In 2010 Fulex mailed catalogs and TV orders from Detroit, and today it ships online orders from five states
Fulex was founded in 2003 by Carmen Mirabella, a 2020 press release says (press release). In January 2010, its website described a fulfillment house in Detroit that handled orders from TV ads, catalogs, mailed literature and mass mailings, in runs of 1 to 100,000 pieces (2010 website). Its pitch back then was that West Coast companies could save money by shipping East Coast orders from the Midwest. Then it went west itself. When a San Diego founder called in October 2011, Fulex had just opened a warehouse in Poway (YardStash case study). In July 2020 it added Chattanooga for a total of three (press release), and today the homepage lists five, with Grand Prairie in Texas and New Castle in Delaware (homepage).
So the Fulex you'd sign with today is an online order company with mail order roots. The website says it works mostly with small and mid-sized brands that sell clothing, pet products, and beauty and wellness products (About page). The trade-offs are that prices aren't public, the website doesn't name anyone who runs the company today, and its own pages disagree on details like cut-off times and how many warehouses it has.
- Est. price per order
- $14.29
- Days to the average US customer
- 2 days
- Rating
Each warehouse has its own cutoff time
Each warehouse has its own same-day cut-off. Warren ships orders that arrive by 1 PM Eastern the same day (Warren page). Chattanooga's cut-off is noon (Chattanooga page), and Grand Prairie's is noon Central (Grand Prairie page). The New Castle page gives noon in one place and 1 PM Eastern in another (New Castle page). All of them list daily pickups from UPS, USPS and FedEx, plus freight carriers for pallets.
You can split your stock between warehouses, and the FAQ says your cart gets tracking numbers at the end of each day (FAQ). The website promises 1 to 2 day ground shipping but doesn't say which states each warehouse reaches in that time (About page).
Orders ship from five warehouses
Warren is the headquarters, a building of more than 100,000 square feet near I-75 (Warren page). Chattanooga and New Castle are each listed at more than 100,000 square feet (Chattanooga page) (New Castle page). The Grand Prairie and Poway pages don't give a size (Grand Prairie page) (Poway page).
Poway has moved. In 2016 and 2019 the website listed it on Danielson Street (2019 website), and today the Poway page lists Kerran Street (Poway page). The website doesn't say when or why it moved.
Every warehouse page says it can handle food and supplements and tracks lots and expiration dates. The pages call the warehouses "FDA-certified", while the Poway FAQ says it "supports FDA-registered fulfillment operations" (Poway page). Warren's organic certification covers only eligible dry goods (Warren page). The FAQ says Fulex takes every kind of product except environmentally hazardous substances (FAQ). Whether any warehouse is climate controlled isn't on the website.
Prices are private but all-inclusive
Fulex doesn't publish prices, which puts it with most 3PLs, since only 74 of the 292 3PLs on tryfriend.space publish prices online. The pricing page calls its pricing "all-inclusive" and lists what goes into a quote, like order volume, SKU count, storage and packaging (pricing page). It doesn't state a minimum or a contract length. The FAQ says it handles 50 to 150,000 orders a month per customer (FAQ), and the Poway page says setup takes about 7 to 10 days once contracts and stock are in place (Poway page).
Carmen Mirabella founded Fulex
Carmen Mirabella founded Fulex and was quoted as the founder in 2020, saying "At Fulex we pride ourselves on honesty, reliability and excellence" (press release). The website doesn't name any leaders or warehouse managers (About page). Clutch lists 50 to 249 employees and gives Poway as the headquarters, while the same profile also says the headquarters is in Detroit (Clutch).
Fulex has case studies but no reviews
Fulex has no reviews on Clutch (Clutch). The website names three customers in its case studies, a coffee brand called Golden Ratio, YardStash and Body By Yoga (case studies). The YardStash story is the most detailed. Founder Van Barker was shipping outdoor storage products from a garage and spent close to a third of the time packing boxes (YardStash case study). After moving to Fulex, YardStash grew from one SKU to 10, and the case study says Thras.io later bought the company. The case study gives no sale price or date.
It fits brands shipping from several regions
Fulex has done fulfillment for more than 20 years and has slowly spread from Detroit to five states. In my opinion it fits a small or mid-sized clothing, pet, beauty or supplement brand that wants to ship from several regions and also sells to retailers, since it handles EDI through SPS Commerce and works with retailer rules for Amazon, Target and Best Buy (FAQ). On tryfriend.space it ranks second among Walmart food-grade 3PLs in Texas and second among Amazon wholesale 3PLs in Michigan. It fits less well if you want to see prices, reviews or the people in charge before your first call.
If you're not sure it fits your orders, my 3PL finder ranks it against every other 3PL using your own numbers.