ShipBob Review for Shopify [2021]
How well your Shopify store fulfills orders once they are placed says a LOT about your business.
A big part of the user experience is the experience of ordering and receiving purchases. Get that part right and you can start to build customer confidence, trust, loyalty, and all those lovely ingredients that lead to success.
After all, getting the right products to the doorstep quickly and efficiently is part of what made Amazon the behemoth it is today.
ShipBob is an ecommerce order fulfilment solution app that helps Shopify store owners automate and streamline the shipping process, while also looking after inventory storage and returns. This frees up time for you to focus on the front end of the business.
Whether you’re a startup store trying to gain a foothold in the market or already established, ShipBob may be able to help you scale and grow.
In this ShipBob review, we take a closer look at what the app offers Shopify store owners so that you can make up your mind whether it’s for you.
ShipBob Reviews: What does the app do?
ShipBob’s mission is to “make you more successful online by providing hands-off order fulfillment and warehousing”.
It attempts to do that by looking after shipping, inventory, storage and returns, providing two main services:
- An automated way to manage orders, inventory and customer communications via its software
- Logistics to fill orders and warehouse inventory at the back end of your business
Lying at the heart of the success of ShipBob are its reliable fulfillment services and warehouse coverage around the country. This is supported by the latest order fulfilment technology, helping to improve transit times, shipping costs, and the overall delivery experience.
Effectively outsourcing these services can save vast amounts of time and headaches for store owners. Processing returns alone can really eat into the time available. To be able to entrust the shipping and inventory process to smart automation with an app is priceless for store owners.
ShipBob provides same-day delivery in some cases and claims to be able to offer “2-day express shipping” and help ecommerce businesses“drive more revenue with 100% coverage in the continental US”.
Internationally, ShipBob can ship to over 220 territories and countries, with quotes for shipping rates provided upon request by customers.
According to the Shopify merchants who trust in the app to look after order fulfillment, it’s doing a pretty good job of living up to its mission.
And the glowing reviews from users on other platforms like WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento back them up.
Order and inventory management
ShipBob helps you keep track of all shipments from order receipt through to delivery and, if necessary, returns.
Once the order has been placed, it enters ShipBob’s order management system. It is assigned to the appropriate fulfillment center according to customer location and inventory levels. ShipBob then picks, packs and ships the order, with an order tracking number sent to your customer automatically.
ShipBob also takes care of inventory management, helping you determine the amount of stock to keep of each product.
The app manages inventory using third-party logistics (3PLs) software. Historical order information provides insight into how to distribute your inventory across your warehouses for the most efficient shipping system.
You can also set reorder notifications for your bestsellers for when stock levels are getting low.
Returns management
It should be expected that customers will return products to ecommerce stores when ordering online. It’s how you deal with them that makes the difference.
Returns can end up costing considerable time and expense. If you don’t have a dedicated returns app, ShipBob can help you streamline and automate the process so that returns eat up less time and resources.
Goods can be sent back to the warehouse or, if defective or damaged, they can be recycled. Customers can even generate a return shipping label direct from your website.
Branded delivery experiences
Unlike major logistics platforms like Amazon, ShipBob allows retailers to use their own custom branded boxes.
This gives your customers a unique first impression during unboxing and helps to get the message out there for your brand.
How ShipBob works
Once you’ve downloaded the app, the first step is to sync your product catalog with it. This can be done in one click.
You then set a schedule for order import and send your inventory to one of the ShipBob fulfillment centers across the US, Canada, and the EU. Choose the fulfillment center(s) that is/are the most convenient for you to ship from.
In the US, their warehouses are conveniently located in the major population hubs of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago (the home of ShipBob), Dallas, and New York.
ShipBob has bulk discount deals with the likes of DHL, UPS, FedEx, and USPS, which means good discounts for your business.
When orders are shipped out, you’ll receive the tracking information and complete the order. You can keep up to date with what has been shipped via the analytics dashboard:
Using the advanced filters within the ShipBob app, you can refine the search for what you need, filtering orders by:
- Tracking number
- Order date
- Fulfillment center location
- Destination country
ShipBob review: Main features and benefits
- Automated order fulfillment and tracking information sync – saves a lot of time
- Easy integration with your store(s)
- Same-day shipping for orders placed before 12 pm
- Helps reduce abandoned carts and “lost” sales
- Two-day guaranteed shipping coverage for the entire US
- Competitive shipping rates provided – helps reduce shipping costs
- International shipping available at competitive rates
- Transparent pricing based on delivery speed
- Custom unboxing and promo inserts available
- Free plain boxes and mailers available
- Easy-to-use interface for simple navigation of order processing
- Analytics dashboard helps you track orders through the system
- Strong customer service and support teams – live chat available
- Help Center includes an extensive knowledge base
- Integrates with ShipStation, Returnly, Facebook/Instagram, Order Desk, etc.
Any cons?
- Might need the help of support while you get to grips with the app
- Possible impact on page load speeds
- Some users will take time to get used to the pricing
Reporting with ShipBob
The advanced reporting features of ShipBob allow you to keep track of all the key metrics that provide insight for decision-making about inventory and more.
This includes:
- Peak fulfillment hours
- Revenue generated by shipped orders
- Sales of orders by USPS zone or state
- Sales by channel
- Forecasted revenue
Who is ShipBob best suited for?
Nothing about order fulfillment is very easy – especially if you are just starting out in ecommerce. But with the help of the ShipBob app and the support of the team behind it, it may be a little easier.
Store owners who want to save time and not have to think too much about order fulfillment, ShipBob ticks these boxes for most users.
In such a competitive marketplace – especially with small and medium-sized ecommerce businesses of all types growing at an exponential rate in the past 12-18 months – standing out is becoming more challenging.
Shipping efficiency, speed and affordability are important influencing factors for customers with so many choices.
Doing everything in-house is not an option for many small businesses because of the work (and space) involved. ShipBob helps you nail shipping and delivery, improving the user experience in your store so that customers come back rather than drifting to competitors who offer a more convenient delivery experience.
Store owners who want to reduce cart abandonment, reduce US shipping costs, and increase brand loyalty with a stellar user experience can benefit greatly from ShipBob.
We recommend ShipBob for stores that are shipping at least 100 products per month. Less than that and you may still want to handle the shipping yourself via the standard carriers.
Meeting customer expectations
The standards have been set. Free shipping within a couple of days to anywhere in the US is now almost expected by customers.
That’s usually fine for the biggest stores but it’s tough for small and upcoming stores to meet – but ShipBob makes that possible with its pricing, ease of use, and efficiency.
Fulfillment apps like ShipBob provide a done-for-you system using the latest technology, with coverage around the U.S. and the support to help you grow.
Do you need any technical knowledge?
The cloud-based system employed by ShipBob means that you won’t need an IT team to help you run it.
No special servers or software updates are needed – it’s all provided by the team at ShipBob. You can install what’s needed quickly and easily and have immediate access to an inbuilt and secure back up for data.
Plus, you get all of the benefits of working in the cloud – real-time updates of orders and inventory, accessible from anywhere, at any time. That leads to better decision-making on the fly.
One of the best-reviewed order fulfillment apps on Shopify…
ShipBob is used by thousands of Shopify and Shopify Plus merchants as well as by many stores on other platforms.
The app receives an average user rating of 4.7/5 stars on Shopify – and the only reason why it’s not higher is that there have been a few recent issues with over-charging errors. That’s never a good thing for ratings.
However, the team at ShipBob is responsive and takes the few poor reviews it receives personally. They appear to be proactive in putting errors right.
ShipBob pricing
ShipBob is free to install. You pay for the work involved in picking. packing and shipping each order, as well as storage fees in the warehouses, receiving inventory, and any custom projects, such as the addition of barcodes, etc.
Pricing can be a little confusing at first until you get to grips with the different components involved, the total fees charged, and how many orders will need to be fulfilled.
ShipBob uses the following basic fee structure:
- Receiving fee: $25 for the first two hours/$35 per man hour for every hour thereafter.
- Storage fee: $40 per month per pallet, $10 per month per shelf, $5 per month per bin.
- Pick and pack fee: First five picks per order are free, then $0.20 for each further pick.
- Standard packing fee: Included for free plain boxes, tape, mailers, and dunnage. Extra fees for branding.
- Shipping fee: Order-dependent, based on the weight, dimensions, and shipping requirements of the product.
ShipBob looks after every stage of delivery from the warehouse to the doorstep, so its standard fees include a fully customized delivery service, as well as strong customer service and helpful support.
You will even have access to a dedicated account manager to contact if you have any questions on how to grow your business with ShipBob.
Wave goodbye to poor delivery experiences…
Few customers buy from the same retailer after a negative delivery experience. Many give up at checkout or even before if they “smell” a problem with shipping.
The problem is that efficient delivery of products is tough to get right – especially for small and mid-sized businesses. You probably don’t have great distribution and warehouse capabilities, which can lead to mistakes, delays, and frustrated clients.
Shopify provides its native Shopify Shipping but this requires that orders are shipped from a selected post office. That might be fine while you are still a mom-and-pop operation but not when you start to grow.
That’s when the best order fulfilment apps come into their own. Of the apps out there, ShipBob appears to be at the top of the heap.
It’s free to download and, from there, you can play around with the features, check shipping rates, and see if it’s the app you need to finally wave goodbye to poor delivery experiences.
