order volume to work with Vertex in San Francisco?
We work best with brands shipping 500+ DTC orders per month or running B2B and retail replenishment programs. Below 200 orders per month, smaller East Bay operators (DCL Logistics in Fremont, Hayward boutiques, ShipHype) and Sacramento-based 3PLs will beat us on cost. We say so on the discovery call. See our "when this is not a good fit" section above.
10 Do you handle biotech cold-chain or GMP fulfillment from South SF?
No. Our Bay Area facility runs ambient-only. South San Francisco is the birthplace of biotech and home to ~500 life-science tenants including Genentech, Sanofi, Merck MRL, Gilead (Foster City), and BioMarin. FDA-compliant 2-8°C and -20°C cold-chain capacity for clinical trial materials and finished pharmaceuticals is a specialty submarket dominated by Cardinal Health, World Courier, McKesson, and South SF biotech-specific boutiques. We refer.
11 How long does onboarding take?
Standard onboarding runs 1 to 2 weeks: discovery call, integration setup (Shopify, Amazon, your ERP), SOP design, California sales tax registration confirmation, and first inbound receiving. Brands with clean SKU data and a single sales channel can be live in under a week.
12 Do you require an annual contract?
No. We use service agreements, not contracts. You can pause, scale up or down, or move volume across our nodes (Bay Area, LA, Atlanta, US, Canada) without penalty. Termination is 60 days written notice.
13 What WMS do you use?
Datex Footprint paired with TechDynamics. The combination gives us near-real-time inventory sync to Shopify and Amazon, barcode scanning at every pick, and EDI-compliant retail outbound for B2B programs.
More cities
Other locations Vertex operates in
Each city is its own market. If your customers cluster somewhere else, start here.
CA
3PL San Diego
San Diego is the only US metro where the Mexico nearshoring supply chain lands directly
Read the page
CA
3PL Los Angeles
most Los Angeles 3PLs aren't actually in LA
Read the page
OR
3PL Portland
Portland is the only US West Coast metro with zero sales tax
Read the page
NV
3PL Las Vegas
Las Vegas got cheaper after Section 321 died
Read the page
Ready to ship from San Francisco?
Talk to our San Francisco 3PL team
Get a custom quote in 24 hours, based on your SKU mix, order volume, and West delivery needs. 5 PM PT cutoff. 24-hour receipt-to-pickable. No annual contract.
5 PM PT cutoff · 24h receipt-to-pickable · No annual contract