Interest in direct-from-store shipping has increased dramatically among independent retailers and nationwide retail chains over the last couple of years, and it’s not hard to see why.

It improves inventory efficiency and speeds up inventory management (allowing retailers to hop on trends). Because deliveries are more localised, they are faster, more accurate, and reduce emissions.

 

What is Ship From Store?

Ship from store is a fulfilment model that uses stores as mini warehouses to fulfil ecommerce orders from the closest local store – rather than delivering all orders long distance from a  centralised warehouse or distribution centre.

It helps businesses with physical stores to compete more effectively with online-only retailers.

 

How Does It Work?

The fundamentals of ship from store are straightforward: 

Customers place their orders online > Orders are picked and packed from a local store > Parcels are collected by a courier > Then delivered to customers – either the following day, or increasingly same day or even same hour.

Ship From Store: Benefits for Retailers

 

Reduced Missed Sales

We’ve all seen it – the item you want is unavailable online, but the retailer is pleased to inform you that it is in stock at your local store. Great. But i don’t have the time to head in, that’s why i’m shopping online.

Having this kind of access to inventory reduces failed shopper missions and increases your sales and your inventory sell through. 

 

Faster Same Day / Same Hour Delivery

When speed is critical and hours or minutes count to your customers, ship from store allows you to offer instant, on-demand delivery.

It’s easier, cheaper, and quicker to set up than you think. Particularly if you have an existing click and collect offering. 

We went from a ship-from-store pilot with Co-op to over 200 stores in just 6 months.

 

Greener Deliveries

With stores acting as mini-warehouses, orders are assigned and fulfilled from the store closest to the customer. This more localised delivery means reduced delivery distances, and you can used lower emission vehicles like push bikes and cargo bikes, reducing Co2-emissions that might otherwise be emitted via vans on longer journeys.

 

Faster Inventory Turnover

Using the stock available in physical stores to fulfill online orders, instead of waiting for goods to travel from a central warehouse, reduces the time it takes for items to reach customers, resulting in quicker sales and replenishment cycles, and helps to maintain fresher stock.

 

Upselling Fulfilment Services

Fulfilling items direct from store gives additional and often premium packaging options that are difficult to offer from traditional distribution centre – things like alterations, or gift wrapping that in-store staff are familiar with. 

 

Reduced Shipping Costs

The last mile represents one of the most costly legs of the delivery journey. However, ship from store can help you optimise last-mile logistics and decrease shipping costs. 

Shipping from a centralised warehouse often involves higher costs due to longer distances and complex logistics. In contrast, using your store’s inventory allows for shorter delivery routes, leading to lower shipping fees and faster fulfillment. 

 

Improved Delivery Experience – Better ETAs and Fewer Fails

Retail stores tend to be closer to delivery addresses, which makes ship from store a great option for reducing failed deliveries. 

 

Shop Local

Fulfilling orders locally can foster a stronger connection with the community, as your customers will appreciate that you go above and beyond to meet their needs. In return, they may be more loyal when choosing between your business and other stores. 

 

Reduced Packaging

Fulfilling orders from your store often requires less packaging compared to shipping from a warehouse, which can help make your operations greener. Additionally, there’s less risk of damage since products don’t need to endure long transit times.

 

More Secure

Customers are familiar with your team and store. As a result, they may be more confident in your ability to fulfill online orders as opposed to a faceless digital store. 

Your team can build on this trust by adhering to stringent quality-control standards and ensuring that every product is packed carefully. 

Explore a few ship-from-store case studies to learn more about the benefits of fulfilling orders directly from your shop.

 

Next Day Ship from Store: offers additional advantages

In addition to the advantages listed above – shipping from store can be an effective way to upgrade a next day delivery option. 

 

More Timeslot Options

By leveraging localised fulfilment, you gain more control over next day delivery times before 10 a.m. or within a specific hour while potentially matching traditional next day shipping costs.

 

Extended Order Cut-Offs

Order by XX time to get next day delivery. If you’re delivering traditionally from a warehouse, those cut off times are typically between 4pm and 8pm. When shipping from store, you can extend those cut offs until midnight – so long as your instore fulfilment operation can pick and pack in time for the courier collection the following day.

 

Challenges of Shipping Direct From Store

While shipping from your store offers some considerable advantages, there are also some considerable operational and strategic challenges to consider (we can help with that btw)

For instance, smaller stores may be overwhelmed by high order volumes and minimal capacity. You might require investment in Inventory management, advanced tracking systems, and staff training – and these investments need to deliver a return either in ROI or improved customer experience. 

Some challenges to consider: 

 

Potentially Overload a Smaller Network

If your store isn’t equipped to handle a high volume of online orders, your team may quickly get overwhelmed, leading to delays, decreased customer satisfaction, and employee burnout. 

Consider whether you have the people and technology infrastructure necessary to perform stock management and order processing in-house.  If you’re interested in implementing the ship-from-store model, you’ll need to invest in additional resources and technology.

Focus on automating as many routine processes as possible. Examples include label printing and sending email confirmations. That way, your team can prioritise hands-on work like packaging orders.

 

Potential Limits on Pricing and Carrier Partnerships

Ship-from-store volumes might prohibit pricing with traditional next-day carriers, which may require a minimum volume of shipments. 

If you don’t meet these thresholds, you might not have access to the most cost-effective shipping rates.

 

Staff Training and Adaptation

Transitioning to a ship-from-store model can be tough on your staff. You’ll need to train employees on how to manage online order fulfillment without neglecting their regular duties. 

This shift can be difficult, especially if your team is accustomed to more traditional retail activities.

 

Inventory Management

When you’re fulfilling orders from the warehouse and the store, tracking inventory becomes even more complex. You run the risk of overselling products or facing stockouts, both of which will make customers unhappy.

To avoid this, you’ll need to implement robust inventory management software designed to help you maintain real-time stock levels. This software will be one of the cornerstones of the digital side of your operation.

 

Technology Integration

Rolling out new technologies at a handful of warehouses is tricky enough as it is. If you need to deploy those solutions at dozens of stores, the process becomes exponentially harder. 

For example, integrating AI in logistics across 50 stores will be far more time-consuming than implementing the same tech in five warehouses. 

That said, you must ensure that your point-of-sale (POS) system, e-commerce platforms, and inventory management tools are integrated. Otherwise, data can become siloed, which can lead to discrepancies between the three platforms. 

 

Return and Refund Complications

Handling returns and refunds can become more complicated when you ship orders from your store. Do customers ship the items back to you, or do the orders need to be sent to the warehouse? 

It’s important to think about how you’ll process returns. You’ll need to establish criteria for determining where returned items get sent. Otherwise, your store will get inundated with return items that must be re-shipped to a warehouse or distribution center. 


Sales Attribution 

When we spoke to a nationwide retailer, they were trying to decide whether an online order fulfilled through a local store counted against that store’s revenue target. 

It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s definitely something you need to consider given the reliance on store staff and any bonus payments that might impact.

 

Delivery Speed Expectations

Today’s consumers have high expectations regarding delivery times. If your customers discover that you’re shipping their orders locally, they may expect even more. To meet or exceed these expectations, you’ll need reliable logistics partners and efficient processes.

Review your fulfillment times regularly and compare them to shipments originating from the warehouse. Your store should consistently offer faster delivery speeds to local addresses. 

 

In Summary: Ship From Store vs. Ship From Warehouse

Should you keep shipping items from the warehouse or adopt the ship-from-store model? It depends on the size and geographic footprint of your business, as well as the quality of your fulfillment infrastructure. 

Shipping from a warehouse allows you to maintain a centralised inventory. Warehouses can handle large volumes of orders efficiently. However, this may result in longer delivery times and higher shipping costs due to the distance between the facility and the customer.

Conversely, shipping from your store allows you to use local inventory, which means lower shipping costs and shorter delivery times. Using local inventory first can reduce the likelihood that your stores will get stuck with outdated or out-of-season products.

 

Getting Started With Ship From Store

So, you’re on board with the idea of ship from store. Here are a few things to set up to get you started:

 

Order Management System (OMS) 

Make the best use of an OMS to bring together all aspects of a customer’s order – products, volumes, delivery location, special requests. Shopify or Metapack are some solid OMS options used by some of our trusty retail clients.

You can also use an OMS to match orders with stock locations so that delivery in London, for example, is fulfilled from a local postcode. An OMS can also help you consolidate orders if products need to be delivered near to each other.

 

Rohbust Pick and Pack Processes

Nail the pick and pack process by training staff and carefully consider how your packing stations are laid out (Screwfix uses easy-to-navigate wide aisles). 

 

Tech Enabled Delivery Provider 

Some deliveries will be a straightforward journey from A to B, others might involve multidrops. So you’ll either need to input accurate delivery details into your chosen carrier, send them a list of your delivery locations, or – even better – build a bespoke API with them to automate the best routes.

 

Want More Insight and Options on Shipping From Store?

We provide businesses like yours with a faster, smarter way to deliver items on the same day. 

Check out our blog for more tips and tools that can help you effectively ship from your store.