What Uline does

Uline is a privately-held U.S. distributor of shipping, packaging, and industrial supplies headquartered in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, with approximately $5.8 billion in annual revenue and 5,001-10,000 employees. The company sells more than 45,000 SKUs — including over 1,700 corrugated box sizes, poly bags, bubble and paper cushioning, tape, labels, mailers, stretch wrap, material handling equipment, and a broad private-label "Uline Brand" line — through a catalog and direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform at uline.com, with international storefronts in Canada and Mexico. Uline reports selling roughly 1 billion boxes per year and serves a horizontal mix of small and mid-sized businesses, e-commerce shippers, government/military agencies, and individual consumers, with account-based credit terms, volume-tiered unit pricing, and dedicated customer service (1-800-295-5510).

The business is built on a network of 11 large regional distribution centers across the United States (Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, NYC/Phila, Reno, Seattle) that enable same-day shipping on most orders placed by 6 pm. The company is actively expanding its physical footprint, opening a 1.25 million-square-foot facility in Plainfield, Connecticut in mid-2026 (with planned employment of 400-450 workers at $26/hour plus a $5,000 signing bonus) and operating additional warehouses in Florida and Pennsylvania. Simultaneously, it has paused a planned >1 million-square-foot Kenosha, Wisconsin facility until 2027 or later, citing economic uncertainty.

Uline is wholly owned by billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, with no external shareholders, no venture or private equity capital, and no public ticker. The company invests in operational technology such as a Plug Power hydrogen fuel cell forklift deployment (250 units, February 2024) at its Wisconsin campus and offers proprietary online conversion tools (mailer sizing, dimensional weight, box selection), but no AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. Distribution channels include own-storefront e-commerce, UPS parcel, and Common Carrier freight, with no third-party marketplace or reseller presence evident in the data.

Name

Uline

Legal name

Uline

Website

https://uline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Uline is a privately-held U.S. distributor of shipping and packaging materials, selling more than 45,000 SKUs (including over 1,700 box sizes) through catalog and e-commerce to SMBs, government agencies, and consumers, supported by 11 nationwide distribution centers and approximately $5.8 billion in annual revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Pleasant Prairie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Shipping and Packaging Materials Sales: Uline generates revenue through direct product sales of shipping boxes, packaging materials, cushioning supplies, tape, labels, and related industrial/business supplies. The company sells over 45,000 products including 1 billion boxes annually.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Uline distributes more than 45,000 shipping, packaging, and industrial supply products — including over 1,700 sizes of corrugated boxes, poly bags, bubble and paper cushioning, tape, labels, mailers, stretch wrap, strapping, material handling equipment, janitorial and safety supplies, cleanroom supplies, and food service packaging. The company operates a direct-to-consumer business primarily through its uline.com website, with order-by-6 p.m. same-day shipping fulfilled from the nearest of 11 nationwide distribution centers.

Product overview

Uline is a Wisconsin-based distributor of shipping and packaging materials offering over 45,000 quality products through a catalog-based and e-commerce platform. The product portfolio centers on corrugated shipping boxes (over 1,700 sizes in stock) supplemented by an extensive range of protective packaging including bubble cushioning, paper cushioning (corrugated wrap, cellulose wadding, crinkle paper, tissue paper), and foam products. The company also provides retail packaging, material handling equipment, office furniture, janitorial supplies, safety products, food service packaging, and specialty items like cleanroom supplies. Uline operates as a wholesale distributor selling primarily to businesses through its print catalog, online store, and 11 regional distribution centers across the United States. The company carries select branded items including Pelican equipment and travel cases, Master Lock padlocks, and Instapak foam packaging systems alongside its extensive private-label Uline Brand product line.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Uline Brand: Private label product line including aerosols, anti-static products, bags, boxes, bubble cushioning, foam, gloves, janitorial supplies, labels, mailers, packing list envelopes, paper wrap, peanuts, strapping, stretch wrap, tape, tubes, and wipers.

Products and services

• Shipping Boxes / Corrugated Boxes Over 1,700 sizes of corrugated shipping boxes in stock, including standard, heavy duty, multi-depth, and specialty boxes for various shipping needs.
• Poly Bags / Plastic Bags Complete line of poly bags including flat poly bags, reclosable bags, gusseted bags, food bags, and specialty bags for packaging and storage.
• Bubble Cushioning Bubble wrap and bubble cushioning products for protecting fragile items during shipping and storage.
• Paper Cushioning Paper-based protective packaging including corrugated wrap, cellulose wadding, kraft paper, crinkle paper, and tissue paper for cushioning and void fill.
• Tape Packaging tape, duct tape, masking tape, and specialty tapes for sealing, mounting, and industrial applications.
• Labels Barcode labels, shipping labels, product labels, and specialty labels with printer compatibility for various labeling needs.
• Mailers and Envelopes Shipping mailers, padded envelopes, and protective mailers for document and product shipping.
• Material Handling Equipment Carts, shelving, storage solutions, and warehouse equipment for material handling and logistics operations.
• Office Furniture Office furniture including desks, chairs, storage cabinets, and workstation solutions for commercial and home office settings.
• Janitorial Supplies Cleaning supplies, paper products, trash receptacles, and janitorial equipment for facility maintenance.
• Safety Products Personal protective equipment, safety signage, first aid supplies, and industrial safety products for workplace compliance.
• Retail Packaging Gift bags, shopping bags, tissue paper, wrapping supplies, and point-of-sale packaging materials for retail businesses.
• Stretch Wrap / Shrink Wrap Stretch film, shrink wrap, and packaging films for pallet wrapping and product bundling.
• Bins and Totes Storage bins, totes, containers, and organization products for warehouse, manufacturing, and retail storage.
• Strapping Packaging strapping, strapping tools, and securing systems for palletization and bundle packaging.
• Cleanroom Supplies Cleanroom-compatible packaging, wipers, and supplies for controlled environment and cleanroom applications.
• Food Service and Packaging Disposable food service products, food packaging, containers, and supplies for food service establishments.
• Warehouse Equipment and Supplies Industrial equipment, warehouse supplies, and operational tools for distribution and fulfillment centers.
• Pelican Air Travel Cases Lightweight, crushproof travel cases approved for airline carry-on and check-in, with watertight seals and pressure purge valves for protecting valuables during air travel.
• Pelican Equipment Cases Heavy-duty crushproof equipment cases trusted by military and law enforcement, providing protection against impact, vibration, and shock with lifetime warranty.
• Cohesive Corrugated Wrap Single-face corrugated wrap with cold seal adhesive that sticks to itself for quick wrapping and sealing of non-fragile items without tape.
• Honeycomb Paper Cushioning Expandable honeycomb-structured paper cushioning that conforms to odd shapes, 100% recyclable alternative to bubble wrap.
• Versa-Pak Expandable Cellulose Wadding Expandable cellulose wadding that compresses to 20% of original size for limited workspaces and expands up to 5 times when unpacked, formerly Kimpak brand.
• Instapak Quick Chemical activation foam packaging system that creates custom protective foam cushions in bags, activated by touch for ultimate fragile shipment protection.
• Custom Products Custom-printed and custom-sized packaging products including boxes, bags, labels, and materials tailored to specific business requirements.
• Uline Brand Private Label House brand line including aerosols, anti-static products, bags, boxes, bubble, foam, gloves, janitorial supplies, labels, mailers, packing list envelopes, paper wrap, peanuts, strapping, stretch wrap, tape, tubes, and wipers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Order by 6 pm for same day shipping
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Plug PowercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2024Plug Power expanded its partnership with Uline to deploy hydrogen infrastructure and 250 fuel cell forklifts at a Wisconsin campus in February 2024. This represents a significant adoption of hydrogen-powered material handling equipment at Uline's distribution facilities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• McMaster-Carr: McMaster-Carr is a privately-held industrial supply distributor famous for its massive catalog (800,000+ SKUs), same-day shipping from regional warehouses, and direct B2B model. It is the closest analogue to Uline in operating model, customer experience, and scale-driven distribution advantage, though its product mix skews more toward MRO parts and components than packaging.
• Box Partners: Box Partners is one of the largest U.S. distributors of packaging, shipping, and warehouse supplies, carrying boxes, mailers, stretch wrap, and janitorial items with a multi-warehouse footprint. It is the most direct packaging-distribution competitor to Uline in core SKUs and customer segments (SMB and enterprise).
• Staples (Staples Business): Staples is the largest U.S. office-supplies retailer and also operates a sizable B2B (Staples Business) unit selling shipping, packaging, and breakroom supplies to SMB and enterprise accounts. It competes with Uline on the same buyer needs (boxes, mailers, labels) though with a stronger office-supplies breadth.
• Fastenal: Fastenal is a U.S. industrial-supply distributor with a national network of branches, vending machines, and onsite locations focused on fasteners, tools, safety, and material handling. It is a comparable large-footprint B2B distributor with overlapping customers in industrial supply and warehouse products.
• Veritiv: Veritiv is a North American business products distributor with a dedicated Packaging Solutions segment distributing corrugated, protective, and flexible packaging to commercial and industrial customers. It overlaps with Uline at the product and customer level for packaging supplies, though via a sales-rep driven rather than e-commerce model.
• Quill: Quill is a long-standing office and business-products catalog/e-commerce distributor (now part of Staples) selling shipping supplies, ink, office furniture, and breakroom items to SMBs. Its catalog model and SMB focus make it a close small-buyer alternative to Uline.

Broad incumbents

• Grainger: W.W. Grainger is the dominant U.S. distributor of industrial supplies, operating ~325 branches plus a large online catalog (~1.5M SKUs) serving maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) buyers. Its product mix overlaps with Uline on material handling, safety, and janitorial, though Grainger's core is industrial/MRO rather than shipping-packaging.
• Amazon Business: Amazon Business is the B2B arm of Amazon offering millions of SKUs including shipping supplies (boxes, tape, labels), office products, and industrial items with Prime-grade fulfillment. It overlaps with Uline's e-commerce, catalog, and SMB/government customer motion and represents the largest competitive threat to Uline's distribution-scale advantage.
• Office Depot / ODP Corporation: ODP Corporation operates the Office Depot and OfficeMax retail chains plus a B2B contract business selling office, shipping, and janitorial supplies. It competes with Uline on SMB and enterprise shipping-supply needs via both retail and dedicated B2B sales motions.

Others

• Packaging Corporation of America: Packaging Corporation of America is a major U.S. corrugated packaging manufacturer producing the containerboard and boxes that flow through Uline's distribution. It is not a direct competitor to Uline but represents an upstream node in the same supply chain whose pricing decisions affect Uline's input costs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uline
• Facebookfacebook.com/ulinecorporation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uline

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Uline