Ware-Pak

What Ware-Pak does

Ware-Pak LLC is a privately held third-party logistics provider founded in 1963 by Robert Plechaty to serve the publishing industry, headquartered in a 170,000 square foot facility in University Park, Illinois, in Chicago's south suburbs. The company operates as a single-site, multi-vertical 3PL offering warehousing, pick-pack-ship fulfillment, e-commerce fulfillment, distribution, returns processing, call center support, virtual warehouse, and omnichannel fulfillment, with specialized book warehousing, book fulfillment, and book distribution services. Its technology stack centers on a proprietary Warehouse Management System with real-time inventory tracking and RF barcode scanning, integrated natively with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and TikTok Shop, supported by a strategic UPS shipping partnership that passes aggregate volume discounts to clients. The business serves roughly four primary verticals: publishers (its founding base), membership associations, e-commerce/DTC brands, and manufacturers/consumer goods companies, with a customer mix spanning long-tenured enterprise accounts (notably Better Homes & Gardens/Meredith Corporation, a customer since 1963) and smaller publishers and creators.

Revenue is generated through customized, activity-based pricing across subscription-style recurring storage fees, usage-based pallet storage, per-order transaction fees for pick-pack-ship, and professional services for kitting, assembly, labeling, custom packaging, and returns processing. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is sales-led with a consultative field-sales motion led by Business Development representative Ysobel Schmidt, complemented by content marketing, SEO, and referral channels. Operational performance metrics cited publicly include 90% same-day shipment, 98% within 24 hours, 99.9-99.97% order accuracy, 85% same-day returns processing, and daily processing capacity above 102,000 items, with 6.3 million cumulative units shipped across the company's history. Ownership appears to remain with the founding Plechaty family through President Mark Plechaty, with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or institutional investment.

Name

Ware-Pak

Legal name

Ware-Pak LLC

Website

https://ware-pak.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ware-Pak is a privately held Chicago-area third-party logistics provider, founded in 1963, offering warehousing, fulfillment, distribution, and returns services from a 170,000 sq ft facility to publishers, associations, e-commerce brands, and manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Services

NAICS

General Warehousing and Storage (49311), Warehousing and Storage (493), Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510), Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851)

SIC

Public Warehousing & Storage (4220), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Warehousing Operations & Contract Storage (Dedicated/Shared) (TLAIAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ambient General Merchandise Warehousing (Dry Storage) (TLAIACAA), E-commerce & Fulfillment Warehousing (Dedicated/Shared) (TLAIACAJ), Asset-Based Warehousing & Distribution Centers (Owned/Leased Facilities) (TLAIAMAB)

Keywords

• Third-party logistics services
• Warehousing and storage
• Order fulfillment services
• E-commerce fulfillment
• Book distribution services

Headquarters

HQ city

University Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 3PL Fulfillment Services: Ware-Pak generates revenue through comprehensive third-party logistics services including warehousing, order fulfillment, distribution, and returns processing. Pricing is customized based on storage needs, order volume, packaging requirements, and specific fulfillment services. The company uses activity-based pricing with transparent pricing schedules.
2. Warehousing and Storage: Charges for pallet-based storage in their 170,000 square foot facility. Storage pricing is transparent, easy to audit, and billed per pallet position monthly.
3. Pick, Pack, and Ship Services: Order processing fees including picking, packing, and shipping services. Volume-based pricing tiers available for publishers of different sizes.
4. Value-Added Services: Additional revenue from kitting, assembly, labeling, custom packaging, and returns processing services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ware-Pak is a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that operates a 170,000 square-foot distribution facility in University Park, Illinois, offering warehousing and storage, pick-pack-ship order fulfillment, distribution, returns processing, call center support, and value-added services such as kitting and assembly. The company primarily serves publishers, associations, e-commerce brands (including TikTok Shop merchants), manufacturers/importers, and consumer goods companies through customized, quote-based service contracts with monthly billing.

Product overview

Ware-Pak is a third-party logistics (3PL) provider offering a unified platform of warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution services from a single Chicago-based facility. The core offering comprises Warehousing & Storage, Packaging & Fulfillment, E-Commerce Fulfillment, Distribution, Call Center Support, Returns Processing, Virtual Warehouse, and Omnichannel Fulfillment — all operating from a 170,000 sq ft facility with real-time WMS integration. Specialized verticals include Book Warehousing, Book Fulfillment, and Book Distribution for publishers, plus TikTok Fulfillment for social commerce brands. Add-on services include Kitting & Assembly. The platform integrates natively with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce for automated order processing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Warehousing & Storage Warehouse capacity and storage services for fast-growing brands in a Chicago location that reduces overall costs, providing 170,000 square feet of distribution facility with more than 13,000 pallet locations and 45,000+ SKUs managed daily. Storage is billed per pallet position monthly.
• Packaging & Fulfillment Order pick-pack-ship fulfillment services achieving 90% same-day shipment, 98% within 24 hours, and 99.97% accuracy. Volume-based pricing tiers are offered for publishers and brands of different sizes.
• E-Commerce Fulfillment Outsourced e-commerce fulfillment for direct-to-consumer brands including seamless shopping cart integration and fast, secure order processing, with automated integration to Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce stores.
• Distribution Domestic and international parcel distribution services enabled by a Midwest location that reaches nearly 60% of the U.S. population within two days and 99% within four days, with globally negotiated UPS and partner-agent rates passed through to clients.
• Call Center Support Dedicated customer service and call center support providing instant inventory status and full order entry through the warehouse management system, with a dedicated customer service representative assigned to each client account.
• Returns Processing Reverse logistics service using barcode and scanning technology to inspect, restock, repackage, and redistribute returned items, with 85% of returns processed the same day they are received.
• Omnichannel Fulfillment Fulfillment service supporting multiple sales channels simultaneously, including direct-to-consumer, B2B, and retail channels, all operated from the single Chicago-area facility.
• Book Warehousing Specialized warehousing for book and publication inventory, leveraging Ware-Pak's 170,000 sq ft distribution facility, more than 13,000 pallet locations, and management of 45,000+ SKUs daily for publishers and associations.
• Book Fulfillment Book and publication order fulfillment service for publishers and retailers, including kitting, labeling, and custom packaging, achieving 99.97% fulfillment accuracy.
• Book Distribution Book distribution service reaching 60% of the U.S. population within 2 days, 80% within 3 days, and 99% within 4 days, with international distribution via negotiated UPS rates and global shipping agents.
• TikTok Fulfillment Specialized fulfillment service for TikTok Shop merchants integrating directly with TikTok's e-commerce platform to support social-commerce order processing and shipping.
• Kitting & Assembly Value-added kitting and assembly services to ensure products are packaged to meet strict compliance standards and technical requirements, including custom packaging applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of all orders ship same day received
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UPS SurePostcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 August 2023Value-driven, contract-only shipping solution combining UPS Ground network speed with USPS delivery to residential addresses for cost-effective small package shipping
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform integration enabling seamless order processing, inventory syncing, and shipment tracking for Shopify merchants using Ware-Pak's fulfillment services
• WooCommercecoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with WooCommerce platform for automated order transmission and inventory management
• BigCommercecoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with BigCommerce for seamless e-commerce order fulfillment and inventory synchronization
• UPScoreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic shipping partnership with UPS for domestic and international package delivery. Ware-Pak negotiates discounted shipping rates based on aggregate volume, passed 100% to customers. International UPS discount at approximately 80% from published rate.
• Global Shipping AgentsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished network of global agent partnerships enabling efficient and affordable international shipping solutions

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• DHL Supply Chain: Global contract logistics leader with extensive U.S. warehousing and fulfillment operations. Competes for the same customers but at enterprise scale, offering broader geographic coverage and integrated transportation.
• Kenco Group: Large U.S. 3PL providing warehousing, fulfillment, and transportation services across multiple verticals. A broader incumbent operating at much larger scale with broader service portfolio than Ware-Pak's specialized offering.
• XD Logistics (XPO): Major North American contract logistics and freight transportation provider with large fulfillment and warehousing operations. Overlaps with Ware-Pak on warehousing and distribution but operates nationally with very different scale.

Direct peers

• Red Stag Fulfillment: 3PL specializing in e-commerce fulfillment for heavy, bulky, and high-value goods. Comparable on accuracy guarantees and dedicated account management, competing for the same mid-market DTC customer segment.
• Capacity LLC: Brand-focused e-commerce fulfillment and logistics provider serving DTC and subscription brands. Comparable on dedicated account management, Shopify integration, and small-brand focus.
• ShipBob: Tech-enabled 3PL offering warehousing, fulfillment, and shipping for SMB and mid-market e-commerce brands. Direct competitor on DTC and Shopify-native fulfillment, though ShipBob operates a multi-region fulfillment network across the U.S.
• Amware Fulfillment: Family-owned 3PL providing warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution to publishers, associations, and e-commerce brands. Nearly identical vertical mix and ownership profile to Ware-Pak, making it the most head-to-head comparable.
• ShipMonk: Multi-channel 3PL provider serving SMB e-commerce merchants with WMS technology and integrations to Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, etc. Closely comparable to Ware-Pak's e-commerce and omnichannel fulfillment offering but with multiple U.S. fulfillment centers.
• Fulfillment.com: Global e-commerce 3PL with U.S. fulfillment centers, offering Shopify/WooCommerce integrations and similar SMB-focused fulfillment services. Comparable on technology integrations and DTC brand customer profile.
• Rakuten Super Logistics: U.S.-based 3PL providing e-commerce fulfillment, returns, and freight services with nationwide fulfillment centers. Direct competitor targeting the same SMB and mid-market e-commerce fulfillment customer base.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ware_pak

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Ware-Pak