Reduce Costs & Increase Efficiency: How Free Multi-Carrier Shipping Software Can Help

1. What is multi-carrier shipping software?
2. What is single carrier shipping software?
3. How can free multi-carrier software reduce shipping costs?
4. How does shipping software benefit small businesses? ?
5. What is the best free multi-carrier shipping software?
6. Where are the hidden costs in free software?
7. Key takeaways

Are you looking for ways to cut shipping costs and increase operational efficiency for your ecommerce business? Not only do lower costs lead to a wider profit margin (yes, please!), but faster deliveries make for happier customers who are more likely to become loyal to your brand, recommend you to friends, and purchase from you again.

Free multi-carrier shipping software is the secret to reducing costs and increasing efficiency in ecommerce operations. By allowing you to ship with multiple domestic and international carriers (including FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, and more), multi-carrier software helps you provide fast and cost-effective shipping to your customers while reducing labor costs and expenses.

Multi-carrier shipping software integrates multiple shipping carrier accounts, sales channels, and functions of the shipping process in one streamlined platform. It helps you easily compare carrier rates and transit times, print shipping labels, and track shipments for all orders in one place. With all your programs integrated, you can automate repetitive tasks and avoid wasted time.

Pros

• Low-risk opportunity for brands of any size to save money on shipping
• Rate shopping and access to deeply discounted rates
• Easily shift volume from one provider to the next as demand requires

Cons

• May not allow you to use your own negotiated carrier rates
• May charge label or service fees to access certain features
• May not support all carriers’ special services

Best for

• Small to midsized businesses with growing order volume
• Multiple sales channels, pop-up shops, or promotional shippers
• Managing seasonal peaks and spikes in order volume

Single carrier shipping software is a program owned by a specific carrier and accessed via the carrier’s website or downloaded to your desktop. It allows shippers to review and select the carrier’s services, print shipping labels, view tracking information, and manage shipments. Some examples of this software include UPS WorldShip®, USPS Click-N-Ship, and FedEx Ship Manager®.

Pros

• Simplicity of managing one shipping carrier account for all shipments
• Develop a strong relationship with one preferred carrier
• Potentially negotiate your own discounted rates and perks

Cons

• Does not offer carrier rate shopping to get the best rate for every order
• Limited agility/flexibility in your shipping strategy if the carrier has issues
• Less control over carrier rate negotiations (they have all the data)

Best for

• Low-volume or infrequent shippers who want simplicity
• Businesses that require specific carrier services not supported by other software
• Prefers desktop or on-premises shipping software

One way multi-carrier software can reduce your overall shipping costs is by helping you to easily compare factors like cost, speed, and service levels. By diversifying your carriers with shipping software, you can get discounted rates and optimize your shipping strategy to lower costs. Ecommerce businesses and wholesale distributors can shop around, taking advantage of the best rates and services from multiple carriers.

We all know that time is money. More efficient processes avoid wasting time on tasks, meaning you can reduce manual labor and increase efficiency, ultimately accomplishing more work with fewer resources. Consider utilizing your multi-carrier shipping software to automate many of your repetitive operations and create an optimal, time-efficient process for getting shipments out the door, especially during seasonal peaks.

It costs money to acquire new customers vs. keeping the ones you already have. Happy customers who receive their goods on time will likely return to your business and spread the word about your brand for free! By taking the time to create a fast, affordable, and reliable shipping process, you are building long-term customer loyalty for your brand, helping to create more business and revenue for yourself in the future.

Multi-carrier solutions change the game for small businesses with negotiations for deeply discounted shipping rates. It can be frustrating when you’re trying to negotiate lower rates with carriers to save money on shipping, but the shipping carrier is not responsive because your business is deemed “too small.”

Carriers prioritize making deals with bigger businesses because they ship enough volume to be profitable, even while using discounted rates. However, using a multi-carrier program will allow you to benefit from a selection of preferential rates which have already been negotiated, as well as enjoying the flexibility of multiple shipping options.

Many small businesses are upgrading to multi-carrier shipping software instead of single-carrier or in-platform software such as Shopify Shipping. Because of the more robust feature set tailored to increase operational efficiency, third-party shipping solutions provide advantages in terms of reduced labor cost, increased capacity, and faster throughput.

Feature-rich software reduces manual labor and speeds up operations by automating tedious, repetitive tasks. Customizable business rules and integrations eliminate key-entry errors, manual tasks, and double data entry while reducing the time it takes to get an order ready to ship. This results in lower labor costs as you accomplish more work with fewer people.

As your small business grows, you will need a way to easily manage shipments for multiple sales channels in one place. Most third-party shipping solutions offer pre-built integrations for all the major sales channels such as Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, WooCommerce, Adobe Commerce/Magento, BigCommerce, and eBay.

Adding more sales channels to your multi-carrier platform is usually quick and easy, and it allows you to print shipping labels for all orders as they come in. Instead of logging into multiple sales channels, the information flows in and out of the shipping solution via the integrations. You can also manage tracking information all in one place, which is a lifesaver.

Offering a more robust feature set than you would expect from free shipping software, Descartes XPS Ship has no subscription fees, no limits on monthly shipments, and full access to all features. With powerful business automation rules, international shipping tools, and free live support, this solution makes it easy to start shipping domestically and internationally.

Perhaps the most playful free shipping software brand, Pirate Ship is easily recognized by its whimsical pirate theme and boasts, “No monthly fees, markup or hidden costs.” With a focus on cheap shipping, Pirate Ship software allows users to “Quickly compare UPS and USPS to get the cheapest shipping rates.”¹

ShipStation is one of the most widely known shipping solutions right now. While ShipStation itself is only available by subscription, they do offer free shipping software via ShippingEasy, a platform owned by the same company. ShippingEasy offers discounted labels, automation, and other features for one user and up to 25 shipments per month.⁴

As “an Amazon company,” Veeqo provides free multi-carrier shipping software that also connects to Amazon Shipping,5 a package delivery service that uses Amazon’s own fleet for multi-channel shipping. Not all shipping solutions integrate with Amazon Shipping, though subscription-based Descartes ShipRush does.

As you research free software options, make sure you look at the big picture for cost versus benefits. Check for hidden costs such as:

• Label or service fees
• Cost to add more users
• Fees to use your own carrier account
• Features you can only access with a paid plan
• Certain types of support only available for subscription plans
• Caps on shipping volume that may roll you into a paid program if you go over your number of free shipments

Make sure you understand how to choose the best shipping software to meet your business needs and save you money in the long run. Then, when it comes time to make a decision, trust your instincts and make the choice that feels right.

1. With shipping discounts and efficient rate comparisons across carriers, multi-carrier software helps businesses save money and ship faster.
2. Free multi-carrier software is a low-risk option for small to mid-sized businesses, allowing you to cut operational costs without adding another financial commitment.
3. Small businesses can get deeper discounts by using a third-party shipping platform that has pre-negotiated preferential rates with a range of carriers.
4. Multi-carrier shipping software allows for greater agility and more choices than relying on a relationship with a single carrier.

¹ Retrieved from https://pirateship.com/ on August 1, 2024

² Retrieved from https://www.easyship.com/ on August 2, 2024

³ Retrieved from https://www.easyship.com/plans on August 2, 2024

⁴ Retrieved from https://www.shipstation.com/pricing/ on August 2, 2024

⁵ Retrieved from https://veeqo.com/ on August 5, 2024