Opening your business up to new markets is a fantastic way to speed up growth, and Canada is one of the most lucrative ecommerce markets in the world. In 2018, Canadians spent $40 billion on ecommerce, and they’re expected to spend $55 billion by 2023. But USA-based ecommerce merchants face a number of barriers in shipping to Canada.

If each order is shipped from the US and has to clear Canadian customs, delivery times will be lengthy and costs will be high. This combination will damage your ability to compete in the Canadian market, especially against the bigger box retailers with extensive distribution systems.

ShipBob is a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that makes accessing the Canadian market much simpler. We have fulfilment centres in the US, Canada, and other global locations. If you want to ship to Canada, you can ship your ecommerce inventory to our Canadian fulfilment centre.

We’ll ship all packages to your Canadian customers from there, which will drastically reduce shipping costs and delivery times (compared to shipping each package from the US). That way, you can reach customers in Vancouver with ease, without paying a fortune on tariffs and taxes. 

“As we expand our online presence into Canada, we knew we needed a trusted fulfilment 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

How you can start shipping to Vancouver (and all over Canada) with ShipBob’s help

Whether you’re a Canadian-based business trying to ship domestically or a US-based business trying to ship to Canada, ShipBob is the choice for you. We have multiple fulfilment centres and significant expertise in international shipping. Here’s how partnering with ShipBob works:

1. Start the onboarding process from your Onboarding Dashboard, where we’ll walk you through each step.

2. Once your store is set up with our technology, then you’re ready to ship your inventory to a ShipBob fulfilment centre location (or more than one, it’s up to you).

3. From there, we take care of everything: orders placed at your store are forwarded automatically to us, picking lists are generated at our fulfilment centre, and our professionals pick, pack, and ship the order.

4. You and the customer receive tracking info for the package. 

Distributed inventory

One of the advantages of working with ShipBob is that you’re not restricted to a single fulfilment centre. If you have US customers, you can check your data, see where they live, and split inventory across more than one fulfilment centre location, known as distributed inventory.

Distributing your inventory like this reduces the number of shipping zones a package must travel through to reach its destination, which ultimately reduces shipping costs and time in transit. 

Bulk shipping discounts

ShipBob works closely with the top mail carriers, and we’ve helped hundreds of businesses ship thousands of products all over the world (including Canada). Rather than shipping each individual package across the US-Canada border, you can take advantage of our bulk shipping discounts to get superior rates when you ship your entire inventory across the border. 

Inventory management & order tracking

Our technology comes with built-in order and inventory management software that provides full transparency into the entire fulfilment logistics process. Check your inventory counts at each fulfilment centre, set reorder points, track outstanding orders and packages, and much more.

We also offer a free data and analytics reporting tool for insights into fulfilment performance, shipping, logistics costs, and much more. 

Why ShipBob is the best choice for ecommerce merchants shipping to Vancouver

The logistics of international fulfilment can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Outsourcing fulfilment to ShipBob allows you to reap the rewards of international shipping without the headaches.

Ship internationally easier than ever

For most ecommerce merchants, opening up their business to international markets means huge headaches, logistical challenges, and risk. Partner with ShipBob, though, and all the difficult parts are taken care of. 

For example, one of our partners, sunglasses brand Ombraz, partnered with us in 2018 and is now using 3 fulfilment centres in 2 countries to ship to 7 continents and 55 countries. 

“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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Reduce fulfilment costs

With ShipBob, you can not only vastly expand your shipping reach, but also reduce fulfilment costs by utilising multiple fulfilment centres. We’ve helped countless businesses ship more cost-effectively, including Prymal, a health food brand that partnered with us in 2019.

They started using 2 ShipBob fulfilment centres and saved $8,000 in fulfilment costs each month, while also experiencing 4x growth.

“Last July, Prymal reached $40,000 in revenue. After switching to ShipBob just four months later in November, we are reaching $160,000 a month in revenue — that’s 300% growth. We’re also saving $8,000 per month in fulfilment costs.” 

Courtney Lee, founder of Prymal

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Offer fast shipping

Most ecommerce merchants want to offer quick delivery (and most online shoppers expect it), but don’t have the infrastructure to pull it off without breaking the bank. By adopting ShipBob’s international shipping and distribution infrastructure, you can offer fast shipping to customers all over the US (and even some in Canada). 

Luxury bath brand Bathorium needed a 3PL with a strong US presence, so they partnered with ShipBob. Now, they are able to reduce shipping costs, expedite transit times, and have seen an increase in conversions.

“Our greatest barrier was how expensive it was to ship from Canada, costing about 50% of our average order value. We spent anywhere from $18 to $25 for a one-pound shipment, and it would take a minimum of 7-10 business days to reach the destination. Since working with ShipBob, we’ve seen a 70% reduction in shipping costs.”

Greg MacDonald, CEO & founder of Bathorium

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Trying to decide when to outsource fulfilment to a 3PL? Here’s how to know when.

To get the most out of outsourcing retail fulfilment, you need to do it at the right time. If you outsource before your business has gained traction and has sufficient order volume, then you’ll end up overpaying and underusing the 3PL services. But if you wait too long, you can hinder your growth and even miss your chance. Here are some common signs that it’s time to outsource: 

• You can barely keep up with incoming order volume and your fulfilment team is stretched thin. 
• Your warehouse is overpacked, messy, or disorganised, and your inventory counts don’t always match physical inventory. 
• You want better order and inventory management technology.
• Your business has seasonal spikes and you need help for certain times of the year.
• You want to ship to customers in Vancouver, but you only have a US-based fulfilment centre and international shipping is too expensive.

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

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