The eCommerce business is one of the fastest-growing and profitable industries. However, it is also highly competitive, has high operational costs, and is exhausting to run.
One of the main reasons why eCommerce businesses are challenging is shipping and delivering packages to customers on time day in and day out. Even a few missed deliveries can result in losing your precious time, and money. Besides, it can jeopardize your customers’ experience.
Considering the significance of fast and on-time shipping, you need to pick a reliable carrier. Partnering with a reputable carrier to deliver parcels can be a game-changer for your business.
There are several leading carriers, such as Canada Post, Purolator, FedEx, UPS and Canpar that provide pickup services. You can even schedule a pickup with any of them as per your convenience.
How Does a Pickup Schedule Work?
Do you need to send your parcels to customers, but can’t make it to Canada Post? You just don’t want to go through the hassle of going to these places in person.
The good news is all leading carriers offer a convenient way to schedule parcel pickup. Just follow the steps below:
Pick a carrier: Every carrier has different pickup options depending on the shipping origin and destination, which item you want to ship, how you want to ship it (e.g., Ground or Express), and the premium shipping fee you can bear.
Schedule your parcel pickup: Fill out a simple online form the carrier provides to schedule package pickup. It may even be possible to request pickup over the phone.
Get ready to ship: Get your parcel ready for pickup, complete it with any labels and prepayment requirements, and send it for shipment.
You have Scheduled Your Pickup. Now What?
Once you schedule a pickup, you need to follow the steps your parcel pickup service suggests to keep it ready. For example, when UPS schedules a pickup, it gives an option of getting the shipping labels from the driver.
How quickly your parcel will get delivered will depend on its pickup time and the shipping option you choose.
National carriers such as CanadaPost, UPS, FedEx provide the pickup window according to the time you mention your package will be ready. The carrier will inform you about the pickup window when you complete your request for the pickup service.
The carrier you select will give you an estimated delivery time, along with the parcel tracking information depending on the services you choose. The estimated delivery times may vary from the ones available for drop-off.
How to Schedule a Pickup with UPS?
For UPS schedule pickup, you need to preprint shipping labels or pay the driver via money order or check. For this, you can go to the Schedule a Pickup page of UPS. Or else, you can go to create a Shipment on the UPS Canada site.
Next, you have to follow the steps mentioned on the website. It works like this:
- Specify your shipping origin and destination.
- You need to provide your package weight, dimensions, parcel value, items, and packaging.
- According to the pickup window UPS offers, schedule your pickup.
- Choose a shipping option. It will determine how fast your package gets delivered and how much you are willing to pay for shipping. UPS has several shipping options, including Saturday delivery.
- Choose your payment method. To see the breakdown of your shipping charges, like the pickup charges that will apply. You can get that information by clicking the yellow bar on the web page.
Most parcels are eligible for pickup. Although there are a few restrictions that you need to know about:
- A parcel weight should not be more than 150 lb.
- Parcel value with more than $1000 needs a UPS high-value shipping summary.
- UPS prohibits shipping any illegal materials.
- Hazardous materials, if allowed, may need special shipping papers.
Charges for weekday and Saturday on-call charges will happen per pickup, irrespective of how many parcels you ship.
If you schedule pickup with UPS regularly, the cost of pickup costs will depend on the factors, such as how frequently you need pickup and your total billing per week.
How to Schedule a Pickup with FedEx?
For a FedEx pickup schedule, you need to have an account with them. Setting up a pickup with FedEx is simple, and it will make you eligible for discounted FedEx shipping rates.
Similar to UPS, FedEx has parcel pickup charges for one-time pickups. After you set up your account, you only need to log in, enter your shipping information, print shipping labels, and schedule a pickup.
After you print a FedEx shipping label, you can easily schedule a pickup with FedEx and manage all the shipping and pickups on a single platform.
FedEx Pickup Options
To make your shipping experience fast and convenient; FedEx offers various options to get your shipments to your customers:
One-Time Pickup
You can schedule a one-time shipment pickup, and FedEx will send a courier to your location. You can also schedule a pickup by creating a label using FedEx Ship Manager, or even without creating a label.
Here are the steps:
- Register with FedEx and log in
- Generate shipping labels
- Schedule a pickup
Recurring FedEx Pickup
You can plan in advance to schedule recurring pickups with FedEx. This option will save time for repeatedly dropping off packages or individual pickup requests.
If you ship parcels using FedEx Ground services regularly but not daily, FedEx Ground Automated Pickup could be ideal for you.
The FedEx automation system will alert the carrier when you create the first shipment and need a pickup. You can schedule a pickup only on days you need to ship. It will save you time as well as reduce carbon footprints.
Schedule Pickups/Drop-offs at a FedEx Center
You also have the option of scheduling a pickup or drop-off package at one of the FedEx centers spread across Canada.
For example, you can schedule a pickup/drop-off package at a FedEx Authorized ShipCenter or onsite locations.
You can drop off packages for FedEx Ground and FedEx Express at FedEx drop-off boxes 24/7.
Learn more shipping through FedEx Canada and UPS Canada.
How to Schedule a Pickup with Canada Post?
If you are busy, you can schedule a pickup with Canada Post. The whole process is simple and affordable.
On-Demand pickups
You can take the advantage of the on-demand Canada Post schedule pickup service as and when required. Book a pickup in advance or go for same-day service, depending on daily cut-off times. This service is ideal for small eCommerce businesses that look for flexibility during busy shipping periods.
Recurring pickups
If you need two or more pickups every week and spend a minimum of $2,500 annually on shipping, you can schedule recurring pickup service with Canada Post at the same time every week. You can also pause or reschedule pickups at your convenience.
To get these pick up services, you need a Canada Post Solutions for Small Business account. Canada Post provides a tool to check whether pickups are available at your address or not.
Canada Post will pick up your shipment from your business location, at any authorized address or third-party location.
Pricing:
On-Demand Pickup Pricing:
- A flat rate of $3.50 per pickup (unlimited parcels)
- Free for parcels shipped via Priority shipping
Recurring Pickup Pricing:
- A fee of $7.50 per week if you spend between $2,500 and $14,999 on shipping
- Free if you spend $15,000 or more annually
You can read more about shipping with Canada Post here
How to Schedule a Pickup with Purolator?
You can get Purolator schedule pickup in various ways. You can take the help of a Purolator virtual assistant by typing “Schedule a Pick up”.
You can also cancel a pickup request by going to your account on the Purolator portal or to the right area of your website. Under ’My Account’, choose ‘Recent Activity,’ ‘Pickups’ and then select the pickup date you wish to cancel or modify.
By setting up a business account with Purolator, you can integrate the carrier’s APIs into your Shopify, WooCommerce, or another eCommerce website to schedule pickups faster.
You need to sign up and log on to your account on the Purolator website to schedule a pickup or do the same from your website. If you use your eCommerce portal, you can automatically print multiple shipping labels and speed up the process.
How to Schedule a Pickup with Canpar?
Canpar provides a wide range of shipping services, including pickup. For example, Canpar offers pickup tags and on-demand pickup services. Also, there are different Canpar pickup locations available.
The carrier also offers different pickup tag options that will enable you to retrieve a package with its Ground service.
You only need to put in the pickup address for the pick-up tag using the MyCanpar website, and a Canpar driver will come with the label to pick up the package the next business day.
You can get an on-demand pickup service even if you don’t have a Canpar account. The carrier allows non-account holders to ship parcels on a pay-as-you-go basis. You just need to enter the shipping details, go to Canpars secured checkout and pay with a credit card.
You can schedule a pickup with Canpar by following the steps below:
- Enter your pickup address
- If you have an existing Canpar account, you can choose the default address or modify it. You can also leave specific instructions for the pickup driver.
- Select a pickup date
- Select a pickup date from the dates available. No pickups are available on weekends.
- Canpar offers same-day pickups in certain areas only.
- Enter your parcel details for consolidated shipment(s)
- Accurately weigh and measure your parcels after consolidating.
- If there are several consolidated shipments, click “Add another piece” and enter the parcel details.
- Make payment for the pickup and print labels
- Confirm your package details when scheduling a pickup, and click ‘Pay and print labels.’ You can also complete the process another time.
- Ensure to use labels for your consolidated parcels and prepare them before the scheduled pickup.
The Way to Calculate the Pickup Cost
The pickup cost of Canpar is calculated considering the weight and dimensions of your consolidated shipment. The carrier also takes into account the distance between the origin and the destination.
A Canpar Pickup Window
There is no exact pickup time by Canpar. Confirming specific pickup times could be difficult due to the following factors:
- Long-distance shipment or shipping to remote areas
- Total pickups scheduled per day
- The pickup location of the driver at the time of the pickup request.
Usually, the pickup times are during the afternoon, and they mostly happen before 3:00 p.m. local time.
Saving the Pickup Cost with Consolidation
You can save the costs of pickups by consolidating your shipments. Consolidation means putting all your packages or shipments into one larger box.
By consolidating, you only have to pay a single pickup fee for one shipment. This way, you can save a significant amount of money that you would have paid for multiple shipments.
There is a Better Way to Ship in Canada with free Pick up
Does the whole process of scheduling pickups seem complicated to you? No worries. With ShippingChimp, you can avail free pick up and skip the long lines to drop off.
Partnering with ShippingChimp will make shipping more affordable and easy for your eCommerce store. If you are looking to offer your customers an Amazon-esque experience at reduced shipping costs, ShippingChimp is the right carrier for you.
You can also batch print labels easily and track your shipments.
You can start right away for free by checking this link.
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