Shipping
How to Choose the Best Shipping Software for Your Business
- Written by Aisling Miller
How do you know which shipping software best fits your business? It’s a crucial question to ask, considering the massive impact shipping software can have on your operations.
With reliable software, you can cut costs and optimize your shipping processes.
With less-than-stellar shipping software, however, you might spend thousands monthly only to add clutter and mess to your shipping workflows.
This guide walks you through each step in choosing the perfect shipping software.
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
What is shipping software?
Why do you need shipping software? 5 crucial reasons
How to choose shipping software for businesses
Best shipping software for most businesses
Best software for printing shipping labels
Other shipping software to consider for small businesses
Customers Also Ask
Resources you’ll love
Get best-in-class shipping management today
What is shipping software?
The term “shipping software” encompasses tools, apps, and services that streamline operations involved in freight delivery.
This includes searching for carriers, printing shipping labels, comparing shipping rates, and tracking shipments.
Couriers, freight carriers, manufacturers, and businesses use shipping software to simplify their fulfillment operations. Online store owners also use ecommerce shipping software to automate certain aspects of their shipping processes to cut costs and avoid needless errors.
Why do you need shipping software? 5 crucial reasons
Here are five reasons why you need to invest in shipping software.
Get real-time updates
Get on-the-dot shipping rates to make timely adjustments to your product pricing information. Some shipping software solutions provide freight location updates to keep you and your customers posted on the status of your shipment.
Create automated shipping rules
Save even more time by creating rule-based automation workflows. Automatically select shipping options based on weight, value, delivery times, and other variables.
Track and manage your inventory
Advanced shipping management solutions include useful features like demand forecasting and inventory synchronization on various platforms. This helps ensure you have enough inventory to fulfill orders.
Minimize shipping costs
Get discounted rates from top carriers with the help of your shipping solutions. For example, when you use Veeqo to ship orders from your stores, you can get discounted rates from providers like USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL. Why pay regular shipping fees when you can get discounts?
Improve the overall customer experience
Shipping software helps you run faster and cheaper deliveries. Both are key ingredients for a growing, happy customer base.
How to choose shipping software for your business
Consider the steps below when choosing shipping software.
1. Consider your goals (shipping costs, volumes, etc.)
Have clear business goals and determine how shipping software will help you achieve them.
Shipping has its intricacies and challenges that can hinder you from achieving your goals. Identify your shipping roadblocks and challenges so you know what to look for in a shipping solution.
Do you need better inventory management? Look for a solution that does inventory tracking, streamlines purchase orders, and sends low-stock notifications.
Are you losing time hunting for the most profitable shipping rates? Choose a shipping software that automates shipping carrier comparison and rounds up the best value labels.
2. Look at customer support options
Check a company’s customer support options before you entrust them with your shipping process.
Ideally, your shipping software provider should offer multiple support channels. Check for live chat, phone, email, and social media options.
Don’t forget to check self-service options, like a knowledge base or video tutorial library. Free learning resources will help you troubleshoot issues and complete objectives without relying on support.
3. Assess software integrations
Select a shipping solution that integrates seamlessly with your existing software ecosystem.
Companies like to showcase software integrations on their website. So, whether you need Shopify shipping tools or accounting software integration, do a quick inspection of their website.
Use Boolean search strings to find a site’s integration page quickly via Google. Below are two examples:
site:veeqo.com intitle:integrations
site:veeqo.com inurl:integrations
Both search queries will lead you straight to a website’s integrations page. You only need to look at the first organic result in most cases.
Image Source: Google.com
Scan the integration page to see if the shipping software integrates with most tools you’re currently using.
4. Compare prices
Make a side-by-side comparison of similar shipping software and look at their commercial pricing model.
Most companies offer a free plan for low-volume businesses, but these often come with reduced features or shipment quantity limitations.
Luckily, some offer free plans to help small businesses meet revenue goals without worrying about additional overhead costs.
Veeqo is one such company.
We’re able to provide Veeqo for free because we benefit from shipping volume passed to our partner shipping carriers. It’s all part of our mission to help sellers, like you, stay a step ahead.
5. Consider the software’s reporting features
Check if a shipping software has in-depth reporting features.
Top-tier shipping software consolidates inventory and sales reports across multiple channels.
Some even include inventory forecasting features. This enables you to acquire the optimal stock volume, so you don’t miss out on sales opportunities.
Review analytics to make data-driven decisions that grow your business. Pinpoint your high-margin products, evaluate carrier performance, optimize purchase orders, and more.
6. Read reviews and ratings
Read reviews submitted by sellers and freight companies with first-hand experience of the software in question.
Don’t rely on curated reviews on a platform’s website. Instead, head to reputable review websites to read authentic reviews—positive or negative.
Below is a list of the most trusted review platforms you should visit.
G2
SoftwareAdvice
Shopify App Store
SourceForge
GetApp
Merchant Maverick
Capterra
Conduct research in social media groups and online communities for more reviews. Some examples are Reddit, Warrior Forum, LinkedIn groups, and Digital Point Forums.
Also, use search engines to find independently-published shipping software reviews from reputable bloggers.
The more reviews you read about the shipping software company, the more accurate your perception of the company, helping you make a more informed decision about whether the software is a good fit or not.
7. Consider your location
Verify if a shipping software provider supports carriers and integrations that cater to your location (and your target market).
Services like Pirate Ship only integrate with U.S.-based carriers, namely UPS and USPS. Others only offer discounted rates, support, calculators, and other tools that only make sense in certain locations.
(Must-read: Shipping Zones 101: How to Get the Best USPS Rates for Your ecommerce Fulfillment)
Best shipping software for most businesses
If you need the best shipping software for ecommerce or brick-and-mortar businesses, choose a reliable shipping software like Veeqo.
Veeqo will find the best-discounted shipping rates for you from top carriers in zero time, be it from FedEx, UPS, USPS, or DHL. This is extremely valuable for small to medium-sized businesses, including those that need bulk shipping of up to 100 items.
In addition to discounted rates, Veeqo also consolidates inventory management across multiple storefronts. Get a complete overview of your stock, including all active listings in your linked stores.
On Veeqo’s “Orders” page, you can find ready-to-ship products, check the selected delivery methods, track their status, and purchase shipping labels in one place.
Highlight specific orders using filters, like:
Customer name
Store name
Location
Delivery method
Dispatch date
Status
Created date
Tags
Order weight
The best part about Veeqo is its price tag.
Veeqo makes money through commissions paid by partner carriers. As such, businesses—big and small—can leverage Veeqo’s time-saving features for free.
And it's free, no matter how many shipments you send. So unlike competitors who may increase their rates each year, or if your business grows, Veeqo will be free no matter how big your business gets.
Power features coming to Veeqo
The talented team behind Veeqo is also continuously working on new features to beef up the service.
Here are some of the new power features coming to Veeqo.
Streamline purchase orders
Send and track purchase orders through Veeqo. This lets you track incoming inventory along with sales in a unified dashboard.
Digital picking
Veeqo’s digital picking mobile scanner allows warehouse teams to be completely paperless and computer-less. Reduce operational costs, speed up the book-in process, and enable automatic syncing with your Veeqo inventory and shipping management software.
Inventory forecasting
Leverage previous sales data to predict future demand and determine how many units to order. Veeqo’s advanced algorithm takes delivery lead times, backorders, and stock orders to give you precise and reliable inventory intelligence.
“The only solution you need. Before Veeqo, we had around 200-500 orders a month, and now on average, we ship around 7,700.” – Joe Rosie, Founder of CarmarthenCameras.com.
Best software for printing shipping labels
Below are some of the best tools you can use if you need to print shipping labels and stamps:
1. Veeqo
Veeqo allows e-commerce businesses to ship, and manage, customer orders with the perks of discounted shipping rates. Veeqo also has other features such as bulk label printing, one-click printing, automated workflows, and supports international shipping.
Further reading: Reliable Alternatives to Auctane's 10 Shipping Software Brands
2. Label Resizer
Label Resizer lets you resize labels from Amazon, UPS, DHL, Shopify, and other services to match the specifications of your office's thermal, laser, or inkjet printer.
Use the visual interface to customize your label with their free, limited monthly subscription. Or, sign up for their paid service and customize unlimited labels.
3. Shipping Label Maker by Shopify
Shopify’s free label maker lets you create custom shipping labels with their free template. Simply enter essential information about your business, the recipient, and the shipment.
Created labels can be downloaded as a printer-friendly PDF document, which you can print yourself or send to the customer via email.
Other shipping tools to consider for small businesses
1. Packhelp
Do you want to elevate the customer experience with branded packaging?
Packhelp is a U.K.-based, custom packaging platform that lets you design, purchase, and re-order your own packaging. Use the drag-and-drop editor and Packhelp’s library of templates to create memorable unboxing experiences for your customers.
2. Packlane
For businesses in the U.S., Packlane is a popular solution for creating custom shipping and product boxes.
Use Packlane’s cloud-based editor to add your logos, change colors, mention your social media profiles, and more. You can also change your packaging’s dimensions and material type in real time.
The realistic 3D preview will ensure you get what you expect from your custom packaging.
As a bonus, Packlane only uses recycled cardboard in its products. Use this as a value proposition and win the loyalty of sustainability-conscious customers.
3. Lumi
Lumi is a collaboration platform for creating lasting and profitable partnerships with suppliers. It streamlines supplier communications, simplifies supplier sourcing, and shares real-time updates on every production stage.
Lumi’s network includes suppliers of bottles, corrugated mailer boxes, child-resistant packaging, sewn bags, and various packaging supplies—in bulk or low volumes.
Customers Also Ask
What is the best shipping software for small businesses?
Veeqo is the best shipping software for managing inventory, label purchases, and carrier selection. Other tools are perfect for specific shipping tasks, like Packlane for packaging and Lumi for supplier relationship management.
What does shipping software mean?
Shipping software is an umbrella term for all tools and services that streamline shipping-related processes. Some examples are shipping label editors, multichannel inventory/sales tracking tools, and supplier relationship management tools.
Who uses shipping software?
Shipping software has features that can benefit various clients, including individual sellers, ecommerce brands, retailers, and courier service providers. Some feature-rich software like Veeqo is free to use, making intelligent shipping management accessible to brands of all sizes.
Resources You’ll Love
Get best-in-class shipping management today
Investing in shipping management software doesn’t have to be risky.
With free shipping management tools like Veeqo, business owners can streamline the shipping process, optimize inventory management, offer faster fulfilment, and stay on top of analytics—without spending a single cent.
Take Veeqo for a spin today by creating a free account. It only takes a few minutes to get started!
