As the biggest, most populous city in Canada, Toronto is also one of the most lucrative ecommerce markets. Direct-to-consumer brands in the United States are often trying to ship to customers in Canadian customers as a result, but shipping internationally can be a challenge.

First, ecommerce businesses have to pay import duties on each package, which can add up quickly. Delivery times are significantly longer as well, which also raises shipping costs. And, shipping internationally also means extra administrative work to ensure the proper postage and paperwork for customs. Add all this up and you’ll see why many US-based businesses simply choose to ship domestically. 

But with the help of a third-party logistics (3PL) partner, you can ship to Toronto (and the rest of Canada) without dealing with any of these obstacles.

ShipBob is a 3PL with a network of fulfillment centers in the US, Canada (including Toronto), the EU, the UK, and Australia. Partner with us and you can ship all your inventory upfront to our fulfillment center in Toronto (and/or others), and then we’ll fulfill your Canadian orders from there.

That means each package doesn’t have to go through customs, your delivery times will be much faster, and your international shipping costs much lower. 

“As we expand our online presence into Canada, we knew we needed a trusted fulfillment partner with a physical presence in Canada. We have seen that Canadian customers order more when they know the order ships from within Canada and they do not need to worry about additional taxes if the order comes from the US.

From our history through the years with ShipBob, it was a no-brainer to expand into other markets with them knowing that they have done their due diligence to meet the ShipBob standard.”

Marc Fontanetta, Director of Operations at BAKblade

Toronto 3PL services

Looking to start shipping orders to Toronto? Here’s how order fulfillment with ShipBob works:

1. Connect your store with ShipBob’s proprietary technology. 

2. Ship your inventory to whichever fulfillment centers you want to use (e.g., our Toronto fulfillment center). 

3. Each order that’s placed at your store is forwarded to our fulfillment center, picking lists are generated, and our professionals fulfill the order.

4. Finally, you and the customer are sent tracking info. 

Built-in inventory management

Managing your warehouse and ecommerce inventory is one of the toughest parts of fulfillment. But with ShipBob, you can easily add and remove products with ease, check your inventory counts at each fulfillment center, and set reorder points so you’re notified automatically when it’s time to order new product to avoid stockouts.

Real-time order tracking

ShipBob handles the entire pick and pack fulfillment process for you, and you’re given full visibility into fulfillment performance, shipping insights, and logistics costs. If customers ever reach out with a question or issue with their order, you can quickly search for orders on your ShipBob dashboard, check the order’s status, and track the shipment. 

Seamless integrations

We know that you’re probably working with numerous other platforms: ecommerce platform, shipping, accounting, returns management, and more. That’s why ShipBob is integrated with many of the top platforms in various areas of ecommerce to create an end-to-end ecommerce solution that’s right for your business. 

Choosing ShipBob for Toronto ecommerce fulfillment

With a presence in Canada and across the globe, ShipBob is one of the few 3PLs that has the infrastructure, experience, and expertise to optimize your international fulfillment. Here are some of the ways we can help you grow:

Simplify international shipping

Everyone wants to expand their customer base and grow into new markets, but few have the resources and expertise to navigate the complex world of international shipping. ShipBob makes it easy, and we’ve helped countless ecommerce brands ship to thousands of customers on every continent. 

One of our partners, sunglasses brand Ombraz, partnered with ShipBob in 2018 and started shipping from 3 fulfillment centers in 2 different countries. We’ve since shipped their products to 55 countries and 7 continents without them having to lift a finger. 

“We want everyone to get their Ombraz in a few days or less with no duties at delivery. Our goal is to remove the barriers to purchase. Now, a customer can get their package without spending an extra 25 euros or Canadian dollars after purchasing a pair of sunglasses.”

Nikolai Paloni, Co-Founder of Ombraz Sunglasses

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Free up time and energy

Fulfillment is a huge timesuck for ecommerce merchants, and nobody got into the ecommerce business because they’re passionate about fulfillment logistics, right? Partner with ShipBob and you can stop spending time on fulfillment and get back to what you care about.

Rainbow OPTX, another one of our ecommerce partners, saved a whopping 120 weekly hours on fulfillment after and grew 115%, while also increasing average order value (AOV) by 24% on orders eligible for two-day shipping. 

“It felt like all I did in the busy season was eat, sleep, and pack orders. It was my entire life. I even had 2 other people helping, each working 8 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. I had reached my limit. I had to make a transition in order to scale.”

Noel Churchill, Owner and CEO of Rainbow OPTX

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Improve sales KPIs

High shipping prices and long delivery times are two of the most common reasons that customers abandon their shopping carts. Offer faster, cheaper shipping options, and you’re likely to see sales metrics improve. 

MyCalmBlanket, a weighted blanket company, started using 5 ShipBob fulfillment centers and subsequently cut cart abandonment by 18% after offering two-day shipping.

With ShipBob, we’ve seen an 18% reduction in cart abandonment.”

Founder of My Calm Blanket

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How to know when you’re ready to outsource order fulfillment

If you’re considering outsourcing fulfillment, then you probably already have enough order volume to justify the decision. Or, perhaps you are simply struggling with a certain part of fulfillment and don’t have the time or energy to build a bulletproof retail fulfillment process.

A 3PL like ShipBob can help you overcome a number of problems, and gain efficiencies. If you recognize any of the following scenarios, it might be time to outsource:

• You want to ship to customers in Toronto, but you’re located in the US and don’t want to deal with the hassle of international shipping. 
• You are spending too much time on administrative tasks and need to focus more on growing your business.
• Your cart abandonment rate is high and you want to improve it.
• You don’t have enough space in your warehouse or enough time to handle fulfillment

Ready to get started with a 3PL? Click below to request a fulfillment quote.

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