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By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO of ShipHero
At a glance, selling on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and others seems like a golden ticket for new and growing eCommerce businesses. The idea of selling products on the biggest marketplaces in the world should, in theory, increase your sales and grow your company. But there’s always something brands overlook when it comes to selling on marketplaces: order fulfillment.
How can you fulfill orders across multiple marketplaces that have their own shipping policies or customer expectations? With disparate data coming in from so many systems, it can be tough to fulfill orders and ensure you have enough inventory for all of them.
Marketplace fulfillment comes with its fair share of drawbacks that you should be familiar with before finalizing your decision. Fortunately, eCommerce brands can overcome these challenges with some help. There’s a reason almost 90% of Fortune 500 businesses are using 3PL providers instead to fulfill their orders.
eCommerce marketplaces have lowered the barrier of entry for new brands and contributed to the eCommerce industry’s rapid growth. However, the model isn’t flawless. Here are some of the most common problems eCommerce brands face with marketplace fulfillment:
No direct integrations with marketplaces
As your brand grows, integrations are vital to maintaining a seamless workflow. However, switching between different platforms to obtain crucial information is time-exhaustive and inefficient, inviting delays and possible errors.
Additionally, direct integrations are vital for streamlining fulfillment operations – they’re necessary to gain real-time order information and update inventory data according to recent orders.
Hard to sync inventory data between multiple marketplaces
Many sellers list their products on multiple marketplaces to reach a wider audience. However, this practice makes it difficult to sync your inventory data. If orders are fulfilled at different marketplaces, you’re prone to losing track of inventory counts, leading to shortages or overstocking.
Lack of centralized data to see which channels are performing best
Performance monitoring is critical for growing eCommerce brands; you need to identify areas of improvement and learn from your successes. Unfortunately, eCommerce marketplaces don’t offer centralized data, including key performance analytics and fulfillment insights.
Without the correct data, it’s challenging to monitor your brand’s success or lack thereof. Additionally, having access to meaningful insights helps brands streamline their marketing and customer support efforts.
Many eCommerce brands offer customers multiple fulfillment options, including various delivery options (including overnight and 2-day delivery), order pick-up, or mail-order delivery.
Unfortunately, the more options you offer, the more difficult keeping track of orders becomes. For example, if customers have arranged to pick the order up, you’ll have to keep track of whether the order was picked or if there’s been a rescheduling.
Amazon’s latest Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) option seems to offer eCommerce merchants the best of two worlds – you get access to the exclusive Prime label but retain autonomy over your fulfillment operations.
Unfortunately, while SFP fulfillment is an excellent idea, in theory, Amazon’s stringent requirements make it challenging to qualify for the program. To maintain the exclusive SFP status, your Prime trial orders must have a cancellation rate of less than 1%, a minimum 99% on-time rate, and all orders placed before 2 pm have to be fulfilled and shipped on the same day.
While marketplace fulfillment comes with its fair share of drawbacks, you can streamline and optimize the fulfillment process with some help.
Merchants can integrate advanced inventory and warehouse management system software with marketplaces to organize all relevant data, analytics, and insights in one place.
The right fulfillment software gives you access to order details in real-time, helps monitor sales and performance metrics, and reliably monitor inventory levels and forecast demand.
Work with a 3PL that offers fast shipping speeds
Meeting the shipping expectations of modern consumers is increasingly difficult, but third-party logistics providers help you provide expedited shipping options without incurring high costs.
Given that 43% of abandoned carts are due to high shipping charges, and 54% of consumers under 25 declared same-day delivery as their top purchase driver, growing eCommerce brands need to step up their logistics game.
Distributing inventory across multiple, strategically-placed fulfillment centers helps eCommerce brands simultaneously provide faster shipping times and reduce last-mile delivery costs. This is because, with a distributed inventory, you can ship products to customers from the fulfillment centers closest to them.
ShipHero’s leading warehouse management solution and fulfillment services help growing eCommerce brands optimize marketplace fulfillment. Our fully integrated system syncs your inventory and eCommerce store data, and you can set automation rules to streamline tedious processes.
ShipHero helps eCommerce brands grow sustainably with our:
ShipHero’s outsourced fulfillment services take the pressure of order fulfillment off your hands, so you can focus on growing your store. We’ll manage your inventory, pick and pack orders (and ship them, too), and take care of reverse logistics regardless of how many marketplaces you’re selling on.
Thanks to ShipHero’s leading warehouse management system and team of fulfillment experts, fast-growing eCommerce brands like yours can keep up with evolving consumer expectations. With our network of distributed fulfillment centers, you can offer customers 2-day and overnight delivery options without incurring high last-mile delivery costs.
Our highly trained workforce and advanced software collectively minimize pick and pack errors, reducing wrong order requests and protecting your bottom line.
Whether you’ve partnered with Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, or another marketplace, ShipHero’s warehouse management system integrates directly with your marketplace and centralizes all the relevant information.
You can view inventory data in real-time, access team reports, view order history, and access key information like actual shipping costs for each order, all from one central dashboard.
Your returns process dramatically impacts customer loyalty, and you don’t need to take our word for it. A report revealed that a positive return experience affects brand loyalty in 95% of online customers, and over 65% of online shoppers consult a brand’s return policy before making a purchase.
To meet consumer expectations and help our eCommerce partners secure customer loyalty, ShipHero offers done-for-you returns management and reverse logistics services. ShipHero integrates with your marketplace and manages returns as they come in, preventing delays and improving customer retention.
Marketplace fulfillment comes with its fair share of drawbacks, including a lack of integrations, disorganized data, analytics, and stringent requirements to qualify for more recognized fulfillment programs.
Thus, many growing eCommerce brands partner with ShipHero to overcome these challenges and optimize their marketplace fulfillment. With ShipHero, online retailers can offer expedited shipping times, minimize pick and pack errors, manage returns easily, and centralize their real-time inventory and order data.
Optimize your marketplace fulfillment with ShipHero today.
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our inventory management and shipping 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
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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Transitioning to a new Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a high-stakes decision that often triggers concerns regarding downtime, data integrity, and workforce adaptation. As warehouses prepare for 2026 growth, understanding these common hurdles—and the technical solutions that resolve them—is essential for a successful migration. This guide addresses the five primary barriers to adoption and how a high-velocity infrastructure ensures a seamless transition.
Warehouse operators frequently hesitate to upgrade due to perceived risks that can halt operations. These challenges typically include:
To clear these hurdles, a structured implementation strategy is used to prioritize data density and entity clarity.
In the competitive eCommerce landscape, staying stagnant with manual workarounds is often more costly than the transition itself. Moving to a high-velocity WMS converts your warehouse from a cost center into a growth engine by providing Labor Efficiency and ROI through automated routing and reduced authentication friction.
Because the platform is built for the floor worker, features like Workforce Hero allow seasonal temps and new staff to be authenticated and productive in under an hour.
No. High-velocity infrastructure increases visibility by providing Total Real-Time Control. Managers can monitor exactly what is in the Hospital queue and track replenishment in real-time from a single dashboard.
Before going live, a ground-up audit is performed using cycle counting tools. The system's architecture ensures that every movement on the floor is synchronized with sales channels instantly, maintaining 99.9% accuracy.
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Picture a packer at Peak Season. A box is in front of them, a product in each hand, and somewhere on a cluttered desk there's a mouse they need to find to confirm the order. They look down. They hunt. They click. Then they do it again. Thousands of times a day.
That moment of friction is small. But it is never just one moment. Multiply it across your entire pack line, across an entire shift, and you are looking at a measurable and largely invisible drag on your total throughput.
Tap-to-Pack is a purpose-built hardware controller designed by ShipHero to eliminate digital friction at the packing station. It connects via USB-C, requires no drivers or additional software, and syncs automatically with the ShipHero WMS packing app. This new system is now available at the ShipHero Store.
Instead of navigating a screen with a keyboard and mouse, packers execute every high-frequency command — such as selecting box sizes, printing labels, finalizing orders, flagging exceptions — with a single physical tap on one of eight programmable buttons.
Key specifications:
Most warehouses are running 2026 operations on 1990s peripheral standards. The keyboard and mouse were designed for spreadsheets and emails, not high-volume fulfillment. When used at a packing station, they create three compounding problems:
The problem is not your people. It is the tools you are asking them to use.
Tap-to-Pack introduces a "Rodent-Free" packing standard: a workflow where the packer's hands stay on the product, their eyes stay on the work, and the software fades into the background.
The device guides the packer through two feedback systems:
ShipHero customers running Tap-to-Pack are already seeing a 90% reduction in on-screen interactions and a significant increase in the number of orders packed per hour, without adding headcount or changing their warehouse layout.
One of the hardest challenges in fulfillment is absorbing volume quickly, especially during Peak Season, when temporary staff need to reach target productivity fast.
Because Tap-to-Pack's interface is physical and intuitive, there is almost nothing to teach. Pick up the product, follow the light, tap the button. New packers can reach target productivity in minutes rather than hours.
The system is also modular:
Whether you are a growing DTC brand or a high-volume 3PL, Tap-to-Pack is designed so your hardware never becomes a ceiling on what your team can do.
Tap-to-Pack is a programmable, industrial-grade hardware controller that connects to the ShipHero WMS and allows warehouse packers to execute packing station commands, such as printing labels, selecting boxes, and completing orders. All with a single physical button press, eliminating the need for a keyboard and mouse.
The device connects via USB-C and syncs automatically with the ShipHero WMS packing app. It is a true plug-and-play solution: no drivers, no background software, and no manual configuration required.
Yes. Buttons are configurable for a range of packing actions, including Print Label, Complete Order, Select Box Size, and the Hospital function, which flags a problematic order and keeps the line moving without stopping to resolve it on screen.
The system is fully modular. Connect up to two additional 8-button hubs to the Main Hub for a total of 24 programmable buttons, supporting even the most complex multi-step packing workflows.
Tap-to-Pack devices require ShipHero Packing App v1.0 or higher. The current release is v1.1.0.
Imagine running a warehouse where orders are picked quickly, inventory is accurate, and all operations run smoothly without any errors or delays. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, this can now become a reality with ease.
AI is transforming warehouse management by enhancing efficiency, intelligence, and the ability to meet the rapid demands of today’s eCommerce-driven market.
ShipHero is pioneering this revolution with its AI-powered warehouse solutions, setting new industry benchmarks. This article explores ShipHero’s AI Picking feature, highlighting how it’s transforming warehouse management and enhancing operational efficiency.
The integration of AI technologies, including machine learning, robotics, and predictive analytics, is revolutionizing warehouse operations, driving significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and overall performance. These innovations are optimizing processes across various areas, from inventory management to order fulfillment. Below are the key benefits of AI in warehouse management.
A combination of AI technologies is shaping smarter warehouse systems to help revolutionize warehouse management.
ShipHero has taken AI integration to the next level with its AI Picking feature, designed to significantly improve warehouse efficiency. This feature automates the picking process, reducing the reliance on manual labor and enhancing productivity in ways that were once thought impossible.
Let’s dive deeper into how ShipHero’s AI Picking works and the advantages it offers.
AI Picking optimizes warehouse operations in two key ways:
The AI Picking feature delivers a wide range of benefits:
The transformative power of AI extends far beyond just picking. AI is also revolutionizing other aspects of warehouse management, driving improvements in operational efficiency, inventory management, and safety.
AI automates tasks, reducing errors and increasing speed. Automated sorting and real-time inventory tracking ensure accuracy, while real-time monitoring helps managers adapt and ensure timely deliveries.
AI plays a vital role in maintaining accurate inventory levels. By leveraging predictive analytics, AI can forecast demand and optimize stock levels, helping warehouses avoid both stockouts and overstock situations. This leads to better inventory management and fewer disruptions in supply chains.
AI-driven systems can monitor warehouse conditions to ensure safety and compliance with industry regulations. These systems can analyze warehouse data and predict potential hazards before they occur, proactively reducing risks and ensuring a safer working environment.
AI technologies are playing a transformative role in the supply chain and logistics sectors by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing decision-making.
These intelligent systems effortlessly manage supply chain processes by using data to optimize operations, predict trends, and automate routine tasks. This ultimately reshapes everything, from how goods are moved to stored and delivered.
The future of warehouse management looks promising with greater automation and efficiency, but future warehouse digitization brings challenges, such as high upfront costs and the need for skilled personnel.
AI-powered drones, autonomous robots, and IoT integration are smart warehouse technologies that are revolutionizing warehouse operations. Drones will deliver goods quickly, while robots automate sorting and transportation, thereby reducing the need for manual labor.
IoT and AI integration will enable real-time monitoring and optimization of operations. Smart technology in warehouses is leading to fully automated systems that are faster, scalable, and need minimal human input.
While AI offers immense benefits, businesses must also consider certain challenges. High initial investments in AI technology, data security concerns, and the need for skilled personnel are just a few of the hurdles that must be addressed.
However, with a strategic approach, companies can eliminate the challenges and embrace AI’s full potential to boost accuracy in picking and improve overall warehouse operations.
AI minimizes error by automating tasks like inventory tracking, order picking, and sorting, ensuring greater accuracy and efficiency.
Yes, AI-driven predictive analytics can predict demand, track inventory levels, and improve supply chain efficiency by forecasting needs with greater accuracy to help businesses stay ahead of trends and market fluctuations.
AI solutions are becoming more cost-effective thanks to cloud-based services and subscription pricing models. These options make AI technology more accessible to small businesses, allowing them to take advantage of its benefits without large upfront costs.
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