What's the most hectic part of running an e-commerce website and a product-based business?
It's keeping track of shipments.
The e-commerce business has been growing significantly over the past decade, and there are several shipments going through everywhere in the world. Only last year, retail e-commerce sales made up to $4.9 trillion worldwide, and the figure is predicted to go up twice as much by 2025.
Whether it's a small-scale or a full-blown global e-commerce brand, you need to keep your sales and shipment in check every second of the day. Of course, technology has found its way to make a solution, and it's a great one for Shopify users!
Shipping is a necessary part of a business, but it can take up a lot of your time. To make things easier, there's the ShipStation Shopify integration. This means order tracking, fulfillment, shipping, inventory management, and customer service are all handled through ShipStation for your Shopify website.
Now, you might be new to this. So here we are with a complete Shipstation Shopify review to guide you in the right direction with your e-commerce business.
So let's begin!
Does ShipStation work with Shopify?
Before we get into a more in-depth review, let's start by answering the most common questions
Starting with, do ShipStation and Shopify work together? The answer is yes.
Source: ShipStation
As a member of the Shopify application program, ShipStation offers a reliable shipping and fulfillment service for companies that need to ship and fulfill big orders quickly and efficiently. Your time will be better spent on growing your business rather than doing the same tasks repeatedly.
For the cheapest delivery rates, it connects to all significant carriers. Nearly every element of a Shopify retailer’s delivery program could be automated thanks to technological innovation.
You can directly access the ShipStation Shopify integration from your Shopify store or sign up from ShipStation and integrate it later.
We will get into more detail about how to set up ShipStation for Shopify later in the article, so stick to the end!
What exactly does ShipStation do?
ShipStation is a SaaS web-based shipping platform designed to help small businesses ship their goods quickly and easily. The platform provides a one-stop solution where merchants can track orders, pay carriers, manage invoices, and get reports.
You can also automate tasks such as generating labels, scanning barcodes and packing items. The platform allows you to accept payments from buyers through PayPal or Stripe and integrates with popular marketplaces such as Amazon, eWorldTrade, Etsy, and Shopify.
You'll have to pay a monthly fee based on your shipping volumes and other factors as you sign up for the service. ShipStation is a growing platform used by many small businesses as they scale up their operation.
Key features of ShipStation and Shopify e-commerce websites
Let's take a quick look at how it works, explore whether it could be a good fit for your business, and how well Shopify and ShipStation work together.
Source: ShipStation
ShipStation is designed so businesses can integrate it into their existing web design and operations without requiring additional software. That means the service has five key areas of functionality and tools designed to make shipping easier and better for the end user.
The platform supports similar features for all marketplaces or types of websites, including the ShipStation Shopify integration.
- Order management
ShipStation says it works with more than 70 eCommerce platforms to help businesses manage orders in an omnishopper way. You get a one-dashboard to review and adjust, depending on ShipStation, to create a single picture of your business.
The tool can be set up to automatically perform a number of actions in general and unique to various channels based on inventory thresholds as well as order details. A great feature here is the capability to split orders between multiple warehouse locations, helping you fulfill those orders more quickly.
- Shipping
When you receive an order and are ready for shipment, ShipStation helps you manage the entire process. You'll find everything you need to know about shipping options, rates, discounts, and more. For ShipStation Shopify, a variety of shipping documents are automatically generated and linked to the order.
If you need to communicate with a customer, the platform connects them to each order. Another feature for shipping in Shopify and ShipStation is order verification. It means your team needs to scan items as they're added to orders and picked or packed. This improves accuracy and customer service.
- Branding
A great customer service strategy can make the difference between a satisfied customer and one who will go elsewhere. Shipstation Shopify shows up-to-date information about an order on a branded page customized with your company name and logo. It also provides automated emails for order processes and more.
Additionally, a branded returns portal allows consumers to initiate returns without having to call customer support. Displaying your dedication to providing a great customer experience helps build your brand and create reviews useful for your digital marketing campaigns in the future.
- Inventory management
When you're selling online, you'll need a tool to manage inventory levels. ShipStation Shopify lets you keep track of what you've got in storage, what's coming in, and what needs to go out.
You can also set up notifications so that you know when an order comes in or if one of your products sells out, giving you time to make a last-minute batch and train ShipStation Shopify on your warehouse layout, so it automatically inserts inventory locations into order pickup and packaging slips.
- New options for delivery
With ShipStation Shopify, you can view live shipping rates and estimated delivery times from all of your shipping partners when you check out our website.
We've also made it easier to track your order status, so you know exactly where your package is at any given moment. Your account will also be connected to checkout, so you won't have to worry about long processing and order calculations.
How to enable ShipStation for Shopify?
When you use the ShipStation Shopify integration tool, you can easily link the Shopify store domain to ShipStation and synchronize data related to shipping and order information.
Source: Shopify
Here are the steps you can use to set up your ShipStation Shopify:
Once again, you must log into your Shipstation account in order to proceed.
- From your ShipStation account access Settings, a list of choices will appear on your Account Setting sidebar.
- Select Selling Channels, followed by Store Setup. When prompted to select a selling channel, choose the one labeled Shopify.
- Next, enter your Shopify domain name into the box provided; you can copy this from your Shopify dashboard. Now click the Connect a Store or Marketplace button.
- Enter your Shopify username and password. After entering these credentials, click the Test Connection button. Check for any errors. If everything checks out, click on the Connect button.
- Your Shopify store should now be connected to the ShipStation platform. You will be redirected back to the Shopify home screen. With the successful integration showing up on your dashboard.
Pros and Cons of ShipStation Shopify
With everything explained, you must have a better idea of how ShipStation works for Shopify and all the features it has to offer. It's time we compare the benefits and drawbacks of this integration so you can make a better decision for your e-commerce business.
Benefits of ShipStation for Shopify
- ShipStation offers things such as customized views and real-time reports to help you stay updated on your business's progress.
- You can manage multiple shipping carriers from FedEx and UPS to DHL and FBA with ShipStation.
- ShipStation also helps your business succeed by helping you to showcase the success to shareholders with custom reports and graphs.
- Shipping services can expand with your company. If they want to add more users, the ShipStation accounts start at just $9 per month, which is extremely affordable.
Drawbacks of ShipStation for Shopify
- Currently, ShipStation also only supports shippers in the USA, Australia, Canada, and the UK.
- Like many shipping services, it takes a little effort to get familiar with things such as inventory management and automated ship orders.
- Based on the shipping options you choose, your price plans can add up quickly and cost you a lot more with time.
- ShipStation is only ideal for a small business that ships only a few orders per month. It fails to manage large-scale or diverse inventories effectively.
Bottomline
With the Shipstation Shopify integration, you can easily link your Shopify store to Shipstation and transfer data connected with Shipping and Orders back and forth between the systems flawlessly.
Now whether it suits your business is a decision you need to make yourself because no two e-commerce businesses are the same. Bear in mind that e-commerce websites utilize Shipping Management Software solutions to improve shipping efficiency.
In addition, e-shops can leverage on ShipStation to improve delivery speeds. After all, customers are interested in the shopping experience you deliver other than just the product itself. Thus, efficient shipping matters.
To sum things up, ShipStation Shopify can be a useful platform for e-commerce businesses as long as they run on a small scale and within the supported countries.
