When you’re a small business, your room for error is very small. Shipping is an area that can be very expensive if you make the wrong choices. In addition, unreliable shipping can lose your company customers who are expecting to get their items.
There are a variety of shipping solutions that can be employed. In some cases, it’s choosing an actual shipping service which will better address your needs as a small business. Sometimes, it’s simply finding an app that will speed up the shipping process. It can really be anything that in some way improves your ability as a company to get what you are moving where it needs to be. When you’re a small business, you need to take advantage of anything that can help you build your business. The following are some of the best shipping solutions available.
1 – Shippo
While many software offerings are designed for only a single shipping provider, Shippo is instead aimed at being adaptable with the carriers it chooses. At least count at least 55 different shipping carriers systems were accessible through Shippo. In addition to being able to buy shipping labels and scheduling shipping for all of those providers, shippo lets you print customized labels and do large batch printing if you have a lot to ship out at one time. Shippo is a product which will scale well if a small business starts to grow and they need to expand operations.
2 – Endicia
The United States postal service is known for their reliability. However, in addition to their reliability, they have modernized their service quite a bit. One of the ways they have done this is through their app Endicia. Endicia allows people to print their own postage, paying for it through the application. This also includes items as ready to ship and they can be picked up by the USPS quickly. Endicia also has a premium service for their professional accounts. This is called “Dazzle”. Dazzle allows you to actually design and create your own shipping labels easily from your PC. This can make your small business stand out a little more than others.
3 – Shipstation
Shipstation is a shipping solution which is perfect for online retailers. Rather than having to manually input shipping plans, Shipstation will receive them directly from your online sales platform. Whether you’re selling old beanie babies on eBay, Silk Sheets on Amazon or artisanal cheese sculptures on Etsy, you’ll be able to get your shipping labels immediately printed out upon payment. Pricing is pretty low. The basic program starts around $9 per month and will rise based on additional features which may be added.
4 – Stamps.com
This is another software that works with the USPS. It allows a business to buy their postage and shipping labels directly online. In addition, it schedules pickup of packages, meaning small business owners don’t need to leave their business to have to handle packaging. This was an early popular shipping solution and is available in both downloadable app or online portal. Much of endicia came about due to the popularity of stamps.com. The use of this software is a standard monthly $19.99. You get a digital shipping scale when you sign up and just have to pay for postage costs from there.
