Choosing the Right Shipping Company

Deciding to outsource your order fulfillment company to a third party logistics company, often referred to as a 3PL, con save you significant amounts of money and complications each and every day. You can save on overhead, such as storage, power, and of course, salaries.

But having another company responsible for the storage of your inventory, and for the picking and packing of your orders is only half of the equation: your orders will also need to be shipped.

When it comes to shipping, you have two options: you can go with Canada Post (and USPS for packages going to the United States), or work with a shipping company such as UPS, FedEx or others.

Canada Post

Canada Post is a Canadian Crown Corporation that delivers mail and parcel throughout Canada, and internationally.

Advantages – Canada Post is relatively inexpensive compared to private shipping companies.

Drawbacks – Packages cannot be traced except in the most basic way. Moreover, any lost shipment can take hours on the phone and weeks before it is found or confirmed lost, leading to uncertainty.

UPS / Other Private Shipping Companies

UPS is a private shipping company, headquartered in Georgia, USA that delivers over 15 million packages a day, and is present in practically every country in the world.

Advantages – Packages and orders shipped by UPS are can easily be tracked, and any issue can usually be resolved quickly over the phone. They offer performance guarantees and their customer service is fast and generally pleasant.

Drawbacks – UPS, or other private shipping companies, can be comparatively more expensive than dealing with Canada Post.

In most cases, it makes more sense to work with UPS than with national carriers like Canada Post; while they may be slightly more expensive, their advantages far outweigh their drawbacks, even in the short term.