Order fulfillment is a tedious but oh-so-essential facet for any successful eCommerce business.
You could have the swankiest website, the most popular products, and a fruitful marketing strategy.
…But your venture is doomed to fail unless you can promptly and reliably process and ship your orders.
That's why picking a dependable third-party logistics company is imperative.
However, with so many choices, selecting the right one for your business can be a headache.
So, we're cutting through the noise by comparing two leading solutions:
But if you don't have time to read my entire ShipBob vs Shipwire comparison, don't worry; I've got you covered. Here's the bottom line up front:
- Both platforms offer eCommerce logistics and order fulfillment services you can manage from ShipBob and ShipWire's respective dashboards.
- ShipBob operates worldwide, with 40+ fulfillment centers in the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Europe. In contrast, ShipWire has 27 fulfillment centers based in the US, Canada, Europe, the UK, China, and Australia.
- ShipBob has 110 integrations, whereas ShipWire offers 200+.
- Both platforms offer analytics and reporting features where you can view inventory levels, order status/s, fulfillment and shipping costs, and more.
- Neither platform lists its prices on its website. Instead, you have to contact their sales departments for a custom quote.
ShipBob: The Verdict
ShipBob is an international 3PL that can fulfill orders worldwide from its 40+ fulfillment centers. It’s a good solution for businesses wanting to operate globally, specifically from and within the US, because that’s where the majority of its fulfillment centers are located.
It also has 110 integrations you can utilize to enhance your inventory management, returns, CRM, etc., but it’s worth remembering that these may come with an additional cost.
ShipWire: The Verdict
Like ShipBob, ShipWire offers a global fulfillment and logistics solution. It provides multi-channel integrations and a range of fulfillment centers, although, like ShipBob, the majority are in the US.
Once connected to ShipWire, you can see all aspects of your business, such as order numbers, returns, sales, and so on, from one easy-to-view dashboard. However, it’s concerning that customer reviews are poor and frustrating that there’s no clarity about costs.
ShipWire is best for businesses looking for not only US shipping solutions but also international ones. It’s also a scalable solution offering an array of logistics services that may suit businesses keen to grow.
That's enough intro; let's turn our attention to the crux of this ShipBob vs Shipwire review.
In this article:
Overall Review: ShipBob
In a nutshell, ShipBob is a third-party logistics service provider that’s been around since 2014 and operates in 220+ countries. It utilizes proprietary software across its fulfillment network to optimize for quicker turnaround times and lower costs.
This is how ShipBob works:
- Integrate your online store with ShipBob (more on integrations below). This enables you to forward orders to ShipBob automatically and facilitates a two-way flow of information between ShipBob and your eCommerce platform.
- Next, send your products to be warehoused in ShipBob's fulfillment centers. ShipBob has several fulfillment centers dotted around the UK, Europe, the US, Australia, and Canada. You can tactically split inventory across locations to store wares closer to your customers. Needless to say, this helps to reduce shipping costs and times.
- Then, when customers place an order via your online store, ShipBob picks, packs, and ships the order directly to them. If you've split inventory across more than one ShipBob fulfillment center, its algorithm automatically selects the warehouse and carrier with the quickest turnaround at the best price for your customer.
ShipBob provides turnkey integrations for:
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
- Amazon
- Walmart
Where order management is concerned, ShipBob tracks your orders every step of the way. You can filter orders by status, quickly search for shipping-related info, and monitor orders requiring action. You can also view a quick timeline of where your order is in the fulfillment process and automatically share tracking information with customers.
Regarding inventory management, ShipBob makes it easy to view inventory statuses and stock quantities at any fulfillment centers you use. ShipBob can also help identify slow-moving inventory with high storage costs and provide insights into unit performance sold over time by channel. You can also receive reminders to prompt you to replenish stock, and you have the option of bundling products and making inventory transfer requests.
You can use ShipBob’s analytics and reports tool to get a better idea of the following:
- Which fulfillment centers to stock
- How many days of inventory you have left before you run out of wares
- The impact your promotions have on stock levels
- Every shipping method’s average cart value, shipping cost, and days in transit
- Fulfillment cost per order
- Storage cost per unit
..and more.
You can also choose whether to use custom-branded boxes or free plain packaging.
Lastly, ShipBob provides a returns management service that enables customers to:
- Generate return shipping labels
- Track their returns
- Get your products processed back into your available inventory
Pros & Cons of Using ShipBob
Pros 👍
- Some users praise ShipBob's onboarding process.
- Several customers praise ShipBob for their prompt shipments.
- The app is intuitive to use
- You can track individual customer orders.
- Several users praise ShipBob's seamless integrations.
Cons 👎
- Some users have complained about ShipBob's failure to use appropriate packaging to protect products during transit.
- There have been complaints about ShipBob's customer service, with several customers grumbling about the length of time it took to find a solution.
- There have been a few concerns about ShipBob failing to input the correct product dimensions and weights, resulting in customers being quoted higher shipping rates than they should.
- A few users aren't happy about fluctuating shipping and storage fees because this makes it difficult to budget.
- From April to August 2023, there's been an influx of negative reviews on the Shopify App Store.
Overall Review: Shipwire
ShipWire is another third-party logistics solution. It has 40+ years of experience and operates in 164 countries. It fulfills orders from its 27 fulfillment centers across the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, Europe, and China. Like ShipBob, most are in the US (18).
ShipWire offers a service that falls into eight categories:
- B2C eCommerce fulfillment: You can fulfill and ship orders to consumers
- Warehousing: You can store products in locations around the world
- Marketplace fulfillment: This facilitates omnichannel fulfillment by Amazon, Etsy, Walmart, Target, and more
- B2B fulfillment: Fast shipping and adherence to retail routing guidelines between countries when dispatching inventory in bulk to larger businesses such as Target and Walmart
- Reverse logistics and returns: ShipWire manages returns, including tracking and returns inspection.
- Dropshipping: ShipWire supports the dropshipping business model across multiple sales channels.
- Transportation: Orders are shipped using the most cost-effective and fastest option based on your pre-set parameters
- Cross border: International shipping to multiple locations. ShipWire manages export compliance, taxes, shipping duties, and much more.
How ShipWire Works?
When you sign up, ShipWire’s team of experts connects your sales channels to its order and inventory fulfillment management platform so you can access real-time information about your orders.
Once you’ve sent products to the fulfillment centers of your choice and your customers start placing orders, ShipWire instantly routes orders to the fulfillment center closest to the customer to reduce shipping times. You can set parameters via your ShipWire dashboard to ensure ShipWire automatically selects the best shipping options based on speed or cost. ShipWire then picks, packs, and sends the order to your customers.
From the same dashboard, you can view metrics like order numbers, sales performance, returns, inventory levels, and more.
ShipWire’s shipping guarantee means it offers the lowest possible shipping price for every order. It also ships orders the same day, provided the order reaches the fulfillment center by 5:30 a.m. local time.
ShipWire partners with 15 carriers, including domestic services like Australia Post, Canada Post, UPS, and cross-border carriers like DHL and FedEx.
ShipWire also offers 200+ integrations, including Amazon, Shopify, eBay, and Magento. It’s also worth noting that ShipWire’s integrations are organized into the following categories:
- Commerce
- CRM and ERP solutions
- Returns
- Agencies and consultancies
- Dropshippers and urban fulfillment hubs
Pros & Cons of Using ShipWire
Pros 👍
- It has 200+ integrations.
- There are 27 fulfillment centers located across the US, Canada, China, Australia, Europe, and the UK.
- Viewing all aspects of order fulfillment in real-time from your ShipWire dashboard is easy.
- ShipWire uses a variety of domestic and cross-border carriers to offer an expedient service and same-day shipping.
- It provides B2C and B2B shipping options.
- Its software automatically opts for shipping prices based on your pre-set parameters, e.g., cost or speed.
Cons 👎
- Although ShipWire’s help center provides detailed billing information, finding any overarching details on actual costs was impossible.
- The ShipWire website is somewhat tricky to navigate, and some of the descriptions of its features aren’t easy to understand
- The help center is hard to navigate.
ShipBob vs. ShipWire: The Best Value for Money
In one of its blog posts, ShipBob states that it ‘isn’t the cheapest fulfillment solution on the market, describing itself as a premium service.’
In contrast, ShipWire’s website says it ‘automatically optimizes orders for the shortest, fastest, and the most cost-effective delivery routes.’
However, it’s difficult to answer which offers the best value for money since neither platform has any fulsome prices on their websites.
FAQ
Where are ShipBob and ShipWire based?
Both are US companies. ShipBob's head office is in Chicago, US. As for ShipWire, they’re headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, US.
Do ShipBob and ShipWire fulfill orders to every country in the world?
Although both platforms offer shipping worldwide, ShipWire’s website states it does so to 164 countries vs. ShipBob’s 200+.
ShipBob fulfills orders to countries in the following areas:
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia
- European Union
- Middle East
- New Zealand
- North America (Canada)
- Singapore
- UK
- USA
At the time of writing, we could only find a list of ShipWire’s restricted countries, including Cuba, Iran, and North Korea. There’s also a high-risk country list, where shipping can be fulfilled but only at the merchant’s request.
Is there any more information about ShipBob and ShipWire’s dashboards?
The ShipWire dashboard is split into three main sections:
- Control Tower View: Here, you can see high-priority information that requires action, such as open return numbers, hold-ups with orders, information about why your products may be slow in getting to the ShipWire warehouses, and more
- Side Feed View: These alerts don’t require you to take any immediate action about your account balance, returned items, inventory arrivals, and more.
- Analytics View: Here, you can see data on where orders originate, where they were shipped to, total order revenue, and average shipping costs per order.
The ShipBob dashboard also has three main components:
- Action buttons: I.e., any actions you need to take, such as syncing orders
- Top search bar: From here, you can find specific orders by typing in the order ID
- Panels: A series of panels where you can view ShipBob’s announcements, issues you need to resolve, and order metrics such as order fulfillment numbers
There is also a menu bar on the left-hand side of your dashboard from which you can access information about order status, inventory levels, fulfillment prices, and more.
ShipBob vs Shipwire: My Final Thoughts
So that’s the end of my ShipBob vs ShipWire review. Hopefully, you now have a better overview of what each company offers and whether its fulfillment and shipping services suit you.
Overall, I think both offer a good range of integrations and a sizeable list of fulfillment centers to choose from. It also seems simple to sign up for both. However, it's frustrating you can’t access any pricing information without contacting their sales team.
However, we would be remiss not to mention that ShipBob has an almost four out of five-star rating on Trustpilot, whereas Shipwire only has a 2.2 rating.
That said, ShipBob doesn't offer same-day shipping (although it does provide two-day shipping), whereas Shipwire does offer same-day shipping.
Now, it’s over to you to choose which you prefer or keep researching to find the best shipping and fulfillment company for your business.
Are you ready to try ShipBob or ShipWire? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
Comments 0 Responses