Entrepreneur Corner, July 22, 2010

One of the biggest challenges faced by part-time or bootstrapped entrepreneurs who do business online is scale. Finding a warehouse storage and shipping option that grows with their business, offers flexibility, is cost effective and doesn’t distract from their marketing and sales efforts is not an easy thing to do… There is an alternative, though. Outsourced order fulfillment finds a warehouse to store your physical inventory. Then, as you receive orders and send them along, packs and ships them onto buyers… [and] There are a few benefits from this. Read more. | PDF version.

Small Biz Bee, July 20, 2010

Exports as a means of company growth has gotten a lot of attention in the news recently with Obama’s National Export Initiative, one in which the President plans to double exports over the next five years to support two million jobs in America… In the following Q&A, Damon Schechter, founder and CEO of Shipwire e-commerce product fulfillment service, addresses the “why” and “how” small businesses can begin selling their products around the world. Read more. | PDF version.

Fox Small Business Center, July 20, 2010

After working at a few rapidly growing companies, it comes as no surprise to me that startups are extremely energetic places… Shipwire is no different… That said, our employees are not super-human and the business needs more than just daily-task management – it needs infrastructure and lots of time planning for growth (read: “world domination”)… What we’ve noticed, is that we lose a lot of time to interruptions… That is why I was so impressed, when our new VP of sales noticed his team was entirely too interrupt driven, and came up with a simple solution. Read more. | PDF version.

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Blog, July 5, 2010

If you sell physical products, why would you want to store all your goods in your home or manage a small warehouse? Why hassle with stuffing boxes and walking to the post office? Outsourcing the pick, pack and shipping of your orders just makes sense. Outsourcing storage and fulfillment is especially valuable to businesses selling overseas: international shipping is expensive, prone to errors and customs problems. Instead, get an overseas warehouse on demand to store and ship those orders. Read more. | PDF version.

Wall Street Journal, June 30, 2010 (syndicated)

The savings come when businesses can charge customers local shipping rates instead of international rates. For instance, Gilmore said, a San Francisco-based software company can use a Shipwire warehouse in London to deliver an order in Manchester and pay only local U.K. shipping rates… Shipwire offers worldwide shipping at local-country rates. Pay-as-you-go pricing plans start at $30 a month. Read more tips. | PDF version.

MarketWatch, June 30, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — In these tough economic times, owners of businesses small and large are coming up with unexpected ways to save money.
Shipping costs often are a major expense for both online and brick-and-mortar small- business owners. The cost of fulfillment can make or break a small company. That’s a problem that Shipwire Inc of Palo Alto, Calif., is leveraging. The company offers worldwide shipping at local-country rates, saving customers thousands of dollars in international shipments… Shipwire has six warehouses in three countries where it stores inventory for small businesses, and works with 15 carriers and freight systems. Pay-as-you-go pricing plans start at $30 a month. And small-business owners can scale-up as business grows. Read more. | PDF version.

Fox Small Business Center, June 22, 2010

As CEO, my job is to guide the company’s strategic direction. I make sure we have enough runway and staff to execute our plans. Sometimes I think the hardest part of the job is actually the hiring. Clearly, some hires are obvious; but, in today’s market that is often not the case. There are many options that can add confusion to the decision of when to hire.  Today you can use a consultant, outsource a function, or develop internal employees to take on projects and functions beyond their basic skill set. However, this blog is about hiring and a follow-up to my “Build the Road” post last month. Here are a few tricks that I employ to hire my core leadership teams. | PDF version.

Practical eCommerce, June 14, 2010

The Small Business Web (TSBW), a clearing house of resources perfectly suited to the needs of small business… [has a] passion for helping small businesses by providing affordably(sic)-priced software products.  Requirements to join are minimal, but set at a high standard. Businesses must have “a passion for customer service, an excellent product or service, a solid business model and most importantly, an open API.”… Categories of members run the gamut from Accounting to Version Control.  Ecommerce is represented as well with companies such as … 3dcart, Shopify, and Shipwire … Read more. | PDF version.

StreetInsider.com, June 9, 2010

Shipwire, eBridge, Stamps.com and Verisign join Volusion to streamline online merchants’ business operations

Volusion, the leading provider of ecommerce software and services for online merchants, today announced four new partners at Internet Retailer’s 2010 Conference and Exposition… Shipwire provides an instant integration to automate Volusion product fulfillment and shipping.  “We are excited to partner with Volusion, an ecommerce leader. Our alliance enables Volusion merchants to automate order fulfillment and grow their businesses. The free Shipwire connection provides automated order fulfillment, real-time inventory levels from Shipwire warehouses to merchants’ Volusion accounts and seamless order tracking. We’re pleased to provide an integration which allows Volusion merchants to focus on their business and remove the hassles of storage and shipping,” said Nate Gilmore, Shipwire VP of Business Development and Marketing. Read more. | PDF version.

Enterprise Nation, May 7, 2010

Outsourcing order fulfillment can turn your warehouse costs into a predictable variable cost-per-order, with maximum flexibility and limited exposure, and it allows you to maintain focus on the core parts of growing your business, instead of dumping resources of money, time and brainpower into a warehouse… As you investigate outsourcing your inventory storage and order shipping, think of it as a tool in your toolkit. You don’t have to outsource all your shipping – it’s not all or nothing. Here are some ways you can leverage an outsourced warehouse for just a piece of your business… Read more. | PDF version.

NRF Stores, June, 2010

Solution helps green mattress retailer reduce carbon footprint and logistics headaches

If you’re manufacturing them, you want…to not lose sleep worrying about the cost of warehousing and distribution… Keetsa, a three-year-old manufacturer of eco-friendly mattresses whose balance sheet is resting comfortably now thanks to its relationship with e-commerce order fulfillment company Shipwire, based in Palo Alto, Calif… Keetsa has seen an estimated 35 percent reduction in warehousing costs, as well as the development of an ultra-efficient delivery system… Shipwire’s online store order fulfillment solution model “was a perfect fit for us,” Alexander says…  If not for Shipwire, Alexander says, Keetsa’s distribution costs “would be huge. There’s a lot of cost involved in the traditional mattress supply chain which we don’t have. At the store level, we would have to have delivery trucks and crews, pay Workman’s Comp and insurance…” With Shipwire, he says, that time has been cut an estimated 80 percent. Read more. | PDF version.

Internet Retailer, May 27, 2010

The right tools and partners help retailers vault over some of shipping’s highest hurdles.

One thing shoppers have in common is they want their purchases as soon as possible… And just as providing fast shipping without undermining profit margins is among e-retailers’ biggest challenges, so, too, is shipping abroad for the growing number of North American web retailers trying to boost their foreign sales. Those foreign sales were a nightmare for web-only retailer ThoughtFish Media—until it found a vendor that could drain the pain from the process… Simmons, who runs his business in a rural area outside of San Diego, Calif., now leaves the shipping and warehousing to Shipwire Inc., [from] warehouses in Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and London for shipment to customers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and elsewhere… “The Shipwire system automatically chooses the nearest warehouse with the ordered product and the best parcel carrier and route to expedite delivery at the lowest cost,” Simmons says. Read more. | PDF version.

Women Unlimited, May 26, 2010

Are you wondering how to grow your business and develop it in a way so it’s not wholly reliant on you? Have you considered outsourcing…as a way to achieve that growth? Emma Jones outlines the options with tips for each strategy… Fellow business owners will understand when I say having a business often feels like having a child; you conceived the idea, you nurtured the business in its early stages, and it can feel tough to let it go and grow on its own! There are smart ways to scale your business and here are four of them. Read how Shipwire is 1 of these 4 ways to grow your business. | PDF version.

Fox Small Business Center, May 26, 2010

“Entrepreneur Diary” by Damon Schechter, founder and CEO of Shipwire Product Fulfillment.

Over the past few week weeks, there has been quite a bit of road construction down the street from Shipwire. Though I’ve needed to find an alternative route to the office, I can’t help but smile at the thought of the construction. The reason is that it reminds me of an amazing piece of advice given to me by one of our Shipwire board of advisors, Ivan Hoffman, who built FedEx Ground. Ivan told me that our job as founders and early employees is to “build the road”… To find out if your team is taking the time to build the road Read more. | PDF version.

Practical eCommerce, May 20, 2010

Global businesses understand that a localized approach to globalization helps fuel international sales… Even though you may be fulfilling international orders in a timely manner, the packages may be held up in customs or may disappear, either of which can result in poor seller ratings, charge-backs and the need to reship product… The breaking point for Andrew Simmons, founder of art and craft software provider ThoughtFish Media, was dramatic product losses… Simmons decided to work with Shipwire, which provides warehousing and fulfillment services. In Simmons’ case, he shipped inventory to Shipwire’s distribution centers outside of the U.S., and then fulfilled individual orders in those locales from those warehouses. Almost overnight the number of charge-backs decreased and packages started arriving at their destinations in a timely manner. Read more. | PDF version.

Internet Retailer, May 13, 2010

ThoughtFish Media makes and sells software online that customers in 77 countries use to design things like mosaic tile murals for their bathrooms and beadwork for customized purses. Business is booming, says owner Andrew Simmons, but only since it found the right shipping and warehousing provider to smooth out fulfillment hassles that had made overseas delivery hardly worth the effort… As orders come into ThoughtFishMedia.com, they’re transmitted to Shipwire’s warehouse management system, which includes a shipping module that automatically chooses the best parcel carrier and route to expedite delivery at the lowest cost, Simmons says… Now, even though most of his sales are to overseas customers, Simmons says he rarely if ever deals with shipping problems or chargebacks. Read more. | PDF version.

Crain’s New York Business, May 12, 2010

The holy grail: A profitable side business that doesn’t take time away from their main career… This kind of gig isn’t easy to find. Ventures that fit the bill usually revolve around work that can be done outside of traditional business hours, or that can be automated using low-cost technologies or outsourced to low-cost providers… David Wurtz, a product manager at Google, runs a fast-growing online store called TopTVMounts, which sells hardware for mounting televisions. He uses a service called Shipwire to store inventory around the country and make local deliveries. “I put in three to four hours a week,” says Mr. Wurtz, who has two part-time employees. Read more. | PDF version.

Chain Store Age, May 10, 2010

In his 2010 State of the Union address, President Obama identified U.S. exports as a major catalyst to help reignite America’s sagging economy, and noted that it would take a ground-swelling of small-business growth to get the economy headed in the right direction…. Today, growing businesses can tap into 15 years of e-commerce know-how and marketplaces to help grow global sales, but only those that master shipping can truly scale their businesses overseas.  Here is a roadmap for growing exports. Read more. | PDF version.

Internet Retailer, May 4, 2010

It’s not just sites like Amazon.com and eBay.com that are doing business overseas, a new study from order fulfillment provider Shipwire reports. More small- and medium-sized merchants are doing business abroad… International orders for the small and medium-sized merchants that do less than $100 million in annual sales and use Shipwire’s services grew 11 percentage points from 9% in 2008 to reach 20% of total shipped orders in 2009, Shipwire reports. Read more. | PDF version.

Marketwire, May 3, 2010

Palo Alto, CA– May 3, 2010 Shipwire™, a leading provider of outsourced product fulfillment, today unveiled results from a study focused on small business (SMB) online retailer trends as they expand into global markets. The results of the study, culled from Shipwire customers based in the United States and abroad, point to an increase in SMBs’ overseas growth. Results also revealed additional trends in shipping and e-commerce.

Shipwire analyzed aggregate customer shipping data for a two-year period (2008 vs. 2009) to uncover trends around export and shipping. Key findings from the report are revealed below. Read more

Marketwire, May 3, 2010

New Partnerships, New Updates to Services and Continued Merchant Growth

Palo Alto, CA– May 3, 2010 Shipwire™, a leading provider of outsourced product fulfillment, announced today its continued growth in the SMB market. The company highlighted the successful execution of a number of goals it set forth since 2007, including funding, new strategic partnerships, an impressive increase in revenue and unprecedented growth with its customer base. And, with projections of industry-wide growth of e-commerce sales – including those by SMBs – Shipwire is poised to continue its own growth in 2010 and beyond. Read more

Read Write Web, May 3, 2010

While exports accounted for almost 13% of GDP in 2008, the global recession that began in 2009 hit exporters and employees particularly hard. The government’s efforts to facilitate exports are meant to spur employment opportunities and economic growth… Shipwire, an e-commerce fulfillment service, announced the results today of a study that examined the trends of small businesses’ exports and expansion into global markets. The study was based on Shipwire’s customers in the U.S. and abroad in 2008 and 2009 and points to an increase in small businesses’ growth overseas. Read more. | PDF version.

Fox Small Business Center, April 30, 2010 (Video)

Spotlight: A One-Stop Storage Startup
Damon Schechter, founder and CEO of Shipwire, interviewed live on Fox Business. Damon discusses how small businesses can expand internationally using Shipwire’s service. Watch the interview here.

ColderICE, April 28, 2010

If you are thinking about importing inventory, whether it be toys, electronics or apparel for Holiday sales in 2010 it is time to review your product sources, put in orders and start figuring out the most cost effective method of getting your inventory to the right warehouse…   It doesn’t matter if your shipping by boat, train, plane, truck or your having Tom Tuttle from Tacoma Washington hand deliver it for you. The closer you get to September and October the more expensive rates get and the harder it is to meet your delivery time lines… Read more on how to prepare early to save big for the holidays. | PDF version.

Rise to the Top, April 2010 (Video)

A Video Conversation With Shipwire’s CEO Damon Schechter

David Siteman Garland has “… a soft spot for entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs. Especially ones that offer amazing, useful and easy-to-use things. Shipwire falls into that butt-kicking category as an unbelievably cool entrepreneur resource.”… Bottom line is selling a physical product for an entrepreneur or small business owner can be tough on the logistics side. Warehouses are expensive. Dealing with shipping is annoying. And this takes away from the things you like to work on in your business… Shipwire solves this problem. Watch David’s Skype Video  Interview with Shipwire.

Fox Small Business Center, April 20, 2010

“Entrepreneur Diary” by Damon Schechter, founder and CEO of Shipwire Product Fulfillment.

Measuring your daily successes can be done by looking at revenue or customer satisfaction; but, finding ways to measure the time (and money) you save by automating can be tough. Perhaps use as a gauge the following questions: can you take a week off from work; or relocate your office to a different spot and work ¼ or ½ day for two weeks?  If you can’t, you may want to reallocate some time to figuring out how. Tim Ferris and the Four Hour Work Week blog offers a lot of ideas. If you are a small business, you can also check out www.thesmallbusinessweb.com for hosted software that integrates and automates. Read more. | PDF version.

Los Angeles Times, April 19, 2010

“I’d like to start selling products overseas. Where do I start?” Klein answers… “Make sure there is international demand for your products… Explore the customs regulations and the financial implications of bulk shipping into a foreign market and determine what your costs will be… “We counsel sellers to focus on their bestselling products,” said Damon Schechter, CEO of Shipwire, a shipping and fulfillment firm based in Palo Alto.  Read more. | PDF version.

Internet Retailer, April 2010

Making it easy for customers to send their stuff back can rack up heavy costs in inventory management as well as shipping, but not doing so can leave e-retailers with a bad mark and fewer repeat customers, experts say. “Our research shows that companies committed to an easy returns process get high marks from consumers,”… retailers opt for outsourced returns management systems offered by companies such as … Shipwire Inc. … which offer a range of online returns processing and warehousing services… Seat Glovers also uses Shipwire’s warehouse facilities for receiving returned merchandise as well as for shipping initial orders, an option Blaiwes says has produced a good return on investment compared to when Seat Glovers operated its own warehouse… Read more. | PDF version.

Palo Alto, CA April 1, 2010

(See blog post for more details)

Shipwire Launches New “Second Day Before Yesterday” Shipping Service.

Palo Alto, CA– April 1, 2010 Shipwire (NYSE2020, SW), the leading provider of outsourced product fulfillment, today announced new shipping services which will allow merchants to ship their products to customers before the customer has ordered them – launching the newest revolution in e-commerce since the on demand global warehouse network – Predictive Fulfillment™ and Second Day Before Yesterday™ shipping.  This service is targeted to merchants who specialize in goods with limited shelf life such as bell-bottoms, Mondale/Ferraro ‘84 bumper stickers, and Pauly Shore “Weez” merchandise. Read more

Fox Small Business Center, March 31, 2010

“Entrepreneur Diary” by Damon Schechter, founder and CEO of Shipwire Product Fulfillment.

At Shipwire, we are constantly reminding ourselves we are building a long-term business, not just “doing a job”… Here is a customer who built a business around that same idea. Tenkara USA, supplier of a rare type of fly-fishing equipment, is run by founder Daniel Galhardo in San Francisco, Calif… “My whole objective out of the business was to learn a lot about business while still being able to go fishing and do what I want to do. I learned in the first few months that I didn’t want to spend any time in a warehouse. I wanted to focus my time on product development, marketing, sales and the customer experience, the high impact pieces of the business,” he said. Read more on how you can prioritize the important aspects of your business. | PDF version.

Practical eCommerce, March 29, 2010

Starting an e-commerce business is no small endeavor. A would-be online entrepreneur must manage every aspect of the business, from selecting products and vendors to marketing…. To respond to the need to both manage everything and to differentiate, some business owners turn to third-party providers that can effectively take over some aspect of the business so that the business owner can focus on higher-gain areas like establishing the aforementioned competitive advantage… Enter Shipwire, a fulfillment company that both stores your products and ships those products for you when you get an order. Effectively, Shipwire lets you focus on other areas of your growing e-commerce business, while ensuring that your orders are properly managed…  Read more (please read the comments on this one too) PDF version.

PayPal Blog, March 25, 2010

Eddie Davis here, director of SMB Merchant Services, with a quick tip for SMB retailers…finding the right shipping service and setting up the right processes to ship your merchandise can be overwhelming — especially if you’re shipping across borders…  One of our partners, Shipwire order fulfillment, processes orders and takes care of the storage and shipping for you. The folks at Shipwire just put together a useful microsite that has all sorts of information about the ins and outs of cross-border sales. Merchants can really benefit by outsourcing some of their back-end work for minimal cost, and it’s always a good idea to see what tools you can use to save time and money… Read more. | PDF version.

Euroinvestor.Co.Uk, March, 2010

The Internet has become the great equalizer in global sales, and has allowed SMBs to compete with larger competitors… Shipwire™ a leading provider of outsourced product fulfillment, announced today an initiative to help small and midsize online merchants grow overseas sales. Shipwire launched new tools and guides, available at http://www.shipwire.com/GlobalGrowth, to help merchants learn how grow exports while cutting shipping costs by utilizing outsourced order fulfillment as an alternative to expensive international shipping…  Read more. | PDF version.

BusinessWeek, March 19, 2010

The Obama Administration wants to double U.S. exports in five years by enlisting small business.  Online marketing and e-commerce have … enabled more small businesses to expand globally. Shipwire, a Palo Alto (Calif.)-based company that provides outsourced warehousing and shipping for online merchants, opened warehouses in Canada in 2007 and in the United Kingdom in 2008, in addition to three warehouses in the U.S. Shipments to non-U.S. addresses have gone from close to zero in 2007 to 20% of Shipwire’s business in 2009, says CEO Damon Schechter. “The merchants are pulling us to where we should be,” he says. Read more. | PDF version.

Marketwire, March 16

New Microsite Helps SMBs Learn How to Cut International Shipping Costs by 75 Percent with Overseas Warehouse and Fulfillment

Palo Alto, CA– March 16, 2010 Shipwire™, a leading provider of outsourced product fulfillment, announced today an initiative to help small and midsize online merchants grow overseas sales. Shipwire launched new tools and guides, available at http://www.shipwire.com/GlobalGrowth, to help merchants learn how grow exports while cutting shipping costs by utilizing outsourced order fulfillment as an alternative to expensive international shipping. http://www.shipwire.com/GlobalGrowth. | Read more

Multi-Channel Merchant, March 3, 2010

When it comes to calculating shipping and handling fees, merchants make a number of mistakes that can cost money. A big one is neglecting to pay attention to the rules parcel carriers have instituted for shipping large, lightweight packages… FedEx, UPS, the U.S. Postal Service and other major small parcel carriers have adopted what’s called the dimensional weight pricing rule—or box size—to calculate shipping costs on ground shipments. That means retailers that ship lighter, larger-than-average-size packages that take up extra space on an airplane or a truck will pay higher shipping costs than they did under the old definitions for oversize packages. Read more about calculating shipping costs here. | PDF version.

Los Angeles Times, February 22, 2010

A reader at the Los Angeles Times asks “I always hear about globalization, but isn’t the impact mostly on big companies?” Karen K. Klein’s answer is… “For decades, large corporations have been buying supplies and moving manufacturing overseas to cut costs”… “The tools are now in place to allow businesses of all sizes to have a global supply chain,” said Damon Schechter, chief executive of Shipwire, an order fulfillment firm. “If a company has a fast-selling product they can sell in another country, the only thing that stops them from entering that market is the degree of their desire… Buying supplies and selling products overseas no longer require a vast product line or budget,” Schechter said… Online tools for managing advertising, shipping and other aspects of a business have created a “border-less” marketplace that is wide open to smaller, e-commerce firms… Read more. | PDF version.

Skip McGrath, February 19, 2010

Over the past few months, I have written several blog posts about Third-Party order fulfillment services. One of the leading companies in this field is Shipwire; a company that will warehouse and drop ship your products for you. This has several advantages. Essentially you can hire a company like Shipwire to act as your own private drop shipper. I got so many questions from readers, that I decided to reach out to the experts at Shipwire to write a comprehensive article on the subject.  So here is the result. This is an excellent article that explores the pros and cons of drop shipping versus using a third-party company like Shipwire to fulfill your orders. Read more. | PDF version.

Entrepreneur Magazine, February 10, 2010

Among all of the president’s plans to boost jobs, some economists say his goal to double exports in five years could do the trick… “oftentimes the most prudent first country for a small business to consider exporting to is Canada, thanks in part to the extensive bilateral trade between Canada and the U.S., and to the cultural and legal similarities”… Companies can ship products internationally from the U.S. via freight forwarders and fulfillment companies such as … Shipwire.  [Shipwire] ships to Canada and the U.K., where it has warehouses that will transport goods internationally to any country covered by FedEx, UPS or the local parcel carrier…. See the six steps to grow your exports… Read more. | PDF version.

Canadian Technology & Business, Winter 2010

“With one Shipwire account, merchants can now locate inventory in three countries, on two continents and up to six warehouses, extending their sales reach into three of the largest e-commerce markets…. Christy Cook, who runs her own business called Teach My Toddler, is realizing the cost saving benefits of using Shipwire. Cooks says, “When I was looking for distribution in Canada, on both the east and west coast, I found Shipwire to be an excellent solution; it was extremely easy to set up and use, and also delivered cost-savings. I’m now sending inventory to Shipwire warehouses in the U.S., and am looking forward to growing my business into the U.K. as well.  I like that I can do that all with one fulfillment provider, and one account.” Read more.

AMEX OPEN, January 15, 2010

Reducing emissions – the pollutants, especially carbon dioxide, that are produced when fuel combusts – greens up your business and helps you save money…. Your carbon footprint is also affected by… shipping.  Looking at each of these in turn helps you develop plans to reduce energy waste.  “When you’re dealing with the movement of goods the trick to lessen emissions is to make the goods travel less distance.”  Making goods travel less distance also saves money: “There’s a tight correlation between shipping cost and shipping distance.” For greening your shipping, read more here. | PDF version.

Fulfilment & e-logistics, Winter 2010

Shipwire, an emerging international force in e-fulfilment for small and medium-sized businesses, has added to its appeal by establishing closer links with eBay. The company has launched a free eBay shipping tool that connects online merchants’ eBay accounts with their Shipwire accounts… According to Nate Gilmore, vice-president of marketing and business development: ‘With our eBay fulfilment, sellers can cut up to 75 per cent off the cost of eBay international shipping.’  Read more. | PDF version.

Chain Store Age, December 28, 2009

If you want to keep your customers happy and knocking on your virtual door, a hassle-free returns policy is the way to go… online retailer’s returns policies are a more important part of a consumer’s decision to buy online than most companies realize. In fact, 81% of consumers polled say they’re more likely to buy from a retailer that makes it easier to return a product. Clearly, online retailers that make it easier and less costly for customers to return their products have a distinct advantage over their competitors — specifically, advantages in customer loyalty, higher sales and increased revenue… Online retailers should note that working with a product fulfillment company often means a nice distribution of work, which is especially welcome if a retailer is a small company trying to focus on growing its business rather than dealing with returns (or shipping, for that matter). Read more. | PDF version.

ColderICE, December 22, 2009

eBay sellers can now locate inventory in six warehouses, in three countries, on two continents, and cut eBay shipping costs and delivery times — all with one free Shipwire account. “The Shipwire Store-Sell-Ship platform makes it easier than ever to grow sales on eBay and offer competitive shipping rates to buyers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. With our eBay fulfillment, sellers can cut up to 75 percent off the cost of eBay international shipping… Read more. | PDF version.

Marketwire, December 22

Shipwire Offers Insight and Tips for Successful Online Returns Policies

Palo Alto, CA– December 22, 2009 With the holiday shopping season drawing to a close, online shoppers and retailers alike are gearing up for the next surge: post-holiday returns and exchanges. Although likely dreaded by online retailers, returns don’t have to be problematic or a “margin drain.” In fact, studies show that with the right processes in place, an online retailer can actually benefit from a generous returns policy — in the form of repeat customers, higher sales and increased revenue. Read more

Internet Retailer, December 22, 2009

eBay merchants have come to rely on Shipwire to conduct their domestic and international shipping. Developed by Shipwire, the enhanced free eBay shipping tool includes an online wizard to walk users through simple steps to connect their eBay and Shipwire accounts. Once connected, merchants can seamlessly sell on eBay and fulfill orders with Shipwire – both domestically and abroad – enabling them to grow their business across borders. Read more. | PDF version.

Marketwire, December 22

Shipwire Expands Partnership with eBay,
Enhances eBay Shipping Services with Shipwire Store-Sell-Ship Platform

eBay Fulfillment Made Even Easier for Merchants—Free Shipping Tool
Easily Connects eBay and Shipwire Accounts

Palo Alto, CA– December 22, 2009 Shipwire™, a leading provider of e-commerce product fulfillment, announced today an expanded partnership with online auction and shopping behemoth eBay™. With the expanded partnership, eBay merchants will find it even easier to sell their goods on eBay and fulfill with Shipwire, thanks to a free eBay shipping tool that connects their eBay and Shipwire accounts. The announcement underscores Shipwire’s commitment to helping merchants outsource the hassle of shipping and storage, leaving them free to focus on growing sales. Read more

Skip McGrath, December 21, 2009

Shipwire, an independent drop ship warehouse announced a new eBay connection today whereby eBay merchants will find it even easier to sell their goods on eBay and fulfill with Shipwire, thanks to a free eBay shipping tool that connects their eBay and Shipwire accounts. The announcement underscores Shipwire’s commitment to helping merchants outsource the hassle of shipping and storage, leaving them free to focus on growing sales. Read Skip’s article. | PDF version.

Chain Store Age, December 14, 2009

First there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday, and now there’s Free Shipping Day…Free Shipping Day is a great time to test if a free shipping offer is right for your business. While some merchants argue against offering free shipping because it’s not profitable, there are a number of things you can do to make it worthwhile for you and your customers. This article demonstrates four (4) benefits of Free Shipping day and six (6) ways to quickly take advantage of Free shipping.  Learn from Shipwire customers that offer free shipping including David Wurtz, a seller of TV wall mounts, “We make shipping a competitive advantage to our online sales by bundling free shipping offers with every purchase. Buyers love free shipping!” Read here about the things you can do to make it worthwhile for you and your customers. | PDF version.

Marketwire, December 2009

December 17 Marks Second Annual Free Shipping Day,
Encourages Online Purchases as Online Christmas Shopping Wanes

Palo Alto, CA–  December 2009 Free Shipping Day is quickly gaining notoriety as a one-day online shopping event that rewards shoppers who do their last-minute Christmas shopping at home. On this day, scheduled for Thursday, December 17, merchants will offer customers free shipping, and guarantee delivery by Christmas Eve. Now in its second year, it joins the ranks of Black Friday and Cyber Monday as a traditional Christmas shopping affair. But Free Shipping Day is far more than mere tradition, it is an event that Shipwire customers embrace to drive ongoing sales through the holiday. Read more

Suite101.com, Dec 5th 2009

Many small businesses thrive overseas, but it can be tough for businesses who have never dealt with all the intricacies of sales out of the country to navigate through all of the obstacles…. “Shipwire is uniquely able to bypass the hassles and frustrations typically associated with shipping and logistics, allowing our customers to focus on what they do best: increasing sales and growing their company. We allow SMBs to seamlessly expand internationally by… doing all the heavy lifting, handling the complexity of shipping…” Read about the ways in which Shipwire can help expand your business overseas here. | PDF version.

FreshBusinessThinking.com, December 3, 2009

Shipwire shares some  tips on how to make sure that this Christmas is a plentiful one. First, start your holiday marketing in advance. You can drive shoppers to your site with a prepared marketing plan of promotions and deals. Second, avoid the “foreseeable” crisis. If you have been in business for more than a year, look back at what caused panic over the last few years and plan ahead. Read the rest of the tips here. | PDF version.

Making Money UK, November 20, 2009

The Royal Mail ensures that 28 million homes and businesses can receive a postal delivery six days a week. It is, however, under increasing pressure to modernize in the face of new communication technologies… For the small business, the choice is whether to wait for the Royal Mail to modernize and offer them the services they need or switch carriers to protect their businesses in the medium to long term… Shipwire, a fulfillment service provider, says: “For small businesses reliant on Royal Mail for shipping local small parcels, customer satisfaction is a challenge. According to Shipwire customer John Ellen of NetDirectDeals.co.uk, the service quality is poor and strikes have impacted reliability, which in turn has reduced his confidence in the service.” Another Shipwire customer, Paul Grey of Babysleepbags.co.uk, commented: “We deliver to customers in both the UK and North America, and we regularly find we can ship orders from one side of the United States to the other for 20 per cent less than the cost of local Royal Mail delivery.”… “Many UK businesses are having success growing sales internationally, especially in the US and Canada. Rather than sending every order via expensive international shipping, they are leveraging local distribution centers located in international markets.” Print publication only, to read full article go here “Poste Haste”.

AMEX OPEN, November 18, 2009

The costs of shipping your product, ordering supplies and sending out mail can add a bundle to your expenses…But there are a great many ways to slash your shipping costs…[First] Go Online. Rule of thumb: Use the web anytime you can…[Second] Use fulfillment services. If you have customers around the world but lack a distribution partner, these services, such as Shipwire…, can be lifesavers, by providing you with a place to store your products in a location near your customers. You’ll save on many international shipping and customs brokerage fees.  Read all the tips here. | PDF version.

FuelNet, November 10, 2009

Shane Ellison’s new Internet enterprise was making money, but he had no room to grow the business…“It got crazy on many levels,” he says. “We were snatching orders off the Internet, packaging, labeling, and standing in line with a bunch of boxes.” What’s more, the fledgling company had no way of tracking orders, so employees were spending a lot of time trying to answer customer questions….Since most fulfillment services are geared toward bigger businesses, Ellison’s search for a solution was frustrating until he saw an article about Shipwire…Ellison, whose business has doubled since he started his company three years ago, gives a lot of credit to Shipwire for his successful business development. “It was the missing link to the technology I needed to grow,” he says. “I took their free month [of service], and we haven’t looked back. I look at online entrepreneurs who are still packing their goods and taking them to the post office, and I can’t understand. Read how to improve the online order fulfillment process. | PDF version.

Business Wire, Nov 4, 2009

Shipwire urges UK businesses to learn from the Royal Mail postal strikes and implement an order delivery crisis plan

Palo Alto, CA–November 4, 2009 Shipwire, the e-commerce order fulfillment company, is today advising small businesses to learn a valuable lesson from the Royal Mail strikes. As reports of Christmas disruptions and weeks of backlogs continue to populate the UK media and the threat of additional strikes looming, the crisis is by no means over. Shipwire believes that this will not be the last strike that small businesses will encounter and that they should heed the warning to avoid impact in the future. Read more

FreshBusinessThinking.com, November 4, 2009

Shipwire, the e-commerce order fulfillment company, is advising small businesses to learn a valuable lesson from the Royal Mail strikes. As reports of Christmas disruptions and weeks of backlogs continue to populate the UK media and the threat of additional strikes looming, the crisis is by no means over. Shipwire believes that this will not be the last strike that small businesses will encounter and that they should heed the warning to avoid impact in the future. Read all 5 Shipwire recommendations to reduce the risk of postal strikes. | PDF version.

UTalkMarketing.com, October 27, 2009

Delivery promotions drive conversions as they can address the main differences between online and offline – delivery cost and time to buyer gratification. Buyers want products fast and preferably free, so if you can bring the following marketing text to the front of your website – ‘fast and free delivery’ – then you can increase conversions. The important question is which delivery promotion is right for your business and will honestly allow you to market ‘fast and free’ without killing your margin. What are some of the ‘free’ delivery options available? Which one will work best with your business? How are you going to communicate ‘fast and free’ and make it drive the right sales? Get the answers here. | PDF version.

AuctionBytes, October 12, 2009

Auction Bytes interview about outsourcing order fulfillment with Shipwire. Learn the benefits of outsourcing order fulfillment to enter new markets and leverage shipping as a business tool.  Learn questions to ask and how to choose a product fulfillment vendor.  Shipwire  and Ina Steiner discuss the costs of warehousing and how small businesses can better control their cost structures using outsourced order fulfillment in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Read more. | PDF version.

MarketingUK.co.uk, October 9, 2009

Christmas is not looking jolly for retailers at the moment. A postal strike is sweeping the nation (UK), with the fear that many businesses could go bust in its wake. In addition, a recent survey of Britain’s leading store group executives found that 34% do not expect strong growth until 2011 and are preparing for a ‘flat Christmas’. 

In the face of this difficult climate, it is imperative that retailers need to start planning now if they are to ensure success this holiday season. An intelligent and considered marketing plan should be accompanied by a comprehensive crisis management plan and a critical eye. Shipwire shares some tips on how to make sure that this Christmas is a plentiful one. Read more. | PDF version.

America’s Best Companies, September 2009

Shipwire is helping small business owners level the playing field by helping them break into the global marketplace. Shipwire provides outsourced fulfillment services for businesses that want to eliminate the hassles of product storage and shipping so they can focus on growing sales. With Shipwire, any Web entrepreneur, online retailer or importer can plug into a Fortune 500 supply chain and automate product fulfillment from Shipwire’s global warehouse network. Read entire article here.

Inbound Logistics, August 17th, 2009

Feature Story. Inbound Logistics, Shipwire and a Shipwire customer discuss the cost savings that a small business merchant (SMB) can save when outsourcing product fulfillment.  Learn how to convert your warehouse into a success-based cost.  Get insights from a Shipwire customer on importing to Canada and growing his business and outsourcing fulfillment to a Canadian outsourced warehouse.  [Article Quote: Filling orders for that customer from Shipwire's Toronto warehouse solved the problem (of lost packages and delays from crossing the border) . "Today, when shipments go out, customers receive them," says Simmons....Using local warehouses also has improved customer service in less dramatic ways. It used to take as long as eight days to move merchandise from the West Coast to customers in the East or in Europe, Simmons says. Some consumers lost faith while waiting, and called their credit card companies to stop payment. Now, ThoughtFish uses Shipwire's warehouses in Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and London to store merchandise closer to major markets. "Customers never have to wait more than two days to receive an order from us," he says.]  SMB’s win with outsourced product fulfillment. | PDF version.

The Washington Post, August 7th, 2009

Shipwire manages your physical goods in many warehouses, saving shipping costs and speeding up order delivery…Since the company runs warehouses in the U.S., Canada, and England, you’ll save money and customers will get products faster; instead of having to ship everything from your location, Shipwire can send from the closest warehouse (to the buyer).  [Reprint from PCWorld]. Save money on shipping. | PDF version.

PCWorld, August 7th, 2009

Physical stores only need to hand customers a product in one place, but online companies have to send goods to buyers, creating a new hassle. Shipwire slays this problem by managing your physical products and fulfilling orders.  Eliminate order fulfillment hassles. | PDF version.

Business Wire, August 6, 2009

New Shipwire Warehouse Promotion and Service Upgrades Make it Easier Than Ever to Grow E-commerce Sales in Canada

Sunnyvale, CA–August 6, 2009– As Canadian e-commerce sales continue to grow—expected to reach $11.1 billion by 2012*—online retailers see a new market opportunity in Canada. Whether based in Canada or internationally, the key to capturing Canadian market share is access to services that help businesses store and ship locally, while operating remotely. Today, Shipwire, a leading e-commerce order fulfillment service and transportation logistics company, announced major upgrades to its Canada warehouse distribution centers. Now, with Shipwire’s warehouse in Toronto, Ontario, and a second Vancouver warehouse, Internet retailers can import to Canada, store inventory in Canada, and automate product fulfillment to Canadian buyers, with faster delivery times, lower shipping costs and real-time visibility into remote inventory, all without ever crossing the border or setting foot in a warehouse. Read more

Information Management, July 16th 2009

Shipwire’s Nate Gilmore was a panelist to discuss trends in outsourcing for businesses. The call had a some sound issues and you must register to access and download the podcast. The topics discussed were enterprise and small business service outsourcing and some top tips to consider when outsourcing: 1) Try it first; 2) Considerations of partial outsourcing; 3) Managing outsourcing expectations; 4) Service level guarantees and the impact to agreements and pricing …. and 5) Why outsourced order fulfillment provides businesses owners with a “neck to choke” and why this is a good thing. Trends in Outsourcing.

America’s Morning Show, July 9th 2009

Shipwire CEO, Damon Schechter, interviewed on America’s Morning Show discussing the genesis of Shipwire and being an entrepreneur in America Discussion ranges from the state of the economy and the impact on entrepreneurship. Shipwire was created by entrepreneurs and is now helping retail entrepreneurs grow their businesses by outsourcing the hassles of inventory storage and order fulfillment. Listen to the interview.

Suite101.com, July 4th 2009

Shipwire is one service that helps small businesses participate in the global marketplace…Shipwire was created to eliminate the hassles of storage and shipping for merchants so that they can focus on growing their business…Shipwire is designed to be used by growing businesses with the same easy-to-use, on-demand, pay only for what you use structure that every merchant has grown used to with Google, PayPal, Amazon, eBay and Yahoo. Instead of buying leads, auctions or payment, merchants are now renting warehouses around the world, cutting their shipping costs and growing international e-commerce businesses. Read about Small Businesses Going Global. | PDF version.

E-commerce Times, June 18th 2009

Using Software as a Service (SaaS) or cloud computing to outsource otherwise costly infrastructure — such as human resources, call centers and automated payroll — has allowed many savvy small businesses to improve efficiencies, grow profits and maintain their business focus by buying services on demand. The benefits of the on-demand model, such as low- or no-cost resources on demand, and paying only for services used are now being applied to previously cloudless business practices. This article discusses Shipwire Internet-delivered third-party order fulfillment warehouse logistics service. Read about Internet-delivered order fulfillment. | PDF version.

Business Wire, June 11, 2009

Shipwire Founder and CEO to Speak at Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition, Wednesday June 17, 2009

Sunnyvale, CA–June 11, 2009– Shipwire (http://www.shipwire.com/), a leading order fulfillment and warehouse logistics service, today announced that Damon Schechter, CEO & founder, will speak on the “Greening your fulfillment operation: A good idea that creates a market benefit” panel at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition (IRCE) on Wednesday, June 17th at 11:30am, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Listen to the panel | Read more

Internet Retailer, May 29th, 2009

Finding the right outsourcing partner for all or part of a retailer’s fulfillment needs can make all the difference in a retailer’s ability to provide a high level of service while operating efficiently. But how to choose an outsourced vendor is not always easy and the steps to take and questions to ask are not always apparent….Here are ten questions to ask a prospective provider…. Read the article. Guide to outsourced order fulfillment. | PDF version.

E-commerce Times, May 29th 2009

Inventory management is not just for enterprises anymore. With the advent of e-commerce and globalization, small companies are engaging in many of the same business processes as large firms… To do their jobs right, they need some of the same capabilities as their larger cousins — but they need them for a small-biz price….best practices that can be tweaked to work for SMBs, Nate Gilmore, VP at Shipwire, told CRM Buyer….For instance, pushing inventory data to a shopping cart or marketplace — in other words, maintaining real-time inventory numbers — is doable if the software application provides real-time inventory API connections. Ditto for connecting an online store to a warehouse, so that each order automatically gets pick, packed and shipped to the buyer. Read about small business inventory management. | PDF version.

Blogging Stocks’, “Entrepreneur’s Journal”, May 17, 2009

This week the U.S. Postal Service hiked the rates on postage, covering a majority of the mail services like first-class mail, first-class international, postcards, and special services…Now, let’s suppose you have lots of inventory and using a stamp service probably would be impractical. In this case, you can use an outsourced storage and shipping service. And, one that has a good small business focus is Shipwire.com…The company handles fulfillment, and even returns. And, there is cost-optimization. Read the article. | PDF version.

U.S. News & World Report, May 2009

Shipwire CEO Damon Schechter is quoted on how small businesses and entrepreneurs can leverage cloud computing to help their businesses. “You can turn Shipwire on without capital costs, employees, tech maintenance or any question of scaling up or down.” Read more. (Reprint from Entrepreneur) PDF version.

Blogging Stocks’, “Entrepreneur’s Journal”, May, 2009

Building a warehouse is usually a waste of time and money. After all, in a volatile economic environment, it’s probably better to have a flexible arrangement … try outsourcing … one of the top operators is Shipwire.com. The company has a global network of Class A facilities (3 million square feet). Thus, you ship quantities of supplies to these facilities and Shipwire handles the storage, management, fulfillment ,and return services. In fact, the company handles real-time shipping optimization, which can be a cost saver. Moreover, the system integrates with many online shopping carts and payment systems like PayPal… In other words, Shipwire handles many details behind the scenes.  Read more. | PDF version.

Entrepreneur Magazine, May 2009

Shipwire CEO Damon Schechter quoted in Entrepreneur magazine article on software-as-a-service discussing “how ‘cloud computing’ will impact small business”. And Shipwire is connecting the cloud to brick-and-mortar retailing with hands-off storage, shipping and online-store integration for a la carte prices. “This was what the cloud was invented for,” says Shipwire chief Damon Schechter. “You can turn Shipwire on without capital costs, employees, tech maintenance or any question of scaling up or down.” Read more. | PDF version.

Skip McGrath, April, 2009

Many eBay Power Sellers and small website owners are looking for easier, more automated ways to buy in bulk and add products to their online store, without having to actually ship orders or store inventory locally… Another service has come to my attention that allows you to make buying light bulk (not huge containers, but small lots) inventory in order to expand your product catalog with products you buy wholesale and sell retail so seamless, you don’t dirty your hands with the day to day shipping at all….Shipwire order fulfillment…can be leveraged to help you expand beyond drop shipping by buying small amounts of inventory, storing it with Shipwire and connecting Shipwire to your eBay, Amazon and online store.  Read more. | PDF version.

ZDNet, “Between the Lines”, April, 2009

eBay power sellers discuss how eBay can compete against Amazon.  “…eBay should offer fulfillment services through third parties such as Shipwire.com…” Read more. | PDF version.

Skip McGrath, March, 2009

Shipwire is a warehouse dropshipping service. You store your products with them and they ship for you. If you want to sell overseas they have a warehouse in the UK and Toronto. So you would ship your products in bulk, clear and pay customs and Shipwire will store the products for you. When you make a sale, you simply enter the order and customer’s address on a web form and Shipwire ships it to your customer for you. Now you have a choice. You can pay for international site visibility or you can just open an account on eBay UK and list directly there. Read the article.

PC Mag, March, 2009

If you’re a small business selling repeat product, you’re probably getting a little tired of packing and labeling and shipping the same thing over and over. Couldn’t you be using that precious time to grow your business? That’s where Shipwire can help…in the U.S., Canada and Europe.  The process is simple…. Read more. | PDF version.

The Global Small Business Blog, March, 2009

It’s not too early to starting thinking about how to move or store product during the holiday selling season — especially if you decide to sell in the U.S., Canada or the U.K. Read more. | PDF version.

“Deal Radar” by Forbes Columnist Sramana Mitra, March, 2009

Shipwire offers outsourced warehousing and shipping services for online retailers and small business clients. Businesses use Shipwire for on-demand e-commerce order fulfillment services through a global warehouse network. With warehouses in Los Angeles, Nevada, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver and the UK, Shipwire allows merchants to reduce shipping costs by locating inventory closer to buyers. This shipping solution integrates and adds order fulfillment and shipping for online shopping carts and inventory management systems. Read the article.

Business Wire, Mar 2, 2009

Recession-Expansion: Savvy Small Businesses’ Path to Growth in a Cash-Strapped Economy Starts with Shipping

Sunnyvale, CA–March 2, 2009 In order to manage the double-edged sword of growth in a recession, businesses must evaluate where they can replace investments with innovation… Shipping and warehousing is one area that is essential to accelerating business growth, and simultaneously can be a drain on financial and time resources. By re-evaluating shipping and logistics processes and leveraging Web-based innovation, businesses can take a hands-off approach, encourage sustainable growth and uncover hidden savings… Marc Blaiwes, co-owner of car seat cover e-commerce company SeatGlovers, says “Shipwire is granting us immunity to all the flux in the market… Shipping was a huge hassle for years, and it prevented me from growing my business. Finding Shipwire was as big for my business as selling on eBay and sourcing with Alibaba. We’re growing exponentially and I’m realizing the true potential of my business. All of this at a time when many other merchants are just trying to stay afloat. Talk about a competitive advantage!” Read more

SIIA, February 24, 2009

SIIA chose Shipwire as a Finalist for a CODiE as the Best E-commerce Software Application.

Shipwire is thrilled that the Software Information Industry thought so highly of our Store-Sell-Ship™ order fulfillment platform that they made us a finalist for a CODiE.   Shipwire beat out some stiff competition in one of the most challenging and broad categories – Best E-commerce Application.    List of 2009 CODiE Finalists.

Manufacturing Business Technology, February, 2009

Blaine Nielsen, CEO of Doba, said: “By integrating Shipwire with Doba’s inventory-on-demand marketplace, we make it easier for suppliers to begin drop shipping. We are opening up new channels for manufacturer drop shipping that will produce sales growth at virtually no cost and with relatively little effort.” Read More. Manufacturer drop ship fulfillment resources.

Business Wire, February17, 2009

E-commerce innovators Shipwire and Doba launch first free drop ship fulfillment service for manufacturers and suppliers.

Shipwire provides automated drop ship fulfillment for direct sales linked to more than 20,000 Doba e-tailers Read more

Internet.com, December, 2008

Shipwire allows ecommerce retailers to reduce shipping costs by moving inventory closer to end buyers. Many merchants offer free shipping during the holidays. This article discusses some of the tradeoffs. Read More.

AuctionBytes, December 22, 2008

Shipwire, an order-fulfillment service and transportation logistics company, has enhanced its partner program. When partners integrate with Shipwire, they can leverage new Shipwire Fulfillment Web Services features including a multi-carrier shipping rate API. An additional Web fulfillment service feature adds inbound receiving APIs so that inventory management systems can inform Shipwire of inbound inventory and anticipated receiving times. Read More

Multi-Channel Merchant, December 17, 2008

“The key factor for me is, I don’t want to have worry about the order,” Chernoff says. “With Shipwire, when somebody places an order on the Website, I get an e-mail showing that the order has come in, and I can see that we have the item in stock and I know when it’s going to get shipped out. I don’t have to worry about the payment – because their system integrates with PayPal and I get paid immediately – and also I don’t have to worry about which shipper I’m going to use to get the best rate or fastest delivery – they handle all of that for me.” Read more

Business Wire, December 16, 2008.

Enhanced Program Presents Revenue Opportunity for E-commerce Software Developers and Shipping Affiliates Read more

BusinessWeek, November 21, 2008

“One bright spot for online retailers Schechter identified this holiday season is exporting. He says clients a year ago were shipping only 2% of orders internationally, but that figure is now up to 15%, spurring Shipwire to open warehouses in Toronto, Vancouver, and London. Davis of PayPal likewise says small businesses are increasingly selling globally, spurred in part by favorable exchange rates that make buying U.S. goods a bargain.” Read article.

ecopreneurist.com, October 2008

“Shipwire removes the roadblocks to the simple, greener expansion of a business. They have multiple warehouses both in and out of the US, help you clear international hurdles with ease, don’t put you through a credit check, don’t ask for a large sum up front, and don’t require a long term commitment. It’s warehousing on demand.

It’s simple, really: Send your product to the warehouses you choose, sell them online the same way you always have, Shipwire processes the order, and you have happy customers. You have happy you, knowing you’re reducing your carbon footprint, responsibilities, and increasing space for you, mentally and literally.” Read the Article.

BusinessWeek, October 24, 2008

Shipwire CEO Damon Schechter discusses starting a business in the logistics and transportation industry with BusinessWeek.  Read article Also see the Shipwire shipping affiliate partner program.

Portfolio.com, October 2008

“Small businesses have needed an easy-to-use Internet-delivered service that empowers them to enter new markets and grow sales,” states Hofmann. “Shipwire’s logistics platform gives merchants powerful shipping and order fulfillment tools as well as supply chain insight that solves major warehouse and shipping headaches for small- business merchants. ” Read the Article.

World Trade Magazine, September 30th, 2008.

[The]“store, sell, ship” model…helps small companies compete globally with a level of shipping comparable to that of their largest competitors. That allowed one U.S. wind turbine company… to offer two-day delivery to its UK customers for the price of local ground transport. Read article.

Inc. Magazine, September 2008

“We chose the online warehouse and delivery service for its flexibility. I’d estimate that using Shipwire has saved us 35 percent versus the traditional warehouse option. Also, as a small business operating in a downturn economy, the fact that there are no annual commitments and pricing plan is flexible so didn’t have to marry ourselves to a certain agenda was a huge boon for us. If I tell a customer it’s going to be there in three days, I turn it over and they take care of the rest.” Read the Article. Read the Press Release.

Business Wire, September 29, 2008.

Merchants Using Shipwire to Benefit from Hofmann’s 33 Years of Logistics and Supply Chain Expertise. Read more

Wall Street Journal, September 22, 2008

As transportation costs continue to skyrocket, so too does the cost of shipping your business inventory and ordering supplies…try fulfillment services.
For businesses that have far-flung customers but don’t have a distribution partner, fulfillment services such as Shipwire…offer small-business owners a place to stow their products close to customers. For instance, a small U.S. company with customers in Montreal might consider a fulfillment service to house its inventory in Canada. While these services typically charge a monthly fee, business owners can avoid some international shipping duties, customs brokerage fees and other shipping costs.
Read The Article.

Gourmet Retailer, September 2008

E-commerce via Web fulfillment is another important supply chain consideration. Since this type of service directly impacts your end-consumer and holds a heavier weight on product loyalty, ensure that the provider can seamlessly integrate to your system. It should automatically receive orders for processing and return shipment info, including inventory levels in real time for accurate tracking. If the majority of your business hinges on e-commerce, consider technology that is synced with popular shopping carts offered by companies like Shipwire. Read the Article.

Wall Street Journal, August 20, 2008

High fuel surcharges are affecting everything from pricing to the bottom line for businesses of all sizes. Some can’t afford to cut back on offering “free shipping” for goods bought online. And many are scrambling for solutions.

Rockgardn Sports Inc., a small maker of off-road body armor and outerwear for dirt-bike riders and cyclists, thinks it has found one in an order fulfillment service… that offers small businesses the option of housing their inventory in locations closest to where the orders are coming from. For example, when the service gets a Rockgardn order from a Canadian customer, it ships the item from its Canadian warehouses in either Vancouver or Toronto, thereby greatly reducing costs and shipping times for customers there. Read The Article.

Web Hosting Industry Review, August, 2008

E-commerce software and services provider Miva Merchant has joined with order fulfillment services provider Shipwire to help small and medium-size merchants store and ship their products.

Shipwire’s Store-Sell-Ship™ platform will be added to Miva Merchant’s online store software, giving customers a complete solution for online retailers including store design tools, marketing services, and built-in payment and shipping options … With a global network including warehouses in Los Angeles, Reno, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver and the UK, Shipwire allows merchants to drastically reduce shipping costs by locating inventory closer to buyers.. Read Article

Internet.com, August 2008

In preparation for the busy holiday season, Shipwire Inc., an e-commerce order fulfillment service, has released “Five Steps to Holiday E-commerce Success,” a special promotion offering free international order fulfillment to support e-tailers’ overseas expansion and celebrate enhancements to the Shipwire Store-Sell-Ship™ platform.  Read the Article

Business Wire, August 18, 2008.

International Order Fulfillment Service Offers Step-by-Step Getting Started Guide, Holiday Promotion and New Features to Help Develop Sales in the U.S. and Overseas Read more

bMighty.com, July, 2008

With a virtual warehouse service, all your smaller business has to lose are its rent and delivery costs. What it can gain are a larger daily run rate, cost savings, and peace of mind. Read more

Multi-Channel Merchant, July 9, 2008

Shipwire, a warehouse and shipping service geared for e-tailers, has expanded into Europe with a new fulfillment center in East Sussex, U.K.

The new facility, which joins Shipwire’s other warehouses in Los Angeles, Nevada, Chicago, Toronto and Vancouver, will enable small business owners to establish a local presence overseas.
Read more

WebDeux (Translated), July 8, 2008

With Shipwire, merchants can easily and quickly outsource the entire process of receiving, storage and shipment of goods. Shipwire allows all small and medium enterprises to access a nationwide network of warehouse. With a few clicks, merchants can manage inventory, their receptions and their shipments. An API is available to integrate it in your backoffice ShipWire.

In French. Translated Text.

Internet Retailer, June 16, 2008

Order fulfillment company Shipwire, Inc. has expanded into Europe. It’s opened a new warehouse and a fulfillment facility near London in East Sussex, England. Read more.

Internet.com, June 13th 2008

Shipwire, announced its expansion into Europe with a new UK warehouse and packing fulfillment facility located outside London in East Sussex, England. Shipwire is a full-service, on-demand global warehouse and shipping service that takes care of all the hassles of storage and shipping for e-tailers. With Shipwire, online merchants can cut shipping times to Europe by up to 75 percent, according to the company. Read the Article

eWeek, June 12th 2008

Shipwire, which sells international e-commerce order fulfillment solutions and services, is expanding to allow U.S.-based small online businesses to execute orders from European customers. The company announced its new UK-based warehouse and pick-pack fulfillment facility June 9. Read the Article

Charter Institute UK, June 12, 2008

Shipwire has announced that it has expanded its operations in Europe by opening a new site in Britain.

The US-based international e-commerce order fulfillment provider claims that the move will enable it to provide access for web retailers to services aimed at meeting growing demand from European consumers.

Sluggish US dollar performance has fueled exports and Shipwire now plans to make it easier for internet retailers to expand into Europe. Read More

DMEurope, June 9, 2008

Shipwire, a company specializing in international ecommerce solutions, has expanded into Europe with a new UK warehouse and pick pack fulfillment facility located outside London in East Sussex, England. Read Article

Business Wire, June 9, 2008.

E-commerce Order Fulfillment Services Leader Launches Full-Service European Shipping Solution That Reduces Shipping Costs, Delivery Times and Barriers to Entry for Small Businesses Selling Overseas. Shipwire offers free trial for European warehouse. Read more

Gourmet Retailer, June 2nd 2008

Shipwire, which has warehouses on the East and West Coasts as well as in Canada, aims to remove the hassle of shipping and storing inventory by taking on those tasks for manufacturers and retailers. Read the Article.

Internet.com, May 22nd 2008

Is your e-tail business growing and managing your own warehouse and fulfillment is draining your resources? Do you want to buy inventory from overseas, but you can’t confidently navigate the import process yourself? Maybe you simply want discounted shipping rates and don’t want to pick-and-pack product? Shipwire… can help you by cutting costs with its storage and delivery service that integrates with your inventory and payment processing. Read the Article

E-commerce Times, May 18th 2008

In 2008, the challenges e-tailers face seem to have risen to new heights: carrier rate hikes, major postal code changes, exploding fuel costs, heightened multinational shipping expectations and uncertain consumer demand in an uncertain economy. This spring, businesses need to re-evaluate their warehousing and shipping strategy to effectively plan for the holiday rush. Holiday 2008 import guide and target timeline

Practical Ecommerce, May, 11th 2008 (Video)

Shipwire CEO Damon Schechter was recently interviewed by Practical Ecommerce. Damon and editor Kerry Murdock covered a wide range of topics related to storage, shipping, ecommerce and Shipwire. Listen to the interview.

U.S. News & World Report, April, 2008

Doggypads.com founder Mark Stern was thrilled about outgrowing his 3,000-square-foot leased warehouse—until he discovered that moving to a larger one would eat up his 4-year-old company’s margin advantage over competitors. But instead of opting for an old-world warehouse fulfillment service, the million-dollar pet supply company linked up with a Web 2.0 service provider called Shipwire, simultaneously avoiding a capital expenditure and reducing shipping costs overall. Read More

Internet Auction News Radio, April, 2008

Shipwire attended the Ebay Seller Conference put on by GoPESA and ECMTA in New Orleans at the end of April. It was a great show and it was my first time back in New Orleans since the Hurricane. We had a blast, met a lot of great contacts. The highlight was Shipwire on a panel with Alibaba.com and WorldWideBrands.com discussing supplier sourcing and inventory transportation & logistics. The panel went very well from our perspective and quite a few people stuck around after to ask questions and learn how our free trial worked. While there, Damon was interviewed by Dave and Sparky over at Internet Auction News Radio. Podcast

Entrepreneur Magazine, April, 2008

With a virtual warehouse service, all you have to lose are rent and delivery costs. Doggypads.com founder Mark Stern was thrilled about outgrowing his 3,000-square-foot leased warehouse–until he discovered that moving to a larger one would eat up his 4-year-old company’s margin advantage over competitors. But instead of opting for an old-world warehouse fulfillment service, the million-dollar pet supply company linked up with a Web 2.0 service provider called Shipwire, simulatenously avoiding a capital expenditure and reducing shipping costs overall. “As it stands now, Doggypads saved 66 percent a month on rent by [using] Shipwire over our own warehouse,” says Stern, 34, whose company is based in Los Angeles. “Those savings continue to increase as our volume grows–not to mention the costs we’ve offset or eliminated by using a third-party fulfillment company.” Those costs include insurance premiums and expenses related to employee management. Read more

AuctionBytes, March 24, 2008

Ecommerce solutions provider Zoovy announced a strategic integration with fulfillment service Shipwire. The new integration allows Zoovy’s merchants to store merchandise and fulfill orders from multiple warehouses throughout the US and Canada. Shipwire is connected to the Zoovy checkout and order solution, sending orders directly to the Shipwire Store-Sell-Ship platform. When customers order from Zoovy stores, Shipwire picks, packs and ships the products. Senior Director of Marketing and Business Development for Shipwire Nate Gilmore said, “Shipwire and Zoovy both enable merchants to focus on growing their business by eliminating the day-to-day hassles of running an Internet retail business. Working together we expect to help merchants streamline their Internet and fulfillment operations to more easily enter, and be successful in, domestic and international markets.” Read more

CIO-Weblog, March 24, 2008

“Shipwire has four warehouses available in North America (and are experimenting with another in Great Britain). Of course, the part that I find most interesting is the integration, and Shipwire is ahead of the game there; they have an impressive list of software which their system works with out of the box, and they publish their API for other developers to work with as well.” Read More

Geekpreneur, March 20, 2008

“When you’re a one-man band, you have to do everything — even the sorts of jobs that had a boss asked you to do them, would have had you storming for the exit. While hiring help can be one useful solution, many small business owners are faced with a Catch 22: paying employees lets you focus on the most valuable parts of your business and boosts growth; but it also requires capital… which you won’t have until you’ve achieved that growth. When it comes to one of the most difficult (and frustrating) aspects of running a small business — the logistics of delivery and warehousing — there is a way out of this vicious circle. The whole system is very simple. You just have to ship your goods to Shipwire’s warehouses, send them your orders — together with the delivery fees — and they handle everything for you.” Read More

Business Wire, January 22, 2008

Shipwire, Inc., the leader in Internet-delivered storage and shipping services, today announced that Keetsa has successfully deployed Shipwire to eliminate the hassles of warehousing and order fulfillment — and keep its environmentally friendly mattresses’ carbon footprint low. Keetsa is using the game-changing Shipwire storage and shipping solution to get its revolutionary, eco-friendly memory-foam mattresses to customers faster and easier, in the process removing Keetsa’s need for a 10,000 square-foot warehouse. Read more

Business Wire, December 11, 2007

Shipwire, Inc., the leading provider of Internet-based inventory storage and order shipping services, today announced an innovative program that offers a new opportunity for ecommerce developers to participate in the huge shipping, logistics and warehouse market. The program is targeted at ecommerce developers, Web store designers and hosting providers that want to make inventory storage and order shipping a distinguishing feature of their ecommerce service offering. For the first time, ecommerce providers have the ability to earn long term commissions while solving merchant pain points related to order shipments, returns handling and international shipping. Program details are at www.shipwire.com/partner. Read more

AuctionBytes, December 2, 2007

“DoggyPads.com has been in business for two-and-a-half years and sells housebreaking products to consumers and retailers. Doggypads is based in Los Angeles, CA and imports its products in large quantities from China. AuctionBytes chats with founder Mark Stern about how he handled the growing pains of the business by outsourcing fulfillment to a company called Shipwire and was able to eliminate his 3,000 square-foot warehouse. Run time: 8:38” Download MP3.

Women Entrepreneur, November 26, 2007

Like many restless college roommates, Jamee Kunichika and Sherilyn Luke wanted a business to call their own. Instead of just dreaming about it, they took action. Three years later, having endured extreme highs and lows, they are enjoying the sweet smell of success. Together they have attained their dreams with POOF, a liquid toilet odor eliminator. Read more

Multi-Channel Merchant, November 14, 2007

Considering selling to Canada? Third-party logistics provider Shipwire announced Nov. 12 that it has expanded into the Canadian market with a new Toronto-based warehouse. Shipwire says its Canadian location enables Web retailers to move and store wholesale and retail inventory within Canada. This means faster delivery to buyers in Canada with lower shipping charges, according to the company. Read more

Internet Retailer, November 13, 2007

Smith joins Shipwire from Superba, a manufacturer and distributor of apparel, where he oversaw the distribution and shipment of more than 20 million product units per year and coordinated Superba’s international system of manufacturing, logistics and distribution centers. Superba was recently acquired by Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. Read more

Business Wire, November 12, 2007

Shipwire, Inc. today announced the addition of a Class A Toronto, Canada warehouse facility, extending its bid to reshape how small and growing Web merchants store, sell and ship their products worldwide.  Shipwire provides assistance importing to Canada. Read more

Business Wire, November 12, 2007

Shipwire, Inc. today announced the addition of recognized warehouse and logistics industry expert Saul Smith to its management team in the role of vice president of warehouse operations. The hiring coup is Shipwire’s latest strategic move in its bid to reshape how small and growing Web merchants store, sell and ship their products worldwide. Read more

Silicon Valley Business Journal, November 9th 2007

Damon Schechter says his company holds the secret to running a global business out of your living room. Sunnyvale-based startup Shipwire Inc. stores and ships goods for online and brick-and-mortar retailers. After quick growth since launching in July 2004, company officials are looking to take the company — and their customers — worldwide. Read More (subscription required)

Internet Retailer, October 31, 2007

Shipwire Inc.’s redesigned Shipwire.com lets online retailers, including sellers on eBay, operate without their own warehouse and shipping facilities by arranging for Shipwire to store inventory and ship it to their online customers. “Our goal is to fundamentally change the game for merchants with easy, no-risk Internet delivery services that allow businesses to eliminate storage and shipping as a barrier to their business growth,” says founder and CEO Damon Schechter. Read more

Alarm:Clock, October 29, 2007

Damon Schechter wrote the book: Delivering the Goods – The Art of Managing Your Supply Chain (Wiley, 2002). Then he founded a company to put the book’s lessons into action. With Shipwire, online merchants can outsource the process of receiving, warehousing and shipping merchandise. Shipwire works with small- to medium-sized business to give them access to a national warehouse network with bundled pricing. Read more.

VentureWire, October 29, 2007

Shipwire Inc. Chief Executive Damon Schechter wrote the book on delivering the goods. Seriously, he literally wrote a book called “Delivering the Goods: The Art of Managing Your Supply Chain.” Now, with a fresh $4 million round of venture funding, Shipwire is helping small business owners deliver their goods. Read more

Entrepreneur Magazine, July, 2007

Consider Shipwire.com, a firm whose fulfillment service lets growing online merchants outsource the entire process of receiving, warehousing and shipping merchandise. Shipwire.com’s services start at $29.95 per month for access to a national warehouse network, simple bundled pricing and an open developer network. More than 30,000 online stores have already built Shipwire technology into their operations. According to Damon Schechter, CEO of Shipwire.com and author of Delivering the Goods, small businesses spend more than $50 billion each year bringing bulk merchandise into the U.S., managing that inventory, and packing and shipping individual orders. “For most of these businesses, shipping is an inefficient and unwanted cost center,” Schechter explains. Read more.

WebWare, June 18, 2007

Lick and stick, or pick and pack? I don’t know. And if you don’t either, and you’re trying to start an online store, you might want to check out Shipwire, which will handle your online business’ shipping needs for you. Instead of having your suppliers ship goods to you that you then have to warehouse and ship to your customers, you ask your suppliers to send everything to Shipwire, which will handle all the heavy lifting, licking, sticking, and packing. Read more.

AuctionBytes, May 24, 2007

“Now that the Stone Edge Order Manager works seamlessly with Shipwire.com, a small business can easily and quickly add a new sales channel to their business, such as eBay auctions, and arrange to have inventory sent directly to Shipwire warehouses and on to customers.” Read more.

Internet.com, May 24, 2007

“On the day-to-day operations front, Stone Edge Technologies, Inc. and Shipwire.com partnered up to help small businesses streamline their ordering-and-shipping tasks by using Stone Edge Order Manager Version Five. With the new partnership, Order Manager will now automatically send fulfillment orders to Shipwire.com, as well as import shipment tracking data for e-mails and customer lookups and automatically synchronize inventory information.” Read more.

Microsoft, May 22, 2007

“In the first generation businesses leveraged their economies of scale to build out their own logistics and operations infrastructures, think Sears, Roebuck and Company or US Steel. In the second generation large businesses outsource providers evolved such as Fed Ex and ADP. Today, businesses of any size can outsource portions of their operations, or skip the high capitalization of infrastructure and rent their operations from new companies like Shipwire.” Read more.

Success Magazine, March, 2007

“Shipwire.com is designed to work with businesses of all sizes, but particularly to work with small and start-up companies and grow with them.” Read more.

Brand Revival, February 23, 2007

“I love the turn-key aspect of Shipwire. Entrepreneurs can receive, store and ship merchandise with just a few clicks. I know our small business wannabees and gonnabees visiting Plexus 2007 will hook in to this one. Credit card and PayPal make money simple. There’s no programming required–just a Shipwire email address into your on-line store makes it happen.” Read more.

AuctionBytes, February 9, 2007

“The Shipwire service allows sellers to outsource the entire process of receiving, warehousing and shipping merchandise. Plans start at $29.95 a month and Shipwire has a national warehouse network, simple bundled pricing, and an open developer network.” Read more.

InfoWorld, February 5, 2007

“Shipwire was the poster child for people-powered tech. The new company will help small companies compete with the largest retailers by offering a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution for warehouse management, and the pick-pack-and-ship process.” Read more.

BusinessWeek, February 1, 2007

“With a quick set of clicks on Shipwire’s Web site, a small business can arrange to have inventory sent to Shipwire warehouses and on to customers. Shipwire handles the storage, the packing, the shipping and other logistical details from warehouses in Chicago and Los Angeles, with more scheduled to come online around the world. Although this is everyday stuff for big companies, basement startups, craft makers and other homegrown vendors generally don’t have inexpensive access to such services.”

InformationWeek, February 1, 2007

“A startup called Shipwire.com aims to empower small businesses by offering a Web-based shipping service. The Shipwire service isn’t tied to any one online store. It’s simply an easy way to outsource shipping, receiving, and warehousing of goods. Because Shipwire accepts PayPal, it can handle transactions in 103 countries.” Read more.

ABC News, February 1, 2007

“Shipwire gives small businesses a degree of power they’ve never before enjoyed in the costly, complex process of shipping goods worldwide. Shipwire can turn the Web into a small business’ supply-chain department.” Read more.

San Jose Mercury News, February 1, 2007

“Shipwire.com charges $30 to become the shipping and warehouse arm of a small business. It will stock the small business’s inventory in its warehouse and ship it to dozens of countries, expanding the reach of companies across the globe.” Read more.

InfoWorld, January 31, 2007

“If there is a poster child for empowering the people perhaps it is Shipwire. This company will give small companies the ability to compete with the largest retailers by offering a SaaS (software as a service) solution for warehouse management and for the pick, pack, and ship process.” Read more.

CIO, January 31, 2007

“Shipwire is a soup-to-nuts shipping service for small businesses, particularly those who are outside the U.S. It includes warehouse services, manages inventory, helps you with customs, and lets your suppliers ship directly to the warehouse. For the e-commerce customer, the shipping process is the same — only more efficient. It could be a boon for small businesses, especially those outside North America.” Read more.

Kauffman eVenturing, January 31, 2007

“Shipwire.com is remarkable for many reasons, chief among is that their technology has the potential to literally fuel new company formation. Shipwire.com, in a nutshell, enables a merchant to go online with their business, and then can use Shipwire to take care of nearly all logistics involved in getting product into the customers hands.” Read more.

CNet, January 31, 2007

“Lick and stick, or pick and pack? I don’t know. And if you don’t either, and you’re trying to start an online store, you might want to check out Shipwire, which will handle your online business’ shipping needs for you. Instead of having your suppliers ship goods to you that you then have to warehouse and ship to your customers, you ask your suppliers to send everything to Shipwire, which will handle all the heavy lifting, licking, sticking, and packing.” Read more.

The World Technology Roundup, January 31, 2007

“The idea of working anywhere doesn’t just apply to nomadic executives. Now a new company called Shipwire has done the same thing for companies which want to have remote shipping and inventory management. The beauty of Shipwire is how they have made their presence transparent to their customer’s customer. What’s more their geographic spread and planned buying power to bring costs of shipping down makes this something perfect for the cottage industry of eBay sellers. As a matter of fact if this company takes off look for them to be a perfect buy for eBay as they are already accepting PayPal.” Read more.

San Jose Mercury News, January 31, 2007

“Shipwire.com is operating some big warehouses where it can stock inventory and allow small businesses to extend themselves into new markets. If you’re a small business in England, you could open a virtual office in the United States with Shipwire.com. Your manufacturer, perhaps in Taiwan, could ship directly to the Shipwire warehouses. You can take orders over the web and Shipwire.com would fulfill them. You can log in at a portal to monitor sales, add new products to your line, send merchandise, process orders and do other work for you.” Read more.

NetworkWorld, January 31, 2007

“Shipwire, a service for companies looking to get goods into foreign markets more easily, makes me think of one thing: George Costanza’s “Vandelay Industries – Importer/Exporters.” If George had this, he could have easily entered the global latex product market.” Read more.

Conferenza, January 31, 2007

“CEO Damon Schechter talked about his company’s Web-based shipping and inventory logistics service for small businesses. He emulated a small business owner in the U.K. looking to move into the U.S. market, opening a $30 monthly account on Shipwire, describe his shipping requirements, and pointing to locations he’d like products stored and shipped from. Shipwire then provides a shipping address for remote vendors (in 103 countries), making the company a virtual receiving platform. Why is this important? It’s a way to rapidly legitimize a small business in a new market to its suppliers and buyers, providing local fulfillment services, and potentially helping the business manage and scale inventory in remote locations.” Read more.

DEMO, January 31, 2007

Chris Shipley, executive producer of the prestigious DEMO conferences, said, “Web services have made most aspects of online retailing available to the mom-and-pop retailer. Shipwire drops the final piece in place by providing professional warehousing and fulfillment services. This Web service is extremely practical and useful, and it’s based on a smart and highly leveraged business model, making Shipwire a company worth watching. Shipwire’s breadth of logistical services, and the tight integration of the solution, are impressive. And for growing businesses, this scalable solution is a wonderful alternative to managing logistics and hiring employees. Shipwire is a business accelerator for thousands of small companies.” Read more.

Thailand, Dec 20, 2006

E.I. Square Publishing has released the Thai edition of Delivering the Goods: The Art of Managing Your Supply Chain, by Damon Schechter with Gordon Sander. Mr. Schechter is CEO of Shipwire, Inc. Delivering the Goods looks at business logistics through the history of successful military logistical operations undertaken by leaders from Alexander the Great to General Norman Schwarzkopf. After exploring some of the most inventive solutions ever devised for logistical problems, Mr. Schechter applies the lessons learned to modern business. In the process he includes real-world examples of techniques for supply chain optimization used by various organizations—from the modern U.S. Army to the computer company Sun Microsystems. Read more.