Shipwire.com, an online shipping service, introduced a suite of services yesterday for managing envelopes, packages, freight, order fulfillment and relocations at its Web site.
This suite unites 40 partners and nearly 2 million square feet of storage space nationwide. In December, its final month of beta release, Shipwire's Web site coordinated more than 10,000 shipments.
Shipwire, Los Angeles, said that most merchants traditionally relied on FedEx and UPS for shipping and hired a shipping manager when their businesses needed more. The shipping manager then stitched together the dozens of vendors needed to coordinate the merchant's trade shows, warehousing and inventory management.
But Shipwire combines 15 services beyond FedEx and UPS, accessed through one Web site and phone number. Among those is a multi-carrier shipping application that lets users compare Greyhound PackageXpress, the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx and choose the best carrier for each shipment. Another audits a merchant's FedEx or UPS invoice and recovers refunds for overcharged, late, lost or damaged shipments.
Other services include a trade show shipping service, offering merchants a hassle-free way to transport trade booths around the country, a new less-than-truckload, truckload and import/export service, and new online packaging services that alert merchants that the right packaging can save more money (and create more business) than the cheapest packaging.
A key service is Shipwire's Web-based fulfillment. Shipwire said that regardless of whether a merchant ships 60 or 6,000 items a month, the fulfillment service can lower the cost of shipping and handling. Merchants can get access to almost 2 million square feet of prime, convenient storage space strategically split between Los Angeles and Chicago, where Shipwire can receive, store, pack and ship orders on their behalf.
The new services are available immediately through http://www.shipwire.com. Most services are pay per use, while order fulfillment starts at $65 per month.
Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
