When was the last time you waited for weeks for your order to arrive? Years ago, right.

As a customer, you would have either contacted customer support or at least considered doing it for the delay in your online order. Am I right?

But today, you can receive your orders the next day itself. Isn’t it amazing?

Similar to you, every eCommerce customer has one simple expectation from D2C order deliveries i.e., fast delivery with responsive customer service.

The above image denotes how delivery time has to go down considering the ongoing demand for same-day & 2-day delivery. 

This is a real challenge for D2C businesses, especially when you are a start-up. As per industry stats, 53% of retailers state that delivery and fulfillment are still a challenge for them.

That’s why scaling growth while managing logistics is one of the toughest challenges for a lot of eCommerce businesses.

How to choose an app for your logistics needs? 

  1. Customer reviews: Look up what others are saying about the app to understand if their experience is satisfactory.
  2. User experience: Check its usability and how easy it is for you to navigate the app.
  3. Pricing: Ensure the plans provided by the apps meet your business budgets and goals.
  4. Customer support: Ensure their team is available to support in your preferred time zone.

Improved Logistics for Faster Deliveries

Whether you are running your eCommerce platform or using a platform like Shopify for your online store, you have to nail your logistics.

9 Best and Cheap Shopify Apps to Improve Your Logistics Game

So as you set up your Shopify store and think about all that you can offer, here are some platforms that can make eCommerce order fulfillment simple and easy for you.

1. Better Shipping

Better Shipping is the solution to help your Shopify store manage shipping rates. You can easily set this up and define rules for shipping rates. Whether you are an eCommerce platform dealing with small products or large ones, Better Shipping has you covered for all kinds of products.

Features:

  • Enable flat shipping rate for products and their variants 
  • Set rules for products that cannot sustain long deliveries 
  • Add additional charges for fragile goods 
  • Ensure specific shipping methods for specific goods. For example, goods like fresh food could have limited delivery options to maintain quality and you could set Zipcode limitation rules
  • Provide customers with loyalty rewards like free shipping when they make a valuable purchase
  • In-house customer support 

Pricing:

Better Shipping comes with a 7-day free trial after which there is a standard payment option of $19.99/month.  

2. Shipway – Shipping Automation

Shipway’s Shipping Automation platform is an end-to-end automated order fulfillment solution for eCommerce businesses.

Your worries about labeling orders, tracking them, assigning carriers, updates on non-delivery items and even handling returns can rest easy with this platform.

With its one-stop solution, the platform offers an efficient eCommerce order fulfillment process with auto-sync of customer details from your Shopify store, auto-detect fraud orders, auto-generate shipping labels, GST invoices, manifest list, and auto-assign carriers according to their shipping performance for fast delivery.

Features

  • Auto-allocate carriers according to pin codes, service types (surface, air, etc.), and weight & dimension for forward and reverse shipping,.
  • Auto-generate and download bulk shipping labels (A4, 4 in 1, thermal, etc) and invoices.
  • Full control over the whole fulfillment process with real-time updates on your dashboard.
  • Seamless integration with all the leading courier partners and aggregators for faster eCommerce shipping.
  • Send automated non-delivery follow-ups for undelivered orders to reduce the RTO rate.
  • Generate reverse pick-up with multiple drop locations and Quality check options.
  • Provide clubbing of multiple RMAs with one AWB number.
  • Provide instant refunds via gift card, UPI, Paytm, Bank account, and original payment source.
  • Send proactive forward and return order status updates via SMS & WhatsApp.

Pricing

Shipway offers a free trial of 7 days to start with after which 4 plans are available. Starting with its Basic Plan which gives access to manage 500 orders for the amount of $19.99/month, leading to Silver, Gold, & Platinum Plans.

 

3. Shipway – Track Order & Notifications

Shipway’s track order and notifications app helps to improve the tracking experience for your customers by providing seamless tracking and sending regular order status updates in real-time, significantly reducing your customer queries demanding their order status.

Create your own branded order tracking page on your website, and keep your customer traffic to your website instead of redirecting them to the carrier’s website every time they want to know about their order status.

Features

  • Create your own order tracking page with your Store’s theme – header and footer.
  • Real-time tracking of 600+ carriers across the globe.
  • Dedicated order tracking URL/page for each shipment.
  • Show the reason for the return pick-up failure. 
  • Supports multi-language and regional carriers.
  • Provide order status notifications with “Estimated Delivery Date”
  • Send branded notifications via WhatsApp, Email, & SMS.
  • Schedule and send feedback/review notification automatically after ‘X’ number of days of delivery. 

Pricing

Shipway provides a “Free to Install” Track Order & Notifications app, with a 7-day free trial. The basic plan starts from $9.99/month.

 

4. Ship Station

ShipStation is a platform that enables you to cumulatively manage all your selling channels including Shopify with multiple carriers. 

From the process of importing your orders to providing tracking information, you can do it all in one comprehensive solution.

Features

  • Compare prices between carrier services in real-time to get the best deal
  • Integrate all your selling channels in one place 
  • Automate all the shipping processes 
  • Print shipping labels in bulk 
  • Personalize the tracking information for the customer with your brand’s identity 
  • Enable shipping and tracking notifications 
  • Provide a self-return option
  • Choice of delivery option for the customers 
  • Map all the details from different inventory sources to ShipStation and then to the location

Pricing

It provides a 30-day free trial after which the basic plan starts at $9/month with 50 shipments.  

 

5. Shippo

Shippo is another leading multi-carrier shipping platform for your Shopify store. It provides you with all that you need from a shipping platform including printing labels, and order tracking.

You can choose from 85+ carriers globally and experience the best rates.

Features

  • Bulk print up to 100 labels 
  • Low shipping rates from leading carrier services like USPS, UPS, DHL, and more 
  • Automated fulfillment experience and manage all orders in one platform
  • Upload CSV files to avoid manual errors 
  • Increase post-purchase experience by providing branded tracking pages, shipping emails, and more 
  • Return labels available for the customer’s ease of use 
  • Validate addresses globally to reduce the possibility of failed deliveries 
  • Insurance is available for premium shipments for packages sent with USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL Express, and Canada Post
  • Multiple users can access the same account 
  • Carry out partial fulfillment of orders in case of back-ordered items and products in multiple warehouses 

Pricing

It is free to install and the basic plan is free to use. 

6. ShippingEasy

ShippingEasy is a leading online shopping software solution. It manages your orders across channels and helps you in the customer’s journey of receiving or returning a product.

Features

  • Imports order information across sales channels 
  • Automatically assign carriers according to the customer’s shipping preference 
  • Adds insurance to products that need it 
  • Print labels according to your brand and preference 
  • Provides branded tracking information to you and the customer 
  • Tracking numbers for dropshipping 
  • Enables easy returns with the same ease and tracking information 
  • Experience a customizable dashboard with comprehensive shipping reports 
  • Integrate with Amazon Alexa to hear all your shipping management information with ease
  • Customer marketing features such as automated branded emails for campaigns 
  • Feedback forms to build a repository of customer insights 
  • In house support 

Pricing

It provides you with a 30-day free trial with the basic plan starting from $5/month. 

7. Shipping Rates Calculator Plus

Tackle the problem of abandoned carts by avoiding “hidden” charges at the last minute. Shipping Rates Calculator Plus shows the shipping rates information upfront to avoid any last-minute surprises. 

This is calculated based on the user’s IP address with alternate location options.

Features

  • Provides customers with the exact shipping rate 
  • Gives delivery estimates 
  • Does not need any configuration 
  • Mobile friendly 
  • Provides delivery rates by various carries 

Pricing

The solution provides a 30-day trial to explore the product. After which you can pay $6.99/month with no hidden fees. 

8. AfterShip Order Tracking & SMS

AfterShip specializes in post-purchase experience to help increase customer engagement and sales. It provides extensive features to manage your tracking details and relationship with the customer from the time an order is shipped, and delivered, and beyond this for customer relations.

Features

  • Track orders from multiple sales channels in one platform 
  • Choose from over 981 carriers 
  • Automated tracking details with over 7 statuses and 33 sub statuses 
  • Make informed decisions based on detailed tracking insights
  • Integrated solution with Klaviyo emails
  • Use filtering options to learn about shipments based on parameters such as status, carrier, and more
  • 24/7 customer support 
  • Multilingual email support 

Pricing

It offers a 7-day free trial. The basic plan is free with 50 shipments.

9. PH Multi-Carrier Shipping Label App for Shopify

PH Multi-Carrier Shipping Label App is your all-in-one solution for hassle-free shipping management. This certified app simplifies your shipping tasks and integrates seamlessly into your Shopify store.

Key Features:

  • Display accurate shipping rates during checkout.
  • One-click shipping label printing.
  • Arrange carrier pickups effortlessly.
  • Real-time order tracking within your Shopify store.
  • Support from major carriers like UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, and more for global shipping.
  • Flexible parcel packing options, from weight-based to box-packing.
  • Customize delivery costs based on product weight, price, location, and more.
  • Add predetermined handling charges or offer percentage discounts.
  • Automatically select the most affordable shipping services.
  • Display estimated delivery days at Shopify checkout.
  • 24/7 customer support via chat, phone, email, or Zoom calls.

Pricing:

Start with a 14-day free trial along with choosing from subscription plans starting at just $9/month, tailored to your specific needs.

Conclusion

The experience you provide your customers in their purchasing journey is pivotal for customer retention.

Good logistics is a competitive advantage too. It implies that you care about your customers and are willing to go the extra mile.

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