Pet specialty retailer implements multi-carrier shipping software

A leading pet specialty retailer, with stores across the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico, focuses on delivering healthy and happy experiences to its customers and their pets. This focus includes providing orders to customers in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. However, to provide a great customer experience, the retailer needed to find a shipping solution that could keep up with its growth, while also allowing it to remain competitive in the marketplace.

The retailer struggled to provide affordable and faster shipping options to its customers. Its existing shipping system couldn’t maintain pace with its order volume and didn’t offer the carrier mix it needed. The retailer also knew that, to retain its pace with Amazon (and its other competitors), it needed to use its storefronts as distribution centers, which would allow it to decrease shipping costs, while also increasing shipping options for customers.

The retailer began looking for a robust software solution that offered e-commerce integration with its already implemented systems. The retailer also wanted this software solution to be carrier compliant with national, regional and local carriers so it could handle rate changes, address accuracy and labels with ease.

The company found its solution: multi-carrier shipping software from an automated multi-carrier shipping software provider. Chosen for its speed, carrier-compliancy and ability to handle high-volume shipping, the software writes back shipment information to the retailer’s already established database, thereby streamlining the shipping process. It can also handle multiple distribution centers with the most challenging business rules and complex multi-carrier requirements to reduce overhead and shipping costs, while also eliminating costly shipping errors.

By using the shipping software, the retailer achieved its goals of offering faster, more cost-effective shipping options to its customers. In addition, the company increased its carrier mix and lowered its shipping costs, as it used rate shopping and advanced date shopping functionality through the software. It’s also been able to leverage its 150+ brick-and-mortar stores across North America with ship-from-store capabilities.

“[The] software has allowed us to scale our e-commerce fulfillment network with our distribution center and ship-from-store network with ease,” says the retailer’s omni-fulfillment and supply chain optimization manager. “The flexibility and speed to rate and service shop multiple carriers instantaneously has allowed us to reliably ship tens of thousands of packages daily through multiple channels.”

After implementing the shipping software, the retailer has reduced shipping costs, due to rate shopping multiple carriers. The company also now has access to regional and local carriers to increase its shipping options and lower costs, which has allowed for a larger footprint. Additionally, the retailer has noticed increased carrier compliance and compatibility, as well as warehouse efficiencies with its custom label indicator for manual sortation. As a result, it has maintained pace with its growing shipping volume, while also meeting its customers’ demands for more shipping options and faster, more reliable shipping.