Meet the company: Parcelhub

There are many courier companies for online retailers to choose from, all with different services and each courier with a different profile for the type of parcel they’re best suited to. It’s likely that no one carrier will fulfil all of your needs.

Parcelhub’s solution gives retailers access to multiple carriers and services at ‘pooled volume’ discounted rates. Add to this their free innovative software and you have everything you need to ship any size parcel anywhere in the world. Parcelhub back this up with a proactive customer support team who ensure all your delivery requirements are met with the minimum of fuss. We spoke to Mark Rosenberg, Founder and Managing Director at Parcelhub, to discover more about how Parcelhub’s services can assist online retailers:

So what’s it all about?

It’s about helping all businesses, including small and large eBay shippers, deliver their orders to their customers in a cost effective, professional and seamless manner. Our customers benefit from our investment in the latest technology, discounts derived from sending over 160,000 parcels/week through our own contracts and integrations with 20 carriers and a belief that our Customer Support solutions are actually unrivalled in the UK today.

A bold statement but we believe, with revenues approaching £21 million this financial year up 17% on last year and a dedicated 20 strong UK based customer services team that we understand and deliver the solutions needed for retailers to compete with likeminded and much larger retailers.

It’s not just about lots of carrier options and competitive rates but more about keeping our customers’ promises to their customers. We know we are in the middle of the delivery chain so we have to add value at every step.

How do you do that?

Technology! We have an amazing team of experienced enthusiastic and really passionate developers that just keep on building and adding to the Parcelhub system. We launched our SMART Notifications platform over 18 months ago after at least two years in development that manages every track event across all carriers and every single parcel shipped. If a carrier scans a parcel indicating a problem, such as an “unable to locate” or “bad address” a ticket is raised automatically and the CS team are then able to proactively address the issue, resolve it and ultimately get the parcel delivered. If we didn’t step in at this point, most parcels would simply be returned to the shipper and quite often this would result in poor feedback and ultimately a loss of business. Instead, we increase positive feedback, reduce negative feedback for both customers and carriers alike. It’s a win-win all round!

I hear the term “delivery management” all the time but for most companies in our space they are simply not “managing deliveries”. It starts with integrations to order management systems, shopping platforms and channel management software. We have completed over 20 integrations including eBay, Amazon, Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce, Linnworks and so on. This makes the process of printing a carrier label really quick and easy, best cost routed, applied to the parcel and ready to go. Our software and customer service team then take over and really do manage that delivery from start to finish.

What services do you offer?

Our services are very flexible so a customer can actually pick and choose which parts of our solution they require. It may be everything or they may choose just parts of the software. Some clients ship via Parcelhub software on all their own carrier contracts so just pay a small label charge. Some ship on some of our carrier contracts and some of their own but we manage all the labelling and customer services. The important point to make is that Parcelhub software manages it all; one platform, multiple carriers, one customer services solution, one account management team, one invoice; true carrier management.

Mail Workshop, Parcelhub’s sister company has extensive experience providing tailored fulfilment services to retailers and brands who need to outsource storage, shipping and stock management of apparel, daily deals products, gifts, homewares, PC hardware, novelty goods and subscription boxes – Read Case Study.

What would Parcelhub’s ideal customer look like?

Over the years we’ve found that larger retailers seem to gain the most from our solution but we do have clients shipping just 5-10 parcels every day. Our largest client right now is shipping over 4,000 parcels every day.

It really doesn’t matter how many parcels a customer is shipping; the ideal client just simply needs a solution that scales with their size and seasonality and is flexible enough to add or remove carriers and services quickly and without silly charging.

Case Study – Buydirect4u
Formed in 2005, after 10 years of growth, Buydirect4u moved into a new 202,000 sq ft warehouse and it currently has a portfolio range of over 2,000 products. Buydirect4u needed a carrier management solution and after several months of consultation, which involved a thorough review of Buydirect4u’s internal systems, in 2012 Parcelhub presented a tailor made solution to fit the retailer’s needs.

Parcelhub now processes and ships in excess of 21,000 items a month for Buydirect4u via the Parcelhub integrated shipping management platform; items shipped range in size from 100 grams to 1,000 kilos and can be anything from an envelope to pallets, ‘leave safe’ and delivered with a signature. Most items are despatched on one of Parcelhub’s direct carrier contracts but the flexibility of the software allows a number of Buydirect4u’s own contracts to be utilised also.

Cost saving is just one of the key benefits to Buydirect4u. Thanks to the integration of Parcelhub’s customer services team within Buydirect4u’s own systems and processes, the company saves on the cost of employing extra staff.

“We would have to employ at least two additional customer service advisers of our own to manage the carriers. That’s a big saving to a business like ours. We really do see Parcelhub as an extension of our own business, and we have spent the last 12 months further integrating the Parcelhub customer service team to create more efficiencies and strengthen our proposition.”
– Andrew Steel, founder of Buydirect4u and head of eCommerce

More customer feedback

“When we started we were getting around 20 orders a day. I could probably have managed these myself but I had worked with Parcelhub in the past and knew they could offer a solution that would not only simplify the delivery process but also secure me a discount on shipping, even at those relatively low volumes, making it a cost-effective option. “They provided me with free software that integrated with my eBay shop and allowed me to print all the labels and send a despatch confirmation to customers at the touch of a button. They even provided the labels – all I had to do was fix them to my parcels!”
– Jane Green, Owner of eBay shop Pro Car Mats

“Our dedicated Account Manager has taken the time and trouble to understand our specific shipping needs and has then worked with us to ensure that the most efficient and cost-effective options are utilised. It is a hands-on relationship and we take great comfort from the fact that help and advice is always just a phone call away.”
– Colin Walton, Holcros Ltd

“We have aggressive sales and marketing plans and it’s great to feel absolutely confident that they’ll help us grow, by providing a class-leading delivery service to our customers. We are looking forward to leveraging Parcelhub’s carrier relationships and technological advancement as a key driver of our international expansion.”
– David George, Operations Manager at Chase Organics

What makes Parcelhub different?

• Parcelhub gives smaller sellers access to services normally reserved to larger multichannel retailers.
• Parcelhub’s range of carrier options and cutting edge delivery management solutions helps smaller sellers compete with the big guys.
• Grants merchants access to over 20 carriers, more than 200 services, delivering to over 200 countries globally.
• Integrates with a multitude of platforms and marketplaces, including eBay, Amazon, WooCommerce, Magento, Linnworks, Shopify and many more.
• Parcelhub customers grew more than 25% in Financial Year 2016/17.
• With 85 staff, Parcelhub has 10 full-time UK-based software developers and a UK-based customer services department approaching 20.
• Proactive SMART Notifications platform monitors parcel status, ensuring best-in-class delivery experience.
• Additional services include a Shipping API, ecommerce Customer Support and Tailored ecommerce Fulfilment.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell Tamebay readers?

Make an enquiry today to discover how Parcelhub can optimise your ecommerce shipping and customer services.