Key Takeaways
- Multichannel ecommerce creates new revenue opportunities, but it also increases operational complexity without the right tools.
- Shipping software like Descartes XPS Ship centralizes orders, automates label creation, and keeps every sales channel updated.
- Automated tracking, batch labels, and discounted rates help teams fulfill orders faster with fewer errors.
- Connecting all sales channels to one workflow lets sellers scale shipping volume without adding headcount.
- Streamlined multichannel workflows lead to happier customers and fewer “Where’s my order?” inquiries.
Managing a growing ecommerce business on multiple sales channels? That’s a great way to reach more people online. However, it also can mean more complexity, more manual work, and more chances for things to go wrong.
From Shopify and Amazon to eBay and WooCommerce, each platform has its own quirks. When you’re a multichannel ecommerce seller, new orders can come in from multiple sales channels at the same time. Your team might spend hours just keeping up, hopping between platforms to fulfill and ship orders, update shipping status, and email customers tracking information.
Multichannel ecommerce is powerful, but without the right tools, it can also become a daily operational headache.
That’s where shipping software like XPS Ship can help.
What Is Multichannel Ecommerce?
Multichannel ecommerce simply means selling your products on more than one platform, like your own website, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and others. It’s a smart way to reach more customers and grow revenue.
But more channels equal more complexity. Without centralized tools, sellers often face:
- Disorganized order flow – It’s hard to see the big picture and prioritize which orders to fulfill first. Workers waste a lot of time toggling between platforms.
- Time-consuming shipping processes – Manually generating shipping labels and updating tracking information on every sales channel takes too long.
- Inconsistent tracking updates – Customers may not receive timely tracking information or shipment status updates and become frustrated.
- Higher error rates – Key entry errors and manual processes lead to more mis-ships and unhappy customers.
- Slower fulfillment – You may miss the delivery promise you made at checkout and disappoint customers with late orders.
Check out this resource for a deeper dive: Multichannel Ecommerce: A Comprehensive Guide to Selling More Online
If your team is constantly switching between browser tabs and retyping shipping info, you’re not alone. At Descartes, we frequently work with businesses encountering similar issues, and these are simple to resolve with the right software.
Why Shipping Software Is a Game-Changer
Shipping software like XPS Ship is built to make multichannel ecommerce shipping simple and scalable. Instead of juggling disconnected systems, you get one place to:
– View and manage all your orders
– Create shipping labels in seconds
– Automate tracking and customer notifications
– Compare carrier rates instantly
– Batch process shipments with ease
It’s the kind of automation that saves time, cuts costs, and helps your team focus on growth rather than repetitive, manual tasks.
How XPS Ship Supports Multichannel Ecommerce Success
XPS Ship connects directly to your sales channels, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, eBay, and more, with pre-built ecommerce shipping integrations. This allows order information to flow into our platform, uniting all orders in a single dashboard.
With XPS Ship, you can:
Consolidate Orders from Every Channel
No more switching tabs or downloading spreadsheets. All your order information is in one place with ecommerce shipping software. This is critical for multichannel sellers because you can save so much time and virtually eliminate mis-shipments.
The end result is faster, more accurate shipping that increases customer satisfaction and the likelihood of repeat business.
Print Shipping Labels Quickly and Automatically
Busy multichannel sellers need a fast way to generate shipping labels without manually entering addresses, package type and dimensions, package weight, and other shipping details.
With XPS Ship, you can use shipping automation to accomplish many tasks that used to be done manually. This frees up your workers to focus on other tasks, and you can fulfill more orders in the same amount of time without hiring more people.
Send Real-Time Tracking Info Automatically
XPS Ship automatically sends each customer real-time tracking information when you process shipments. That means your customer immediately knows their order was shipped, and it’s on its way.
This clear, prompt communication goes a long way toward building trust with your customers and keeping them happy. And you don’t have to take time out of your busy day to make it happen!
Compare Discounted Rates and Save on Every Shipment
Built-in rate shopping and discounted shipping help you secure the most cost-effective shipping option every time. Let’s face it—shipping costs add up quickly, especially for small businesses that don’t ship enough volume to negotiate their own discounts with carriers.
That’s why Descartes negotiates discounted rates and passes the savings along to you. When you sign up for XPS Ship, you get free access to discounted rates for USPS, UPS, and FedEx, up to 89% off retail prices.
Not only that, but our shipping platform has a rate shopping tool that lets you easily compare all available services for each shipment. You can immediately see the cheapest shipping option, the fastest service, and everything you need to make the best choice.
Scale Without Hiring More Shipping Staff
The beauty of multichannel ecommerce shipping with XPS Ship is that you can scale your shipping workflows. Even during peak seasons, your shipping team can handle the higher volume without falling behind.
With seamless data flow between XPS Ship and all your sales channels, plus shipping automation to handle repetitive tasks and print labels, you can avoid the chaos.
What Multichannel Sellers Are Saying
“Descartes XPS Ship has been with us from the early days, when we were shipping less than 10 orders per day, offering phenomenal customer support. Without any hiccups, it’s scaled with us as we’ve grown—easily supporting us when we processed $250K of orders in one hour!”
Jim Reding, CEO, Aroma Retail
XPS Ship users regularly report:
- Faster order turnaround times
- More accurate shipping
- Fewer customer service issues
- Significant time savings each day
Ready to Take Control of Multichannel Ecommerce Shipping?
Try XPS Ship for free and see how smoothly your ecommerce operations can run.
What about Multichannel Inventory, Listing, and Warehouse Management?
If your business also faces challenges with overselling, poor inventory visibility, updating listings on multiple channels, and slow, error-prone picking, Descartes can help. We offer much more than just multichannel shipping software.
Descartes Ecommerce solutions include inventory management, multichannel listing and catalog management, warehouse management, purchasing, and more shipping software options. We also have an all-in-one ecommerce operations platform that does all of these. Ready to explore your options?
Multichannel Ecommerce FAQs
What should multichannel sellers look for when evaluating shipping software?
How can shipping software help customer service teams?
What are common signs that a multichannel seller has outgrown manual shipping processes?
If your team struggles to keep up with rising order volume, spends too much time verifying addresses, or regularly finds inconsistencies between sales channels and shipped orders, it’s a sign your current processes can’t scale. Delays during peak seasons and an increase in customer inquiries are also strong indicators.
How does the Descartes Ecommerce suite support multichannel ecommerce beyond shipping?
The Descartes Ecommerce suite includes solutions for order management, warehouse operations, inventory visibility, and post-purchase customer experience. These tools work together to help merchants maintain accurate stock levels, prevent fulfillment bottlenecks, and deliver a smoother shopping experience across every sales channel.
Is multichannel ecommerce only beneficial for large businesses?
No. Smaller businesses often see some of the biggest gains because expanding to multiple channels increases revenue potential without requiring new physical locations. The key is to support that growth with tools that simplify complexity rather than add to it.