What is a Courier Aggregator?
A courier aggregator, also known as a shipping aggregator or logistics aggregator, is a company that pairs up with major courier partners to bring them all on one platform. A courier aggregator’s primary function is to provide multiple shipping partners to online businesses so they can choose the option that suits them best without going through much hassle. In addition to cost savings, courier aggregator companies also allow location coverage, shipment-related management, and always having a backup plan to streamline the order fulfillment process.
Partnering with a courier aggregator is ideal for companies that get large volumes of orders every month. Since local courier partners usually need to become more adept at handling thousands of orders simultaneously, e-commerce businesses can rely on courier aggregators to deliver their products using multiple courier partners.
In this article, we closely examine a courier aggregator’s significant advantages and disadvantages, so you can decide if this is the right option for your business. So, keep reading!
Top 10 Advantages Your Business Gets with Courier Aggregators
Hiring a courier aggregator has several advantages, including inventory management and order tracking. Therefore, it is imperative for businesses to learn about these perks before they partner with a courier aggregator.
- Multiple courier partners: As stated above, the characteristic feature of a courier aggregator is to bring several courier partners on a common platform. This gives businesses the advantage of choosing the right courier partner without searching exhaustively. Furthermore, businesses can easily compare the shipping rates, services provided, and more before they fulfill their order through a particular courier service.
- Real-time tracking: Many courier aggregators these days are providing reliable real-time order tracking options to buyers and sellers. This helps sellers to monitor their order fulfillment process firsthand, whereas buyers get a sense of transparency.
- Automated courier recommendations: Many courier aggregator platforms use specific algorithms and AI tools to recommend the right courier partner to sellers based on their delivery requirements. Hence, this makes the process even more time-saving and efficient.
- Website and marketplace integration: Businesses can use APIs to integrate their online marketplace or website with their courier aggregator platform. In this way, the APIs fetch data from your site and feed that directly into the aggregator’s platform, making it possible for you to ship the orders directly from the platform. Consequently, there is no loss of orders, and your marketplace or website is always in sync with order fulfillment.
- Inventory management: Several courier aggregators offer the additional benefits of inventory management. Hence, a business receiving bulk orders can directly tally the items on the courier aggregator platform before shipping them out. This saves time and money since one does not have to invest in inventory management software.
- Simplified return order management: Courier aggregators make managing return requests much more uncomplicated. This is because, firstly, multiple partners give you the flexibility to choose the most appropriate one; secondly, you can directly place a return request on the courier aggregator platform.
- Wide location coverage: Since multiple courier partners are available on a courier aggregator platform, businesses can rely on having a broad pin code reach. Hence, online sellers can reach a giant customer base across the country they are serving.
- Ease of access with a multifunctional platform: A courier aggregator platform usually offers forward and reverse logistics. Hence, it becomes super simple for businesses to carry out every aspect of order fulfillment from a single location with minimal hassle.
- Better business analytics: Besides courier services and forward and reverse logistics, several courier aggregators provide regular detailed business analytics about pickups and delivered orders. This helps businesses track their daily progress and make more informed business decisions.
- Flexible payment options: Unlike local courier partners, courier aggregators provide flexible payment options, including prepaid payment and cash on delivery. Hence, customers get more flexibility and are left impressed.
What are the limitations of using a shipping or courier aggregator?
While there are numerous advantages to using a courier aggregator, there can also be a few drawbacks. If you need confirmationabout whether hiring a courier aggregator is the right option, continue reading about the limitations of courier aggregators to make a more informed decision.
1. Negative customer impact: While there are several ways in which a courier aggregator can help drive positive customer reviews, the reverse can also happen. This is primarily because courier aggregators can be the reason for delayed tracking updates and slow communication.
The former is caused because a courier aggregator cannot notice static orders or delayed updates without any intimation from the seller.
Furthermore, when a seller passes on a where-is-my-order complaint from a buyer to the aggregator, it takes the aggregator 2-3 days to collect information about the order from the concerned carrier and inform the seller. Meanwhile, the customer keeps growing impatient and ends up having a negative experience.
2. Limited selection of courier partners: While courier aggregators are supposed to have a relatively wide selection of courier partners, it could be possible that the aggregator you end up pairing with does not provide many options of courier partners. In such a situation, you would have no choice but to settle with what you get.
3. Double costs: While a courier aggregator might seem like a cheap option, at times it can be quite the opposite. This is because your courier aggregator can levy charges against you later, depending on their and the courier partners’ needs. These charges could be related to COD handling, fuel surcharges, reverse logistics costs, invoice errors, value-added taxes, customs fees, etc.
4. Cheapest versus best: In most companies, one of the primary goals is to save as much as possible. Hence, they opt for cheap courier aggregators instead of the best ones. This affects the quality of order fulfillment and overall order management, denting the customer experience. Hence, the goal should be to find a courier aggregator that offers quality services, has low RTO (Return to Origin) rates, and has efficient management at an optimal price.
5. Long-term feasibility: In general, courier aggregators might make it more difficult for companies to control their own order fulfillment processes since the order fulfillment itself is carried out by a third party. Hence, with limited monitoring capabilities and low carrier performance visibility, there may be better options than a courier aggregator.
Conclusion
In conclusion, hiring a courier aggregator comes with both advantages and drawbacks. The advantages of courier aggregators encompass many factors that help make the order fulfillment process much simpler, cheaper, and more efficient. On the contrary, it is also worthwhile to learn about the drawbacks of courier aggregators before one jumps straight into partnering with one. With this article’s help, you can decide whether a courier aggregator is right for your business.
FAQs
Why do e-commerce companies choose to use courier aggregators?
E-commerce companies choose courier aggregators as they offer different courier partners on the same platform.
How does a courier aggregator platform benefit an e-commerce company?
A courier aggregator platform benefits an e-commerce company by simplifying forward and reverse logistics, helping save costs, and reaching a wide audience across a vast area.
What is the role of a courier aggregator?
The role of a courier aggregator is to partner with several courier services and bring them on board to offer online sellers different courier options for fulfilling their orders.
