Sep 17, 2021 | Best Practices, Blog, Warehouse Management Software
By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO of ShipHero
It’s hard to look at the 2021 holiday season without seeing the cloud cast over it by COVID. While there had been some hope just a few months ago that life might go back to “normal” by this holiday, the chances are there will still be daily challenges to living a normal life.
This means your customers are going to keep many of the shopping habits they adopted in 2020. Taking those lessons (read our blog about this topic HERE) into 2021 has given eCommerce retailers a solid framework for how to think about Black Friday Cyber Monday and the holiday season in general when it comes to planning and preparing.
However, what are five concrete things you can do to incorporate recent changes and capitalize on them? Let’s review some tactics you can make into actionable goals to help propel your holiday 2021 sales upward.
Preparing for the Holiday Season
Aside from the regular prepping you would do for the holidays (hiring more employees, ordering more packing materials, checking for carrier surcharges, etc.), here are five ways you can specifically prepare that you might not have thought of.
Maximize your Social Channels
People use their mobile devices to not only shop for themselves, but to browse for gifts for friends and family. According to a study done by AdWeek, 45% of holiday shoppers last season stated that they discovered a product or gift via social media. Also, it is estimated that social eCommerce will account for 11% of all retail eCommerce next year, which adds up to $474 million.
Obviously, with numbers like these, it’s easy to see how your social channels can be lucrative. Make sure you’ve done your due diligence in regards to retargeting, keyword research and creative. If there was ever a time during the year to take extra steps with your social media strategy, it’s definitely the next 4-5 months. You also have enough time to do some testing of keywords and retargeting in August and September, before you commit your full holiday social media spend.
Build Brand Awareness
It’s estimated that when shoppers begin their shopping search online, only about 4% of them are actually ready to buy. And in 2019 online shopping cart abandonment was measured at almost 70%. This means that remarketing and following up on abandoned carts could become a key holiday season strategy.
Being top-of-mind is the quickest way for customers to discover you. You’ll want to run brand awareness campaigns starting as soon as possible (which can also tie into your social media strategy) and keep those ads running through Q4. Following up with these same shoppers if they leave behind full, but abandoned shopping carts is another key strategy. And you don’t necessarily have to send a discount code to entice them to finish their purchase. Sometimes, just a friendly “you forgot to check out” will net you the sale.
Plan for Earlier and Longer Promotions
Last year, more than 40% of shoppers stated that they started shopping earlier for the holidays than the year before. So far, there’s been no evidence to contradict this behavior. Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) has even expanded to Cyber 5 to include Thanksgiving as one of the main holiday shopping mainstays.
Early shoppers will be looking for helpful tools like gift guides, promotional offers and personalized recommendations very soon. Start working on this content now and make sure your team is aligned on timing and goals.
On the flip side of this coin is the management of your returns process. Make sure that you have a strong and easy-to-understand returns policy and that it is well-communicated before, during and after purchase, especially if you have different policies for items purchased on sale or promotion.
Expand Your Payment Options
A proliferation of “buy now, pay later” payment vendors have flooded the market in the past 18-24 months. If you haven’t yet partnered with one of these vendors, it might be time to do so. Even Apple Pay recently entered the mix with their Apple Pay Later functionality. It’s also been shown that having a diverse range of payment options lowers cart abandonment. Find out how feasible it would be to expand your payment options on your site.
Address Supply Chain Strain Early
Take a look at your big sellers for this year, as well as predictions for holiday 2021, and talk to suppliers now about stocking up on these products. Remember that supply chain issues are still plaguing the industry. Also, examine ways that you can leverage your warehouses and in-store inventories to fill orders faster even as people start shopping earlier and earlier.
You more than likely have been speaking with your suppliers throughout this unprecedented time, but it might be a good idea to spend a few extra minutes getting a feel for what they are experiencing in their day-to-day business. Having as much information and forewarning as you can will go a long way toward making you more prepared.
The Holidays Don’t Stop for Anybody
While death and taxes are a fact of life, so is the holiday season. Make sure you’re leveraging all of your institutional knowledge, past experiences and eCommerce expertise to prepare – maybe even over prepare – for the holidays. Follow these steps and you’ll be on the road to more eCommerce success.
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our warehouse management software built for ecommerce brands & 3PLs looking to run their best warehouse and how ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
ShipHero
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
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Aug 16, 2021 | newsroom
Distributed fulfillment means utilizing a nationwide or global network of warehouses and fulfillment centers to bring inventory closer to potential customers, as opposed to shipping from one to two centralized locations. While this supply chain model creates more complexity and room for error, tech companies have come to the rescue with powerful software that integrates virtually every aspect of getting a product from the online store to te customer’s door.
Companies have found enormous success using predictive analytics and machine learning. These tools intelligently allocate inventory across networks to avoid stock-outs, reduce miles traveled, and decrease delivery time, cost, and environmental impact.
To understand the power of a distributed fulfillment network, consider that distributed fulfillment services can prioritize ground transportation and achieve a two-day shipping standard anywhere in the United States. That’s receiving an order, picking, packing, and shipping using trucks, cars, bikes, or scooters anywhere within 3.797 million square miles…in less than 48 hours.
As shoppers slowly regress to in-person shopping habits, retailers have taken the opportunity to roll their customer-facing storefronts into this distributed fulfillment network, creating a hybrid model for traditional brick-and-mortar stores. The front end handles in-person shopping, while the back end receives and handles online orders from nearby customers.
Read more at Inbound Logistics
Aug 12, 2021 | newsroom
Logistics and e-commerce company ShipHero next month plans to move into warehouse, roughly four times the size of its current facility at the Golden Triangle Logistics Center in North Las Vegas.
ShipHero Chief Executive Aaron Rubin said the move is happening just over a year after the company opened its first outpost in North Las Vegas.
“We (first) moved in July 1 of last year,” he said. “We basically ran out of space. We’re an e-commerce and logistics company so things are busy.”
The company currently occupies a 50,000-square-foot facility but will be moving into a 200,000-square-foot warehouse at the Golden Triangle, a 127-acre business park that’s still under construction.
Rubin said the company plans to add 100 employees over the next two years at the facility, which would bring its total workforce in the area to about 130 employees.
New York-based ShipHero helps small-to-large firms with e-commerce fulfillment needs as well as offers a cloud-based warehouse management software system.
Last year, it processed more than $5 billion in orders, and clients include Canadian Tire and Universal Music Group.
It also closed $50 million in funding led by Riverwood Capital in June, marking its first institutional investment.
Rubin said expanding ShipHero’s warehouse network to include Las Vegas made sense.
“Vegas has good proximity to Southern and Central California (and) it’s a good workforce,” he said.
Read more at the Las Vegas Review Journal
Jun 23, 2021 | newsroom
Riverwood Capital invests in ShipHero to accelerate its product roadmap and consolidate its leadership in helping brands and mid-large merchants with their ecommerce shipping and fulfillment needs
New York, New York – June 23rd, 2021 – ShipHero, the leading e-commerce fulfillment technology and outsourced fulfillment provider, announces today the close of a $50 million round led by high-growth tech investor Riverwood Capital. ShipHero provides a best-in-class warehouse management software-as-a-service platform for companies that want to ship from their own facilities, as well as a next generation outsourced fulfilment service to DTC brands and merchants utilizing ShipHero’s owned and operated facilities. The business ships out of three warehouses strategically located across the US; that number is expected to grow to ten by the end of 2021.
ShipHero serves more than 5,000 mid-to-large brands and merchants, including several Fortune 500 customers, and focuses on providing the most efficient and tech-driven solution for its customers to scale their ecommerce operations while delivering a superior shipping and digital experience to their consumers.
This primary investment represents ShipHero’s first institutional funding. CEO and Founder Aaron Rubin and his team bootstrapped ShipHero into a leading platform, building a SaaS solution for warehouse management and a highly-efficient and scalable outsourced fulfillment offering. The company now processes over $5 billion of ecommerce gross merchandise volume (GMV) annually, which is more than Shopify at the time of its IPO. In 2020 alone, ShipHero tripled its revenue as the company led the industry in logistics and fulfillment amid growing demand on ecommerce customers.
Prior to the investment from Riverwood, ShipHero had avoided taking venture capital or strategic funding. “We have always been focused on long-term impact and on building a solid software-driven and high-quality foundation, and for years staying independent gave us the most flexibility in how we achieve that impact,” says Aaron Rubin, CEO and Founder of ShipHero. “Our market opportunity has expanded significantly, and we have a great opportunity to accelerate our offering to clients as they digitize their businesses. The industry has raised a lot of capital recently and we were approached by high quality investors. Riverwood has a sterling reputation for allowing companies to grow in their own way and has invaluable experience with taking companies public, both of which were very important for us.”
ShipHero has built its company with a customer-first approach, continuously rolling out new technology to meet the increasing demands of the ecommerce landscape and is the leading provider of warehouse management solutions and outsourced fulfillment services to Shopify brands as a Shopify Plus partner.
ShipHero is loved by its customers with exceptional online reviews and user ratings that are significantly higher than its competitors. “It’s been incredible watching ShipHero grow into the company we are today,” adds Maggie Barnett, COO of ShipHero. “We are entering into an exciting phase with Riverwood Capital and look forward to further expanding our capabilities as the category leader in ecommerce logistics and fulfillment.”
“Demand for warehouse management and fulfillment solutions are growing at a significant pace driven by continued online and ecommerce adoption, which was only further accelerated by COVID-related lockdowns,” said Francisco Alvarez-Demalde, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Riverwood Capital. “Brands, retailers, and merchants need to constantly improve their service and digital experience which mandates a trusted technology and fulfillment partner to ship quickly and efficiently. ShipHero has built an incredible leading platform, combining scalable and flexible software with world class and efficient operations which can ultimately help brands scale ecommerce operations while delivering the best customer service.”
“When we first met Aaron, Maggie and the team, we were drawn to their thoughtful, grounded approach to building a high-growth business,” said Joe De Pinho, Principal at Riverwood Capital. “ShipHero punches far above its weight, offering a better solution and winning market share from well-funded competitors. With a Rule of 40 metric in excess of 150%, CAC payback of a few months, a category leading software platform, and strong referrals in place from happy customers, ShipHero has reached its current growth stage and over 200 employees with only $500k in external funding. At ShipHero, the focus has always been about delivering customer satisfaction while building with scalability in mind and we are excited to support their mission to empower e-commerce merchants.”
About ShipHero
ShipHero is a US based, leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce fulfillment solutions for mid-large shippers. With more than 5,000 customers located around the globe, ShipHero offers online retailers a suite of services ranging from warehouse management software to outsourced fulfillment as a service. Some notable customers include Universal Music Group and Canadian Tire.
About Riverwood
Riverwood Capital invests in high-growth companies in the technology and technology-enabled industries. Riverwood offers a unique combination of operational, strategic, technology, and financial insight to portfolio companies that typically need growth capital and expertise to scale on a global basis. The firm seeks to invest in established businesses with a proven technology and business model, and the proper fit in terms of culture and values. Riverwood has offices in Menlo Park, CA; New York, NY; and São Paulo, Brazil. For more information, please visit www.riverwoodcapital.com
Media Inquires: media@shiphero.com
May 4, 2021 | newsroom
A key component of micro-fulfilment is rethinking the role of the retail store, which now needs to function like a warehouse and bricks-and-mortar shop, says Maggie Barnett, COO of ShipHero, the fulfillment network partner for Shopify. “Some of our large beauty and fashion brands have a prolific real estate footprint, so they want to leverage that — even if people aren’t necessarily visiting those stores at 100 per cent capacity,” Barnett says.
Read more at Vogue Business
