Parcel shipping isn’tpallet freight

In short

A wholesale store sold mostly by the pallet. The first shipping app we tested was built for parcels and so didn’t fit. We dropped it after a short test and chose a solution that can calculate freight rates live. Shipping apps look similar in the App Store but work on completely different foundations. Which one fits is decided by your fulfillment, not by its App Store rating.

The case

Parcels are about weight, dimensions and a few well-known carriers. Pallets are about freight forwarders, load carriers, loading zones, pickup and delivery windows. An app built for parcels can’t answer those questions. At checkout you then get either wrong shipping costs or none at all.

What we clarified before choosing

• What’s being shipped? Individual parcels, full pallets or both.
• From where? One warehouse or several, and which warehouse holds which goods.
• With whom? Which freight forwarders and parcel carriers are an option, and who do you already have contracts with.
• How is it charged? Fixed shipping costs, prices on request or real live rates at checkout.
• What about pickup? Can the customer pick up themselves, and how is that offered at checkout?

Only with these answers could we choose an app. Activating the freight solution was then done in coordination with the provider, because rates like these don’t go live at the push of a button.

Your takeaways

• Shipping apps aren’t interchangeable. Parcel shipping and freight shipping are two different worlds.
• Live shipping rates get complex fast in wholesale. Plan enough time for setup and testing.
• A short test is cheaper than a permanently wrong setup. Better to drop an app after a week than live with wrong shipping costs for a year.
• Sort out your fulfillment before the app. The app maps your shipping. It doesn’t make the decisions about it for you.

Do you ship pallets, parcels or both? We’ll find the shipping solution that fits your actual fulfillment.