Ship smarter

Rate shopping with a brain.

3D bin packing, multi-carrier quotes, and fulfillment workflows, priced into checkout, not bolted on.

Shepherd packs your cart into real boxes using a 3D bin-packing engine, quotes UPS directly and USPS, FedEx, and DHL through Shippo, validates addresses before anything ships, and feeds your ShipStation workflow, so shipping costs are right before the customer pays.

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Carriers quoted: UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL

Bin packing with 6-orientation rotation

150 lb

Carrier weight limits enforced per package

Shipping box management and carrier configuration in Shepherd admin — Define your boxes once. The packing engine and rate quotes use them on every order.

Quotes based on how orders actually pack.

Most platforms guess shipping from total weight. Shepherd runs a true 3D bin-packing algorithm, rotating items through six orientations, choosing the best box from your own carton catalog, splitting into multiple shipments when needed, and respecting per-carrier weight limits (70 lb USPS, 150 lb UPS).

3D placement with rotation, ported from a proven packing engine
Your own box catalog managed in admin (dimensions, active flags)
Automatic multi-package splitting for oversized carts
Separate UPS and USPS package plans computed from the same cart
Fast path for single-item orders skips packing entirely
Unfittable items flagged before checkout, not after

Every carrier in one rate call.

One request returns normalized rates across carriers: UPS through its direct Rating API, plus USPS, FedEx, and DHL Express through Shippo. Each carrier gets an enable toggle in admin, and your storefront receives a clean, consistent rate format: service name, cost in cents, carrier code, delivery days.

UPS direct Rating API integration
Shippo aggregation for USPS, FedEx, and DHL Express
Per-carrier enable/disable toggles in admin
Universal rate format. No carrier-specific parsing in your storefront.
Service filters to show only the options you want to offer

Business rules baked into rating.

Some products shouldn't ride with some carriers. Collection-aware eligibility rules let you route heavy or restricted items to specific carriers (automotive suspension kits go UPS-only, small accessories ride any service) without custom checkout code.

Collection-based carrier eligibility (e.g. heavy parts → UPS only)
Configurable rules, no code changes required
Ship-from origin pulled from your nexus locations
UPS-backed address validation catches bad addresses before rating

Fulfillment that fits your warehouse.

Export paid orders to ShipStation as ready-to-import XML with full line items, addresses, and totals. When labels are created, ShipStation's webhook posts tracking straight back onto the order, and customers get a tracking email with one click.

ShipStation XML order export with complete order detail
Tracking webhook writes carrier, service, and number back to orders
Tracking links generated per carrier for customer emails
Hand-delivery fulfillment option for local orders

Everything included.

Live rates at checkout

Customers see real carrier prices computed from real packaging.

Box catalog

Manage cartons in admin; packing and quotes update instantly.

Address validation

UPS-validated addresses mean fewer failed deliveries and surcharges.

Carrier toggles

Turn carriers on or off per store without touching code.

Weight limits

Packages split automatically to stay within carrier rules.

Mixed-cart aware

Only physical lines get rated; digital and license items skip shipping.

ShipStation export

XML feed your warehouse can import today.

Tracking ingestion

Webhooks bring tracking numbers back without re-keying.

Easy for your whole team.

For ops teams

Stop eating shipping losses

Quotes computed from real boxes and real carrier APIs mean the price at checkout matches what you actually pay at the counter.

For store managers

Carrier strategy from a settings page

Add Shippo, toggle FedEx on, restrict heavy items to UPS. All in admin, all live immediately.

For warehouse teams

Keep your ShipStation workflow

Orders export with everything ShipStation needs; tracking flows back automatically when you print labels.

How it compares.

Real-time carrier rates are an upsell on every hosted platform. On Shepherd, they're the default, with smarter packing math underneath.

Capability	Shepherd.Commerce	Shopify	BigCommerce	WooCommerce
Live carrier rates at checkout	Included	Advanced plan ($399/mo) or third-party app	Higher tiers / apps	Paid extension per carrier (~$79–129/yr each)
Dimensional bin packing	Built in, 3D with your boxes	Apps only	Apps only	Paid boxing plugins
Carrier eligibility rules	Built in (collection-based)	Scripts/apps (Plus features)	Promotions/apps	Plugin stacking
Fulfillment integration	ShipStation export + webhook included	Built-in network + apps	Apps	Free/paid plugins

Competitor details compiled from public sources for general comparison; verify current terms with each provider. Third-party names are trademarks of their respective owners.