Choosing a Global Multi Carrier Shipping Solution: 3 Questions To Ask

Multi carrier shipping software helps organizations control shipping costs and meet customer expectations. In this QAD Precision Report we look at 3 questions to ask when evaluating multi carrier solutions for global parcel shipping operations.

The global express and small parcels market has experienced significant growth in the last decade — only to explode in 2020 once the pandemic hit. 

Last year, over 131 billion parcels were shipped across 13 major markets.  To put that into perspective, that is 4,160 parcels every single second. Forecasts suggest that volumes are likely to double within five years to 266 billion parcels shipped in 2026.

Unsurprisingly, much of the growth is due to online shopping. Consumers have not only embraced online shopping, they are looking beyond their borders too, increasing the need for international parcel shipping.

Equally importantly, e-commerce has changed customer service expectations. Across a variety of industries — not just retail — customers want and expect the same service they receive when they shop online. That includes prompt delivery. As a result, more small parcel shipments, going to more domestic and global locations, are becoming the norm for many enterprises.

Multi Carrier Shipping Solutions: 3 Questions to Consider

Sending a single parcel to each of a thousand individual customers presents a different challenge to shipping a single order of a thousand products to one distributor. And when you need to repeat that process day after day after day, it becomes clear that managing this aspect of logistics cost-effectively is critical to protecting profitability and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Freight shippers shop on price and service for each shipment. However, many enterprises use a single carrier to handle all parcel shipments. After all, busy shippers simply do not have the time or resources to research delivery options for thousands of parcels every day. However, this also means that organizations are missing opportunities to get better rates and faster service.

The answer, of course, is multi carrier shipping software. Multi carrier shipping solutions allow you to seamlessly switch between carriers for the best rate, route and transit times. If your enterprise is evaluating global multi carrier shipping solutions, here are three questions you need to ask.

QUESTION 1: IS THE SOLUTION SCALABLE?

What are your parcel volumes today? How might this change next year? Five years from now? The most important question to ask has to do with your enterprises’ business goals — where your business is headed and how a shipping solution should support those goals.

If parcel shipping is likely to become a larger part of your logistics operation over the next few years, your shipping solution needs to be able to scale alongside your needs and be easily extendable to new regions and business units.

QUESTION 2: DO YOU NEED A GLOBAL SOLUTION?

Do you need a solution to ship cross-border, regionally or globally? If international shipping makes up a small, but growing, part of your logistics operations, then it makes sense to consider a solution that offers access to a worldwide multi carrier network that can support your needs in the long-term.

If you ship globally, a solution that includes regional and local carriers will give you more shipping options.

Unlike the US, Europe and Asia have an abundance of country and regional-specific carriers. In Europe, for example, even some of the larger carrier organizations have grown by acquisition. As a result a single carrier may use multiple formats for labeling, documentation and tracking number generation across different countries. Your solution provider must be able to handle this complexity.

Furthermore, when you ship globally, you need to be able to create documentation in multiple languages. Different number, date, and time formats may be necessary too, and indeed multiple currencies and units of measurement. A truly global multi carrier shipping solution will offer these capabilities.

QUESTION 3: DO YOU NEED TO INTEGRATE COMPLIANCE CHECKS?

If your customers are based around the world, or if you ship dual use goods, then, compliance checks are a necessity. Global trade regulations compel organizations to screen and verify the identities of their trading partners. This is to ensure you are not trading with anyone on a denied party list, such as a member of a terrorist or criminal organization. 

Compliance screening is not only required for cross-border shipments. If you manufacture or distribute high tech, industrial or dual use goods, you must also screen domestic shipments. In addition, if you are shipping from a US location, you must also comply with deemed export laws. Manually screening every shipment against a slew of governmental and international denied party lists is extremely labor intensive. 

Automated compliance screening helps enterprises manage these challenges. However, many organizations use separate systems for compliance checks and transportation execution. This exposes them to risk through human error.

An integrated trade compliance and shipping solution will vet every shipment to ensure it can proceed. This includes denied party list screening, determining end use, and validating the country of destination. An integrated solution should also ensure that any special documentation or actions are included. 

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Further Reading

SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION AND PEAK SEASON SHIPPING

THE BENEFITS OF INTEGRATING COMPLIANCE AND MULTI CARRIER SHIPPING SOLUTIONS

3 MINUTE EXPLAINER: WHAT IS MULTI CARRIER SHIPPING SOFTWARE?