If you own an eCommerce business that is just starting up then you know how hard it is to handle and keep on top of everything.
This includes things such as researching, designing, developing, producing, fulfilling orders and managing.
Luckily in recent years, the industry has seen a rise in eCommerce order fulfilment companies.
These companies specialise in helping businesses reduce expenses and long shifts. This gives business owners like you the opportunity to invest your mind back into scaling your company.
Order fulfilment companies handle the picking, packing and shipping of orders on your behalf. Many are optimised for larger businesses, but there are those out there (like us!) that specialise in nurturing and alleviating the stress from smaller businesses.
A huge competitor in the order fulfilment industry is Shipbob. It has quickly become one of the most well known fulfilment companies in the industry.
While Shipbob has established itself within the industry and gained popularity, this does not necessarily mean they are the best option out there for everyone and there are plenty alternatives to Shipbob.
At Parcel Master our eCommerce fulfilment services are optimised for startups and anyone looking for a team that is unwaveringly dedicated and available. Offering fully flexible services at an affordable price, we may just be the right choice for you.
Below we explore the services and eCommerce fulfilment prices of Shipbob vs Parcel Master to help you decide which is the best fit for you.
At Parcel Master we aim to help businesses with their picking, packing, shipping and returns. All our services are optimised for startups and small businesses so we can provide the fulfilment industry with something it is lacking, inclusion.
We are based in Nottingham, where our skilled team operates out of our 12,500 sq ft warehouse. Our eCommerce order fulfilment process has been constantly evolving to ensure we provide fast, accurate and efficient service to our clients and their customers.
We do this so you can hand over your fulfilment process to us without worrying about compromising your customer satisfaction and turnaround time.
As a small business ourselves, that has experience handling our own successful businesses, we can promise you that we know what we are doing.
Outsourcing your order fulfilment to us, gives you back valuable time which we encourage you to use for creating new products, developing your website and your relationship with customers.
Now that you have gotten to know a little more about who we are, our values and mission. We want to give you a detailed overview of what is included during our eCommerce order fulfilment process.
Our warehouse is 12,500 sq ft which means we have plenty of space to store your products in a safe way. As part of our warehousing and storage process, our team takes care of installation, unloading and management of your stock.
Once you have shipped your stock to our warehouse, our skilled team takes over, performing quality checks on your products to ensure that all items are in good condition.
The team will then add barcodes to individual items before scanning them into our cloud-based system. You have access to this at all times to monitor your inventory condition and stock volume.
Items are then transported to our heavy-duty shelves in an organised manner that allows our picking team to efficiently find products for orders. The space taken up by your products is all that you will pay for, not the whole warehouse.
Our warehouse includes maximum security with palisade fencing, CCTV, roller shutters and a police triggering alarm system.
Once all your stock has been barcoded, scanned and stored in our warehouse we then begin the process of eCommerce pick and packing.
Our experienced team follows a strict process to ensure all orders are accurate. This begins with scanning an order barcode into the system to help locate which area of the warehouse the required products are.
This tech-driven process does not allow incorrect products to be scanned, creating a high level of accuracy for each order.
Once items are correctly located and scanned, the packing team assesses the cheapest option from our range of packaging options, saving you money, materials and the environment.
All orders are swiftly passed onto the shipping team once picking and packing is complete. Every order is individually assessed to determine the cheapest and fastest shipping available at the time.
As an order fulfilment company shipping over 10,000 parcels a month we have established important relationships with a number of well known shipping services such as Royal Mail, Yodel and FedEx. Due to this, we are able to provide eCommerce fulfilment costs for shipping at a discounted price.
Our team is also able to discuss the possibility of shipping internationally if this is something your business is interested in or requires. Alongside this we offer next day shipping and weekend delivery options.
Our process ensures that all orders are accurate, processed efficiently and delivered as fast as possible, with multiple quality and tech-driven checks along the way. We believe that this helps to reduce the number of errors and returns.
There will always be factors out of our control and when returns are requested we make sure to deal with them in a timely manner with great customer service.
Making the returns process easy will likely make customers feel safe to shop with you again.
This is why we can include physical or digital labels with all orders so customers have a straightforward way to return. Our team is happy to arrange a courier to pick up your customers’ returns if they choose not to use the labels.
Returned items are placed through a quality control check and can be placed back into your inventory if suitable, saving you from wasted stock.
During this whole process, tracking information is available for you to monitor.
One of the most important benefits is that we do not hold a minimum order quantity, thus allowing us to work with startups who are selling as little as 10 orders each day.
At Parcel Master there is no minimum contract length, which means you do not have to commit to anything.
Our team is 100% flexible to fit your needs, nothing is off the table and we are happy to discuss your needs, wants and requirements.
Our customer service team is real people, not auto generated computers who are absolutely devoted to helping you with any problems, queries and advice.
And lastly, our software allows you to integrate with multiple channels, making it easier for you to manage all your data.
Shipbob is labelled as one of the fastest growing tech companies in America and a well known name in the fulfilment industry.
To help you make the best decision for your business, we feel it is important to present to you how we compare to Shipbob. Below we explore their services and prices.
Shipbob owns over 30 fulfilment centres across a total of 6 different countries. This provides an opportunity to scale your business across the world.
As a part of their process at Shipbob, they include the option of ‘distributed inventory’. This means your stock is held in multiple warehouses and customers orders are sent from the one closest to them.
Shipbob ensures to store your stock in a climate-controlled warehouse with security once it has been unloaded.
Their prices for storage start at $40 for each pallet per month, $10 for each shelf per month and $5 for each bin per month.
Pricing for inbounding begins at $25 for the first two hours and $40 for each additional hour needed to unload and store your stock.
Businesses should also be aware of the mandatory onboarding process and cost. This includes account set up. Integration, and contact with an implementation engineer which is priced at $975.
Once your stock has been unloaded at their warehouse, it is then picked and packed by their team members.
Keeping on top of this process is super easy with their cloud-based software where you can access your inventory in real-time.
The price for each item to be picked for orders is $0 for the first 4 items, each additional item costs 20 cents.
As part of their fulfilment fee, Shipbob includes free standard boxes, poly mailers and bubble mailers
If you choose to use Shipbob’s US warehouses for your stock, they promise a 2 day shipping process for all your orders.
While pricing for shipping varys on the size, weight and destination of each order, they do advertise that they can access discounted rates with 5 different carrier partners.
At face value this is very intriguing but reviews left on Trustpilot regarding Shipbob’s order shipment and delivery are not very promising. Paras Saxena posted in October 2022, stating ‘Shipbob delivered broken boxes to my customers and they take a long time to resolve issues’.
Shipbob is happy to handle all returns, including the processing, quality checking and restocking process. This is priced at $3 plus the shipping costs.
To assess if this service is truly valuable you must indulge in customer reviews. A Trustpilot review states ‘customer service is robots/overseas’. This review shows that while Shipbob offers returns management, the support given is from robots not humans.
At Parcel Master we value how important it is to make real connections with our clients and their customers so when there is a problem we can help.
After exploring our services in comparison to Shipbob and gaining an insight into their prices, we want to now guide you through our pricing.
For inbounding here at Parcel Master we charge £30 per hour which is the industry average for handling a bulk amount of stock.
With us you only pay for the space you use up, so per bin we charge £10 and per shelf it costs £15. Our prices aim to be affordable for startups with small budgets.
At Parcel Master each pick costs £1 and each additional pick is 30p for every order our picking team processes.
Packing prices are priced at just 10p per mailer and cardboard boxes starting from 40p.
We do not have a blanket shipping rate as it depends on the weight, size and delivery preference of each order.
We do however have secure discounts across many shipment companies, ensuring the best option is chosen for each order.
We charge just £1 per item, making our returns management service the cheaper option compared to Shipbob.
Our eCommerce fulfilment costs may not be the cheapest across the fulfilment industry. However, we do come across cheaper in certain sections such as returns management and inbounding compared to Shipbob.
After showing you how our services and prices compare to one of the biggest competitors in the eCommerce order fulfilment world, we hope you can see the heart, values and dedication within our service.
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