10 best pick and pack fulfillment services in Chicago [2026]

I compared 10 pick-and-pack fulfilment services in Chicago for 2026 by how each one checks an order before it ships.

Saltbox's in-suite packing leads the list, and the nine outside providers after it include RF-directed warehouses and a West Chicago box maker that packs orders in boxes it produced itself.

What are the best pick and pack fulfillment services in Chicago in 2026?

The best pick and pack fulfillment services in Chicago in 2026 are Saltbox, Axis Warehouse & Logistics, and ShipBob.

To qualify, each provider had to describe its pick and pack process publicly and fulfill orders from at least one Chicago-area site.

The table shows where each one operates and what its pick and pack work covers:

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#1: Saltbox

Address: Saltbox Chicago, Elmhurst, 934 N Church Rd, Elmhurst, IL 60126.

Saltbox is the top pick-and-pack fulfilment service in Chicago for growth-stage DTC brands that need packing help but want to keep control of their inventory.

Our Saltbox Fulfillment team picks and packs inside your own private suite at Saltbox Chicago, Elmhurst, on month-to-month membership terms.

You get the packing capacity of a 3PL, and the shelves and the SOP stay yours.

Disclosure: Saltbox is our solution, but I'll keep this comparison fair and point out where another provider on this list suits you better.

Pick and pack tends to break down for DTC brands in the same few places, and Saltbox has an answer for each one: 👇

• Packing takes over the founder's day: Past roughly 30 orders a day, our team can pack them for you from $3 per pick. Every order follows an SOP written for your brand.
• A 3PL takes your stock out of sight: Your inventory stays in a private suite you can walk into. The Saltbox App tracks error rate and picks per hour against daily volume.
• Mis-packs and wrong inserts reach customers: Every order gets a quality check, and your SOP spells out which box each order takes and how exceptions are handled.
• Container days and peak weeks need extra hands for a few hours: S.O.S. is $45 an hour, billed in 15-minute increments with no minimum, and can be booked as soon as the next day.
• Carrier rates eat into margins: Parsel comes with every membership and compares national and regional carrier rates on each label, with savings of up to 30% according to Saltbox.
• Contracts outlast a slow quarter: Every suite size bills month-to-month, starting at $900/month for a Starter suite.

Let's go through the services that make in-suite pick and pack work at Saltbox Chicago, Elmhurst: 👇

How does in-suite pick and pack work at Saltbox?

In-suite pick and pack at Saltbox means our team picks and packs your daily orders inside your suite through Saltbox Fulfillment, following an SOP we write around your brand.

The SOP covers which box fits which order and what our quality check looks at, and we update it whenever your packing rules change.

Because the process belongs to you, you can check a batch yourself or take packing back without moving a pallet.

What does Saltbox Fulfillment charge per pick?

Saltbox Fulfillment charges from $3 per pick for daily orders, and fulfillment projects start at $45 an hour.

Each rate covers a different kind of work:

• Pick and pack, from $3 per pick: our team packs each day's orders to your brand specs and runs a quality check on every one. Pulse tracks performance, and orders flow in through the included Shopify and Parsel connection.
• Fulfillment projects, from $45 an hour in 15-minute increments: one-off or recurring work such as kits and bundles, returns, labeling or relabeling, prep and assembly, and cycle counts.

➡️ We point brands toward Saltbox Fulfillment at about 30 orders a day. Below that, you can pack orders yourself and print labels through Parsel.

If you're preparing for November and December volume, our holiday pick and pack guide covers the workflow fixes and carrier deadlines I'd sort out first.

Six onboarding steps before daily picking starts

Saltbox Fulfillment onboarding has six steps, and the last one puts live picking data in the Saltbox App:

1. Scope the work: we map your order flow and systems, then confirm whether pick and pack, projects, or both apply.
2. Lay out the suite: we suggest where printers and supply staging go around the pick and pack zones, and you can set them up or book us for it at a project rate.
3. Write the SOP: we spell out how each order is picked and boxed, the box it takes, what gets checked, and how exceptions are resolved.
4. Connect your platform: Shopify, ShipStation, or Parsel sends orders straight to the suite, and nobody forwards order emails.
5. Run a test batch: we run the first batch together to validate the SOP, confirm packing quality, and set benchmarks.
6. Go live: you see picks per hour and error rate for each day's volume in the Saltbox App, and one named contact on our team takes change requests.

S.O.S. for work outside the daily pick

S.O.S. (Saltbox Operations Support) is our on-demand crew, booked by the quarter hour at $45 an hour with no minimum.

Members reserve it in the Saltbox App, as soon as the next day, for jobs such as:

• Container unloads and surprise freight, shelved once it's off the truck.
• Racking and shelving assembly at move-in.
• Cycle counts or a full inventory audit.
• Outbound pallets wrapped and staged for the carrier.

When a delivery outgrows your suite, Flex Storage holds the extra pallets at $10 per pallet per day.

Shipping labels through Parsel

Parsel, our shipping app partner, comes with every Saltbox membership and shows national and regional carrier rates side by side before a label prints.

Orders can ship until the 4:30 PM cutoff, and members save up to 30% on shipping fees through Parsel, according to Saltbox.

How much is a suite at Saltbox Chicago, Elmhurst?

A Starter suite at Saltbox Chicago, Elmhurst starts at $900/month, and all five sizes are billed month-to-month:

• Starter: holds up to 12 pallets in 80 to 200 sq. ft., for teams of 1 to 2, from $900/month.
• Small: holds up to 30 pallets in 200 to 490 sq. ft., for teams of 1 to 3, from $1,750/month.
• Medium: holds up to 61 pallets in 520 to 1,000 sq. ft., for teams of 1 to 4, from $3,700/month.
• Large: holds up to 83 pallets in 1,010 to 1,340 sq. ft., for teams of 1 to 10, from $6,200/month.
• Extra Large: holds up to 113 pallets in 1,800 to 1,810 sq. ft., for teams of 1 to 50, from $9,000/month.

➡️ Flex Storage works out to about $300 per pallet over a 30-day month. If overflow lasts more than a few weeks, you'll want to price the next suite size up first. A move from Starter to Small adds 18 pallets for $850/month, roughly $47 per pallet.

If your team needs desks next to the stock, a 3-person private office starts at $1,500/month and a 4-person office at $2,250/month.

Inventory receiving, loading docks, daily carrier pickups, and equipment come standard with every membership. Conference rooms, a content studio, printing, high-speed Wi-Fi, in-suite power, 24/7 security, the kitchen and community area, and the Saltbox Entrepreneurs Club are part of it too.

Add-ons include 24/7 access for $299/month, reserved parking from $199/month, additional member access at $99/month, and month-to-month equipment and furnishing rentals.

Receiving and pickups without a suite

Scale Access starts at $349/month: on-site carrier pickups, building access from 6 AM to 11 PM, and up to 100 packages and 10 pallets received each month. If a business address and mail handling are all you need, Virtual starts at $99/month.

Explore Access Plans

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How is in-suite picking different from outsourced pick and pack?

In-suite picking at Saltbox pulls orders from shelves in your own suite, while the other nine providers pick from inventory held in their facilities.

Several of them offer capabilities one suite can't match, such as Teal's in-house box production or the multi-site networks at Axis and ShipBob.

I ran both models through the same six checks:

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For a wider view, see 3PL vs Saltbox, and our breakdown of 3PL fees lists the invoice lines worth asking any provider about.

Saltbox pros and cons

✅ Your suite stays yours while our team handles the daily picks.

✅ Prices you can see before a sales call: $3 per pick and $45 an hour for project work.

✅ Month-to-month billing whichever suite size you choose.

✅ S.O.S. reserved in 15-minute blocks through the Saltbox App.

✅ Discounted Parsel labels in every membership.

❌ Elmhurst is the only Saltbox location in Illinois, and a second Midwest node would mean another partner.

❌ Daily picking starts after the SOP build and a test run, which takes planning ahead of a launch.

#2: Axis Warehouse & Logistics

Best for: Brands with multi-SKU orders that want every pick directed and confirmed by RF scanner.

Locations: 4 Illinois addresses, a corporate office in Bensenville and sites in Elgin, West Chicago, and Bartlett (iFROST).

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Axis Warehouse & Logistics runs a scan-driven pick and pack process, and its warehouse management system records each item at receiving, picking, packing, and shipping.

For catalogs with many SKUs, I'd put Axis near the top of a shortlist, because that record shows where every unit is and how it's moving.

Amenities and benefits

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• RF-controlled picks: scanners direct pickers and verify items and quantities at each step.
• Wave picking and structured picking workflows, and pick locations replenished at system-driven levels.
• Picked items confirmed before packing and cartons tracked through shipment.
• Box sizes matched to each order's requirements, and a quality check before anything leaves the facility.

Pricing

Axis prices pick and pack by quote. Requests go through its Request a Quote form or (630) 742-8100.

Pros and cons

✅ Scan verification at each warehouse stage.

✅ Inventory rotation built into picking to keep the correct product moving.

✅ Four Illinois addresses, including the iFROST site in Bartlett.

❌ Its quote form centers on warehousing and transloading logistics, which DTC parcel brands should check against their order profile.

❌ Neither rates nor an order cutoff appear before you request a quote.

#3: ShipBob

Best for: DTC brands that want pick accuracy tracked by metric on a dashboard and the option to spread inventory across more regions.

Locations: Headquarters at 120 N Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60607, with several fulfillment centers in the greater Chicago area and more across North America, Europe, and Australia.

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ShipBob verifies each picked item by mobile scan and confirms it with barcode and image checks, and credits that process for 99.97% or higher order accuracy.

Based on my experience, the bigger draw for a Chicago brand with customers on both coasts is the option to split stock across ShipBob's network.

Amenities and benefits

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• Pick routes planned to cut walking time, and batching of similar orders.
• Dashboard metrics for order accuracy percentage, average fulfillment cycle time, lines picked per hour, and perfect order percentage, and automated alerts on deviations.
• White-label shipping, where ShipBob's name appears only on the shipping label.
• A Customization Suite for branded packaging, marketing inserts, gift notes, and a branded return address.

Pricing

ShipBob charges a fulfillment fee and a per-unit pick fee, and special orders such as HAZMAT and returns carry added charges.

The company states it has no minimum order requirements or peak season multipliers, and exact rates come through its Request Fulfillment Pricing form.

Pros and cons

✅ 99.97% or higher order accuracy, according to ShipBob.

✅ No minimum order requirement or peak season multiplier, by ShipBob's pricing FAQ.

✅ Chicago headquarters and fulfillment centers across the metro.

❌ ShipBob's Chicago page doesn't give addresses for its Chicago-area fulfillment centers.

❌ Dangerous goods and returns add charges beyond the standard pick fee.

#4: Combined Warehouse

Best for: Businesses replacing pallet shipments with order-level shipping that still need flatbed unloading and freight storage nearby.

Locations: Warehouse space at 5000 South Central Ave, Chicago, IL 60638, and Bridgeview sites at 7401 S 78th Ave and the newly announced 7700 S. 78th Ave.

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Combined Warehouse runs a pick and pack service called Customized Handling (Pick & Pack), and you pay only for what you ship.

You'll want Combined Warehouse on the list when a company is moving away from pallet-sized shipments, as the team picks individual orders from inventory it already stores.

Amenities and benefits

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• Shipping labels and documentation prepared in-house for domestic and international dispatch.
• Shipment tracking for you and your customers through final delivery.
• Loading and unloading of flatbeds through indoor docks, and cross-docking.
• Long and short term freight storage beside ecommerce fulfillment and full inventory controls.

Pricing

Rates aren't posted. Combined Warehouse quotes through the contact form on its site or by phone at (708) 827-7088.

Pros and cons

✅ Combined Warehouse bills for what you ship.

✅ Indoor docks for unloading flatbeds.

✅ A new Bridgeview facility on the way.

❌ Freight storage and flatbed handling lead the service menu, and DTC brands should ask about daily parcel volumes.

❌ Order cutoffs and accuracy figures aren't published.

#5: ITL

Best for: B2B and ecommerce shippers that want to check order status and inventory themselves in real time.

Locations: 3 Illinois sites: Bedford Park (5100 W. 70th Place), Tinley Park (18801 Oak Park Ave), and Wilmington (615 East Kankakee River Dr.).

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International Transload Logistics (ITL) backs its Chicago pick and pack services with a warehouse management system where clients look up order status and stock levels live.

I usually suggest ITL to teams that want one provider accountable from dock to carrier, and ITL handles receiving through shipping in-house.

Amenities and benefits

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• Real-time order status and inventory checks through ITL's warehouse management system.
• Separate fulfillment strategies for B2B and B2C ecommerce orders.
• Chicagoland facilities close to major transportation routes into the Midwest.
• Support by text message or phone, and an online request form.

Pricing

ITL calls its pick and pack rates fair and affordable. Quotes come by phone at (630) 206-1532 or through the request form on the pick and pack page.

Pros and cons

✅ More than two decades of customized logistics work.

✅ Self-serve visibility into orders and stock.

✅ Text support for quick questions.

❌ The pick and pack page states no same-day shipping cutoff.

❌ Rates come only by phone or through the form.

#6: Teal Packaging

Best for: DTC and subscription brands that want orders packed in custom boxes by the company that made them.

Location: 1800 W Hawthorne Lane Ste 205, West Chicago, IL 60185, with further offices in the UK, UAE, and China.

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Teal Packaging's West Chicago fulfillment center packs each order into the custom boxes Teal produced for that brand and ships it from there.

It's ideal to start with Teal when the box is part of the brand experience, since no separate supplier has to truck printed boxes to the warehouse.

Amenities and benefits

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• Inserts, cards, tissue, and gift notes added at packing, either printed by Teal or supplied by you.
• Per-order pick and pack and advance kitting of set units, both from the same facility.
• Mailer boxes, custom boxes, rigid boxes, kraft boxes, and pouches, and free dieline design.
• FSC-certified paper options and soy-based inks, and a $50 sample kit credited toward your first order.

Pricing

Teal quotes pick, pack, and ship per project, based on order volume, items and inserts per parcel, storage, and destinations.

Custom packaging starts from $0.44 per unit at volume, and the minimum is 50 units (100 for specialty rigid boxes). New customers get 10% off a first custom order with code WELCOME10.

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Pros and cons

✅ Packaging production and order packing from one provider.

✅ Low minimums of 50 units for custom boxes.

✅ Advance kitting and per-order packing in the same building.

❌ Carrier choice and delivery windows are scoped per project, without a flat shipping rate.

❌ Teal needs about 7 business days after proof approval to produce boxes, which pushes back the first shipments.

#7: First Logistics

Best for: Subscription box and DTC brands that need kits assembled for a fixed monthly ship date.

Locations: 4 Chicago-area sites, two in Alsip (Central Ave and Pulaski Rd) and others in Chicago Heights and Hodgkins (contact address: 11859 S Central Avenue, Alsip, IL 60803).

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First Logistics runs ecommerce fulfillment from its Alsip warehouse seven days a week, and its pick-and-pack team handles anywhere from 50 to 5,000 orders a day.

I'd recommend First Logistics for monthly subscription cycles, given that kit assembly and insert printing are part of the same program.

Amenities and benefits

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• Quality control at every packing station, alongside item-level picking and carton packing.
• Batching and order bundling when daily volume spikes.
• Packing slips customized with your logo and customer service details.
• Zone skipping and freight consolidation, backed by parcel discount programs.

Pricing

First Logistics quotes through its Get Pricing button and contact form. Its phone line is (708) 597-8700.

Pros and cons

✅ Operations running seven days a week.

✅ Returns inspected and restocked, and return reasons reported back to you.

✅ Same-day or next-day shipping options on subscription kits.

❌ Ecommerce is one of six markets First Logistics serves, beside retail, food, packaged goods, durable goods, and manufacturing.

❌ Costs depend on a custom quote, and no rates are published.

#8: Ware-Pak

Best for: Brands with kits and bundles that need each component tracked by SKU or ISBN through assembly.

Location: Chicago's south suburbs.

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Ware-Pak gives each kit, and each item inside it, its own SKU or ISBN number so its Chicago fulfillment team can assemble kits accurately.

I'd say that setup suits brands whose orders mix bundles with single items, and Ware-Pak has been in warehousing and third-party fulfillment for 60 years.

Amenities and benefits

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• Bundling, relabeling, repackaging, and light assembly under its kitting and special projects work.
• Order management technology that holds orders for review and releases them on demand or on a schedule.
• Quality checks on outbound orders, and returns processing that feeds findings back to your team.
• Cycle counts and serial and lot tracking in an FDA-registered operation.

Pricing

Ware-Pak doesn't post rates. Its Chicago team takes quote requests at (708) 534-2600 or through the Request Quote button.

Pros and cons

✅ Kit components tracked by SKU or ISBN.

✅ A review step before orders go to picking.

✅ D2C shipping by parcel or pallet, and white glove.

❌ Ware-Pak's fulfillment page gives no daily order cutoff.

❌ Order accuracy rates aren't published.

#9: MAI Fulfillment

Best for: Food, beverage, and regulated product brands that want pick and pack from an AIB-certified facility on flat-rate pricing.

Locations: Elgin headquarters at 2550 Northwest Parkway, IL 60124, and a West Coast site near the port in California.

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MAI Fulfillment's Elgin facility is AIB Food Grade certified, and MAI is a licensed Illinois liquor warehouser, which opens its pick and pack service to food and beverage brands.

I'd normally shortlist MAI for regulated products, and its customizable WMS and dedicated in-warehouse support give brands a say in how orders get picked.

Amenities and benefits

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• Custom packaging and kitting, including subscription box assembly.
• On-demand and just-in-time fulfillment programs for orders that arrive unevenly.
• Pick, pack, and ship for B2B, B2C, retail supply chain, and marketplace orders.
• Multichannel Merchant Top 3PL Provider recognition from 2022 through 2025.

Pricing

MAI uses flat-rate pricing, and you get your program's rates through its Get a Quote form.

Pros and cons

✅ Food-grade certification for food and health products.

✅ Flat-rate pricing for predictable invoices.

✅ A second warehouse in California for bicoastal shipping.

❌ Rate figures aren't public, even under the flat-rate model.

❌ MAI's Chicago page gives no facility size.

#10: Chicago Fulfillment Services

Best for: Insurers, marketing agencies, and supplement brands that want kits, direct mail, and product orders packed by one team.

Location: A Chicago-area fulfillment center, with a mailing address at PO Box 42, Glencoe, IL 60022.

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Chicago Fulfillment Services pairs order fulfillment with kitting, co-packing, direct mail, and printing, and a welcome kit or promotional mailer can ship from the same place as the product.

You'll find it especially useful for programs like insurance welcome kits with ID cards or influencer kits for agencies.

Amenities and benefits

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• Product, sample, and literature fulfillment, along with Amazon FBA and FBM.
• Kitting and co-packing for sales kits, sample kits, and multi-product offers, including inserts, poly bagging, and setup boxes.
• Lettershop services for direct mail, such as USPS data processing, inserting, and co-mingling.
• Industry programs for insurance, advertising and marketing agencies, supplements and vitamins, and food and beverage.

Pricing

Chicago Fulfillment Services advertises competitive pricing. Quotes come through its Get a Price page or (773) 657-9400.

Pros and cons

✅ Printing and direct mail under the same provider as fulfillment.

✅ Industry programs built for insurers and marketing agencies.

✅ Subscription box fulfillment for supplement brands.

❌ Only a PO box address appears on the site, and the warehouse location needs confirming before you ship stock.

❌ The site mentions shopping cart integration without naming platforms.

Walk the Saltbox Chicago, Elmhurst floor before you choose a pick and pack partner

You can judge in person whether in-suite picking works for your catalog with a tour of Saltbox Chicago, Elmhurst.

The nine providers above split pick and pack work in different ways. Axis Warehouse & Logistics directs every pick by RF scanner and Teal Packaging packs in boxes it produces. Others add flatbed docks or direct mail to the order flow.

I'd choose Saltbox for a DTC brand on the way up, since the shelves and SOP stay under your control and our team does the picking. With a membership at Saltbox Chicago, Elmhurst, you get:

• Saltbox Fulfillment picks from $3 each.
• Fulfillment projects and S.O.S. hours from $45 an hour, billed in 15-minute increments.
• A choice of five suites between 80 and 1,810 sq. ft., the smallest from $900/month.
• Daily carrier pickups and inbound receiving at the dock.
• A place in the Saltbox Entrepreneurs Club and Parsel's discounted carrier rates.

You can book a tour of Saltbox Chicago, Elmhurst or speak to an expert about setting up Saltbox Fulfillment for your orders.

⚠️ Disclaimer: This article was last updated on November 11, 2026, and if there's any misinterpretation of the information, please contact us, and we will fact-check it.

Related reading

• 10 best Chicago fulfillment services in 2026 for DTC brands, for the wider fulfillment market around Chicago.
• 10 best Shopify fulfillment services in Chicago in 2026, for providers built around Shopify stores.
• 10 best 3PL companies in Chicago, IL, for full-service 3PLs across the metro.
• 10 best warehousing spaces in Elmhurst, IL, for industrial listings around Elmhurst.
• Switching from a 3PL to a co-warehousing solution, for brands planning the move back in-house.