Fulfillment Network Optimizer

Find the optimal warehouse location for your demand profile in under a minute. Center-of-gravity calculation plus a ranked shortlist of the top US fulfillment hubs and a two-DC East/West analysis.

2026 Hub Cost Index33 US Hubs BenchmarkedNo Signup Required

National e-commerce profile weighted by metro population — a good starting point if you don't have order data yet.

Your demand zones

Edit weights to match your order share by region. Weight units don't matter — only their ratios — so you can use orders, revenue, or percentages.

Zone labelLatitudeLongitudeWeight

Center of gravity

The latitude/longitude that minimizes weighted outbound distance for the demand profile above.

Latitude
36.79°
Longitude
-92.60°
Avg outbound dist.
971 mi

Best single-DC locations

Top 5 hubs ranked by proximity to your center of gravity. Cost index 1.00 = the U.S. overall asking rent of $10.20/sf. Labor is not included.

RankHubDist. from C.O.G.Cost indexNotes
1
Memphis, TN
$4.36/sf
182 mi0.43xFedEx air hub
2
St. Louis, MO
$5.71/sf
183 mi0.56xMississippi River distribution
3
Kansas City, MO
$5.75/sf
193 mi0.56xCentral rail hub
4
Nashville, TN
$9.46/sf
326 mi0.93xMid-South distribution
5
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
$8.71/sf
365 mi0.85xNorth Texas distribution

Best two-DC East / West split

Two-warehouse network using the longitudinal midpoint of the US (-98.35°) to assign demand to whichever DC is closer.

West DC
Los Angeles, CA
$15.89/sf
Cost index: 1.56x
East DC
Charlotte, NC
$8.65/sf
Cost index: 0.85x
Avg outbound distance: 518 mi — 47% lower than a single DC at the center of gravity.

Get matched with 2–3 vetted 3PLs

Ask about multi-node coverage for these demand zones. Follow-up in one business day.

Phone is optional if you already picked a volume. Follow-up in one business day.

Goes to the WarehousingCosts team. We don't auto-share with 3PLs. The publisher also operates C&C Warehouse in Charleston.

Note: Center of gravity minimizes great-circle distance only. The cost index is metro overall asking rent divided by the national overall asking rent. Source / as of: Cushman & Wakefield, United States Industrial Marketbeat, Q1 2026 (preliminary). Joliet, Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg, and combined Seattle/Tacoma or Baltimore/DC rows were removed because the report does not publish those as separate asking rents. See the warehouse lease rates guide.

How to use this calculator

Pick the preset that most closely matches your customer base. The US Population profile is the safest starting point if you don't yet have shipping data. East-Coast-Heavy and West-Coast-Heavy profiles work well for fashion / consumer goods and DTC beauty / wellness brands respectively. The B2B / Industrial profile reflects manufacturing belt and key DC corridor demand.

Edit the weights in the demand zone table to match your real order share. The unit doesn't matter — only the ratios — so use orders, revenue, units shipped, or even rough percentages. Add or remove zones as needed; latitude and longitude are city-center coordinates that you can grab from any maps tool.

Read the center-of-gravity coordinates and the average outbound distance — that's the theoretical best. Then look at the single-DC shortlist for the closest real-world hubs, and check the cost index column. The index is asking rent only, compared with the national overall asking rent of $10.20/sf.

Compare the two-DC East/West analysis to your current single-DC setup. The percentage reduction in average outbound distance is the carrier-zone improvement you'd capture — most brands see a 15–35% drop, which typically translates to a 4–8% reduction in their parcel rate card.

Pair with these tools and guides

Frequently Asked Questions

Center of gravity is the latitude/longitude that minimizes total weighted outbound distance from a warehouse to your customers. You weight each demand zone by orders or revenue, and the calculator returns the geographic point that balances them all. It's the fastest way to answer 'where should my single warehouse go?' and is the standard first-pass technique used by supply-chain consultants before they layer in cost, lead time, and tax considerations.
Start with the 'US Population (Top 12 Metros)' preset — it's a reasonable proxy for a generic national e-commerce brand. If your customers skew east, west, or to a particular niche, switch to one of the other preset profiles (East-Coast-Heavy, West-Coast-Heavy, or B2B / Industrial). Once you have actual order ship-to data, replace the preset weights with your own percentages by metro.
Most growing brands hit a point — usually somewhere between 5,000 and 15,000 orders per month — where adding a second warehouse cuts average outbound zone significantly enough to pay for itself in carrier savings. The two-DC view splits demand at the longitudinal midpoint of the contiguous US (~-98.35°) and finds the best hub on each side, then estimates the new weighted-average outbound distance. The percentage reduction shown is the headline number you can take to a 3PL discussion.
Cost index is the hub's Cushman & Wakefield overall asking rent divided by the national overall asking rent of $10.20 per square foot. An index of 1.00 matches that national figure. Labor is not included. Source / as of: Cushman & Wakefield, United States Industrial Marketbeat, Q1 2026 (preliminary).
Not directly — it's a pure great-circle distance optimization with a relative cost index for context. For a rigorous siting decision you'll also want to factor in: parcel carrier zone discounts (each zone you skip is roughly 5–10% off the rate card), industrial vacancy in the target sub-market, labor pool depth, state/local tax incentives, and proximity to inbound ports or rail. Use this tool to narrow to 2–3 finalists, then engage a tenant rep or 3PL for a deeper site-selection study.
The average outbound distance is the weighted-mean great-circle distance from each demand zone to the chosen hub. Real shipping distance is typically 15–25% higher because of road geometry, but the relative comparisons (e.g., single-DC vs two-DC) are reliable. The number is most useful as a directional input to carrier rate analysis — a 30% reduction in average distance generally translates to a measurable drop in average parcel zone, which is what actually shows up on the carrier invoice.

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