Midwestern 3PL & Warehousing Company, SQF-Certified Wisconsin Fulfillment Operator

$3.2M

Revenue

$595K

SDE

3.5x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a Wisconsin-based third-party logistics (3PL) operator running warehousing, inventory management, and order fulfillment with nationwide distribution reach. The differentiator here is food-grade certification: the business holds an SQF certification with a near-perfect inspection score, which is the credential that lets it serve food, retail, and industrial clients who cannot use a commodity warehouse. That certification is a real barrier to entry and the reason retention is strong, because switching an SQF-certified fulfillment partner is expensive and risky for the customer.

The operation is sizable on the ground: 20 full-time employees, roughly 530,000 square feet of combined warehouse and office space across two leased buildings, and a fleet of 20 forklifts. On $3.23M of revenue it produces $594,698 in cash flow, an 18 percent SDE margin, which is healthy for asset-light 3PL where the real estate is leased rather than owned. Founded in 2015, it has built a tenured team and a track record of client retention, and the listing explicitly notes it runs with minimal owner involvement.

The stated growth thesis is straightforward and credible: warehouse demand is being pulled up by e-commerce and AI infrastructure buildout, and the seller frames a third building as the highest-impact lever, arguing the existing brand, inbound pipeline, and client relationships give an incoming owner the commercial foundation to fill it. At a $2.1M ask against $594,698 cash flow, the deal prices at 3.53x, which is reasonable for a certified, semi-absentee logistics business if the customer concentration and lease terms check out.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is solid for the category: $594,698 of cash flow on $3.23M revenue is an 18 percent SDE margin, strong for a 3PL where the buildings are leased rather than owned. Because the real estate is not in the deal, you are buying a genuine operating cash flow stream at 3.53x rather than a blended real-estate-plus-operations multiple that would mask the true return.
The moat is the SQF food-grade certification with a near-perfect inspection score, which is exactly what keeps food, retail, and industrial clients from treating the warehouse as a swappable commodity. Recertification, audits, and process discipline create a real barrier that a generic warehouse operator cannot clear quickly, which underpins the noted client retention.
Warehousing and outsourced fulfillment are structurally recession-resilient because goods still need to be stored and shipped regardless of the cycle, and outsourced logistics often gains share in downturns as shippers cut fixed cost by moving to variable 3PL capacity. E-commerce and AI infrastructure demand are secular tailwinds the listing correctly identifies.
The business is described as running with minimal owner involvement backed by a tenured 20-person team, which lowers the operational risk of a transition and makes this ownable by a financial buyer or a first-time operator who manages rather than runs the floor. That absentee profile is rare at this price point and a real part of what you are paying for.

How to improve it

Pull a full customer-level revenue and margin report in the first 30 days and quantify concentration, because a 3PL with a handful of anchor accounts can look stable until one contract expires. Once you know the top five customers by revenue, prioritize locking multi-year renewals with the largest before you touch anything else.
Formalize contract structure and pricing: audit whether clients are on true recurring storage-plus-throughput agreements with annual escalators or on informal month-to-month terms. Introducing minimum monthly commitments and CPI-linked rate increases directly raises revenue durability and the resale multiple.
Execute the third-building expansion the seller flagged as the highest-impact lever, but underwrite it conservatively with signed letters of intent from the existing inbound pipeline before committing to a new lease. Filling committed space with known clients is far lower risk than speculative capacity.
Add value-added services (kitting, labeling, returns processing, light co-packing) that leverage the existing SQF certification and food-grade clients. These services carry higher margins than raw storage and increase switching costs, deepening the moat you already paid for.
Instrument the operation with warehouse KPIs (order accuracy, on-time ship rate, dock-to-stock time) and put them in front of clients quarterly. Speed and accuracy are what the listing says buyers prioritize over cost, so measuring and marketing them wins new logos and defends renewals.
Review the two leases for term, renewal options, and rate exposure, since the entire cost structure rests on leased real estate you do not control. Negotiate extension options now to remove the single biggest external risk to the enterprise value.

Diligence notes

Verify customer concentration and contract terms in detail, because retention claims mean little if one or two accounts drive most of the $3.23M. Get the client roster, tenure, revenue by account, and copies of every material contract including notice and termination provisions.
Scrutinize the leases on both buildings: remaining term, renewal options, escalation clauses, and whether the landlord will consent to assignment on a change of control. With no real estate in the deal, an adverse lease renegotiation could erase the margin you are underwriting.
Confirm the SQF certification status, next audit date, and the specifics of the near-perfect score, since a lapse or downgrade would directly threaten the food-grade client base that justifies the premium. Understand who on the team owns compliance and whether that knowledge walks out the door.
Stress-test the minimal-owner-involvement claim by mapping exactly who runs operations, sales, and client relationships day to day. Identify the key managers, their tenure, and their compensation, and confirm they will stay, because an absentee model only holds if the tenured team is retained.
Reconcile the $594,698 cash flow to tax returns and bank statements, and normalize for any owner add-backs, since an 18 percent SDE margin needs to survive scrutiny of forklift maintenance, labor, and utility costs across 530,000 square feet. Confirm capex on the 20-forklift fleet and expected replacement timing.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →