ShipBob

For me, it's the 2 day and even same day shipping that they provide. ShipBob is a well-funded and fast growing 3PL network and software platform. They’re expanding their warehouse locations, they are continuously improving their already robust software suite, and they just have your back when it comes to logistics and supply chain management. I’m not always a hHaving over 40 fulfillment centers makes ShipBob one of the leaders in distributed 3PLs. This also enables brands to get products to their customers faster by splitting inventory across locations to reduce time in transit. They also have an end-to-end managed freight program called FreightBob with exclusive access to dedicated ShipBob trade lanes for brands shipping inventory from China to the US. 

ShipBob has a tech-enabled fulfillment platform complete with a proprietary warehouse management system (WMS) used in all of its fulfillment centers across the globe. Their platform feeds you real-time data for better visibility into orders and inventory. ShipBob works across all of your sales channels and connect to 70+ retailers to fulfill both B2B and DTC under one roof with EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)-compliant solutions. 

ShipBob has over 40+ key integrations with leading tools across the eCommerce landscape. 

ShipBob’s Customization Suite lets you personalize the unboxing experience with branded packaging, custom gift notes, inserts, and more. 

Your primary metric, as with any 3PL, is going to be shipping costs. Brands have saved up to 25% on shipping costs by distributing inventory across ShipBob’s strategically located geographic network, while others have driven a 13% savings to their bottom line by shipping from closer to their customers, and others have reduced their error rate by 35% by tapping into real-time, connected technology with quality control checks.  

ShipBob’s built-in analytics tool also provides detailed insights to help merchants improve their supply chain optimization and decision-making. The platform pulls together order information like transit times, cart values, shipping methods and shipping destinations to help you optimize costs and test different shipping strategies. It also helps you decide where you should store inventory, so you can reduce the average distance traveled per shipment to save on shipping time and costs. 

Additionally, across other services offered by ShipBob:

ShipBob’s Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) shipping capabilities allow end customers to pay cross-border fees at checkout so goods aren’t held up in customs for international orders. This has helped some brands reduce international shipping inquiries and lift revenue by almost 25%. 

FreightBob, ShipBob’s end-to-end managed freight program, is about 30-40% faster than any other freight solutions for getting inventory from overseas by working with experts to bypass time-consuming steps like destination transload and CFS. 

ShipBob’s estimated delivery dates and 2-day badging on Shopify product pages has helped brands increase 2-day shipping usage by 230%.

It usually takes about 2-4 weeks to get your inventory into ShipBob’s fulfillment center(s) and complete onboarding (unless you have complex needs such as a custom Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integration, which takes slightly longer), but some merchants have completed onboarding in as fast as 7 days. For small companies, usually the owner or Founder will be involved on these calls. For larger companies, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) or Operations Manager will often set up and maintain the relationship with ShipBob, though ShipBob’s software has free unlimited users.

An Implementation specialist will be assigned to your account to help you navigate the onboarding process. This individual will help you set up your ShipBob dashboard, lead training sessions tailored to your brand and your needs, and create materials specifically for you. Additionally, your Implementation Specialist will walk you through how to integrate your store(s), set up products, and go live with shipping (whether it’s virtually if you outsource fulfillment, or even in person to install our WMS in your warehouse). Your Implementation Specialist will be available to educate and empower you to confidently use the ShipBob dashboard and features.

ShipBob’s Merchant Care team will then be your go-to team for day-to-day support, requests, troubleshooting, and resolution. Your account will be assigned a Merchant Care pod, full of support reps who are familiar with your specific needs.

ShipBob does not have any order minimums, though clearly larger brands benefit the most through the ability to distribute product across their warehouse network. 

For brands shipping under 400 orders/month, you can tap into their Growth Plan, a self-service onboarding program designed to help pre-launch brands or startups grow their business by outsourcing fulfillment without giving up control.

There are 2 primary types of merchants that can benefit from ShipBob:

1. Any brand that wants to outsource fulfillment, from small startups to mid-market/enterprise brands shipping half a million orders/month. 
2. Any brand that has their own warehouse in the US (generally between 4,000 and 50,000 square feet) and wants to improve their fulfillment strategy, inventory management, picking processes, warehouse organization, and more through ShipBob’s Merchant Plus (WMS).

For either of these, fulfilling orders for nearly any eCommerce platform works with ShipBob as well as custom carts for tech-savvy brands that want to build an integration using ShipBob’s Developer API (in addition to DTC marketplaces and B2B fulfillment). 

Roughly 25% of ShipBob’s customers are in the beauty and personal care space, 22% sell nutrition and health products, 11% are in apparel and accessories, with the rest being a mix of many other industries.

ShipBob is a great option for brands looking to not just grow but scale. From partnerships with top retailers and marketplaces to integrations with the leading technology eCommerce experts, merchants can easily expand their online presence into physical storefronts. This also makes ShipBob a great option for brands looking to expand internationally. With warehouses in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, and Australia, as well as cross-border solutions like DDP shipping and partnerships with local tax authorities, they have the tools you need to get started in new markets. 

ShipBob is not for dropshippers or anyone else that doesn’t have to directly (or through an existing 3PL) ship and manage their inventory. ShipBob is not for digital product sellers, SaaS, or other non-physical goods providers.

The types of orders ShipBob cannot fill include alcohol, refrigerated products, perishables, very large and heavy products (e.g., furniture and mattresses), and carrier-prohibited products. ShipBob works best for lower-SKU count merchants that turn inventory over quickly, though ShipBob can cater to a mix of products and SKU lines.