Order fulfillment services are third-party vendors that fulfill orders for other companies such as online sellers. eCommerce stores that do not possess warehouse and distribution facilities as well as large brick-and-mortar companies that sell online can gain by hiring an order fulfillment vendor as it can minimize infrastructure costs and improve operational efficiency. In our Shipbob reviews we take a look at one of the leading order fulfillment services and provide an overview of the company, its unique aspects, pricing structure and schemes, main features, as well as plans for the future.
What is ShipBob?
If you operate a small online store or are a brick and mortar company that also sells online, you need to know all the details about ShipBob, one of the top order fulfillment services that offers same-day delivery for orders placed in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Denver and Chicago. On top of that, the vendor provides 2-day shipping within the continental US.
ShipBob offers two main services: a software solution that businesses can use for free to manage inventory, orders, and customer communication. Second, at the back end, it provides physical logistics to fill orders and for warehouse inventory.
ShipBob says it is not an old-fashioned logistics provider, but touts itself as a next generation fulfillment center. The company’s main advantage is it is located near merchants and end consumers in the three big cities of Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. This proximity enables the vendor to offer same-day pickup and delivery services in Amazon style at an affordable cost for small businesses.
Problems Solved by ShipBob
Many ShipBob reviews rate it as a rising star in the fulfillment sector. This company’s goal is to provide small businesses top rate fulfillment services at competitive rates. Its main advantages are negligible startup costs, quick onboarding, and low fulfillment rates. The vendor offers standard fulfillment via nationwide warehouses. This means its clients can stock up the required amount of inventory and ship in batches as required.
ShipBob’s also provides a niche for crowdfunding fulfillment services as it gives these projects a low-cost way to ship large numbers of pre-orders and backer rewards simultaneously.
Origin of ShipBob
ShipBob’s co-founders Divey Gulati and Dhruv Saxena were initially operating an online store and to ship the products ordered online they used to visit the post office every day. There, they saw a large number of people doing the same task. This gave them the idea to launch an order fulfillment service.
Both Gulati and Saxena are software engineers and they started by developing the logistics aspects of the business. They initially launched in Chicago and then expanded to several other major metro hubs.
How It Works
Merchants connect their online store and/or marketplace to ShipBob’s software and send their inventory to a ShipBob fulfillment center. Then ShipBob picks, packs, and ships the product.
To automate the shipping process, ShipBob’s software platform integrates seamlessly with Shopify, Big Commerce, Magento, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Backerit, ShipStation, WooCommerce, and many more.
ShipBob’s Unique Value Proposition
ShipBob hopes to capitalize on the drawback that small merchants face when they opt to sell on Amazon. Consumers on Amazon look for the lowest price and they don’t know anything about the individual merchants that sell on the site.
ShipBob lets merchants use their own custom branded boxes to ensure their customers have a unique unboxing experience. Thus, ShipBob is democratizing order fulfillment services by giving sellers high-quality logistics capabilities on their own website. In this way, the vendor tries to help small eCommerce stores build their brand name.
ShipBob Pricing
ShipBob reviews reveal that the company tries to keep fees as simple as possible. There are three core charges: receiving inventory, warehousing products, and shipping each order. The first 4 picks are free for each B2C order (then it’s $0.25/pick after that).
ShipBob also offers standard packaging material free of cost. Also, merchants do not need to worry about long-term contracts as all of ShipBob’s services are provided on-demand.
ShipBob offers affordable pricing as it compares rates among top carriers like USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL in the US, and negotiates volume discounts with them to find customers the best and cheapest shipping options. On top of that, merchants can distribute their inventory among the provider’s fulfillment centers for additional cost savings and quicker delivery times. Simple storage costs are based on product size, volume, and SKU count. For storage, it is a $5/month storage charge per bin (typically 1 bin per SKU, or unique item), or $40/month per pallet if your inventory is large.
Features of ShipBob
Now, let’s take a look at the unique features of ShipBob that make its services stand out in the order fulfillment industry:
- There are no pick and pack fees: Most fulfillment providers charge pick and pack fees that can amount up to $3 per order. However, ShipBob drops this charge altogether. All you need to pay is a $5/month storage charge per bin (typically 1 bin per SKU, or unique item), or $40/month per pallet if your inventory is large, plus package shipping fees.
- Flat rate receiving: Another unique pricing element is ShipBob charges a flat-rate rate of $35 per inbound delivery for the first 2 hours (then it’s $45/hour) instead of charging per pallet or unit received. This empowers retailers to consolidate deliveries and lower fulfillment expenses significantly.
- Batch fulfillment: Batch projects are the best option for shipping bulk orders such as marketing promotions, product launches, and backer rewards for crowdfunding campaigns. ShipBob, receives, packages, and ships the products in a single batch. On top of that, it doesn’t charge any storage or onboarding fees – you simply pay for receiving and the cost of fulfillment (no warehousing).
- Integrations: As mentioned earlier, ShipBob’s platform integrates smoothly with your existing software systems to improve efficiency and productivity. Plus, you can connect the solution with popular eCommerce marketplaces and platforms.
- Same-day fulfillment: The vendor ships as soon as orders are received.
- Advanced analytics: Empowers you to make smart data-driven business decisions.
- In-house fulfillment: You can get products delivered faster to your customers from the provider’s strategically located warehouses. In addition, you can use your custom packaging to showcase your unique brand. ShipBob offers domestic and international ground, expedited, and overnight shipping.
- Order Management: You can check the status of orders and make updates to existing orders.
- Inventory Management: Easily view/add products, send/check inventory, and merge products.
- Returns Management: Quickly check the status of returns and create return shipping labels.
- In-depth reporting: You can review detailed reports of orders, shipping, split inventory, and sales performance.
What Industries Benefit Most from ShipBob?
ShipBob’s fulfillment services cater to various industries, making it a versatile choice for businesses looking to streamline their shipping and logistics. Here are some key industries that particularly benefit from using ShipBob:
- E-Commerce: ShipBob’s primary market is e-commerce, and e-commerce businesses benefit greatly from its ability to handle inventory management, fast shipping, and order tracking. With the growing demand for online shopping, efficient fulfillment is crucial for customer satisfaction.
- Health and Beauty: Brands in the health and beauty sector often require quick shipping and precise inventory management. ShipBob’s capabilities help these companies meet customer expectations for timely delivery, especially for seasonal promotions or new product launches.
- Fashion and Apparel: Fashion retailers, including established brands and startups, benefit from ShipBob’s ability to manage fluctuating inventory levels and seasonal demands. The platform’s integration with e-commerce sites ensures a seamless shopping experience for customers.
- Food and Beverage: Businesses in the food and beverage industry that offer non-perishable products can utilize ShipBob for reliable shipping and distribution. The platform helps ensure that products reach customers quickly while maintaining quality standards.
- Consumer Electronics: As technology evolves, the consumer electronics sector requires efficient logistics to handle high orders and returns. ShipBob’s warehousing and fulfillment solutions help these companies maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Subscription Box Services: Companies offering subscription boxes, which often involve varied products delivered monthly, benefit from ShipBob’s scalable solutions. The ability to manage diverse inventory types makes it easier to fulfill subscription orders accurately and on time.
- Home Goods: Businesses selling home goods, furniture, or decor can leverage ShipBob’s efficient shipping solutions, especially for bulky items. The platform helps optimize shipping costs while ensuring timely delivery to customers.
Plans for the Future
ShipBob’s stated goal is to expand to bigger metro areas. In the long run, the provider plans to establish an Amazon-like distribution network across the US to bring products closer to both merchants and end consumers. This will enable the vendor to reach customers more quickly and save sellers the cost of expensive overnight shipping charges.
Currently, ShipBob boasts more than 1,600 small business clients, some of which utilize the software only for management purposes. This vendor has grown from serving mom and pop businesses to a stage where today its median-sized customer ships an average of 100 orders each month.
Conclusion
As this review shows, hiring a competent third-party order fulfillment services like ShipBob can help small business retailers and online stores to save the energy and time they spend stocking items, packing boxes, and shipping orders. They can redirect their resources to focus on marketing and other important areas to expand profitably.
In short, we recommend ShipBob as an ideal order fulfillment service for businesses that have fast product turnover as well as those that need to outsource batch fulfillment from a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Key Insights
- Cost Efficiency: ShipBob offers affordable pricing with three main charges: receiving inventory, warehousing products, and shipping orders. It also negotiates volume discounts with top carriers to provide the best shipping rates.
- Same-Day and Fast Delivery: The vendor provides same-day delivery in major cities like Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Denver, and Chicago, and 2-day shipping within the continental US, ensuring quick and reliable delivery.
- Custom Branding: ShipBob allows merchants to use custom branded boxes, enhancing the customer unboxing experience and helping small businesses build their brand identity.
- Comprehensive Features: ShipBob offers advanced features such as order management, inventory management, returns management, advanced analytics, and in-depth reporting, making it a robust solution for eCommerce businesses.
- Seamless Integrations: The software integrates with popular eCommerce platforms and marketplaces like Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, WooCommerce, and more, streamlining the order fulfillment process.
- Scalable Solutions: ShipBob supports batch fulfillment, making it ideal for marketing promotions, product launches, and crowdfunding campaigns without charging storage or onboarding fees for these projects.
- Future Expansion: ShipBob aims to expand to more metro areas and establish an Amazon-like distribution network across the US to bring products closer to both merchants and consumers, further reducing shipping times and costs.
FAQ
- What is ShipBob and how does it work? ShipBob is an order fulfillment service that provides both a software solution and physical logistics to help businesses manage inventory, orders, and customer communication. Merchants connect their online store to ShipBob’s software and send their inventory to a ShipBob fulfillment center, where ShipBob handles picking, packing, and shipping of products.
- What are the main advantages of using ShipBob? ShipBob offers cost-effective fulfillment services with no pick and pack fees, same-day delivery in major cities, custom branded packaging, seamless software integrations, and advanced analytics. These features help businesses improve operational efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction.
- How does ShipBob’s pricing structure work? ShipBob charges for receiving inventory, warehousing products, and shipping each order. The first 4 picks are free for each B2C order, with a $0.25 charge per additional pick. Standard packaging materials are free, and there are no long-term contracts. Storage costs are $5/month per bin or $40/month per pallet.
- What types of businesses can benefit from ShipBob’s services? ShipBob is ideal for small online stores, brick-and-mortar businesses that sell online, and companies with fast product turnover. It is also suitable for businesses needing to outsource batch fulfillment from successful crowdfunding campaigns.
- How does ShipBob handle batch fulfillment? ShipBob supports batch projects for shipping bulk orders, such as marketing promotions, product launches, and backer rewards for crowdfunding campaigns. The vendor receives, packages, and ships products in a single batch without charging storage or onboarding fees, only receiving and fulfillment costs.
- Can ShipBob help with international shipping? Yes, ShipBob offers both domestic and international shipping options, including ground, expedited, and overnight shipping, ensuring that businesses can reach their customers worldwide.
- What integrations does ShipBob support? ShipBob’s software integrates with popular eCommerce platforms and marketplaces such as Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, WooCommerce, and more, making it easy to streamline order fulfillment processes.
- How does ShipBob ensure quick delivery times? ShipBob’s strategically located warehouses in major cities allow for same-day delivery in specific locations and 2-day shipping within the continental US. The company’s goal is to expand its distribution network to further reduce delivery times and costs.
- What is ShipBob’s approach to custom branding? ShipBob allows merchants to use custom branded boxes for their orders, enhancing the customer unboxing experience and helping businesses build their brand identity and recognition.
- What are ShipBob’s plans for the future? ShipBob plans to expand to more metro areas and establish an Amazon-like distribution network across the US, bringing products closer to merchants and consumers to enable faster and more cost-effective shipping options.
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