ShipBob Review: Largest 3PL & Fulfillment Provider for Small Businesses

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As your business grows and you offload your order fulfillment to a third party, choosing the best company for your needs is important. Small businesses have many 3PL services, and we’re looking at one of those providers in this blog post: ShipBob.

What is ShipBob?

ShipBob is a third-party logistics (3PL) service that provides e-commerce businesses with on-demand warehousing and fulfillment services. The company’s network of fulfillment centers offers clients access to fast, reliable shipping to their customers, as well as tools such as real-time tracking, inventory management, and analytics. ShipBob helps businesses increase their efficiency by allowing them to scale operations while reducing costs and ensuring customer satisfaction quickly.

ShipBob Summary

ShipBob’s pricing transparency and lack of minimum monthly spending requirements make it a great solution for new businesses. While some 3PL services charge upwards of $500 per month, ShipBob’s $0 minimum spend gives small businesses access to high-quality logistics solutions and fulfillment nationwide. 

Inventory will always be close to your customers, with nearly two dozen warehouse locations across the continental United States and Canada, as well as a location in Australia and a handful of locations in Europe.

ShipBob Pros

  • Substantial U.S. presence, with almost two dozen locations across the United States.
  • Over 90 integrations across the E-commerce landscape include a storefront, logistics, marketing, and more.
  • Two-day shipping is the default offering for orders in the United States.
  • No minimums required to sign up
  • 99.95% order fulfillment accuracy rate
  • Transparent pricing for all of their standard services
  • Self-service Growth Plan for getting started at no cost

ShipBob Cons

  • Support for Amazon businesses is decent, but they lock out many potential clients with the 400-order/month minimum.
  • Takes no responsibility for damage to a customer’s inventory in their control (you must provide insurance of your own)
  • Storage costs are high, though they may not be an issue if your inventory moves quickly.
  • Does not offer Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) services.

ShipBob Costs

  • Receiving: $25/hour for the first two hours; $40/person/hour thereafter
  • Storage: $40/pallet/month; $10/shelf/month; $5/bin/month
  • Pick and Pack: FREE for the first 4 picks; +$0.20 each thereafter
  • Materials: FREE
  • Shipping: Varies based on several factors (carrier, destination, weight, size, and more).
  • Returns: $3 per order
  • Special Projects: $45/person/hour
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Seller Journal Rating 4.5
at ShipBob

What We Like About ShipBob

99.95% Order Accuracy. ShipBob says they have an average order defect rate of 5 out of every 10,000 orders. If you receive 100 orders daily, plan for an average of one defective order every twenty days.

Two-day shipping. Customers love getting their orders quickly. Orders sent from ShipBob warehouses are generally delivered within two business days within the continental United States. Think of it as Amazon Prime-like shipping, but under your brand.

Generous Growth Plan for New or Small Businesses. ShipBob’s Growth Plan allows smaller businesses with under 400 orders/month an option to take advantage of ShipBob’s network and offerings. Take advantage of pick, pack, and ship and customization services like larger players. You’ll also have access to the ShipBob support team and an option to pay for a hands-on onboard experience if needed.

FDA Certified. If you sell products that need to meet strict FDA requirements, ShipBob’s warehouses can meet that requirement.

Integrated and Powerful web-based portal. Track your inventory, orders, billing, and order analytics from a single location.

Support for custom shipping materials. If you’ve created a custom shipping box, folding mailer, packing material, or tape, ShipBob can use them when packing your orders. You’ll need to pay the cost to store them in the warehouse.

Climate Control. If you’re selling products that need to stay within a certain temperature range or may get damaged if they get too warm, ShipBob has you covered, unlike some providers with warehouses that can reach triple digits.

Amazon Seller Friendly. If you sell on Amazon, ShipBob offers FBA prep services for clients generating 400 orders per month or more. They can also provide FBM fulfillment for Amazon orders in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Italy, Poland, Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

ShipBob Warehouse Locations

ShipBob currently has 29 warehouses across the globe.

United States (23)

  • Illinois (Cicero, Bolingbrook, Yorkville)
  • Kentucky (Louisville)
  • Wisconsin (Geneva)
  • New Jersey (Budd Lake, Trenton)
  • Pennsylvania (Bethlehem x3, Levittown)
  • Georgia (Forest Park, Atlanta)
  • Tennessee (Chattanooga)
  • Texas (Grapevine x2, Carrollton x2, Farmers Branch, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie)
  • Arizona (Phoenix)
  • California (Moreno Valley, Ontario, Fontana, Corona, Rancho Dominguez)

International (6)

  • Australia (Melbourne, Sydney)
  • Canada (Toronto)
  • Poland (Gorzów Wielkopolski)
  • United Kingdom (Manchester, Birmingham, Swindon)

Integrations

E-commerce Platforms: Shopify, Shopify Plus, Amazon, BigCommerce, Ebay, Adobe Commerce (Magento), Squarespace, Square, Walmart, Wix, WooCommerce

E-commerce Operations, Inventory, Order Management: Brightpearl, Brij, Cin7, Cogsy, Cymbio, Fulfil.io, Inventory Planner, Linnworks, Logicbroker, Order Desk, PackageBee, Skubana, SPS Commerce, Zentail

Returns Management Platforms: Happy Returns, Loop Returns, Returnly

Freight Carriers and Shipping: DHL, FedEx, UPS, USPS, AfterShip, Anvyl, Echo Global Logistics, EasyPost, FlavorCloud, Flexport, Freightos, Route, Rush, Shippo, ShipStation

E-commerce Marketing, CRM, Customer Support: CartHook, CheckoutChamp, EcoCart, Gorgias, Klaviyo, Octane AI, Okendo, Omnisend, Ordergroove, PageFly, Privy, Quartile, Recharge, Rise.ai, Sezzle, Shop Circle, Simplr, Skio, Smartrr, TalentPop, Tydo, Zaius, Zip

E-commerce Custom Packaging and Design Solutions: Arka, Noissue, Packhelp, Packlane

Branding, Marketing, Web Development Agencies: adQuadrant, Blanka, BVACCEL, eHouse Studio, Envoy, Eventige, Hawke Media, Priceless Consulting, The Stable, MuteSix, ROI Revolution

Accounting, Tax, Financing: Avalara, Bookkeeper360, Canusa Logistics, Clearco, DSP Insurance Services, Firstbase.io, Kickfurther, Kickpay, Mercury, OFX, Rho, SimplyVAT, TaxJar, ZonKeepers

at ShipBob

Alternatives to ShipBob

ShipMonk logo

ShipMonk

Built to support the modern e-commerce business, including subscription box services and MonkProtect, a first-party shipping insurance service you can offer your customers.

at ShipMonk
The Fulfillment Lab logo

The Fulfillment Lab

A powerful and flexible 3PL service is dedicated to building a custom solution for every e-commerce business with reasonable minimums, storage, and per-order fulfillment costs.

at The Fulfillment Lab
ShipHero logo

ShipHero

Matching the white and purple branding of the Rollo Wireless Thermal Printer, the Rollo Shipping Scale covers a wide range of shipping uses with its separate display and large plate.

at ShipHero

FTC DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

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