ShipBob Review: The Best 3PL Fulfilment Company?

Are you feeling overwhelmed with doing a lot of organizing and managing data and logistics and never getting to an end? I want you to know that you are not alone!  In this ShipBob Review, I got you an all-in-one solution.

With today’s enormous growth in online sales, it’s no wonder you need help.

I will guide you to find your best fulfillment company. 

When you outsource fulfillment to a third-party logistics (3PL) partner like ShipBob, you gain access to a robust fulfillment distribution network as well as advanced technology to help you optimize your supply chain.

ShipBob handles both direct-to-consumer and business-to-business fulfillment for you, allowing you to spend more time on improving customer relationships rather than being dragged down by time-consuming logistics tasks.

In this article, I provide you with a ShipBob fulfillment review in detail, so you can make a decision easily.

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What Is ShipBob?

Thus, ShipBob is an order fulfillment service company that offers e-commerce businesses shipping and logistics solutions. It is based in Chicago and was established to assist businesses in delivering their products worldwide.

So, if you operate an online store selling physical items, ShipBob collaborates with you to ensure quick and convenient delivery to your customers.

The company takes pride in its ability to contribute up to 13% in cost savings to a company’s finances. On average, it boosts order values by 99.95% and reduces cart abandonment by 18%.

This platform is dedicated to assisting small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses in expanding their global reach. It is a full-package service provider with proprietary software that includes:

• complete inventory management, with picking, storing, packing, and shipping.
• inventory management tools that enable you to automate and manage inventory in real time.
• warehouse management systems,
• order management systems
• customer support,
• returns management,
• e-commerce integrations,
• SLAs,
• support teams to provide the best fulfillment for your business.

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Quick ShipBob Review

The best

• Two-Day Shipping
• Dependable International Fulfillment
• Tailored Orders
• User-Friendly Interface
• Seamless Integrations

The worst

• Costly Customization
• Shipping And Fulfillment Challenges
• Poor Customer Service

Starting from

• ➡Receiving: Inbound stock receipt, unpack, and check-in and it costs $35 first two hours, and $45 per man-hour after that; ➡Inventory Storage: costs $40 per pallet/month, $10 per shelf/month, and $5 per bin/month; ➡Pick and Pack: $0 up to 4 picks,25 cents per additional item; ➡Packaging Materials: $0 – costs are included in the fulfillment fee; ➡Returns: This covers return processing, quality check, and restocking and it costs $3 per order; ➡Special Projects: costs $45/man; ➡Promotional Inserts: 20 cents; ➡Setup and Onboarding costs: $0 on the Growth Plan for self-onboarding (with the option to pay for premium onboarding), $975 for the full implementation package; ➡MOQ of $275 monthly usage;

Try ShipBob NOW!

Thus, what exactly do you need? So, let’s dig into my in-depth ShipBob review.

How Does ShipBob Work?

Well, one of its standout features is its simplicity. To get started, you can easily link almost any online store to the ShipBob app using integrations.

ShipBob’s turnkey integrations seamlessly work with major ecommerce platforms and marketplaces, such as Shopify, Square, Amazon, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and many others.

Then, you import your products and send the inventory you want ShipBob to handle to their team. They securely store your products in fulfillment centers located closest to your target audience.

Plus, when you first sign up with ShipBob, you’ll be assigned an implementation specialist who will assist you with everything, from customizing your shipping options to integrating your e-commerce websites.

So, how does the process unfold? When a customer purchases from your dropshipping store, their details are automatically sent to ShipBob. The ShipBob team then takes care of picking, packing, and shipping the order – it’s as straightforward as that. Additionally, if any issues arise, ShipBob can assist with managing returns.

Why Use ShipBob For Your Dropshipping Business?

Thus, the company provides a high level of support throughout the whole partnership journey, ensuring maximum usage and minimal roadblocks.

• ShipBob is designed to help your business build stronger relationships with customers. It offers next-day and 2-day delivery services to brands looking to drive growth through outstanding customer service. Furthermore, you can connect this solution with the online stores you’ve already begun developing. It also provides businesses with a quick stress-free installation, automatic updates, and secured data backup. 
• ShipBob’s inventory management system uses cloud computing technology. It provides companies with enormous potential for increasing fulfillment efficiency, real-time monitoring, and forecasting of business operations. It also provides a real-time view of the stock. This offers you a detailed view of your business at any given time.

Sounds good? So, let’s go into more of the ShipBob review!

• Another benefit of using ShipBob services is that it enables you to use their personalized brand-name boxes to provide their customers with a memorable first impression during unboxing. This enables you to determine how customers will perceive your brand. 
• ShipBob provides the company with a dedicated account manager whom you can contact at any time with questions or for advice on how to expand your business. It also takes care of operational errors in less than 90 days of the issue.

Or, gathering all together, when you choose ShipBob, you also get a system that controls the entire logistics stack, including the inventory management software you will be using, the warehouse management software used by their fulfillment centers, and the fulfillment centers themselves.

Where Is ShipBob Located?

ShipBob is located in five of the country’s most populous areas: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Dallas.

Plus, outside the US, Shipbob is located in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), Europe (Germany, France, Spain, and Italy), the UK (Manchester, Birmingham, and Swindon) Canada, etc.

Because of its proximity to merchants and customers, ShipBob can offer next-day and two-day delivery services, at a lower cost to small businesses. Also, you can check for more details on the ShipBob’s website, about the specific location and working hours.

Who Should Use ShipBob?

Next on this Shipbob review, let’s see who can use it.

ShipBob is the most beginner-friendly service, and if you are one of them, this might be the best solution for you!

ShipBob is a customizable and simple-to-use fulfillment solution that I recommend for dropshipping e-commerce retailers. Its features assist businesses in achieving Amazon-scale logistics, enabling independent e-commerce retailers to reach the high expectations of today’s online shoppers.

Solopreneurs have overtaken their fulfillment operations because ShipBob’s Growth Plan makes the platform extremely accessible by eliminating restrictive order minimums, tailoring pricing, and maximizing scalability.

ShipBob is also suitable for direct-to-consumer brands since it has warehouses in 27 location areas around the world,  that optimize shipping costs, transit times, and the delivery experience for the entire customer base. Furthermore, ShipBob is ideal for

Crowdfunding ventures may benefit from ShipBob because it is one of the few providers in the fulfillment industry that offers bulk software for limited goods.

Furthermore, to obey state and local regulations, businesses that sell FDA-regulated health products, food and beverages, cosmetics, and medical goods must use FDA-certified handling. ShipBob provides FDA-approved climate-controlled storage capacity facilities to ensure uninterrupted supply chain compliance.

Also, have you found yourself somewhere in these words? I guess yes, and I am happy to help with more!

Next on this ShipBob review, let’s explore the pricing options.

ShipBob Review: Pricing

ShipBob pricing is customized based on the client, combining volume discounts and service-level customizations to get the best deal for your company. As a result, I recommend you consider calling ShipBob directly for a quotation.

Below you can check some of the standard pricing on services that ShipBob offers:

• Receiving: covers Inbound stock receipt, unpack, and check-in and it costs $35 first two hours, and $45 per man-hour after that. This
• Inventory Storage: covers Climate-controlled storage, security, and inventory management and it costs $40 per pallet/month, $10 per shelf/month, and $5 per bin/month.
• Inbound Shipping: Available discounts, it covers discounted rates available with ShipBob’s common carriers
• Pick and Pack: $0 up to 4 picks,25 cents per additional item.
• Packaging Materials: $0 – costs are included in the fulfillment fee. This includes free standard boxes, bubble mailers, poly mailers, book folds, and dunnage.
• Shipping: $0 – ( costs are included in the fulfillment fee). Here, discounted shipping costs vary depending on the size, weight, and destination of your goods.
• Returns: This covers return processing, quality check, and restocking and it costs $3 per order.
• Special Projects: hour covers Versatile labor to handle open-ended additional needs, such as product labeling and supplier management and it costs $45/man.
• Promotional Inserts: 20 cents. This includes adding a card or flyer, by the merchant, to orders during packaging.
• Setup and Onboarding costs: $0 on the Growth Plan for self-onboarding (with the option to pay for premium onboarding), $975 for the full implementation package.
• MOQ of $275 monthly usage.

ShipBob’s regular expenses in each service model include personalized services at no extra cost, built-in support for any bugs and problems, and expectational growth support in different locations and customer bases.

ShipBob Review: Key Features

1. Warehouse Management System

Now, let’s delve into ShipBob’s Warehouse Management System (WMS), which goes beyond conventional capabilities to provide an all-in-one platform for optimizing fulfillment management.

Out of the box, you gain access to:

• Warehouse management
• Inventory management
• Order management
• Transportation management
• Pick and pack
• Reporting and analytics
• App Store,
• Open API
• White-glove implementation
• Dedicated support.

The cloud-based WMS powers operations at one or multiple warehouses with unlimited users, ensuring easy remote access regardless of location.

Also, you can tailor your picking strategy with flexible options such as batch, auto-cluster, custom cluster, and single-order picking.

ShipBob assists you in analyzing the optimal pick method for your warehouse. The intuitive dashboard facilitates quick training of new packers, reducing packing errors through prescriptive, visual step-by-step packing flows and built-in visuals, including the ability to incorporate gifs illustrating precise pack-out processes.

Notably, ShipBob WMS is the sole platform offering a blended fulfillment option, enhancing efficiency as your business scales.

2. Inventory Management 

Managing your inventory is critical for any type of business. Today, Inventory management is extremely crucial for an organization’s survival.

ShipBob inventory management system helps you to:

• keep track of your inventory and provide a centralized view of stock;
• they control your costs by creating stock reports for inventory analysis;
• they manage planning and forecasting by analyzing data trends;
• they improve your delivery by managing stock-outs and meeting customer expectations,
• they reduce the time required for inventory management by keeping records in place.

All of this is possible with a few mouse clicks thanks to ShipBob’s sophisticated technology. Orders and inventory are synced between your ShipBob dashboard and e-commerce stores in real-time.

3. Order Management

This is one of the best features I will discuss in this ShipBob review. An order management system is a digital method of managing an order’s lifecycle. It is a back-end process used to manage and fulfill customer orders online.

Order management systems are now a must-have for your e-commerce businesses because they allow you to track all information and processes, such as order entry, fulfillment and after-sales service, inventory management, and so on.

ShipBob’s order management system:

• processes orders by status
• allows you to search for specific orders and track the progress of an order in real-time with time and date.
• make changes to your orders, after they’ve been purchased,
• map your store’s shipping options to ShipBob,
• automatically share tracking information with your customers

4. Rapid 2-Day Delivery

ShipBob’s swift 2-day shipping provides coverage across the entire continental US. With ShipBob, you can ensure seamless delivery from a single fulfillment center, allowing you to retain ownership of your brand, data, and overall customer experience.

This 2-Day Express feature is seamlessly integrated with all supported e-commerce platform connections, ensuring a comprehensive reach across the continental United States—even when utilizing just one fulfillment center.

Moreover, ShipBob equips you with essential data, helping you discern the optimal fulfillment location. Whether you opt for a single hub, bi-coastal distribution, or cover every region of the US, ShipBob has got you covered.

Plus, you can showcase 2-day shipping badges and estimated delivery dates on prominent e-commerce platforms to enhance conversion rates and elevate sales.

Hence, I advise you to establish trust through 2-day badging and estimated delivery dates on Shopify store product pages, offering flexibility in your charging approach, from real-time rates to predefined rules.

Additionally, ShipBob extends 2-day badging to various online marketplaces, including Walmart, Facebook, Instagram, and Google.

5. Personalized Fulfillment

Moving on to customization, ShipBob’s Customization Suite allows you to create a memorable unboxing experience that truly sets your brand apart.

So, you can tailor how your inventory is prepared for your customers and expedite fulfillment with ready-to-ship kits.

Hence, this includes crafting a branded box, bundling multiple SKUs, or adding stickers, labels, and barcodes.

The transparent kitting process and price estimator, easily accessible on your ShipBob dashboard, enable you to replicate and modify previous requests effortlessly.

Moreover, you can elevate the experience of receiving a package from your brand by including marketing inserts for your customers.

These inserts may feature discount codes for future purchases, gift notes, and more, with minimal and affordable fees—for example, only $0.50/note for printed gift notes.

6. Warehousing Solutions

No matter where you are in your global expansion journey, ShipBob is here to help you achieve your international goals through cross-border solutions and a physical presence across three continents.

So, leverage powerful analytics and operational expertise to discern when, where, and how to expand your business globally.

With ShipBob you can fulfill orders seamlessly from the US, Canada, UK, EU, and Australia. Effortlessly ship internationally to over 200 countries with standard and expedited shipping options.

Moreover, you can enhance cross-border transparency and eliminate surprises at checkout with DDP shipping capabilities. ShipBob’s strategically located fulfillment centers globally accelerate transit times, offering in-country delivery to circumvent duties and import taxes.

7. Comprehensive Omnichannel Fulfillment

As your omnichannel fulfillment partner, ShipBob navigates the complexities of retailer compliance and meets consumer expectations on your behalf.

The use of EDI connection automates B2B retail distribution seamlessly. With all channels under one roof, including retail dropshipping, online marketplaces, Amazon FBA, DTC fulfillment, and more, ShipBob streamlines operations.

8. FreightBob

Now on this ShipBob Review, let’s talk about FreightBob.

It is an end-to-end managed freight and inventory distribution program that empowers you to select from a variety of preferred freight providers, optimize freight costs, and strategically distribute inventory across ShipBob fulfillment centers through the inventory placement solution.

This approach ensures swift product delivery, revenue increase, and enhanced forecasting precision.

FreightBob operates seamlessly once your inventory arrives at a ShipBob Hub, intelligently distributing inventory across US fulfillment centers for an all-encompassing factory floor to customer door solution.

So, you can embrace cross-docking to de-consolidate containers or LTL shipments for distribution to multiple warehouses or a cross-regional fulfillment center of your choice. Rely on managed freight/inventory placement for intelligent inventory distribution across the US.

How ShipBob Order Management System Work?

First, you connect your store to ShipBob, and then you send your inventory to fulfillment centers near you. ShipBob processes the inventory and stores it in the designated locations after receiving it.

Following this, each order placed by your customers is routed to ShipBob’s order management system.

Next, based on your customer’s location and inventory levels, ShipBob assigns it to the most convenient fulfillment center.

Then ShipBob will pick, package, and ship the order, providing your customer with an order tracking number to track order status. You can also use the ShipBob dashboard to track the status of all your orders.

So, what do you have here?

➡ Advanced Reporting

You can keep track of what matters most to you with ShipBob, such as:

• revenue of orders shipped,
• expense breakdowns,
• peak fulfillment hours,
• sales of orders by USPS zone,
• sales by channel, and
• forecasted revenue.

This data provides insights that can assist you in planning ahead of time and making better fulfillment and inventory decisions.

➡ Returns Management

Allow customers to generate return shipping labels and track returns at every step of the way by automating your returns process quickly and affordably.

ShipBob provides return management services that make returns quick and easy for your customers while also processing and refilling your available inventory as quickly as possible.

ShipBob is a full-service provider, and its returns management system helps you manage processes that begin with customers wanting to return a product and end with the business collecting, organizing, and restocking that product.

➡ Customer Support

If you work with an outsourced order fulfillment partner as a dropshipping e-commerce store, your communication is key. You must be notified in real time whether your customer has received their order.

Hemce, you can use ShipBob software to access the customer success team’s help center and get any answers you need. Plus, you could also get direct assistance by using their live chat button during business hours or their contact form outside of business hours.

If you need help with a specific order, go to your ShipBob dashboard and select Orders from the left-side menu. Moreover, you can Select Processing, On Hold, Completed, Exception, or Cancelled depending on the order’s status.

Then, on the relevant order ID, click the Get Help button in the top right corner of the page. When a form appears, select the category of the problem you’re having and describe your request. Then, click Send, and a representative will assist you.

➡ Ecommerce Integrations

ShipBob provides integration to multiple channels and stores. Thus, you can easily sync your online marketplace with ShipBob’s software with a few clicks.

Also, the platform integrates with all major e-commerce platforms and marketplaces to import orders and send data back and forth for a two-way flow of information, including BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Shopify, Amazon, and eBay.

But, let’s get into more detail about integrations. 👇

ShipBob Review:  Integrations & Partners

ShipBob provides seamless integrations with all of the leading e-commerce platforms, like Shopify, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Squarespace, Wix, Square, and more. These direct integrations are free and take only 30 seconds to 3 minutes to link.

The company also provides API capabilities for personalized connectivity with platforms for which installation and commissioning integrations have not been developed yet. However, this process takes longer and costs more money.

Also, ShipBob facilitates the fulfillment of non-direct integration orders through middleware tools such as ShipStation and OrderDesk.

Thus, you can access ShipBob’s App Store directly from your dashboard to effortlessly connect your favorite apps and tools, powering your business.

Thus, the list of direct integrations of ShipBob includes :

• e-commerce marketplaces and platforms like, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Shopify, Shopify Plus, eBay,  Amazon, Walmart, Squarespace, Wix, Square, and Backerkit.
• Operations, inventory, and order management, with Package Bee, Order Desk, Zentail, Cin 7, Inventory Planner, Skubana, Gorgias, Cart Rover,  and SPS Commerce.
• Custom Packaging and Design Solutions– Arka
• Returns management. – Returnly, Happy Returns, and LoopReturns for
• Freight and shipping solutions with FedEx, DHL, US Postal Service, UPS, Pachama, ShipStation, and Rush.
• Crowdfunding– BackerKit.
• Accounting, tax, and financing– KickPay

💡Tip: Shippo vs Shipstation: Extensive Comparison For Dropshippers

Users’ Feedback Matters

ShipBob is rated with 3.5/5 stars on Trustpilot. Also, it has mostly positive online reviews, especially on trusted sites like Trustpilot, where 71% of more than 400 users rated their experience as “excellent.”

Many users discuss their experiences with ShipBob’s software. They emphasize its functionality in many aspects of their business. Others write good reviews about their account manager’s knowledge and speed of response.

What’s more, several users reported that the service’s two-day express shipping option reduced their overall shipping costs and reduced shopping cart abandonment rates.

However, negative Trustpilot reviews for ShipBob include lost inventory, billing disputes, and the use of untrustworthy couriers.

Reviewers who mention the Growth Plan say it’s a little difficult to set up but worth it for the impact, it has on their small business. But, this is a very small percentage of people.

ShipBob Pros & Cons

PROS of Using ShipBob

✅ Tailored Orders

ShipBob offers a customization suite, allowing you to craft a memorable unboxing experience for your customers.

You can use distinct boxes or mailers, insert marketing materials, print personalized gift notes, include your brand on shipping labels, and even customize how customers view your inventory.

✅ Two-Day Shipping

Whether dispatching orders from one fulfillment center or several, ShipBob ensures two-day shipping across the continental United States.

This commitment to quick delivery provides the opportunity to cultivate long-term customers across all your sales channels.

✅ Dependable International Fulfillment

With fulfillment centers strategically located in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia, ShipBob’s global capability extends your e-commerce store’s reach worldwide.

✅ User-Friendly Interface

ShipBob’s detailed dashboard, designed for overseeing worldwide fulfillment, remains remarkably user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Whether you’re new to fulfillment software or an experienced user, ShipBob ensures a hassle-free experience with color-coded tabs for orders, shipping, marketing, and general operations.

✅ Seamless Integrations

With an extensive app marketplace, ShipBob allows you to sync your existing e-commerce software effortlessly.

From popular selling channels like Walmart and Amazon to CRMs, inventory management software, and customer support platforms, ShipBob offers seamless integration.

CONS of Using ShipBob

❌ Costly Customization

Opting for a deluxe kit arrangement could potentially add $3 in fees to each order, not including additional charges for placing items in boxes, packaging, or affixing stickers, labels, or barcodes.

❌ Shipping And Fulfillment Challenges

ShipBob’s ambitious two-day shipping and international fulfillment capabilities have faced some challenges.

Hence, user reviews highlight discrepancies between promises and actual service received, particularly during the initial inventory setup and with customized orders.

❌ Poor Customer Service

Negative user reviews often point to slow, unhelpful, and unfriendly customer service representatives. Thus, many users found it challenging to obtain satisfactory resolutions through support channels.

Still In doubt Whether ShipBob Is The Best Choice?

ShipBob enables online stores of all sizes, including startups and nontraditional businesses, to access enterprise-level order fulfillment and logistics.

Thus, its insightful software connects to all of your e-commerce tools and provides visibility into every detail of your fulfillment service, thanks to an open API and a large number of pre-built fully managed integrations.

ShipBob is a good choice for your business because of its simple and affordable pricing. It is a global order fulfillment solution that more than 7,000 brands rely on to ship orders wherever their customers make a purchase.

According to statistics, ShipBob assisted many businesses in saving 13 % on costs, reducing cart abandonment by 18%, increasing average order value by 99.95%, and saving 120 working hours per week.

Hence, with these ShipBob reviews and data, you can easily make the right choice for the e-commerce service provider that is most suitable for you.

If you want to consider more options, you can check other best e-commerce fulfillment services for your dropshipping store.