ShipNetwork is the fulfillment provider formerly known as Rakuten Super Logistics. Based on what ShipNetwork discloses about its own service, a few gaps stand out for merchants evaluating alternatives: a hazmat category ShipNetwork won't ship, no international fulfillment centers listed on its own site, and a sales process that requires a call before you see a number. This guide compares five named alternatives, ShipBob, ShipMonk, Red Stag Fulfillment, Stord, and Simpl Fulfillment, on the criteria that actually decide a switch: order-volume fit, pricing model, specialty handling, and network reach.
Why merchants look for ShipNetwork alternatives
ShipNetwork changed ownership and name on August 1, 2022, when Devin Johnson, founder of the shipping company FirstMile, purchased Rakuten Super Logistics from Rakuten Americas.
Today ShipNetwork runs fulfillment centers across 13 US cities, with no international locations listed, reaching a claimed 98% of the continental US within one to two days by ground. Pricing is quote-only: there's no published rate card, and the site walks prospects through a discovery call before a custom proposal. Hazmat support is limited to select battery and liquid categories under specific certifications, not the full Class 1–9 range some 3PLs handle.
ShipBob
ShipBob operates 50-plus fulfillment centers spanning five US regional hub clusters, plus operations in Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, and Australia. There's no published minimum order volume for core fulfillment, and ShipBob doesn't publish a specific order-volume threshold for its FBA Prep Automation add-on either.
Pricing is custom-quote only, though the dashboard software is free to use. ShipBob's pricing page lists Implementation as a standard fee category but doesn't publish the amount, so confirm setup costs in writing during your quote call. ShipBob supports hazardous-goods items with dashboard-level flagging, though those items can't ship internationally, by air, or with prepaid labels. It also runs EDI-automated B2B fulfillment into major retailers including Walmart, Target, Ulta, and Sephora.
On Capterra, ShipBob holds a 3.6 out of 5 rating across 107 reviews (checked August 28, 2026). Reviewers there point to integration and dashboard usability as strengths, with recurring complaints about receiving delays, inventory-sync issues, and unexpected fees.
ShipMonk
ShipMonk operates ten fulfillment centers across four countries: seven in the US, including a Louisville, Kentucky facility built specifically for apparel that opened in 2026, plus one each in Canada, the Czech Republic, and the UK. Its quote form spans order volumes from under 500 to more than 50,000 a month, so it's built to serve brands from early growth through enterprise scale, not just startups.
Pricing is custom-quoted, with a monthly minimum calculated from your projected order volume. ShipMonk's carrier engine, called the Virtual Carrier Network, rate-shops across USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and regional carriers; ShipMonk estimates an average 3.3% recovery on parcel spend for eligible shipments, based on industry-average carrier-overcharge and packaging-savings figures, with actual results varying by carrier mix and shipment profile.
Capterra reviewers rate ShipMonk 4.0 out of 5 across 140 reviews (checked August 28, 2026). Praise there centers on responsive customer support and dashboard usability; recurring complaints cite billing errors and inventory-tracking issues.
Red Stag Fulfillment
Red Stag is built around a narrower use case than the other providers here: big, heavy, bulky, or high-value goods, generally items over 10 pounds or larger than a shoebox. It runs two US warehouses, in Sweetwater, Tennessee (listed on its site as the Knoxville location) and in Salt Lake City, Utah, and says the pair gives it national two-day ground coverage.
Pricing is custom-quote only. Red Stag says plainly that not every brand is a fit, and that it refers brands it can't serve well to a better-matched 3PL rather than signing them. Clients can choose month-to-month terms or a longer contract. Its published guarantees include zero shrinkage, order accuracy, and on-time shipping, each backed by a cost-coverage commitment if Red Stag misses, plus a separate fast-receiving guarantee, inventory ready for orders in as little as one hour, stated as a speed commitment rather than a cost-coverage one.
Red Stag has no listing on G2 or Capterra as of August 28, 2026, so there's no aggregated third-party rating to cite here.
Stord
Stord positions itself less as a single warehouse and more as a network: a set of company-operated fulfillment nodes plus a larger roster of partner facilities, layered with Stord's own order- and warehouse-management software. It doesn't publish a minimum order volume, but its named customers (AG1, Native, Tula, American Giant) and its own "mid-market and enterprise" positioning point toward brands past the early-startup stage.
Pricing is quote-only, with no public rate card. Stord's capabilities extend into cold storage, LTL and drayage freight, and retail cross-docking, which is more supply-chain infrastructure than most brands need for standard DTC order fulfillment.
Simpl Fulfillment
Simpl Fulfillment is built for founder-led ecommerce brands (brands past 5,000 orders a month get custom pricing). Pricing is a flat rate per order, starting at $7/order, that includes picking, packing, postage, and packaging. Standard ecommerce fulfillment accounts carry a $750/month minimum, billed pay-the-difference: you're charged only the gap if a month's order billing comes in under that floor. That's roughly 90 to 100 orders a month for light packages on standard shipping, and fewer for heavier, larger or faster shipments. Postage is already inside that rate, so the floor buys more than a minimum that counts fulfillment fees alone, which is how many 3PLs state theirs. Compare like with like.
Every order ships via UPS, USPS, or FedEx, with postage included in the per-order rate; carrier surcharges, when they apply, are billed per Simpl's terms, and there are no hidden fees. Simpl doesn't route shipments through regional consolidators or a crowdsourced last-mile network. It accepts oversized and heavy items alongside standard parcels, and coverage spans all 50 US states plus international shipping to more than 200 countries.
Every client gets a named account manager reachable by email with same-day responses, onboarding runs 5 to 7 days, and Simpl publishes a 99.99% order-accuracy rate with error costs, including return shipping and re-fulfillment, covered at Simpl's expense.
Contract terms are public too. Agreements run in 3-month terms that renew automatically, and you can cancel with written notice at least 60 days before the current term ends; the full wording is in Simpl's terms of service. The clearest difference from ShipNetwork: a published starting price and published terms instead of a quote-only sales process.
See how Simpl's fulfillment service works or check current pricing before you request a quote.
ShipNetwork alternatives at a glance
Provider | Volume and fit | Pricing model | Specialty strength | Network | Known limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ShipNetwork | No published minimum | Custom quote only | Retail EDI compliance (named partners incl. Home Depot, Best Buy, Nordstrom) | 13 US cities, no international locations listed | Hazmat limited to select batteries/liquids, not full Class 1–9 |
ShipBob | No published minimum | Custom quote; free software | 50+ centers across 6 countries | US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Spain, Australia | Lists an Implementation fee as standard but doesn't publish the amount |
ShipMonk | Under 500 to 50,000+ orders/mo | Custom quote, volume-based minimum | Apparel-built facility (Louisville, 2026); Virtual Carrier Network rate-shopping | 10 centers, 4 countries (US, Canada, Czech Republic, UK) | Recurring reviewer complaints about billing errors and inventory-tracking issues (Capterra) |
Red Stag Fulfillment | No published minimum; built for goods over 10 lb or bigger than a shoebox | Custom quote only | Oversized, heavy, and high-value goods | 2 US warehouses (TN, UT) | Narrow fit by design; refers brands that aren't a match to another 3PL |
Stord | No published minimum; mid-market/enterprise customer base | Custom quote only | Cold storage, LTL/drayage freight, cross-docking | Company-operated + partner node network | More supply-chain infrastructure than most small DTC brands need |
Simpl Fulfillment | Founder-led DTC brands; custom pricing from 5,000+ orders/mo | Starting at $7/order flat rate; $750/mo minimum, pay-the-difference; 3-month auto-renewing terms, 60-day notice | Oversized/heavy handling alongside standard DTC; named account manager | US 50-state coverage, international to 200+ countries | Carriers limited to UPS, USPS, or FedEx — no rate-shopping across a broader carrier set |
How to choose a ShipNetwork alternative
Match the provider to what you actually ship and how big you are, not to whichever name ranks first in a search.
- Choose ShipBob if you need the broadest international footprint and plan to ship natively into Canada, the UK, or Australia.
- Choose ShipMonk if you're an apparel brand that wants garment-specific handling, or you're scaling from a few hundred to tens of thousands of orders a month.
- Choose Red Stag Fulfillment if most of what you ship is heavier than 10 pounds or bigger than a shoebox, or valuable enough that its shrinkage and accuracy guarantees matter.
- Choose Stord if you need cold storage, LTL or drayage freight, or retail cross-docking alongside parcel fulfillment, and your volume is past the early-startup stage.
- Choose Simpl Fulfillment if you want a published starting price, a flat per-order rate with postage included, published contract terms, and a named account manager, and a $750/month pay-the-difference minimum fits your volume.
- Stay with ShipNetwork if EDI-heavy retail compliance with its named retail partners is your primary need and your hazmat shipments fall within its approved battery and liquid categories.
Get a quote
If Simpl's flat-rate pricing and terms match what you're shipping, start a quote. If your volume, category, or network needs point elsewhere, the comparison above should narrow your short list either way. Simpl Fulfillment is a 3PL and one of the five providers compared here.
FAQs
What is ShipNetwork?
ShipNetwork is a third-party logistics (3PL) fulfillment provider formerly known as Rakuten Super Logistics. It has operated under new ownership since August 1, 2022, after Devin Johnson, founder of FirstMile, purchased it from Rakuten Americas. ShipNetwork runs fulfillment centers across 13 US cities.
What's a good alternative to ShipNetwork for ecommerce fulfillment?
There's no single best option; it depends on your order volume and what you ship. ShipBob has the broadest international network, ShipMonk has a facility built for apparel, Red Stag specializes in heavy and high-value goods, Stord adds cold storage and freight, and Simpl Fulfillment offers published flat-rate pricing, starting at $7/order with a $750/month pay-the-difference minimum, for founder-led DTC brands.
How do I evaluate a 3PL before switching from ShipNetwork?
Compare published pricing versus a custom-quote-only model, order-volume fit, specialty handling for your product category (hazmat, oversized, apparel, cold storage), network coverage, and patterns in third-party reviews. Then request quotes from two or three finalists so you can compare real numbers, not just marketing pages.
Do ShipNetwork alternatives require a minimum order volume?
None of the providers compared here publish a single fixed order-count minimum on their pricing pages. ShipMonk calculates a custom minimum from your projected volume rather than publishing one number, and standard ecommerce fulfillment accounts at Simpl Fulfillment carry a $750/month minimum billed pay-the-difference, a dollar floor rather than an order-count floor that works out to roughly 90 to 100 orders a month for light packages on standard shipping and fewer for heavier, larger or faster shipments. ShipBob doesn't publish a minimum order volume for core fulfillment or a specific order-count threshold for its FBA Prep Automation add-on.
Is Simpl Fulfillment a good fit for brands leaving ShipNetwork?
Simpl fits founder-led brands that want a flat per-order rate with postage included, a published starting price of $7/order, and oversized or heavy support instead of a custom-quote-only process. Standard ecommerce fulfillment accounts carry a $750/month minimum, billed pay-the-difference, and contracts run in 3-month terms that renew automatically unless you give written notice at least 60 days before a term ends. Brands that need dedicated cold storage, freight and drayage, or fulfillment nodes outside the US may be better served by Stord or ShipBob.
