ShipBob: When to outsource shipping

ShipStation is happy to announce that we have partnered with ShipBob to make shipping extremely easy for merchants who are ready to outsource shipping. Don’t know if that’s you? Read on.

Most sellers have heard of 3PL providers (Third-Party Logistics or TPL) but for anyone who hasn’t, ShipBob has defined it for you. 3PL companies: offer services including the warehousing, picking, packing, and shipping of orders.

Smaller merchants see 3PL providers as something they hope to be able to leverage in the future. Well, the future might be closer than you think. We’re here to help you decide if you’re ready to make the leap to hassle-free fulfillment. Let’s start with a few questions.

Do you fulfill more than 25 orders per day?

If you answered “yes”, or “I’m getting real close” — now would be a good time to consider using a 3PL like ShipBob! They can find efficiencies you’re missing and provide a seamless fulfillment flow without the headaches. ShipBob can also get you access to additional high volume discounts. Have you ever found yourself wondering why you have to solve annoyingly complex fulfillment issues? Especially since all you ever wanted was to focus on bringing amazing products to people around the globe? That’s why ShipBob exists.

Does product and fulfillment related storage take up a significant portion of your available square footage?

Real estate isn’t cheap and it’s only getting more expensive. Try calculating what percentage of your overall square footage goes to product storage and things related to shipping. You may find that what you’re spending from a space perspective really adds up! Use the space in new ways or find something cozier once you get rid of the need to store product. This can be especially important for merchants who only need more space for one to three months out of the year.

Does your order volume report zig zag (or is it about to spike)?

It’s important to have warehouse space that will scale with your business — up and down. Especially for merchants who have dramatic high and low seasons, widely varying product demand, or marketing campaigns that are about to skyrocket sales. ShipBob has fulfillment centers all across the US in the largest cities. Intentionally placing their centers in urban areas that are highly populated to reduce the shipping times and costs. Unlike other 3PLs, ShipBob actually own, operate, and staff the warehouses themselves. They can easily accommodate spikes in your product demand or seasonal highs and lows. Whether you’re introducing a hot new product, running flash sales, just finished a successful crowdfunding campaign, or have a seasonal business, check out how outsourcing your fulfillment can be a game changer for helping you scale your shipping.

What would it look like if you decided to outsource shipping?

Take a second to imagine having access to all of your orders from every selling channel managed in one location through ShipStation, but not having to deal with warehouse space, transportation, additional training and staffing, the stress of high and low seasons, space that doesn’t scale with your business, missing out on high volume discounts, staying up to date with fulfillment security regulations, or not having enough time to focus on growth and customer service.

Well, that’s a reality for anyone who wants to leverage ShipStation and ShipBob together. The combo is an incredible shipping tech stack that gives you power over all of your orders, wherever you sell, without having to physically fulfill them yourself, however you decide to ship. Don’t pinch yourself, but no, you aren’t dreaming. Outsource shipping so you can focus on delighting your customers and growing your business.

What ShipBob has to say:

“We’re very excited for our partnership with ShipStation. ShipStation and ShipBob are aligned in wanting to help merchants achieve 1- 2 day transit times with their shipping strategy. Both for order management and with scalable fulfillment solutions for products of all kinds. We are glad to help online sellers bring their incredible products to people around the world without the stress of shipping getting in the way.”

Dhruv Saxena, CEO of ShipBob

Don’t wait until the last second to switch to a Third Party Logistics provider.

Something to note is that many people wait too long before reaching out to a 3PL. If you can help it, don’t get yourself into that position. It’s a common sentence: “Help, I need you to get me setup and running by the end of this week because we’ve got a major spike coming!” Instead, take a good look at your order volume, seasonality, upcoming marketing initiatives, and current space costs to see if in the next 3-6 months you might want to move to a 3PL to outsource shipping. Then, if you answered yes to the any of the questions above — reach out to ShipBob to see how they might be able to help you increase your efficiency and solve your outsourced shipping needs.

Interested in learning more about outsourcing logistics? Join us and the 3PL experts from ShipBob for our webinar on July 11th. Click below to register!