What are Shopify's logistics methods? What kind of logistics does it use?

When you are working on cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Shopee, AliExpress, Shopify, etc., you must understand the logistics methods of the platforms. Then choose the appropriate logistics method according to the items to be transported. So what are the logistics methods of Shopify?

What logistics does Shopify use?

1. Dedicated Line Logistics

Dedicated logistics means finding a freight forwarder to ship the goods. It is relatively cost-effective and includes air, sea, and rail transportation.

Air transport, that is, transportation by cargo plane or cargo passenger plane, and then delivery by express delivery, takes about 5-10 working days to arrive, but the cost is also relatively high.

The ocean freight line is cargo ship transportation, which is relatively stable, the cheapest, suitable for large cargo transportation, and takes about 25-40 days to arrive.

Rail transport has a relatively high cost-effectiveness ratio, taking about 18-25 days, and is mainly used as a mode of transport within Europe.

Shopify Shipping

Shopify Shipping is actually equivalent to official logistics, and currently only supports order shipping options in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Compared with self-delivery, the logistics method of Shopify Shipping has many advantages, such as faster transportation efficiency of goods, faster packaging and delivery process, saving time spent at the post office, displaying calculated shipping costs to customers, and reducing shipping costs through logistics providers such as Canada Post.

3. International Express

The four main international express delivery companies are DHL, TNT, UPS and FedEx. EMS is also commonly used. Its biggest advantage is its fast delivery time, but the cost is relatively high.

The delivery times of international express to France are as follows:

DHL: It can transport laptops, documents, and mobile phones. It takes about 6 days to arrive and is more suitable for transporting small products.

Fedex: Time limit is 4-6 working days, and it has more advantages in transporting large quantities of goods.

EMS: In Hong Kong, liquids, food, and medicines can be shipped, with a time limit of 3-8 days. The customs clearance capabilities are also relatively strong.

UPS, TNT: are more suitable for large cargo transportation.

4. Overseas Warehouse Logistics

The seller will first transport his goods to the overseas warehouse, and then the overseas warehouse will be responsible for shipping after the buyer places an order.

For this type of logistics, overseas warehouses generally cooperate with specific logistics companies. For example, USPS, FedEx, UPS, express delivery in the United States, and overseas warehouses’ own delivery methods are all relatively common delivery logistics.

Then the seller can try to communicate with the overseas warehouse and choose one of the logistics methods to ship the goods, which will be more secure; or choose an overseas warehouse based on the logistics channels that the overseas warehouse cooperates with, which can better guarantee the delivery time of the product.

Of course, if you are a seller of virtual products, you don’t need to set up shipping.

Except for Shopify Shipping, sellers of the other two methods need to upload the logistics order number to the backend to avoid buyers not being able to see the logistics information, resulting in returns or complaints.

To sum up, Shopify's logistics methods include dedicated line logistics, overseas warehouse logistics, Shopify Shipping, international express delivery, self-delivery, and delivery platform delivery.