Today’s businesses are under more pressure than ever to deliver packages to the doorsteps of online shoppers. Years ago, it was commonplace for businesses to solely rely on one carrier for the scope of their shipping needs. It used to be that if you were an e-commerce retailer, you would have one or two preferred shipping methods and carriers that you would use. You would be given rates from one or two major carriers (FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.), and you would send your packages out with predefined options.
That might have been good in the past, but there are better options in today's world. Enter multi-carrier shipping software. With the right software in place, you can automatically choose between not just carriers but rates and service levels. This means that you can find the best solution for your business no matter where you are shipping to or from. Shipping experts across the industry will tell you just how important having the right multi-carrier shipping software is:
Why multi-carrier?
The answer to whether or not multiple carriers can bring value to your business is simple. If you can simplify your shipping needs, you can free up time to focus on other areas of your business. Here are a few of the top reasons to choose a multi-carriers shipping solution.
Finding the cheapest way to ship
Whether you're looking for discounts on FedEx, DHL, or UPS shipping, you can rest assured that you will get the deals your business needs with the right software in place. With rate shopping in place, your software will choose the most cost-effective shipping methods automatically.
Customization
We know it may not always be about the cheapest shipping method. Sometimes it's about what works best for you and your customer. High-quality shipping software can help you set custom rules so that even when rate shopping, it will pick the right carrier and method for you.
This means if you have customers in a more rural area or even overseas, you can still pick a method that works for them. Many e-commerce retailers will tell you that some carriers perform better than others in certain parts of the country and world. Having a good multi-carrier shipping software in place means you can provide a customized experience for your customers instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.
Saves you time
Instead of logging into separate portals to view details about your shipments, multi-carrier shipping software programs will allow you to manage all your accounts from a single access point. So not only will you be able to save time by picking the proper shipping method, you'll no longer need to log into multiple systems to see the same information.
The right software will also handle things like BOL's, commercial invoices, and any other pertinent paperwork. This eliminates the need to print things off and attach them to the outside of the package. It will all be on the label.
Flexibility
The last big advantage of multi-carrier shipping is the flexibility and adaptability it gives you. To qualify for big discounts, many e-commerce retailers have to provide all of their shipping volume to one shipper like FedEx, UPS, and DHL. This means that if there are any delays from the shipper, and you need to send your packages through an alternate carrier, you won't have the discounts in place – potentially causing you to take a huge hit in shipping costs.
This happened to many retailers – even major retailers – in 2020 and could happen again in the future. Having good shipping software in place means you could have discounts from multiple carriers, and you would be able to switch at a moment's notice. So if the dreaded canceled pickup happens, you’ll be able to get access to other carriers without having to sell the farm.
Valuable multi-carrier shipping solution
As you can see, multi-carrier shipping brings those needed advantages that substantially improve customer experience and transactional flow of your online store. It might be asked how to integrate it into a strategy of eCommerce business?
For this purpose, there are solutions that can be easily implemented into a web store. However, not all multi-carrier shipping platforms offer the same benefits. It takes modern, robust technology and a team of dedicated engineers to keep a best-in-class platform performing with 99.99% API uptime.
EasyPost’s multi-carrier shipping advantages
EasyPost's multi-carrier shipping API integrates with over 100 carriers to give you a simple and flexible shipping experience. On top of that, EasyPost can also help with tracking, rating, address verification, and insurance.
Our multi-carrier access makes it easier than ever to connect and compare rates across 100+ carriers through a single integration. This flexibility and scalability is an advantage that single-carrier shipping doesn’t offer.
The EasyPost Solution:
- Address Verification API - Fully CASS-certified, 99.8% accurate, and 10x faster than SmartyStreets, with cheaper geolocation than Google.
- Rating API (SmartRate - First-ever rating engine to return prices and Time-in-Transit predictions with 98% accuracy by analyzing over a billion historical shipments.
- Shipping API - Singular integration to implement and maintain, providing access to over 100 carriers across the globe with 99.99% API uptime.
- Tracking API - Real-time shipment updates through custom-branded tracking pages and webhook notifications.
- Insurance API - Up to $15k coverage for any product shipped with any carrier to any country. Underwritten by our own EasyPost captive.
Installation Instructions
Are you ready for a true multi-carrier shipping solution? Follow these steps to implement the EasyPost plugin:
- The add-on is available out of the box from nopCommerce 4.50, you can find it going to Configuration → Shipping → Shipping providers
- If your online store is based on earlier version starting from 4.40, go to this page and download the EasyPost plugin
- Install plugin via the Upload plugin or theme button on the admin panel
- Configure the plugin:
- Configure your EasyPost credentials Select carriers Configure address verification settings Save plugin configuration
For detailed instructions on the EasyPost’s plugin configuration, go to this page of nopCommerce documentation.
