Without the shipping options customers want, e-commerce companies face high cart abandonment rates either due to price or shipping speed. But what can you do to meet the challenging demands of overnight shipping?
Working with the best overnight shipping companies will strengthen customer relationships by offering the options they want at a price they can afford. Read on to learn the leading options to provide crazy fast shipping.
Quicklook: Best Overnight Shipping Companies
- Best For Logistics: ShipBob
- Best For Reliable Overnight Delivery: UPS
- Best For Overnight Saturday Deliveries: FedEx
- Best For International Express Shipping: DHL
- Best For Shipping Options: Easyship
5 Best Overnight Shipping Companies Options
When you want to get customers their products fast, you look to overnight mail options. Here are the 5 leading options for shipping goods fast.
ShipBob
ShipBob is a 3PL company that offers warehousing and logistics from its many fulfillment centers. The company can help you get the goods from the warehouse to the delivery destination based on the shipping options customers choose at checkout.
ShipBob works with a variety of mail carriers to offer the most practical shipping option based on when various carriers will do their pickups at the fulfillment center and the time of day.
Best For: Logistics
Guaranteed Delivery: No
Insurance: Yes
Shipping Options:
- Standard Domestic: 3-7 business days
- Standard International: 7-30 business days
- Priority: 2-5 business days
- Expedited Domestic: 2-3 business days
- Expedited International: 1-6 business days
- Overnight: 1 business day
Special Features:
- Collaborates with a network of carriers to get packages to consumers
- Offers logistics and warehousing in addition to handling shipping
- Complete fulfillment services, including inventory and returns
Benefits:
- Fast delivery options and e-commerce fulfillment
- You control e-commerce operations using the ShipBob platform
- Integrates with many popular e-commerce platforms
- Custom pricing based on your needs
Disadvantages:
- No control over order delays
- Products sometimes arrive dirty
- The box may be in rough shape due to handling services
- Platform has a learning curve
- Complicated pricing structure
UPS
UPS has a 95-percent on-time rate for its overnight delivery services. That’s incredibly good, especially considering all of the disruptions that can happen with overnight deliveries! UPS is also known for its impeccable international shipping footprint.
Best For: Reliable Overnight Delivery
Guaranteed Delivery:
- Yes
- Available with select services
Insurance: Yes
Shipping Options:
- Ground Shipping: The most economical choice for shipping goods via UPS
- Overnight Shipping: Next day services ensure your delivery gets to its destination by the next morning, noon, or end-of-day based on your promise to your customer
- International Shipping: You can transport goods to up to 220 countries.
- Flat Rate Shipping: No matter the weight, you’ll know what you pay when shipping flat rate and can select next-day delivery for a flat rate if you would like
Special Features:
- Simplified return options with pre-paid return labels
- Ecommerce services with online platforms to power your website
- International shipping options for up to 220 countries
- Warehousing and fulfillment network
- Scheduled daily pickup and dropoff at your facility
Benefits:
- Many shipping options are available
- Affordable pricing for lighter packages with volume discounts
- Outstanding tracking services
Disadvantages:
- Pickup services come with a fee
- Some services don’t deliver on Saturdays
- Heavier packages are more expensive than competitors
FedEx
FedEx is a close contender with UPS in its overnight delivery rate success. It has a historical 92% on-time record for getting customers their packages the next day.
The biggest advantage is that FedEx offers Saturday delivery on all its services, while UPS only offers it on select services.
Best For: Overnight Saturday Deliveries
Guaranteed Delivery: Yes
Insurance: Yes
Shipping Options:
- FedEx First Overnight: Guarantees delivery by 8, 8:30, 9, or 9:30 a.m. based on the area the package is delivered to
- FedEx Priority Overnight: Next business day delivery by 10:30 a.m.
- FedEx Standard Overnight: Next-day delivery by 4:30 p.m.
- Ground shipping: 1-5 business days
- Flat rate shipping: Express shipments up to 50 lbs
- Same-day delivery: Door-to-door delivery within hours
Special Features:
- In-store shipping services help package and label your goods
- Convenient dropoff locations at Walgreens, Dollar General or grocery stores for pre-labeled boxes (great for customer returns)
- Schedule package pickup from your business location online
Benefits:
- Reliable tracking system
- Saturday delivery
- Delivery manager system gives you options for holding packages or rescheduling a delivery
- Lower rates available based on shipping volume
Disadvantages:
- Shipping rates are generally higher than the competition
- Package pickup has a fee
- Fewer offices than competitors
DHL
DHL offers many commercial shipping options to help businesses get their goods to customers when they promise them. But DHL can help with a variety of logistics needs as a strategic partner for your business.
Get volume discounts when you do tons of shipping and take advantage of fast door-to-door services when you need them.
Best For: International Express Shipping
Guaranteed Delivery: Yes
Insurance: Yes
Shipping Options:
- Express: delivered on the next possible day by 9 a.m.
- Express Worldwide: delivered on the next possible day by end-of-day
- International Direct: 3-10 business days
- International Standard: 4-8 business days to Europe and Canada and 8-14 business days to the rest of the world
Special Features:
- Return solutions to make things easy for customers
- Package tracking you can share with customers
- Integrates with e-commerce solutions
- Address verification
Benefits:
- Real-time duty and tax calculator for international shipments
- Air and sea delivery
- No pickup fees
- Round-the-clock international support
- If the company fails its delivery commitments, you get a full refund
Disadvantages:
- Many domestic shipments go through USPS
- Not known for domestic shipping
- Can have extra charges or surcharges
Easyship
Easyship offers a service you can integrate with your website to allow customers to choose which shipping service works best for them. So, if they are worried about the overnight shipping cost, they can see transparent prices from the leading carriers and their guarantees to make an informed decision.
You can choose which carriers and options to offer, while Easyship does the rest. And to make things really simple, you can work with a fulfillment center near you.
Best For: Shipping Options
Guaranteed Delivery: Yes, based on which carriers you work with
Insurance: Yes, based on which carriers you work with
Shipping Options:
- FedEx: allow customers to choose from overnight shipping or ground based on their needs
- DHL: get convenient international shipping options to invite customers to your website from anywhere
- USPS: offer the most economical shipping options for those who want or need it
Special Features:
- International network of fulfillment centers
- Display dynamic rates during checkout to inform customers of their options
- Integrates with a variety of leading platforms
- Generate labels automatically once a customer places an order
- Schedule pickups
- Monitor and optimize shipping costs using cloud-based software
Benefits:
- Good volume discounts
- Excellent logistics company for startup
- Transparent pricing for customers
- Simple integration process with leading e-commerce platforms
Disadvantages:
- Software can lag or crash
- No notices for return shipments
- Fixing mistakes in labels is challenging
- Customer service is lacking
What Is an Overnight Shipping Company?
An overnight shipping company offers fast shipping times. Delivery times can be the next morning or by the end of the following day.
When offering overnight shipping, you’ll need to be aware of carrier cutoff times. Most carriers have a deadline for when they can guarantee next-day delivery based on what time an order is placed. Additionally, weekend orders will likely ship on Monday.
Overnight shipping companies use a transportation network to provide fast shipping times. This often means a nationwide presence with locations throughout the country to allow for package drop-offs from anywhere.
Some overnight shipping companies only provide the service in certain areas. For example, some rural delivery areas might require two-day shipping due to limitations in the carrier’s network.
How To Choose the Best Overnight Shipping Company
As you evaluate your overnight shipping options, consider these factors in the best carrier based on your needs.
Rates
How much it costs to deliver a package to a customer the next day will be dependent on which carrier you select, the package’s size and weight, whether it requires freight or air.
If you want the cheapest overnight shipping options, you’ll need to join a network that provides dynamic pricing based on these factors and selects the best carrier based on those characteristics and the corresponding price.
Package Condition
Some carriers are gentler with packages than others. You want a carrier who will treat your package and your relationship with the customer with total care and attention. Make sure you pick a carrier with a good reputation to ensure your packages look the way you want them to when they arrive on your customer’s doorstep.
Reliability
Do your research. Read reviews, ask others about their experience working with the carrier, and look into overnight delivery accuracy to select the best carrier for reliability. You don’t want to make promises to your customers that you can’t keep.
Insurance
Insurance helps you protect your business. Many things can happen during shipping. But if something does happen, you want to know that the full value of your goods is covered.
Some carriers provide flat-rate insurance on shipments. Others allow you to select how much to insure the package for. If you’re shipping large items, make sure the insurance coverage matches.
Cut-Off Times
Working with various carriers can be beneficial because each one has different cut-off times. That way, even if a customer places a late order, you can still guarantee overnight delivery because you work with a vast network.
Or maybe you don’t want to accept last-minute overnight orders and want one consistent cut-off time based on your preferences. That’s an option as well.
Guaranteed Delivery
Whether an overnight shipment has guaranteed delivery is highly dependent on the carrier and the delivery address. Some carriers guarantee all overnight deliveries, while others only guarantee certain locations. Make sure you know whether your carrier has guaranteed delivery times to pass on that transparency to your customers.
Offering Transparent Shipping Options To Customers
Overnight shipping is an important aspect of modern business. Customers expect speed, options, and transparency into where their order is at all times. Working with the right carrier or logistics and warehousing company will help you provide those important services to your customer.
FAQ
FedEx First Overnight has the fastest overnight shipping with delivery times guaranteed by the next morning.
FedEx is faster than USPS Overnight, but you’ll also pay more for the service.
USPS Overnight is the cheapest way to ship overnight.
Sign up for a FreightWaves e-newsletter to stay informed of all news and trends impacting supply chain careers and operations.
