Top 4 Questions About Printing Shipping Labels: Choosing a Carrier

Choosing a shipping carrier can be one of the hardest decisions to make in online order fulfillment. We’ve created this post to serve as a reference guide to help you better choose your carrier(s). First we’ll go over some things you should consider when choosing a carrier and then talk about the key points for each of the four big carriers: FedEx, USPS, UPS, and DHL.

What You Should Consider When Choosing A Carrier:

• Transit time. Is the carrier known for a speedy or slow delivery time? Is this a make or break issue for you company?
• International capabilities. Do you ship products internationally? Make sure the carrier can get your product to it’s international destination in a quick and affordable manner. If speed is a bigger factor than money, look for the fastest. If money is a bigger factor than speed, look for the most affordable option.
• On-time delivery rate. Does the carrier routinely deliver late for international? For domestic? For a certain state or even zip code? Make sure they can deliver on-time for your popular package destinations.

• Tracking. Does the carrier have reliable tracking? How much extra do you have to pay per package to track it?

• Price. Is the carrier habitually more expensive than others for various shipments? Does the carrier offer a discount for a large number of packages being shipped through them? Here is a list of sites to help you compare prices and speed.

• Damaged package policy. If a package is damaged in transit, what kinds of compensation does the carrier offer? Does the carrier even offer damaged package compensation? How easy or hard is it to report a damaged package?

4 Main Shipping Carriers:

DHL

• Known For: Great international door-to-door shipping.
• International?: Yes
• Tracking: Good tracking
• Other Points:
  • Can deliver to many areas other carriers cannot
  • Very price competitive
• Consumer Search Reviews for DHL.

FedEx

• Known For: Excellent overnight service
• International?: Yes
• Tracking: Good tracking
• Other Points:
  • Deliver on Saturdays
  • Have many drop off points
• Consumer Search Reviews for FedEx.

UPS

• Known For: Shipping ground packages
• International?: Yes
• Tracking: Good tracking
• Other Points:
  • Free package insurance up to $100
  • Have many drop off points
• Consumer Search Reviews for UPS.

USPS

• Known For: Being accurate with package delivery.
• International?: Yes
• Tracking: Pay extra for tracking; tracking can be spotty
• Other Points:
  • Usually cheaper for Alaska and Hawaii deliveries
  • Best carrier for card and letter mail
• Consumer Search Reviews for USPS.

Each package you send out has its own special needs for delivery so it’s a good idea to keep your options open when shipping. Even if you use multiple carriers every day you can still use shipping label sheets to help you streamline your order fulfillment process. Some forms can work for most shipping carrier shipping labels so you don’t have to be bound to a single shipping carrier.

However, if you’re shipping a large number of packages and are able to get a special shipping deal with one carrier it might be best for you to stay loyal to that carrier.

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