ShipMonk Review [year] – Best Shipping and Order Fulfillment Platform

The ecommerce industry is growing rapidly and sales are expected to reach 6.54 trillions US dollars by 2022. More and more retail stores are going online and staring an online store to grow their sales and revenue. Also, the increasing numbers of ecommerce platforms has made it easy to start an online store.

It’s true that now-a-days, starting an online store is easy, but managing it and keeping your customers happy requires a lot of work. These tasks are relatively easy to manage if you are just starting out. But as your business grow, you will need to streamline your order and fulfillment process. Also, the customer satisfaction depends on how well handle the order fulfillment of the products ordered.

Peoples have busy lives these days, and they want their order to receive as soon as possible. Also, different peoples have different shipping requirements, such as many people work in daytime and want their order to reach either early morning or late evening. So being able to offer fast, reliable and flexible shipping options to your customers is key to get ahead of your competitors.

Fortunately, there are plenty of software solutions available that are specifically developed for the shipping management and one of them are ShipMonk. In this ShipMonk review, we will be looking at all the features it offers, its pricing, its pros and cons, compare it with similar tools and if it is worth your money or not?

ShipMonk Review: Overview

ShipMonk is a cloud-based automated platform that enables order fulfillment and shipping solution for ecommerce business. It integrates with your ecommerce platform and allows you to manage order fulfillment and shipping.

Apart from offering shipping services, ShipMonk also has their warehouses at various location all over the US so that you can ship your products to their warehouses in bulk, and they can dispatch the orders as soon as it is placed.

ShipMonk was founded in 2014 by Jan Bednar in the US and has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Los Angeles; California, and Pittson, Pennsylvania. They help small and medium size companies grew their businesses by offering technology-driven order fulfillment and shipping solutions at affordable price.

It offers a wide range of shipping services such as shipping, storage, equipment preparation, and e-commerce services. It offers technology-driven fulfillment solution at affordable prices to reduce fulfillment cost and increase operational accuracy through robotic automation and advanced WMS (warehouse management systems) in their warehouses.

Some features of ShipMonk are as follows:

• Multiple Warehouses – ShipMonk has warehouses at multiple locations in the US. You have the option to ship your products to one of their warehouses, or you can even send to multiple warehouses based on your customer’s location.
• Fully Automated System – ShipMonk have an automated system using which they can keep track of all the deliveries and also make sure that it is delivered yo right place in the fastest possible time.
• Discounted Shipping Rates – ShipMonk also provides discounted shipping rates, they have many partners from reputable carriers, which helps them in faster delivery of the products.
• Transparent Billing – ShipMonk offers complete transparent billing with the exact breakdown of cost in their billing software so that you can budget accordingly.
• Free Integrations – ShipMonk offers integrations with 100’s of ecommerce platforms, including shopping carts, online marketplaces, retailers and other online ecommerce tools. The integration and setup is always free.
• Returns Management – ShipMonk allows you to easily create shipping labels for your customers from their admin dashboard. You even receive an alert when returns arrive at their warehouse.

ShipMonk Review: Services Offered

ShipMonk is a complete order fulfillment service provider that offers a wide range of services including shipping, storage, equipment preparation, and ecommerce services. Some services offered by ShipMonk are as follows:

Ecommerce Fulfillment

ShipMonk is one of the most reliable and efficient ecommerce fulfillment solution for startups, SMBs, crowdfunding campaigns and subscription box companies. They use one of the most advanced inventory, order, shipping and warehouse management software in the industry for ecommerce order fulfillment. They integrate with more than 150 shopping carts and marketplaces, which helps them serve both small and big ecommerce merchants.

They have an automated order fulfillment system to ensure efficient and accurate picking & packing as well as to ensure right order are delivered at right place in the fastest possible time. ShipMonk receives heavily discounted shipping rates with every major carrier, and pass on the same to its customers with discounted shipping rates. ShipMonk also allows you to manage returns efficiently and hassle-free, you receive an alert whenever a returns arrive at their warehouse.

Retail Fulfillment

ShipMonk also offers with selling wholesale to retailers to help you strategize, plan, and execute your retail fulfillment strategy. ShipMonk integrates with both B2C and B2B platforms to help you easily sell directly to retailers hassle-free. Their software also integrates with various retailers such as Walmart, Target, and QVC etc. Their B2B retail fulfillment capabilities includes:

• Customized labeling and packing lists
• EDI Compliance
• Various shipping options
• Cross docking
• Consolidation & breaking bulk
• Multi-retailer support
• 3rd party shipping accounts

Subscription Box Fulfillment

ShipMonk help subscription box company getting successful by saving money on shipping, packaging and knitting. They work with various type of subscription models and provide great onboarding guidance to get you started. They provide in depth consultation or in-person meeting about your business before getting started. Not only that, but they hold the highest standard of care while knitting your subscription box.

Whenever you send your products to their warehouses, they knit your products with utmost care and send you photographs for your approval. Once approved, they will assemble your subscription box, and we deliver it to your customers in time. You can try everything from their admin dashboard.

ShipMonk also offers custom packaging, sometimes you may arrange products from various vendors and send it directly to their warehouse. Then they will remove any unnecessary wrapping or packaging as well as repack with your boxes. They also help in removing manufacturer labels and can also source custom packaging for you.

Crowdfunding Fulfillment

ShipMonk also specializes in fulfilling orders for crowdfunded campaigns through Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Their software gives control of fulfillment process including shipping, tracking, notifications missing inventory address verification various shipping options batching and more to their clients.

ShipMonk also integrates automatically with various crowdfunding sites and shopping cart platforms. The setup processes are simple, quick and easy.  The whole process off selling on crowdfunding website is simple. You just need to create an outstanding product and launch it  on Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Raise enough funding to purchase inventory and ship all your inventory to ShipMonk. You can then track your inventory levels in ShipMonk software, and they send it to your customers when you are ready.

Amazon FBA Prep Services

No doubt, Amazon is one of the best marketplaces to generate more sales and get new customers. ShipMonk also offers Amazon FBA prep services, which allows you to take advantage of Amazon Prime Memberships, free shipping offers, and other perks of fulfilling orders through Amazon. Amazon FBA require your products to be ready to be fulfilled upon arrival at their fulfillment centers. If there is any noncompliance, they may charge you for it or even refuse to take the inventory.

ShipMonk helps you prepare inventory for Amazon FBA by maintaining their 100% compliance requirements in all capacities, from opening containers and repackaging thousands of SKUs to simply labeling products with barcodes.

Delivered Duty Paid

If you sell internationally, you may know that international shipping is complicated with duties, fees, and customs delays and other unexpected fees that customers has to pay upon delivery of products. But, ShipMonk offers Delivered Duty paid solution which increases conversions and eliminates unexpected fees that increases your brand value and makes customers happier.

ShipMonk provides you an end-to-end landed cost solution for your products which integrates easily with your online storefront. Then your customers can see and pay the full price at checkout – including shipping, tax, and duty – as well as their expected delivery timeframe. Also, your customers will receive the status updates throughout the fulfillment process and also provides you an opportunity to re-market to them and promote your social media.

ShipMonk Review: How It Works

ShipMonk handles the complete order fulfillment process just after an order is purchased from your online storefront, that means you only need to focus on marketing and selling of your products rest everything will be handled by their software. ShipMonk integrates with over 100’s of ecommerce platforms and sync directly with your shopping cart to automatically import orders whenever a customer makes a purchase.

As soon as you have manufactured your awesome product or sourced it from a supplier, you can ship it directly to ShipMonk warehouse. You can even use ShipMonk’s discounted freight shipping rates and get the best possible deal to ship your products to their warehouse.

Whenever a customer places an order on your store, it will be automatically imported and submitted for fulfillment in their software. As soon as the ShipMonk software receives an order from your online shopping cart or marketplace, it will check that all items are in stock and the address is valid. Then the order is mapped to the best possible shipping method. Once all these checkpoints are passed, the order will be automatically submitted for fulfillment, or else you will receive a notification that an action is required.

Next, ShipMonk will pick and pack the orders in your preferred packaging, they even have Happiness Engineers who will consult you on how exactly you want your products to be presented. If you have any custom packaging requirements, they will take care of it so that all your brand requirements are met. ShipMonk has a capacity to pack up to 10,000 orders per day and the best part is that you only pay for the services you use, so if you ship only one order, you will only need to pay the fees for that one product.

Once the order is packed and ready to be shipped, ShipMonk’s algorithm will suggest you the best possible shipping method to ship your products. They have partnerships with major carriers such as USPS, FedEx, DHL, which allows them to offer you highly discounted shipping rates so that you can save money on shipping charges.

After the order is shipped, your customer will receive an email containing the shipping details and tracking information, so they can track their order from the moment it is pack and picked from their warehouse till it reaches their doorstep.

When you start dealing with large volume of orders, order returns are obvious, either due to manufacturer defects or any other issues. Fortunately, ShipMonk has a robust return portal for returns and exchange that will help make returns as painless as possible for both you and your customers. Your inventory levels are updated automatically in real-time that allows you to re-order an item when its out of stock.

ShipMonk Review: Integrations

ShipMonk software is simple and easy to use, and the admin dashboard is user-friendly and functional. It integrates with more than 100 shopping cart software and online marketplaces. In fact, there is hardly any other alternative to ShipMonk that can integrates with third-party application with ease.

The list of major integration partners are as follows:

Shopping Carts

• Shopify 
• WooCommerce 
• BigCommerce 
• 3dcart
• Big Cartel
• Magento
• OpenCart
• PrestaShop
• Volusion
• Zen Cart
• and many more

Marketplaces

• eBay 
• Walmart 
• Etsy 
• Bonanza
• Cratejoy
• Wish
• and many more

Retailers

• Walmart 
• Best Buy Marketplace
• Target 
• Marshalls T.J.Maxx
• QVC

Tools

• GeekSeller 
• Returnly 
• ShipStation 
• Cin7

Solution Providers

• LaunchBoom
• Brex
• Bandcamp
• Acumatica
• BlueVine
• CoreCommerce
• Handshake
• Linnworks
• Sellbrite
• and many more

ShipMonk Review: Reporting

ShipMonk admin dashboard provides you the thorough insight of every aspect of your business. The reports provide you your revenue data, rel-time stock status, total orders and items shipped, fulfillment statuses, shipping destinations, and your top products.

ShipMonk Review: Pricing

ShipMonk provides you a few different pricing options based on the type of service you need and number of orders you deal with per month.

E-commerce fulfillment

For E-commerce fulfillment, the pricing changes based on the monthly orders. For example, based on 0-500 monthly orders, you will be charged as follows:

• $2.5 – First Item Pick Fee
• $0.50 – Additional Items Per Order
• $0.20 – Promotional Inserts
• $2.00 – Return Processing + $0.50 – Additional Items

The price goes down as the number of monthly order increases, so the more products you ship, the lower per item fees you will have to pay. The first item pick fee for 501 – 1,000 monthly orders is $2.25, 1,001 – 2,500 monthly orders is $2.00, 2,501 – 5,000 monthly orders is $1.80 and 5,001 – 10,000 monthly orders is $1.50. The additional item per order fee for 501 – 1,000 monthly orders is $0.50, 1,001 – 2,500 monthly orders is $0.40, 2,501 – 5,000 monthly orders is $0.35 and 5,001 – 10,000 monthly orders is $0.30.

Subscription Box Fulfillment

For Subscription Box fulfillment, the pricing changes based on how many subscription boxes you need assembled per month. For example, based on 0-500 monthly subscription boxes, you will be charged as follows:

• $2.0 – Box Assembly + Kitting of 5 Items.
• $0.10 – Each Additional Item
• $2.00 + .50/additional item – Return Processing

Again, the price goes down as the number of monthly subscription boxes increases, so the more products you ship, the lower per item fees you will have to pay. The box assembly + kitting of 5 items for 501 – 1,000 monthly subscription boxes is $1.80, 1,001 – 2,500 monthly subscription boxes is $1.50, 2,501 – 5,000 monthly subscription boxes is $1.40 and 5,001 – 10,000 monthly subscription boxes is $1.25.

Apart from this, there is also an additional charge for storage, ranging from $1/month for a small bin to $20/month for a Pallet. For easy storage and retrieval of products from warehouse, each product SKU has to be stored in different locations based on the size of the products. The warehouse storage charges are as follows:

Small Bin

Price:$1/month-

Dimensions: 12″ x 7″ x 4.5″ or .22 ft3

Medium Bin

Price:$2/month

Dimensions: 23″ x 15″ x 10″ or 2 ft3

Large Bin

Price-$3/month

Dimensions: 16″ x 14″ x 18″ or 2.3 ft3

X-Large Bin

Price-$4/month

Dimensions: 16″ x 20″ x 24″ or 4.4 ft3

Pallet

Price-$20/month

Dimensions: 40″ x 48″ x 55″ or 61 ft3

One-off costs

Depending on the type of business you do, you may also need to pay some additional one-off cost.

Special Projects: $45/man-hour – This cost is any other task fees that are not part of your plan such as counting inventory, repackaging products, quality control, bagging products, or any other generic task.

Container Unloading: $300 per 20’ container, or $500 per 40’ container – This is the cost you need to pay if your shipment arrives in “free loaded” container. Then they need to off-load your products and put it into pallets for you, and you will charge for it based on the size of container.

Minimum Pick and Pack Fee: $250 – They also have a minimum monthly pick and pack fee of $250, i f you do not reach this minimum pick and pack fees with your storage fees, you will be charged for the difference.

Packaging Materials: $0.15- $2.00 – They have over 50 different packaging materials such as shipping boxes, bubble mailers, clear poly bags, white poly mailers, and pallets. they can even order any special size of packaging material for you, if your product requires it.

ShipMonk Review: Customer Support

Good customer support is crucial and important while choosing an order fulfillment platform. ShipMonk has a customer support center available on their website in case you require any help or assistance in their services. They also offer various other ways to contact them for support such as email, live chat, or phone, as well as you can also visit their support forums and check the answers to frequently asked questions.

They also have a great blog on their website packed with useful information and articles on how to grow your business. They also offer few e-books and video tutorial fo help beginners understand the shipping process.

ShipMonk Review: Alternatives

ShipMonk is a great tool to manage your entire shipping and return management for your ecommerce store, but there are some other tools also that are as good as ShipMonk . Let’s have a look at some of them:

• ShipStation –  ShipStation is also a cloud-based tool for managing the entire shipping and order fulfillment process like Shippo. It is capable of integrating with various ecommerce platforms, online marketplaces, shipping carriers, payment gateway solutions, and other sales channels. ShipStation offer a free trial period of 30 days and after that, the cheapest plan is $9 / month.
• Shippo – Shippo is a cloud-based shipping software that you can connect with your ecommerce store for shipping solution and management. It will help you manage your entire shipping and return management for your ecommerce store. The pay as you go plan is great for small ecommerce merchants, as there are absolutely no commitments attached to this plan at $0.05 per shipment (plus the cost of postage).
• ShippingEasy – ShippingEasy is a software-as-a-service solution that you can use to streamline your business fulfillment operations.   You can integrate it with various ecommerce platforms, online marketplaces, shipping carriers, payment gateway solutions, and other sales channels. It also offers  completely free trial on all packages and doesn’t require a credit card and also offers a starter package for FREE to ship a maximum of 50 packages per month.
• EasyShip – EasyShip is also a cloud-based tool for managing the entire shipping and order fulfillment process. It integrates seamlessly with many sales channels such as ecommerce platforms, online marketplaces, shipping carriers, payment gateway solutions etc. It offers a FREE package to ship a maximum of 100 packages per month and after that, the cheapest plan is $29 / month.

ShipMonk Review: Conclusion

We have reviewed all the features of ShipMonk and also mentioned some of its alternative, ShipMonk offers a complete order fulfillment solution for businesses of all sizes. The software is easy to use and integrates directly with more than over 100 online shopping carts and marketplaces.

The prices are also affordable, but there may be some issues for smaller business with the cap of minimum pick and pack fees of $250/month. This is a great platform for anyone selling on multiple channels such as Shopify, Amazon, or other ecommerce platforms.