ShipStation is expanding its shipping technology beyond parcel delivery, giving e-commerce sellers the ability to select and coordinate less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers through the same platform they already use to manage parcel shipments.
The move allows merchants to access pre-negotiated LTL rates, tender freight and coordinate shipments through a single integrated system. It also represents one of the first major benefits to emerge from the recent acquisition of Worldwide Express Group by the private equity firm Thoma Bravo and its combination with Auctane, ShipStation’s parent company.
Few software-as-a-service providers serving small and midsize merchants currently combine parcel shipping with palletized freight capabilities.
“Most of those small companies don’t have enough volumes to do full truckload so their first need after parcel shipping tends to be LTL, which creates this natural linkage between LTL freight brokerage and parcel,” said Chris Wofford, founder of Wofford Advisors LLC, a strategic advisory firm focused on the logistics sector.
A $12 billion combination expands ShipStation’s freight reach
In early June, Thoma Bravo acquired WWEX Group and merged it with its portfolio company Auctane, the shipping and fulfillment technology provider behind brands including ShipStation, Stamps.com, Metapack and Packlink.
The combined businesses were valued at $12 billion.
WWEX Group’s companies include Worldwide Express, GlobalTranz, Unishippers, JEAR Logistics and BLX Logistics.
WWEX also operates as a UPS parcel reseller serving small businesses, an important segment that UPS has identified as a potential area for growth. Under the arrangement, WWEX manages shipments from its customers moving through UPS under a favorable contract. Once a customer reaches a certain size, UPS takes over the account directly.
Beyond parcel brokerage, WWEX also obtains transportation rates from trucking companies and resells those services to smaller shippers.
That freight expertise is now being integrated into the ShipStation ecosystem.
Bringing parcel and freight into one workflow
ShipStation traditionally helps e-commerce businesses manage their orders from checkout through delivery. Its software enables merchants to select carriers according to factors such as price, transit time and other service characteristics. The platform also supports detailed picklists, batch shipping manifests, shipping-label printing and shipment tracking.
Although its primary customer base consists of e-commerce merchants, manufacturers also use ShipStation.
The company is entering a market where other technology providers already help retailers compare and access discounted, pre-negotiated parcel rates. Those companies include Shippo, EasyShip, Pirate Ship and Amazon’s Veeqo.
Following the June transaction, management said the combined business, now operating under the ShipStation Global name, would allow customers to bring order management together with parcel, LTL, truckload and global shipping services through a single interface.
The objective is to simplify logistics management across multiple vendors and transportation modes. The transaction also added 75 LTL carriers to the ShipStation ecosystem.
ShipStation is now promoting that expanded capability as a unified workflow for parcel and LTL logistics.
According to a company news release issued Tuesday, customers can obtain real-time LTL rates through ShipStation Global’s carrier network, create and manage LTL orders alongside parcel shipments, track freight and handle invoicing across both transportation modes.
The company said additional product integrations are expected in the future.
“Freight was the missing piece for ShipStation customers, and now it’s here,” said Chief Product Officer Travis Rimel. “This isn’t just a new feature; it’s a foundation. Bringing freight and parcel data together lets us build smarter tools on top of it, so merchants can make better logistics decisions across their operations. And we’re just getting started.”
Closing the gap between parcel and freight data
Shipping information is typically divided among parcel systems, freight brokers and warehouse management systems. ShipStation says that separation remains a significant challenge for smaller businesses managing increasingly complex supply chains.
According to a ShipStation survey conducted this year, 78% of merchants surveyed already ship freight. More than half of those merchants manage freight separately from their parcel operations, often relying on a broker or agent that has no direct connection to their shipping software.
When data and operations are distributed across multiple systems, small and midsize shippers can struggle to obtain a complete view of their inventory. Managing shipments across several locations and carriers can also become considerably more complicated.
ShipStation argues that consolidating freight and parcel information into one system can give smaller shippers access to the type of management capabilities traditionally available to large enterprises.
“The thesis of the combination is making it a lot easier for these small, midsize businesses to buy transportation across a number of modes” and manage their outbound supply chain, said ShipStation Global CEO Tom Madine in a video interview.
Managing orders across multiple sales channels
Madine pointed to the increasingly fragmented nature of e-commerce as one reason an integrated logistics system is becoming more important.
An online merchant may sell products through a Shopify store, eBay, TikTok and Walmart while simultaneously holding inventory in multiple locations. That inventory could be stored in the merchant’s own garage, at a third-party logistics provider or across several other facilities.
“If you’re an e-commerce merchant and you’re selling goods through a Shopify store, an eBay store, TikTok, Walmart, you’ve got all these different channels that you’re selling through. And you’ve got your inventory and God knows how many places — maybe your own garage or a 3PL. How do you manage all of that, keep it all connected, and then also manage the carrier flow so that you can import orders from all these sources?” Madine explained.
ShipStation says its systems contain intelligence designed to help merchants evaluate a broad range of variables when selecting a carrier.
“We’ve got a lot of intelligence that we built into our systems so that people can choose across any array of variables to choose the right carrier and then have it all managed in that single pane of glass,” Madine said.
Large brands remain part of the customer base
While the legacy ShipStation business has historically focused on small and midsize merchants, Madine said the software also supports the logistics workflows of some very large brands in Europe.
Those larger shippers generally do not use ShipStation’s carrier network because their volumes give them enough negotiating power to establish transportation contracts directly with carriers.
The company’s latest expansion therefore primarily strengthens the proposition for smaller and midsize businesses — particularly merchants whose logistics needs are growing beyond parcel shipments and into LTL freight.
