How & When to Choose a New Shipping Software Vendor

By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO of ShipHero

The holiday season is over (at least for now), and you’re probably taking stock of your business’ performance. You’re examining revenue, profit and loss spreadsheets and hopefully, spending some time to debrief on everything that happened in the last few months (and maybe even, the last few years).

There’s a few things you might see as you pour through this data.

• You over- or undersold products due to inaccurate inventory numbers.
• Your pick/pack error rate skyrocketed during your busiest time of year.
• You don’t have any data to analyze because the person who updates your spreadsheets took a much-deserved vacation, and isn’t caught up yet.These are just a handful of observations you might make – do they sound familiar?

Here’s the dirty secret no one may be willing to tell you – any of these problems, in fact ALL of these problems can be solved by doing one thing – adopting and implementing a robust shipping software platform with inventory and order management features.

Hope you weren’t expecting a flashier answer. Let’s talk a little bit about what shipping software might do for you and your business; how to know it’s time to switch from your current solution (or that you even need one to begin with); and what type of results you can expect if you switch.

Why Shipping Software?

Typically, emerging or rapidly growing brands use one of two systems when they start shipping products: they manage their own inventory, shipping and returns via spreadsheets or Google Sheets and buy a label printer; or they work with a cheap solution that can at least print labels for them without a lot of manual entry.

Some larger eCommerce brands may even try to build their own solution by using different tools to manage inventory, manage orders and manage shipping.

Here’s what happens if you do any of these:

• Your data is never right. Ask any of your competitors. When you’re not using systems that talk to each other automatically, there’s no way for your inventory to sync based on orders, returns or putaway.

At ShipHero, we’ve actually had multiple brands tell us this when they switched from a different solution to ShipHero.

“A main reason we switched from our old solution was the ability to get accurate inventory counts. Our inventory was always off, and it was extremely frustrating.”– Alex Lewkowict, COO & Founder, Black Wolf Nation Skin Care

“Before, we might have had 1,000 units of size ‘medium’ somewhere in the warehouse, but we had no way of knowing how many were available to pickers … Now, we can finally track everything.”– Jake Rajsky, VP, American Tall

Are you noticing a pattern?

• You have a lack of visibility into your process, your warehouse and your inventory. Want an up-to-the-minute snapshot of what’s happening with the inventory in your warehouse? Not available. Want to know how many packages you’ve shipped today? Sorry. How about a report of what inventory you can expect to receive tomorrow? Nope.

With a basic labeling software, these types of reports just aren’t available. In most cases, it will probably take you most of the day, and interfacing with a lot of different people to get the info you want.

At ShipHero, all of your inventory data, order information and shipment statuses are housed in one cloud-based system. Running a report is a few clicks of the mouse. You can even set-up automatic reports that will run on a set schedule and get delivered to your inbox.

• You’re ready to grow, but your system can’t handle it. Known in the biz as scaling, this is also one of the biggest complaints ShipHero hears about other vendors.

There is a tipping point where your current solution (or non-solution) will actually prevent you from growing. It’s normally once you hit an annual revenue of approximately $5 million. At that point, all the spreadsheets in the world aren’t going to get the job done.

“If you’re working out of your garage with your spouse, maybe use ShipStation. If you’re growing, use ShipHero,” Josh Bartholomew, DFTBA.com’s Warehouse Manager told us. He said that once DFTBA hit a certain revenue amount and number of orders, ShipStation just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

How to Know It’s Time To Switch

Aside from some of the big red flags mentioned above, there are a few other clues that it’s time to either switch your shipping software provider or time to get one altogether.

• Your shipments are always late.
• Your inventory is never right.
• Only one or two people in your organization know how to use the system you currently have; and it’s nearly impossible to train others.
• Your pickers are taking too much time to pick orders.
• Your shipping carrier rates are out of control.

Here’s what all of the reasons above have in common: no visibility. You can’t fix what you can’t see, and with an inadequate solution, you can’t see anything.

What to Expect When You Switch

It seems a little redundant, but the exact opposite of all the challenges listed in the last section is the first thing you can expect once you’ve switched solutions. Shipments will go out on time; inventory counts will be right; you’ll be able to train new employees on the system with ease; your pick/pack efficiency will increase; and your carrier rates will drop.

And here’s why – a true solution alleviates your issues, it doesn’t give you more.

You can also expect more peace of mind. Knowing that your systems are working as intended means that you don’t have to worry about them.

Here are some other intended (unintended) consequences:

• You’ll know where to find answers. If something isn’t adding up, it’ll no longer be a question of where to find the information to solve the problem. Troubleshooting will be so much easier.
• You’ll be able to plan ahead. Having the data you need when you need it will make it easier to understand the current state of your business, which will in turn make it easier to understand where your business is headed.
• You’ll have a partner to work with. The best vendors do more than sell you a product or solution; they partner with you. They help you get the most out of their product, which makes you more successful.
• You’ll have support. A vendor’s support team should be an added bonus when implementing a new solution. You can lean on them; it’s what they’re there for.

One More Ugly Truth

You already know this, but not all solutions are created equal. At ShipHero, we’d love to think that our competitors could deliver on all the promises we outlined above. But we know they can’t.

That’s why if you’re looking to switch to a shipping software on steroids, your only choice is ShipHero. Our shipping software offers everything above and more.

What ShipHero Delivers

Let’s take these points one at a time.

• ShipHero reduces mis-picks and mis-ships by 99.9%.
• ShipHero increases your picking efficiency by 3x.
• ShipHero reduces your warehouse costs by 35%.
• ShipHero has an outstanding Client Support Team that regularly gets rave reviews on platforms like the Shopify App Store, G2 and Capterra.
• ShipHero offers carrier rate shopping which gives you the best rate when you ship.
• On top of ShipHero’s stellar Client Support Team, we also maintain a robust library of knowledge base articles and product videos so you can always find the answer you need.
• ShipHero was ranked the #1 Shipping Software on the G2 Momentum Grid Report (Fall 2021).
• ShipHero serves more than 10% of Shopify plus stores globally.
• ShipHero has over 100 million packages shipped.
• ShipHero has more than $10 billion in shipped orders.
• ShipHero offers one-click integrations with the biggest carriers and online marketplaces in the eCommerce space.
• ShipHero has a dedicated Implementation Team that has perfected the onboarding process. They’ll have you up and shipping in 4-6 weeks. For more details about ShipHero’s implementation process, please click HERE.

When you become a ShipHero client, you get more than software. You get a proven solution that has helped emerging brands, eCommerce powerhouses and 3PLs all manage their warehouses with ease and efficiency.

You also get our Client Support Team which is dedicated to your success everyday. In fact, we have 3x the number of Support Team members as Sales Team members.

Obviously, we think ShipHero is the best solution for emerging brands looking for a shipping software on steroids. Our new Essential Plan with a low rate of $499/month is the perfect starting point for brands that are just starting to gain momentum. And the best part is, as you grow, ShipHero grows with you. You won’t need to look for a new solution once you get “too big.”

At ShipHero, we’re here for too big, big and big enough – and all the eCommerce brands in between.

For more information about switching to ShipHero, click HERE.

If you’re ready to schedule a call with one of our Software Experts, click HERE.

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.

Follow Aaron on Twitter&LinkedIn.