SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 13, 2023 – eHub, a platform that provides streamlined shipping functions for 3PLs and high-growth DTC merchants, announced the launch of a new strategic partnership with Logiwa, the leading cloud fulfillment platform for high-volume direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses.

In the competitive e-commerce space, 3PLs and online merchants rely on modern technologies to optimize all aspects of the supply chain, including shipping and delivery. Logiwa’s cloud-based warehouse management platform seamlessly integrates with eHub’s API to simplify the complexities of the shipping process.

The joint functionality allows users to find carriers within eHub’s network of more than 150 carriers, shopping carts, and marketplaces. This gives access to shipping capabilities such as rate shopping, package tracking, delivery information, and other core features within Logiwa’s cloud fulfillment platform. Users can also access advanced reporting to track the shipping process and keep the buyer updated on the delivery process.

“eHub is dedicated to providing essential solutions that increase efficiency and drive growth for our 3PLs and merchants,” said Wade Sleater, CEO of eHub. “Pairing Logiwa’s cloud-based fulfillment platform with eHub’s dynamic API provides our customers with flexibility and a competitive advantage unparalleled in logistics.”

“Today’s customer wants quick and cost-effective shipping, making it critical to the success of any e-commerce business,” said Erhan Musaoglu, founder and CEO of Logiwa, Inc. “Partnering with eHub provides customers with a range of tools that will get orders on time and as promised, which translates to a positive customer experience.”

About eHub

eHub connects shippers with carriers, shopping carts, and marketplaces to provide flexibility and competitive advantage through a dynamic API. The eHub solutions provide businesses with cost savings and new revenue through competitive rates, responsive customer services, pre-negotiated shipping contracts, and the eHub Network. The eHub Network offers a variety of complementary advantages to merchants looking for the best 3PL value and advantages to 3PLs looking for new business opportunities. The benefits to 3PLs of partnering with eHub include access to a robust lead sourcing pool, revenue sharing on any leads passed into and placed within the Network, and rate monetization to capture the most significant margin on every package shipped. To learn more about eHub, please visit www.ehub.com.

About Logiwa

Logiwa is the leading cloud fulfillment software for high-volume direct-to-consumer brands, wholesalers, and 3PLs. The Logiwa Cloud Fulfillment Platform is an integrated WMS and order fulfillment system that makes it easy to run a digital warehouse and scale your high-volume DTC fulfillment operations. Logiwa’s solution works where traditional WMS systems fail: it connects quickly with new online stores and marketplaces, makes it easy to run a digital warehouse, and is easily updated to support dynamic warehouse environments. To learn more about Logiwa, please visit www.logiwa.com.

How eHub’s API can turn your clunky shoe of a shipping process into a sleek glass slipper that won’t disappear at midnight

What is a shipping API?

An API (application programming interface) is a software program that enables communication between separate apps. Any time you use Facebook Messenger, search for a hotel on Travelocity, or use PayPal to purchase something from a website, you’re using an API.

Shipping APIs are magic wands that let e-commerce businesses automate and uncomplicate their shipping processes by allowing their website or shopping platform to interface directly with shipping carriers’ systems. Properly installed, shipping APIs can:

If you’re looking at those bullet points and thinking, “I spend so much time on those things,” then eHub is ready to be your fairy godmother.

As a premier shipping aggregator, we have a proven track record as domestic and international e-commerce shipping experts committed to providing our customers with transparent, easy-to-understand shipping management services.

Keep reading to discover how our API is the magic bean you need to grow your business.

Alakazam vs. Presto Chango: the differences between a shipping API and a shipping software platform

Businesses that haven’t fully automated their shipping processes often use the terms “shipping API” and “shipping software platforms” interchangeably, but they aren’t quite the same thing.

A shipping API comprises unique code that exists solely to connect existing software platforms. Because APIs work behind the scenes to move information between your selling channels and your preferred carriers, there isn’t a portal or user interface where users do their work.

By contrast, shipping software platforms must be opened to access their features.

Here’s a non-shipping example of the difference between the two:

Say you live in Chicago, but you need to go to Dallas for a convention in two months. Here are two possible ways you could end up booking your flight:

This example is a little oversimplified, but it gives you a good idea of the principles underlying APIs and platforms.

In this scenario, the first option (Google Flights) is an example of an API. Google Flights’ API searches multiple travel websites for selections that match your parameters and brings all the information back to you on the same page. After you book the ticket, the API sends your personal and payment information to Delta to complete the booking process.

The second option, booking directly with Delta, is an example of a software platform. You might end up on the same flight as you would have if you’d used Google Flights, but all your information stays within Delta’s system the whole time.

Knowing which option—a shipping API or a shipping software platform—is suitable for your e-commerce business depends on multiple factors, including the size of your company, the number of packages you ship, whether you ship internationally, your budget, and how much time you have to get your system up and running.

The following chart can help you make your decision:

SHIPPING APIsSHIPPING SOFTWARE
Works best for mid-size to large shippers (but can absolutely help small businesses)Any size business
Work completed in existing workflowsWork completed inside the program
Developer-led installationsQuick, easy installations
Immediately functionalRequires extensive employee training

Making it work—integrating a shipping API

To be fully functional, shipping APIs have to be installed by a software developer. They have the spells er, and technical skills needed to successfully connect platforms that may be built using different programming languages.

EHub’s shipping API has over 200 existing integrations, including for major carriers such as UPS, FedEx, USPS, and DHL, as well as shopping platforms like WooCommerce, Shopify, and Magento.

You can find our complete list of integrations here but know that if we don’t have an integration for your platforms, our talented developers can build one in a snap.

Whether you work on a platform we support or need a custom integration, EHub’s expert team takes pride in guiding you through the entire implementation process so that your processes are as efficient as possible.

Don’t believe us? Check out what our client Sean Clark, CEO of Black Label CBD, says about our implementation process:

Ingredients in the potion: shipping API features

APIs aren’t “programs” like Microsoft Word. They are more like the spell check, word count, and design settings within Word itself.

When you are looking at shipping APIs, you should be looking for a company whose API enables multiple features, including:

EHub’s shipping API offers all the features above, and then some. We’ve negotiated global discount rates with all major carriers (USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.) that are lower than their published discounts. We can help you track and insure your packages or use your performance data to drive new efficiencies.

But the most significant difference between EHub and our competitors is the personal touch we’ve made our calling card. Instead of relying on automated chatbots or outdated FAQ pages on a website, our customers know they can call our in-house support team or reach out to their sales representative before, during, or after implementing EHub.

Not to brag or anything, but we’re basically a crystal ball that can answer all your questions.

Mastery is its own form of magic

Okay, this may surprise you a little, but EHub isn’t actually magic.

But we are a company of shipping experts and developer pros who are so good at our jobs that we make it look like magic. If your shipping management program is ready for a bit of abracadabra, let’s talk.

If you’re an e-commerce store looking to grow your sales, you must get serious about pop-ups.

Contrary to popular belief, pop-ups don’t have to be annoying. Executed correctly, they have the power to make a big difference in your conversions. It all goes down to segmenting them correctly and making them relevant to your visitor.

Today, we will look at the seven best pop-up tools you can use to take your conversion to new heights. Let’s get started:

1. Privy

Privy grows your sales with exit-intent popups, flyouts, announcement bars, and more. It’s a valuable tool if you’re looking to increase your email list and reduce cart abandonment.

The easy-to-use program makes it easy to experiment and tweak your email popups. You can test different messages based on color, design, display time, and more to see what works the best, even with no coding skills.

Another area where Privy excels is segmentation. To make your popups relevant to the visitor, you can segment them based on which country they come from, how they landed on your website, how much they have in their shopping cart, etc.

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2. Sumo

Sumo is a top-rated conversion tool trusted by over 600,000 businesses worldwide. The platform includes multiple features to help stores win more sales, generate conversions, and increase subscribers.

From the platform admin, you can create unique offers and discounts to get your customers’ attention. By making customers sign up, you’ll increase your store’s average order value and boost sales.

Just as shoppers are about to leave their cart, Sumo reaches out with a popup that encourages them to follow through with their purchase. It also retargets customers with a follow-up email when subscribers view your product without buying.

 

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3. Justuno Pop Ups

Justuno uses artificial intelligence to boost conversions with pop-ups, exit offers, countdown timers, and more. It offers endless ways to customize your upsell and cross-sell offers.

The platform’s AI software analyzes billions of data points to tailor pop-ups based on each visitor. It tracks visit frequency, geolocation, cart value, and more to ensure your store sends the right message at the right time.

Justuno comes with advanced analytics to track your marketing success and measure performance. You’ll gain exact insights into what strategies work and what don’t.

 

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4. Omnisend

Omnisend is one of Shopify’s most popular email marketing apps, with a near-perfect 4.7 rating. It connects your email efforts with other channels such as SMS, Facebook, and Google.

On top of using pop-ups to generate sales, you can optimize your landing pages for conversion. It’s also known for its Wheel of Fortune pop-up that offers customers the chance to win a special voucher on your store.

 

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5. Salespop

Social proof is a powerful tool for conversion. 91% of customers trust reviews as much as their own friends and family.

Sales Pop helps you use social proof to boost sales by displaying real-time customer activity. When visitors know that others are buying from your store, they are more likely to buy themselves. It also makes your store look busy and creates urgency.

The app does this by connecting to your Shopify and tracking recent sales. Customers will also be able to click on the pop-up to look at the purchased product.

 

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6. Pixelpop

With Pixelpop, you can capture visitors’ emails and sync them to Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Constant Contact, or Conversio. You can also add banners that display special offers, such as free shipping.

Pixelpop has various ways to style and customize pop-ups on your store. The different types of pop-ups you can use on your website include email signups, announcements, coupon codes, social follow, etc. The sky’s the limit!

Pixelpop doesn’t require any coding background to get started and only takes a few seconds to install on your store.

 

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7. Wisepops E-commerce Pop-Ups

Thanks to its drag-and-drop editor, Wisepops makes it possible to create high-converting emails within seconds.

One aspect that makes Wisepops stand out from other popup tools is its vast choice of templates. The platform makes it easy to find designs that reflect your brand.

Wisepops sends the right message at the right time with contextual targeting. You can target customers based on various factors such as their cart value, their timezone, location, and more.

 

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Conclusion

Pop-ups are great for growing your email list and landing more sales. We hope this list of tools will help you pick the right pop-up tool for your business. Experiment with each platform and see which fits you the best!

As your business continues to grow, managing shipping will become more and more difficult. 

Getting more orders indicates that your business is on the right track. However, managing your orders and getting the best rates can be a time-consuming process.

Thankfully, some apps help you manage your shipping and orders effectively without sacrificing your precious time.

Tools We Recommend

1. Free Shipping Bar

Free Shipping Bar is a tool that displays your free shipping offer in a bar on your website that you can easily customize. Its goal is to encourage customers to add to their carts and buy more.

As customers add more to their cart, the Free Shipping Bar will show them progressive messages on how much they have left before they get free shipping.

You can congratulate customers once they have landed on a free shipping offer and measure the results of each bar to see which free shipping goals create more sales.

As a bonus, its currency detection features make it easy to auto-detect the local currencies of visitors. The platform then converts the free shipping amount with real-time exchange rates.

Pricing:

You need a solution that makes it possible to connect all of your eCommerce operations in one place

2. Parcelify

Parcelify makes it simple to create custom rates for your Shopify store.

With Parcelify, you control the shipping pricing and options that customers see during checkout. Customers can get live, accurate rates of what they’re actually paying for shipping.

Parcefily also comes with local delivery and in-store pickup. With cheaper options to receive their product, you’ll satisfy customers and drive more repeat purchases.

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3. AfterShip

Tracking and managing each customer shipment can be a time-consuming headache. Aftership cuts the work in half by tracking all shipments across 600+ carriers in one place.

AfterShip is currently being used by more than 30,000 Shopify stores worldwide. You’ll be able to keep customers updated on the placement of their orders and when they can expect delivery.

As a result, your store will see a drastic decrease in customer inquiries and complaints.

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4. Tracktor

The modern customer has higher expectations than before. One of those expectations is expedited shipping and being able to track down exactly when their item arrives.

That’s where Tracktor comes in.

Tracktor makes it easy for customers and store owners to track down the delivery of a shipped item. The platform integrates with hundreds of carriers across the globe, so you can track exactly where the package is going.

The best part? You can do all of this from a single app. Customers won’t have to come to you and ask, “where’s my order?” anymore. As a result, you’ll boost customer satisfaction and reduce support costs.

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5. Route – Shipping Insurance

No one can predict what can happen to your product during shipping, which is why getting insurance for your products is so important.

Route is a tool that offers insurance on any item that gets lost, broken, or stolen during delivery. Customers gain peace of mind knowing that their purchases are guaranteed, and you get to keep more of your revenue.

Since Route covers the cost of refunds, you won’t be losing any money. The app is also 100% free for merchants and only takes a few minutes to set up on your store.

6. Aftership Returns Center

As frustrating as customer returns can be, there’s software you can use to handle returns more efficiently. Aftership Returns Center uses automation to track and manage your returns like child’s play.

When you integrate Aftership into your online store, you’ll be able to:

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7. Sales Box

Sales Box offers an exciting way to manage shipping and personalize offers for your customers.

Your store can set up different shipping fees and promotions for individual products or countries. Right under the “add to cart” button, customers will have all the shipping information.

Each sales box is fully customizable and easy to edit. No coding knowledge is necessary — you get instant access to templates that make your offer stand out.

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8. eHub – Best

There’s a lot that goes into managing shipping and customer orders. You have to keep track of inventory, calculate your shipping rates, print your labels, and so much more.

It can be time-consuming and frustrating to bounce from software to software to get all of this handled. You need a solution that makes it possible to connect all of your eCommerce operations in one place.

That’s where eHub comes in. From the admin, your business gets access to:

Essential Hub also integrates with more than 100+ e-commerce and shipping tools.

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Conclusion

We hope you enjoy our list of the best apps you can use to manage your shipping. These tools should help save money on shipping and manage your orders effectively to delight your customers. To learn more about how Essential Hub can improve your shipping strategy, feel free to contact us.

As frustrating as returns can be, managing them is an inevitable part of an e-commerce business. 30% of online products are returned, compared to only 8% for brick-and-mortar stores.

While dealing with customer returns might not be fun. However, it’s still possible to manage and minimize them effectively. Sometimes, you can flip them around and turn them into a sale.

While you may hate them, customers expect the returns process to be painless.

In this blog post, we’ll cover six ways that stores can manage returns effectively and improve their business:

Make Your Returns Policy Easy to Access and Lenient

More than 60% of customers will read your return policy before purchasing. That’s why you want to ensure your return policy is clear and easy to find on your web store.

The best places we recommend to make your returns policy visible include:

Another good tactic is to be generous and extend the deadline for returns. This works because it gives customers peace of mind and ample time to see if the item fits.

For example, Zappos is a top-leading brand that offers returns within 365 days of purchase. With so much time to test out the product and return it, customers may even forget to return the item in the first place!

Collect Data on Customer Returns Through Surveys

One of the best ways to prevent returns is to understand why customers are returning your items in the first place. One way to collect this information is through customer surveys.

With surveys, customers will have to go through a series of questions so you can understand the reason behind their return. Some of the best questions you can ask in the survey include:

As Bill Gates said himself, “An unhappy customer is the best customer.” Once you understand why customers are returning their orders, you can improve your products and web store.

For example, if a specific item always comes back faulty, you can find ways to fix it. Maybe it’s a flaw in the design, or the item’s packaging isn’t strong enough to sustain the transportation to the customer.

Maybe there’s a line in the product detail that is misleading customers. Understanding their expectations allows you to communicate more effectively in the first place or improve what you’re delivering.

If customers complain that your product looks bigger on your website than in real life, you can focus on improving your images to reflect the actual size of the item.

One of the best ways to prevent returns is to understand why customers are returning your items in the first place

Offer Product Recommendations to Customers

Even if a customer decides to return your item, it doesn’t mean that they won’t ever buy from you again. It could just be that they’re looking for a different product to meet their needs instead.

Especially for clothing or fashion-related items, customers want to see how they look and fit in person. If the returns process is easy, then they will continue to try out different products until they find what they like. Then you’ve got a lifetime customer!

What you can do in this situation is to offer them suggestions for other products that might interest them. If they’ve bought from you before, you can look at their history and see which type of item they typically like.

To take it a step further, you can also offer them redeemable coupons they can use on future purchases. It’s a great tactic to get them to return to your store and eventually buy products from you.

Measure How Much Your Returns Are Costing Your Store

As you manage returns, you must take the time to measure how they’re affecting your revenue. Doing so will help you set up a strategy to minimize them and do better.

Here are some crucial questions you need to be asking yourself:

Make the Return Process Simple and Convenient

How your brand manages returns could make or break your customer relationship. 92% of buyers will shop at your store again if the returns process is fast and straightforward.

For example, you can add a prepaid return label on packages to make the process less frustrating for the customer. You can also give customers a tracking number that lets them know when you receive the item.

Another way to make the returns process worry-free for the customer is to make your order policy straight to the point. Avoid complicated terms, disclose return fees, and set clear expectations between you and the customer.

There are tools you can use that simplify managing returns, which we’ll get into below.

Manage Your Returns With a Shipping Tool

Managing returns isn’t an easy task. Plus, you likely have other priorities in mind for your business, such as marketing your product or optimizing your website. It doesn’t hurt to get a bit of help along the way.

To save you time, various return management tools make the job easier for you. Some of the best tools we recommend on Shopify include:

Conclusion

Returns are part of shopping online. Making it easy will create a more positive customer experience and boost your retention of new customers. Managing them can be a headache, but setting clear policies and effective back-end processes will make them painless. With the right strategy, you can make returns just another selling point for your business!

It can be a headache figuring out your exact shipping rates. There are many factors involved, and if you’re relying on third-party software or a marketplace, then you can be reliant on the rates they give you.

One mistake to avoid is overcharging your customers for shipping. If shipping rates are too high, customers will abandon their carts.

At the same time, you don’t want your shipping rates to be too low. Scaling a business while eating high shipping costs is a recipe for disaster.

So what’s the solution? As a business owner, you likely have other priorities than calculating your shipping costs. It’s the reason why you need to have real-time carrier shipping that helps do the job for you.

What is Real-Time Carrier Shipping?

Real-time carrier shipping consists of software that automatically calculates the shipping rates for buyers during checkout. It considers factors such as product weight and shipping destination to charge the proper rates.

Here are some of the benefits that come with adding real-time carrier shipping to your store:

Avoid Calculating Shipping Rates Yourself

Real-time carrier shipping helps take the guesswork out of calculating shipping costs. Just as buyers are about to checkout, they instantly get access to rates without you manually calculating it yourself.

As a result, you’ll gain extra time to focus on what truly matters the most — running your business. You gain peace of mind knowing you’re charging the correct shipping rates each time.

Charge Customers the Right Amount for Shipping

There are many things to take into account when charging your shipping rates. If you’re not setting up your rates correctly, you risk losing potential sales and revenue over shipping costs.

Real-time carrier shipping ensures you charge the correct amount each time, even if you’re shipping your items overseas.

Provide Transparency to Customers

Any friction during the buying process will cause customers to drop their shopping carts, so you want to ensure they don’t get nasty surprises.

Real-time shipping gives customers an idea of how much exactly they’ll be paying for shipping. As a result, they’ll be more likely to follow through with their purchase.

It’s important to note on the product page that shipping charges will be calculated at checkout—that way, they know exactly what to expect.

Your Carrier Options on Shopify

Shopify has three leading shipping carriers: USPS, UPS, and FedEx. At checkout, customers will get to see the negotiated rates based on the carrier that you selected.

The carrier-calculated shipping feature typically comes with the Shopify Advanced and Shopify Plus Plans. However, you can add it for $20/month, no matter which plan you’re currently on.

Let’s dive into the requirements for each carrier and how you can connect them on Shopify:

USPS

To start with USPS, you must register for a USPS User ID by signing up on their web tools registration form. The ID will give you access to package tracking and shipping rates.

From there, here’s how you can connect your shipping rates to USPS from the Shopify admin:

  1. Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery
  2. Go to the accounts and integration section and click on Manage Integrations.
  3. Add USPS as the shipping carrier you want to connect
  4. Enter your USPS User ID in the Connect USPS dialog
  5. At this point, you can add USPS rates to your current shipping zones, even those that don’t currently use USPS rates.

UPS

To calculate your shipping rates with UPS, you must create an account on their official website. Setting up your account is going to be free of charge.

The next step is to find your custom shipping number to connect with UPS. If your UPS account doesn’t have a shipping number yet, you will have to register for one as well.

Here are the different steps to follow when connecting your UPS account on Shopify:

  1. Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery
  2. Go to the accounts and integration section and click on Manage Integrations.
  3. Add UPS as a shipping carrier
  4. Enter your UPS credentials in the Connect UPS dialog
  5. Click Submit and continue
  6. Add your account and invoice details on the Verify your UPS® account dialog.
  7. Click submit

FedEx

FedEx is a popular carrier option for many stores. To set it up on Shopify, you must first create a FedEx account on their official website. The different types of shipping rates you can offer customers with FedEx include:

Here’s how to connect to FedEx as a shipping carrier from the Shopify admin:

  1. Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery
  2. Go to the accounts and integration section and click on Manage Integrations.
  3. Add FedEx as a carrier.
  4. Enter your FedEx credentials in the Connect FedEx dialog
  5. Select whether you want to add FedEx rates to your existing shipping zones
  6. Click Save

As a business owner, you likely have other priorities than calculating your shipping costs. It’s the reason why you need to have real-time carrier shipping that helps do the job for you.

Learn How to Get the Best Shipping Rates Today

Connecting a carrier to your Shopify store is one of the best ways to estimate shipping rates. By charging customers the exact price, you won’t have to worry about overcharging them or losing money.

When selecting a carrier, you should understand some of the benefits and negatives associated with each carrier. Not everyone can offer free shipping, at least not immediately, but you should review these tips to see how to do it.

Getting reasonable rates involves negotiating with each carrier to get the best rates. Another method is using third-party software that has previously negotiated rates plugged into their software.

Essential Hub works with all our customers to ensure they’re getting the best rates and are taking advantage of a multi-carrier shipping approach. Find out how we can get you up and shipping with better rates immediately!

Shipping can make or break your business. More than 75% of shoppers consider even small shipping costs a deal breaker compared to free shipping.

That means you cannot afford to skimp on it. You have to be intentional with the kind of experience you and your would-be customers will have during the entire process of shipping. To keep your business shipping at the most efficient cost and service, using worthwhile shipping software is a good start.

5 Questions to Ask About Your Current Platform

  1. How Flexible is it with Integrations?
  2. Does it Offer Multi-Carrier Rate Shopping?
  3. What Are its Track-Trace Capabilities?
  4. How Effective is it in Managing Your Workflow?
  5. What Are the Available Options for Shipping Rates?

The options are endless, but the search is worth the effort. Of course, you’ll have to consider your specific business needs to get a platform that serves you best. Other aspects of it can apply to almost every online business out there.

In this article, we’ll be looking at the top 5 concerns you should look into as far as your current shipping platform is concerned.

Take a look.

How Flexible Is It with Integrations?

Your shipping software isn’t the only system in your business. You must stay on top of your current e-commerce platform, manage your inventory, and ensure your books are in order. Think of the daily activities that are essential for the continued running of your business.

A good deal of them will need a platform of some sort, and each one of these platforms must work in harmony with the others. The same goes for your shipping software.

Can it plug into the existing ecosystem without much fuss? Spoiler alert – it should. That’s how you’ll realize its full importance as a tool, which is to make your work easier.

For some very specific integrations, the ideal platform should offer API access so that you can tweak everything down to your requirements.

Another way to make this work is with order aggregation like that provided by eHub. Your shopping cart, marketplaces, and website all connect to it, and it connects to your shipping software. That way, you don’t have to worry about managing many integrations.

Does It Offer Multi-Carrier Rate Shopping?

Customers expect free shipping and getting their products ASAP. They don’t care about the carrier service you use, but you should. Products going to inner zones should be using ground service. Outer zones may need something faster.

The USPS has the best rates for items under a pound—flat rate options. Depending on the package size, zone, and service level you need (how fast does it need to get there?), you need the most economical option. Does your software rate shop across carriers? An effective and efficient shipping program will rely on multiple carriers.

Your customers will be eager to know where their shopped items are. It’s only natural as they’ve paid for them. This is an opportunity for you as a merchant to show how committed you are to satisfying your customers.

What Are Its Track-Trace Capabilities?

Your customers will be eager to know where their shopped items are. It’s only natural as they’ve paid for them. This is an opportunity for you as a merchant to show how committed you are to satisfying your customers.

You can do that through your shipping software.

A good platform allows you to update your customer every step of the way – from the moment the item is shipped to being in transit and finally delivered.

But amid all this, returns are bound to be there. You also want a seamless process on the customer’s part and even your team.

For some platforms, it’s as simple as offering a return portal, printing the return label, and sending the item back to you. And that’s precisely what you’d want.

How Effective Is It in Managing Your Workflow?

As already mentioned, shipping software is a tool, and the sole purpose of a tool is to make your work easier. Part of making work more accessible is streamlining day-to-day operations from the time a customer places an order to the time the item is shipped out.

How good is your current platform with this?

Think of the documentation required in shipping an item – there are a lot of forms to fill and keep up with. Your shipping software should stand in for you. It helps keep all these documents in one place for easy retrieval when needed while eliminating a good deal of errors simultaneously.

Are you printing labels one at a time or in batches? Are you printing pack lists to make it easier to fill orders? Shipping software can be customized to your current process or utilized to make your process even more accessible. One way Essential Hub adds value is by educating, training, and optimizing customer shipping processes based on the platform they are using. Through this method, they save customers 20-30% in time every day. What would you do with an extra 2 hours?

What Are the Available Options for Shipping Rates?

Some platforms have limited options as far as rates are concerned. This means you have to make do with whatever the said platform has to offer.

This is certainly not the best way to go about it.

Having a custom pricing plan will work in your best interest. There are plenty of shipping platforms that offer this option. You should be able to rate shop, load custom rates, and manage your own shipping profile. Essential Hub is connected to multiple software options that do this.

Not every platform sells shipping the same way, but they would all have you believe that they offer the best rates. One way to check this is to take a typical package size, including weight and the exact delivery address, and shop it across platforms. That’s an excellent place to start when evaluating who offers the best rates.

Wrapping it Up

Shipping plays a significant role in most people’s purchase decisions, so ensuring everything runs smoothly should be a top priority for you as a merchant. Shipping software is a tool that will work to save you money, make you more efficient, and improve the customer experience.

Find one that works for your business using these tips. Essential Hub helps our customers evaluate the best software for their needs and how to implement that system best. Find out how today!