Ship4wd Review: A Smart (And Digital) Way to Take Control of Ecommerce Freight

Whether you ship by sea, land, air, or rail, ecommerce logistics can become complicated fast. I recently had the opportunity to test out Ship4wd, a digital freight forwarding service that aims to simplify and optimize the shipping process for SMBs.

During my Ship4wd review, I was impressed with the range of features and tools it offers, which helps streamline international freight operations and improve efficiency for small to midsize businesses.

Here's my unbiased review of Ship4wd based on my personal testing and research of the platform.

What is Ship4wd?

Ship4wd is a digital freight forwarding platform that offers a comprehensive solution for small to midsize businesses to manage their global shipping needs. With a range of features and tools, Ship4wd, a subsidiary of Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd, aims to streamline the shipping process, improve efficiency, and enhance merchant satisfaction.

A freight forwarder is an intermediary that works to find ecommerce and online retail businesses the best shipping services at the best prices.

So, you can utilize Ship4wd for shipping large batches of products to warehouses, sending to retail stores.

Ship4wd offers a digital freight forwarding system with flexible payment options and even potential credit lines.

There’s also a curated process for setting up the ideal shipping solution for each business. So, Ship4wd helps you decide which rail, ocean, air, and road services are best based on your company’s budget and schedule.

Furthermore, Ship4wd touts a “no-chatbot” customer support team, meaning there’s a knowledgeable person you can speak to in case you get into a jam with logistics.

Overall, I see the Ship4wd as a combination of three solutions:

1. Curated, digital shipping logistics, based on your business needs.
2. Human-oriented customer support, since talking to a bot about shipping delays would be extremely frustrating.
3. Easy-access financing, helping ecommerce brands get the money they need to manage their cash flow and scale their shipping operations.

So, you get the shipping infrastructure, customer support, and financing needed to run an effective ecommerce shipping system. That all looks wonderful, so let’s dive into the more specific features that make Ship4wd unique.

Notable Features and Services of Ship4wd

From shipping management to carrier integrations, my Ship4wd review revealed a wide range of notable features and services from Ship4wd. The company appears to have most of its bases covered, leaving ecommerce business owners to manage their day-to-day operations, instead of worrying about shipping hassles.

In this section, I’ll outline some of the standout features and services. Further in the article, I’ll explain any missing features that could use addressing.

Import and Export Management

I found the platform easy to use, especially since you’re able to decide on how you move your goods with the click of a button from any type of device.

I learned that Ship4wd lets you take full control of your imports and exports, whether that’s for sending manufacturer products to retail stores or bringing in large pallets of products to store in a fulfillment center.

The Ship4wd apps are rather intuitive. You can control exports and imports on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. Ship4wd presents comparisons of all carriers available for your shipment. I appreciate that every comparison included shipping rates, listed from cheapest to most expensive. I was then able to pick the best carrier with a few clicks.

To top it all off, all shipping rates and container allocations can be locked in up to 45 days before the shipment occurs.

Quick Shipping Orders

The account creation process for Ship4wd is seamless. After setting up an account, I could generate a shipping order. The form asked for details about the shipment, such as the types of goods, weight, size, and packaging. A business owner then has the ability to choose the transportation mode, cargo details, and route.

Within seconds, you're provided shipping quotes. I should note that these are real-time shipping quotes, so you’re not left wondering if the rates are inaccurate or from the past.

The final part of the process is to accept the most desirable quote. There’s a waiting period to hear back, Ship4wd states that a confirmation of the shipping order should be sent within 24 hours.

Various Shipment Methods (And a Booking Platform to Go with It)

Ship4wd specifies the types of shipment methods available, and it provides suitable carriers for each of those methods.

On the Ship4wd app or desktop program, ecommerce merchants and suppliers can choose between the following options:

• Sea
• Land
• Air
• Rail

You can either pick the transportation mode yourself, or get recommendations from Ship4wd of the speediest and most cost-effective options.

A Global Shipping Network

Throughout my Ship4wd review, I found that the fluidity of Ship4wd is not necessarily due to a large company footprint from Ship4wd, but rather, a highly dispersed global network. Ship4wd partners with a wide range of companies and organizations that handle everything from imports to exports, and customs to international shipment management.

The network appears strong enough to source and export products between places like:

• The US
• Canada
• Israel
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• China
• Taiwan
• Singapore
• South Korea

And that’s just a portion of the worldwide connections provided by Ship4wd.

Real-time Shipping Analytics and Tracking

During my Ship4wd review, I was able to review shipping performance, trends, and optimize shipping strategies. For any ecommerce business owner or supplier, this would help reduce costs and improve overall efficiency.

Ship4wdis touted as a digital-first freight forwarder. This means that clarity is key for the company. You receive immediate updates at every stage of the transit process, particularly when a shipment is accepted, started, delayed, and completed.

I find this refreshing, since it's not always easy to keep tabs on exports and imports, or to have any control as to how they move about the world in general. Ship4wd mitigates most of those issues, since you get real-time shipment tracking to keep you up to speed. At the very end of the shipment, you get a proof of delivery notification in your email inbox, so there’s no questioning what’s going on with your products.

Streamlined Communication

Shipment communication is made easy with Ship4wd's automated email notifications. Users are kept informed about their shipments, including tracking updates and delivery notifications. This enhances transparency and improves the overall customer experience.

You also gain access to direct human customer support. We’ll cover the specifics of Ship4wd’s customer support team in a dedicated section later in this article, but just know that you can actually message a person to check on your shipment as opposed to going through a chatbot or automated system.

International Shipping and Customs Management

I found that Ship4wd supports international shipping, including customs documentation and compliance. This service opens up opportunities for all ecommerce owners to expand their operations globally.

Credit Lines and Other Financing Options

Sometimes shipping gets more expensive than the money you have on hand, especially for small to midsize businesses. Ship4wd appears to recognize that issue, so it cuts out the need to go to a bank or search for a loan. It does this by offering credit lines and financing options. The application process is fully digital (like the rest of the platform), and you can apply through a simple online form in the dashboard.

There are, however, some requirements to get a line of credit through Ship4wd:

• You must connect a bank account.
• You must have a positive balance.
• You must have monthly revenue of at least $10,000 per month.

Other than that, I found the credit line application process pretty smooth.

I see this is a temporary way to ease cash flow issues for ecommerce SMBs, seeing as how long-haul shipments can often put you in a waiting period to see revenue from the actual product being shipped. Ship4wd allows you to pay up to 90 days from the cargo delivery, which is fair compared to the many other credit line and financing options out there.

Full Management for Method-Specific Requirements

Ocean freight has different requirements when compared to air freight. The same can be said about land freight and rail.

To make things less complicated, Ship4wd manages the intricacies of documentation, customs, and insurance for each particular freight method.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Ocean Freight: Ship4wd not only provides the best routes and carriers for your shipment, but it offers a container allocation guarantee. The ocean freight network grants you access to nearly 500 ports, along with options for LCL (less than container load) and FCL (full container load) shipping depending on your requirements.
• Air Freight: Along with quick booking and a healthy selection of air freight providers, Ship4wd partners with both cargo and passenger aircraft to get deliveries to their destinations in record time. Not only that, but Ship4wd handles everything from the pickup of your goods to custom clearances. Taxes and duties are paid and managed, along with air freight insurance, should you need it.
• Land Freight: Ship4wd utilizes land freight and rail delivery as a connection between air and ocean shipments. Loads and pickup times are managed by the team at Ship4wd, getting your goods from the factory to your destination in no time.

Ship4wd Pricing

I find the pricing of Ship4wd reasonable, especially since it’s tailored to your business. It greatly depends on the type of shipping you choose. This way, ecommerce SMBs and suppliers can actively select the cheapest shipping routes and carriers, instead of getting locked into one shipping method and paying that same price over and over.

To begin, it’s free to sign up for a Ship4wd account. Going forward, all users pay for shipping fees, the ones agreed upon with the freight carrier of choice.

As mentioned, this is a real-time pricing situation, so there will be variability in pricing based on routes, products, carriers, destinations, and speed. I see some pros and cons with this setup: It’s not quite as possible to predict your shipping costs, but you at least have granular control over the pricing of every shipping you create, kind of like an à la carte situation.

After a period of time, you should be able to forecast general shipping fees over the course of a year, giving you more transparency on what to expect in the future.

Ship4wd Customer Support

The customer support provided by Ship4wd is reliable and straightforward. During my Ship4wd review, I tested and assessed the support team to figure out its responsiveness, and the available support channels for all merchants.

To begin, Ship4wd provides direct customer support in which you talk to a real person. They make a point of specifying that there are no chatbots involved. This is particularly important to me (and I would assume for all ecommerce professionals), considering most merchants and suppliers have no time to deal with a lengthy automated chat system when their products are held up at customs.

I would like to see dedicated phone support in the future, but right now, you can contact Ship4wd customer support through live chat or email. Representatives are available to chat 24/7, which is essential for those late night shipping blunders.

As for online documentation, Ship4wd does a pretty good job of remaining clear about shipping requirements and account questions. There’s an FAQ on the Ship4wd website, which answers most questions you would have about the freight forwarding process.

Pros and Cons of Ship4wd

Here’s a quick glance at my overall pros and cons from this Ship4wd review.

Who Should Use Ship4wd for Their Ecommerce Operation?

Ship4wd is an ideal solution for small to midsized ecommerce businesses that require full control of their shipping. It’s ideal for finding the best rates for ground, air, and ocean freight.

We particularly like it for those brands that want to move their freight forwarding operations into the 21st century, since Ship4wd is a fully digital freight forwarding platform made specifically for SMBs.

You get rate comparisons, options for different shipping methods, and quick bookings to streamline the shipping process, just as larger businesses get. It’s also worthwhile for businesses tired of a freight forwarder or shipping company that uses chatbots or automated customer support systems, since Ship4wd has an all-human support team.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Ship4wd proved to be a valuable freight forwarding service during my extensive review. For ecommerce businesses, it is bound to simplify and optimize shipping operations, especially for small and mid-sized brands.

With its range of features, including real-time tracking, digital shipment bookings, and shipping management in one place, you’re able to enhance the freight forwarding experience and ensure your shipments get through smoothly.

I also like the fact that Ship4wd seems so flexible. You can opt for extra services like customs management, and it’s possible to contact the customer support team at any time. I see Ship4wd as a valuable shipping solution for any ecommerce brand in the small to mid-sized range.

Please let us know in the comments if you have any questions about getting setup with Ship4wd, or if there are thoughts about my Ship4wd review!