Costco 3PL: two hubs, four depots. Every PO ships from the nearest one.

The problem

One warehouse feeding four depots means somebody is paying for a 3,000 km truck.

Costco Canada receives at four depots. Most vendors feed all four from one warehouse. If it’s in Ontario, every container paid about $3,500 extra to rail east and every Langley or Airdrie PO rides a truck back across the country. If it’s in BC, the reverse. Either way you pay freight twice and bet a must-arrive-by date on it.

• Freight, twice

  Rail the container past the depot it’s meant for, then truck the product back. About $3,500 per container on the rail leg alone, before the backhaul.

• Missed appointment, turned away

  Depots stop receiving early afternoon. A late truck gets 30 minutes of grace, if that. The next slot is 24 to 48 hours out, longer in peak, and the chargeback is yours.

• Rejected on the dock

  Not on CHEP, overhang, over 58″ load height, no date code, wrong wrap. Costco doesn’t fix it. It goes back on your truck, and the chargeback follows.

None of this is a program problem, and most Costco chargebacks start right here. It’s a geography and compliance problem. Put the stock next to the depot, build it right the first time, and most of it goes away.

How it works

Costco transloading, container to depot in seven steps. You send us the PO. We do the rest.

1. Container lands

   Vancouver port or Toronto rail. We arrange the drayage to our hub for transloading.

2. Transload and build onto CHEP

   We destuff PODs, master cartons or already palletized freight. Clamp and push-pull forklifts. Built to Costco height and weight, wrapped, strapped, date-coded, labeled. Our CHEP account or yours.

3. Store until the PO

   Program stock sits at the hub. Every pallet is visible live in our platform.

4. PO arrives, we book the appointment

   As a Costco Traffic-approved carrier we book the depot slot on the Costco Traffic portal, in advance, against your PO number.

5. Ship from the nearest hub

   Langley and Airdrie from Vancouver. Vaughan and Varennes from Toronto. FTL or LTL, whichever is cheaper for the PO size.

6. CHEP transfer processed

   After delivery we transfer the pallets out to Costco on the CHEP portal. No pallet dues left hanging on your account.

7. Delivered on time, in full

   POD and appointment confirmation land in your inbox the same day.

8. Also in-house

   Costco display pallets, rework, relabeling, disposal

   Display-ready pallets built to your buyer’s spec. Same hub, same crew. No second vendor, no second truck.

Costco pallet requirements

Costco pallet and vendor requirements. We check every one before your truck leaves.

These are the Costco supplier requirements our floor works from, and what gets a pallet refused at the dock. Use them to self-audit against your Costco routing guide, or send us your spec and we’ll do it for you.

Pallet type

48×40 block pallet. CHEP, iGPS or PECO. No stringer pallets, no white wood.

Pallet condition

Clean, no chips or broken boards. Pallets go to the sales floor unopened.

Overhang

None. Product stays inside the pallet footprint.

Load height

58″ max including the pallet.

Load weight

2,500 lb max per pallet.

Bottom layer

Supports 1,500 lb (loads under 750 lb) or 2,500 lb (loads over 750 lb).

Date code

On at least two sides and the front of every pallet.

Carton / POD ID

SKU name, vendor name and vendor ID, unit quantity on every master carton or POD.

Carton strength

Survives mechanical clamping, 80 to 90% humidity and 4+ weeks in storage. EPS foam discouraged.

Timing

Not more than 2 days early. Never late without written approval.

Appointment

Booked in advance with PO number, pickup location, case and pallet count, commodity.

EDI

POs (850), ASNs (856) and invoices (810) via EDI.