eLogii Blog | Delivery and Field Service Management Blog

Shipday Review: We Used Shipday for 30 Days. Here’s Our Feedback

Written by eLogii | Oct 5, 2022 4:00:00 AM

Shipday is one of the newer delivery management platforms, as it was founded in 2020.

This is one of the reasons why there isn’t that much information on Shipday going around.

But we recently analyzed 40K route optimization software reviews for 99 providers (including Shipday):

So, if you’re trying to find out whether Shipday could be a fit for your business, you’re probably wondering how and where to begin your research.

Well, you’re in luck because we’ve personally tried Shipday and came back with a detailed review of Shipday’s features including:

  • Ease of use
  • Functionality
  • Pricing policy
  • Best use cases

And if, after reading our detailed review, you don’t think that Shipday is a viable option for you, we’ll offer an alternative solution that can accommodate your delivery management needs.

Shipday Review: Key Takeaways

  • Shipday is a simple delivery management platform with a pleasant interface, a decent set of core functionality, and affordable pricing

  • Some of Shipday’s most notable advantages include its free forever plan, auto-dispatch, and using third-party services options, in addition to features that ensure an excellent customer experience

  • Shipday lacks more advanced functionality (i.e., comprehensive route optimization, barcode, and QR code scanning, features that ensure optimal operational efficiency, etc.)

  • Its pricing and essential features make Shipday a good choice for micro-businesses and start-ups

  • Larger businesses and companies looking for a more comprehensive delivery management solution will be better off with eLogii - a feature-rich platform with numerous customisation options that are easy to scale and can optimize deliveries from A to Z

Shipday Review: Our Research Method

In addition to using Shipday during its free trial period, we’ve done a couple more things to ensure we’ll get a complete idea of Shipday’s strengths and weaknesses:

  1. We’ve interviewed a number of past and present users to discern what they liked and disliked the most about Shipday, what compelled them to start, and why they stopped using it
  2. We’ve also combed through customer ratings and reviews on Capterra (G2 was not an option as there are no Shipday reviews available on this site right now)

Now that we’ve covered our methods, we can delve into Shipday’s interface design and ease of use.

Shipday Review: Ease of Use

Shipday’s interface is exceptionally easy to use because it’s clean, simple, and has a modern and attractive design.

In addition to having a standard desktop version for dispatchers and a mobile app for drivers, Shipday also has a dedicated dispatcher mobile app. This is an excellent option for dispatchers on the go who can’t or don’t want to be stuck to their computers all the time.

All the apps work seamlessly and are equally easy to navigate, even for users who are not particularly tech-savvy or have little to no experience with these types of platforms.

Several pretty comprehensive video tutorials are available on Shipday’s website and YouTube page to help new users get onboard.

When it comes to customer support, the only issue is that there is no live support available at the moment. The only type of support Shipday’s team offers is email support.

Although they’re pretty responsive from what we’ve heard, this could be a real problem if you have an emergency that requires immediate attention.

On the other hand, users who opt for Shipday’s most expensive plan also get a dedicated account support.

Bottom Line: Shipday Ease of Use

There isn’t much to be said regarding Shipday’s overall UX since it’s pleasant, simple, and easy to use - and this goes for both desktop and mobile apps.

The only problem here is that there’s no live chat support option available for now, which can be pretty tricky if you need something resolved ASAP.

Shipday Review: Key Features & Functionality

1. Has a free forever plan

A critical factor that will appeal to many prospective users is Shipday’s free forever plan.

This plan includes almost all of Shipday’s core functionalities, such as:

  • Online order forms
  • Basic auto-dispatching
  • Proof of delivery (signature and photo)

On the other hand, this plan has its limitations as well:

  • You only get 300 orders per month, without options for purchasing more
  • There are only 30 drivers included
  • There’s no route planning & optimization
  • You can’t use third party delivery services
  • No customer ETA notifications and live map tracking

However, small businesses that can get by without these features could still benefit from using Shipday’s free plan.

2. Includes customer satisfaction features

Options such as enabling customers to track their orders in real-time and sending email and SMS notifications with ETAs can help improve your reputation among your customers.

The free plan has a basic option for delivery live-tracking, whereas the higher-tiered plans allow live map tracking in real-time.

Moreover, the paid-for plans also include SMS and email notifications which inform customers about their orders’ current whereabouts and ETAs.

POD collecting options are also a plus, as you’ll be able to keep track of every order and easily sort out any complaints or wrongful claims.

Besides collecting signatures and taking photographs, your drivers can verify age by scanning IDs in Canada and the USA. This is a nifty feature when you deliver tobacco, alcohol, and other adult-only products.

Of course, this is only available in the most expensive, Branded premium plan.

3. Online order forms

This feature will make the workflow for any delivery business much easier since you can allow customers to fill out their order forms by themselves.

All you need to do is provide customers with a link for your online ordering form and let them do the rest.

After they’ve completed and submitted their order, it will automatically appear on your dashboard so that you can assign it to your available drivers.

4. Auto-dispatching

Another function that can help you save time is auto-dispatching.

This means that orders will be automatically assigned to a particular driver so that your dispatcher won’t have to do all that manually.

You can set up the criteria for how you want an order to be assigned, which you can choose from a drop-down menu.

You can also set the maximum number of orders that can be auto-assigned to a single driver. This helps to avoid tasks that drivers can’t complete in time from piling up.

5. Options for using third-party delivery services

This option is only available in the USA for now and only if you opt for one of the two paid-for plans.

Still, it’s a handy feature if you often use 3PL service providers or have a seasonal delivery job with significant workload fluctuations or different time periods.

You can choose between 3 different delivery services:

Either way, assigning tasks to third-party services is just as easy as assigning them to your in-house drivers. You just have to click on the third-party button, and the order will immediately be sent to your chosen service provider for them to accept.

Bottom Line: Shipday Features & Functionality

Shipday has a pretty solid set of core functions, especially considering that a good portion of them are also available in the free plan.

On the other hand, users who need a comprehensive delivery optimization and management solution will probably need a different platform due to some of Shipday’s shortcomings.

  • It has no advanced routing options - in fact, there are several issues with Shipday’s routing functionality:

  • Route optimization is only available in the paid plans

  • There is no dynamic routing functionality, meaning that Shipday cannot change nor adjust routes in accordance with traffic and weather conditions, roadblocks, closures, etc.

  • Routing works solely for delivery-only businesses that have one set pick-up location. Companies with multiple pick-up locations or depots won’t be able to use Shipday’s route optimization

  • Both the dispatcher and the driver have to turn on route optimization - if either overlooks this, the driver won’t get an optimized route

  • It doesn’t have enough POD collection methods - Shipday only offers photo and signature collecting, alongside age verification in USA and Canada (if you opt for the Branded premium plan), but has no QR or barcode scanning

  • There are no options for comprehensive delivery optimization - for example, automatically matching loads with the most suitable vehicles or assigning more complex tasks to seasoned and skillful drivers, etc.

  • Customization options are limited in general

Shipday Review: Pricing

Judging by its published pricing plans, Shipday is one of the more affordable platforms on the market.

Its paid plans include an unlimited number of drivers. However, the number of tasks you get per plan is pretty limited - only 300 tasks per month. If you need more than that, you can get them for $0.10 or $0.20 per additional order, depending on your plan.

The biggest difference between the paid plans is that the Branded premium offers options for customizing the platform with your brand: adding your logo and colours and removing the “Powered by Shipday” watermark.

This plan also enables you to customize SMS notifications to an extent and gets you age verification options and dedicated account support.

Bottom Line: Shipday Pricing

If you’re on a budget and don’t have particularly advanced needs and high expectations of a delivery management platform, Shipday could become your best friend.

Even better, smaller businesses that don’t feel compelled to brand the platform right from the start can get by just fine with the free or the Professional plan.

Those plans give you access to online order forms, auto-dispatching and POD collection, which is more than enough for companies just starting their business journey.

Shipday Review: Use Cases

Shipday’s functionality and pricing policy make this platform an ideal solution for small start-ups that don’t have a big budget but would still like to upgrade their business with some help from a delivery management solution.

Larger businesses that need more advanced routing options and require a comprehensive platform to tackle delivery management will have to find an alternative solution.

Shipday Review: Best Alternative Solution

More demanding businesses requiring a powerful, comprehensive delivery management solution could findeLogii is the ideal choice because it ticks all the necessary boxes.

eLogii is an all-around delivery management and optimization platform that helps users tackle all the challenges of modern-day delivery and transportation logistics.

eLogii has a wide range of highly-customisable features that make it a perfect fit for various types of businesses - from field service providers to retailers, pharmaceutical companies, restaurants, couriers, food & drink delivery services, etc.

Some of its features include:

  • Various advanced routing options, including dynamic, multi-day, and multi-depot routing

  • Several methods of ensuring customer satisfaction, such as real-time SMS and/or email notifications from every stage of the delivery process, live ETA notifications (with updated recalculations if something changes on the road), tracking each order in real-time, etc.

  • Numerous highly customisable operational parameters enable things such as automated matching of each load with the right type of vehicle, assigning more challenging routes to most skilled agents, etc.

  • Live tracking of drivers and vehicles in real-time so you can keep your finger on the pulse of your delivery process anytime, anywhere

  • The widest range of POD methods on the market (including barcode and QR scanning, among others) - in addition, all of those methods are included even in eLogii’s lowest-tier plan

  • A well-documented API that allows seamless integration with all the other tools and technologies you use to manage the rest of your supply chain and operations

Moreover, eLogii doesn’t have one-size-fits-all pricing packages, which makes it an ideal solution for small, medium, and large businesses alike.

eLogii comes with custom-tailored pricing plans based on your business’s particular configuration and needs, with the typical entry-level price starting at around $359 per month for 2500 tasks.

Each plan includes unlimited users, drivers, and vehicles - an excellent option for larger businesses or those aiming to scale.

Finally, eLogii’s plans include a significantly higher number of tasks than Shipday.

If you’re interested in seeing what’s included in each eLogii package, you can compare each plan’s features on our webpage.

Bottom Line: Our Shipday Review

Overall, Shipday is more than a decent choice for micro-businesses and start-ups that don’t have vast budgets or complex requirements but would still like to benefit from a delivery management platform.

On the other hand, medium and large companies and those aiming to scale, as well as businesses of all types and sizes in need of a more advanced, feature-rich, and customisable all-around delivery management solution, will be far better off with eLogii.

If you feel like eLogii might be a good match but are having doubts about it, you could always check it out firsthand and…