Shippo

1) Introduction

Are you tired of switching between different carrier websites to find the best rate for every shipment? As your order volume increases, you won’t be able to continue this manual process, but you will still need to find the best shipping partner for every shipment. It is a smart idea to integrate your order management system with shipping management software like Shippo.

A shipping management software allows you to choose from multiple shipping partners by comparing various parameters like shipping rates, estimated time for delivery, and delivery reach.

You can ship and manage your shipments with all the 3PL partners through a single dashboard of the software to streamline your fulfillment process. 

This software also provides additional features that can enhance the post-purchase experience on your site and improve the efficiency of your order fulfillment process. Therefore, choosing the right partner that has all the features under its service umbrella and is scaleable becomes essential. 

Shippo is one of the most popular shipping platforms in the US market. Let’s take a deep dive into the various features of Shippo and see how these features can help you in reaching your goals. 

2) What Is Shippo?

Shippo is a shipping management platform that allows you to integrate and ship with 85+ carriers, including widely known courier companies like FedEx, DHL, USPS, UPS, etc. Shippo provides exclusive discounts on shipping costs on all its pages and allows you to compare these prices before choosing a shipping partner. 

Shippo, the software allows you to automatically create print shipping labels for orders from your platform and other popular marketplaces like Shopify, eBay, Etsy, etc.

This will enable you to manage all your orders through an integrated dashboard. The Shippo API can be integrated into your systems or used through a web app, making it a fit for most organizations. 

The Shippo API has a claimed server uptime of 99.99% to avoid delays or system downtime. The reliability and the pay-per-use billing model of Shippo have made it quite popular among small and medium-scale businesses.

With Shippo, even these smaller organizations can ship internationally with Shippo’s international shipping support and a vast network of global carriers. In addition to this, Shippo provides special services like next-day delivery and 24-hour delivery through well-established carrier programs like DHL express and FedEx. 

However, other Shippo alternatives in the market provide a better shipping and delivery experience as they can provide more key features under their shipping umbrella.

Shippo does not have an active customer service to help you sort shipping exceptions, nor does it provide an end-to-end automated solution to handle them. The software also does not take international returns. 

3) Key Features of Shippo Shipping Software

Shippo is a shipping management solution that provides multiple services and features under its service umbrella to optimize your shipping process. These features become an integral part of your fulfillment operations as they lay a foundation for an optimized and efficient fulfillment process. Here are some of the critical features that Shippo provides. 

3.1) Multi-Carrier Integration

Shippo allows you to integrate and ship with over 85+ carriers through a single dashboard. This makes it easier to find a suitable carrier according to your needs. More pages also allow for a wider reach as customers from remote locations can access your products. 

3.2) Exclusive Discounts

The shipping management software provides exclusive discounts on shipping services with widely trusted and established carriers like DHL, USPS, UPS, and FedEx. This allows you to optimize your shipping costs and provide cheaper delivery options to your customers. 

3.3) Rate Shopping

You can check the carrier rates for your shipment before shipping on Shippo. This is a unique feature that only a few other software can provide, and it allows you to choose according to the priority and shipping cost.

3.4) Automated Shipping Labels

With any Shippo Pricing plan, you can print automated shipping labels to ship with Shippo’s carrier network. Shippo has a pay-per-use label printing policy, and you can avail of refunds on unused printed labels. 

3.5) Integrated Tracking

The Shippo Tracking API allows you to track your shipments through an integrated tracking dashboard. It sends tracking information to the marketplace dashboards and notifies your customer through emails about the status of their shipments. 

3.6) International Shipping Support

Shippo Shipping API includes preloaded features like prefilled customs forms and extended labels. The software has also integrated with various trusted courier partners like FedEx and DHL, known for their strong international networks. 

3.7) Validation API

The Shippo Shipping Label software has an address validation API and a CSV upload to avoid manual errors and failed deliveries due to incorrect addresses. 

3.8) Branded Tracking Page

With Shippo, you can create a basic branded tracking page for your platform where your customers can track their orders. Although the software does not provide the best of this service, you can create a tracking page with the software. 

4) Shippo Pricing Plans

Shippo has three basic pricing plans so that you can choose according to your needs. 

4.1) Starter Plan

Shippo does not charge a monthly fee with this plan. Instead, it charges you 5 cents per shipping label and provides all the essential services under its umbrella, including access to special discounts with carriers. 

4.2) Professional Plan

This Shippo Pricing Plan includes all the services under the Starter plan and other services like Branded Customer Experience, Custom Notification emails, etc. According to the label volume, the plan consists of a monthly fee and does not include a pay-per-label billing model. 

4.3) Premier Plan

This is the most premium Shippo offers and includes all the features from the Starter and Professional plans and some enterprise-grade features like multiple users, unlimited access to carrier accounts, and independent prices for every carrier according to your needs. 

5) Shippo Tracking

Tracking is an essential part of the modern e-commerce experience. It becomes vital to provide your customers with regular updates about their orders. That is why Shippo allows you to notify your customers about their order status through emails. 

The Shippo shipping software allows you to create a branded tracking page for your platform. The customers can enter the order tracking information on this page to track their orders in real-time.

The branded tracking page provided by the software is a bit basic as compared to market standards, as other software allows you to enable cross-selling on their branded tracking page for better conversions. 

One of the main advantages of using a shipping software like Shippo is the various integrations you can include within your platform and order management system through a single integration. Let’s take a quick look at all the essential integrations Shippo offers. 

6) Shippo Shopify

Shopify is a growing marketplace that allows you to customize your online storefronts according to your brand image and customer needs. Shippo reviews show that you can integrate your Shopify accounts into Shippo’s dashboard for better order management. This allows you to manage your Shopify orders and ship them through Shippo’s vast carrier network. 

The software automatically sends the tracking details to the marketplace’s tracking page so that your customers can track their orders effortlessly. You can choose to update your customers about the status of their orders through emails and Shippo.

The Shippo Shopify integration is a native integration, making it developer-friendly. This allows you to add customization and modify your fulfillment workflow to suit your needs better. 

7) Shippo Woocommerce 

Woocommerce is a WordPress plugin that allows you to enable ecommerce abilities on your WordPress website. As you integrate your Woocommerce account with Shippo, you can now automate your fulfillment process for your e-commerce platform. The Shippo API directly imports your orders from your site, and you can ship them with the help of Shippo’s widely established carrier network. 

In the Shippo Woocommerce Integration, the shipping API pushes tracking information and fulfillment status to the Woocommerce plugin. Shippo can help you create a basic branding page on your website for an enhanced tracking and post-purchase experience. 

8) Shippo UPS

UPS is one of the most trusted carriers in the United States. UPS has already declared a ‘UPS ready company.’ This includes UPS in Shippo’s carrier network, which allows you to check UPS shipping rates alongside other carriers before you choose a carrier for your shipment. 

Shippo Integration with UPS services allows Shippo’s clients to ship with UPS at discounted rates and makes it easier to set up their UPS accounts. With this, Shippo can provide a seamless experience to their clients that are SMBs and small shop owners, as UPS specializes in servicing these areas.

With the credibility of the UPS services and its integration with Shippo’s advanced features, Shippo provides one of the most seamless and reliable shipping experiences through its integration with UPS. 

9) Shippo FedEx

FedEx is another widely recognized and trusted carrier within Shippo’s list of carriers. The carrier service has been integrated within Shippo’s API and provides all its services, including international shipping and next-day delivery for Shippo’s clients at discounted rates.

You can generate shipping labels for FedEx within Shippo’s API and track your shipments with FedEx from your Shippo dashboard. 

Shippo reviews show that the FedEx Shippo integration is developer-friendly, which allows you to set custom parameters to ship with the carrier. Shippo provides up to 29% discount on FedEx services and discounts on their international services.

Therefore, the FedEx Integration with Shippo becomes a crucial cog in the international shipping services for Shippo. 

10) Challenges While Using Shippo Shipping API

Now, that we have an idea about the essential features and integrations of Shippo, let’s take a look at the challenges faced by the clients in the real world. These challenges have been noted by going through hundreds of Shippo Reviews on various review platforms and discussions with experts from the field. 

10.1) Lack of Customer Support

We found multiple reviews of Shippo that show that the software offers no customer support system whatsoever. Customers find it difficult to get refunds for unused shipping labels and handle shipping delays without any support from software. 

10.2) Fewer Commercial partners

Although Shippo has almost 85+ carrier partners, Shippo Shipping services do not have enough commercial carriers under its belt. While expanding the e-commerce business, these commercial carriers become crucial to providing a seamless customer experience as they specialize in services that cater to the needs of modern customers. 

10.3) Complex API Integration

We found multiple Shippo reviews that show that it is complex to integrate Shippo Shipping API within your systems. You need to either have the technical aptitude or hire dedicated technical support staff to ensure proper integration of Shippo API integrations. 

10.4) No Automated Solutions

Shippo does not have any automated solutions that can help you to optimize any part of the fulfillment process. Other solutions in the market like ClickPost offer end-to-end computerized solutions for NDR and shipping delay management. 

10.5) Cannot Ship Multiple Orders

Shippo does not allow you to club multiple orders together, even if they are sent to the same customer and address. This means you have more parcels to manage, track and hamper the customer’s purchase experience. 

10.6) Frequent Techincal Bugs/ Glitches

The Shippo software is prone to frequent bugs and glitches, especially in the auto-filling and CSV upload features. This can result in shipping delays and loss of shipments if your order is shipped to the wrong order. 

11) Conclusion

Shippo is a shipping management software that focuses on optimizing and enhancing the shipping experience in the United States. The software comes with preloaded integrations with 85+ carriers and allows you to ship with them at discounted rates.

Apart from this, the software provides automated solutions for printing shipping labels at a pay-per-use pricing model. If you own e-commerce business in the United States that ships to a global audience, Shippo can be a good beginner shipping management software. 

The software, however, has some limitations when it comes to providing a holistic customer experience. It does not offer delivery date prediction, live tracking, or shipping delay management services.

The unresponsive customer service is one of the primary reasons their clients opt out of the service. But, the Shippo pricing plans are suitable for companies and individuals looking to start as they offer a pay-per-use billing model. 

Our experts rated the Shippo software a 3.5 out of 5 in their Shippo reviews. If you are considering Shippo, you should take a look at Shippo’s alternatives so that you can compare them to the options available in the market.

While Shippo is suitable software for those looking to start their e-commerce journey with a holistic shipping solution, there might be better order and delivery management software.