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Your e-commerce store is ready to go—you’ve got the inventory and the UX. But how are you managing one of the most important elements: your shipping? Your order management processes? You’ve looked at both Shopify and ShipStation, and now you need to know the differences between Shopify Shipping vs. ShipStation.
“In short, both tools help with managing many different touchpoints of your business, from building an online store with Shopify to streamlining fulfillment with ShipStation,” said Greg Woo, director of Ship Expert.
On the one hand, Shopify has proven to be a consistent winner, with 6.8% in growth quarter over quarter in the Canadian market, but here’s an interesting fact that might also surprise you: 60.3% of stores using ShipStation are also on Shopify.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at ShipStation and Shopify Shipping and compare them, and by the end, you’ll know which one to pick for your business.
Here are a few reasons why Shopify is of particular interest to businesses.
With Shopify Shipping, you can choose from top carriers like USPS, UPS, DHL Express, and Canada Post for both domestic and international shipping. You can also save with pre-negotiated discounts to slash your shipping costs.
Likewise, you can print up to 100 shipping labels and packing slips directly from your Shopify dashboard for both individual and bulk orders, streamlining your process with just a few clicks.
As soon as you spend a certain amount on shipping labels within your billing cycle, you are invoiced and charged immediately. This seamless process allows you to continue purchasing labels even while waiting for the payment to be processed, up to 10% over your current threshold.
If you store goods in multiple locations, you can set routing rules to automatically ship orders from the nearest or best warehouse, speeding up delivery times and reducing costs. Under this umbrella, you have a few options, like:
Fully integrated into your Shopify store, Shopify Shipping allows you to start shipping immediately with features built into your account. All orders placed in your store are automatically added to your shipping dashboard, allowing for quick and easy fulfillment without the need for third-party platforms.
You and your customers can maintain shipping visibility through the following steps:
Plus, Shopify Shipping lets you track real-time shipping rates and enjoy significant discounts, so you can impress your customers with affordable shipping options.
| 💡Can you use Shopify with ShipStation? Yes! When you integrate ShipStation with Shopify, you streamline your shipping. Monitor and control your orders at every stage of the shipping process across all your sales channels. Expand your reach by shipping orders from various marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, and Walmart, all managed through ShipStation. |
Here are some of the benefits of working with ShipStation, which are mostly centered around the fulfillment aspect of running your business.
Manage all your orders from one platform. Automatically apply actions to orders based on criteria you set, saving you time and improving customer satisfaction. Sync orders from multiple sources, create orders manually, or upload via CSV or API.
ShipStation streamlines your order management by allowing you to combine multiple orders for the same address into one shipment, while keeping each order's details intact. When items come from different locations, you can split orders into multiple shipments, ensuring efficient delivery.
Use color-coded order tags to mark, view, sort, and filter orders based on unique identifiers, with no limit on the number of tags. Additionally, you can edit order details even after import, including addresses, payments, item details, and notes, to keep everything accurate and up-to-date.
Keep track of stock levels, set alerts, and manage inventory efficiently from your warehouse or remote locations. Custom reports help ensure you never run out of stock.
Prevent shipping orders with insufficient stock and know exactly when to reorder. Allocate stock efficiently by reserving inventory for pending orders based on your set criteria and priorities, ensuring optimal usage.
Easily connect to marketplaces, shopping carts, and order management systems. Say goodbye to tedious copy and paste tasks and hello to efficient order processing.
Leverage the power of ShipStation's API to streamline your operations. Automate tasks like creating orders, updating products, and managing shipments effortlessly. Whether you need to create shipping labels or retrieve shipping rates, the API handles it all. Available for any plan, it’s perfect for developers looking to build applications that seamlessly interface with ShipStation.
You can also take integration to the next level by building a Custom Store API. Directly connect your company’s marketplace to ShipStation, ensuring smooth and efficient order management.
Generate shipping labels in no time. Whether for single or bulk orders, ShipStation's workflow lets you choose carriers and instantly see costs and delivery times. You can even import orders from non-supported sources.
ShipStation specializes in shipping and inventory management with features like 3PL management, access controls, and accounting integration. It supports barcode recognition, ticket scanning, carrier management, and comprehensive inventory auditing, control, optimization, and tracking.
ShipStation lacks a comprehensive activity dashboard, CRM, and customer accounts management. It does not offer cataloging/categorization, content management, or marketing tools like email marketing and multi-channel marketing. ShipStation also does not handle payment processing, mobile commerce, or provide a product configurator.
Shopify provides a comprehensive suite for e-commerce, including an activity dashboard and CRM. It excels in cataloging, content management, and customizable reports. Marketing tools like email marketing, multi-channel marketing, and mobile commerce are integrated for robust strategies.
Shopify does not manage third-party logistics operations, lacks advanced access controls, and does not support barcode recognition or ticket scanning. It also lacks inventory optimization.
The bottom line? ShipStation vs. Shopify Shipping? Both have their unique strengths. Let’s take a closer look below.
Choose Shopify if:
Choose ShipStation if:
The good news? Shipstation and Shopify shipping rates are easily accessible with rate calculators.
Whether you need the comprehensive ecommerce capabilities of Shopify or the specialized shipping management of ShipStation, Ship Expert can help you integrate the best solution for your business. Our team ensures you get the most out of your chosen platform, streamlining your operations and enhancing your customer experience.
Contact Ship Expert today to find out how we can optimize your shipping process and elevate your e-commerce success.
Don’t let shipping be the weak link in your business – partner with us for seamless, efficient, and reliable shipping solutions.
Director, Ship Expert
Greg Woo is a seasoned expert in the logistics and distribution industry, with a career spanning over two decades. He has a comprehensive understanding of shipping and distribution needs, and has extensive experience integrating with e-commerce stores as well as customer specific WMS (warehouse management systems) and ERP’s (enterprise resource planning software). His tenure in the industry and established courier and LTL partnerships have allowed clients to benefit from reduced shipping expenses, as well as improved operations through software and specialized integrations.
Greg is currently the Director at Ship Expert Inc., a role he has held since February 2015. Prior to his role at Ship Expert, Greg held significant positions at Juxto, a telecommunications and managed internet service provider.
