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Canada Post, the largest domestic mail delivery and ecommerce shipping provider is likely going on strike for a possible 6-8 weeks. What does that mean to you if you operate a ecommerce platform and are currently using Canada Post?

Ensure that your business is ready in advance of the strike and able to operate effectively during the strike.

Many of the largest companies in Canada are already implementing contingency programs by moving their shipping volume to alternate providers such as Purolator and UPS, more than a week in advance of the strike.  These large companies know that if their mail or parcels are en route when the strike happens they will be held by Canada Post until the strike resolves.  That could mean your parcels are stuck for 6-8 weeks and you will need to ship additional items to keep your customers happy. There is scope for significant disruption to both your customers and your business, however there are simple options to avoid these problems.

During the strike Canada Post’s volume will need to be absorbed by all the other carriers. According to Deepak Choprah Canada Post  handles two out of three ecommerce parcels in Canada.  There is a lot of volume that will need to be absorbed by the other carriers.  The challenge for the other carriers is that they have a fixed amount of capacity.  They cannot build new trucks or source new warehouses to handle the increased volume for such a sudden increase in volume which will likely only last for a few weeks.

To counter this, UPS are trying to encourage deliveries to access points, for residential deliveries a steep surcharge will be applied.  Loomis is upping their residential delivery charge to $5 for all customers without an alternate access point strategy.  Purolator is only taking on customers who sign-up for a 12 month contract in order to protect their delivery network.

What simple steps can you take to prevent disruption?

1. Start moving your shipping volume away from Canada Post TODAY, ensuring your parcels are not stuck for weeks on end once the strike happens.
2. Find a supplier such asnetParcel which can offer instant access to all the major domestic shippers in Canada at savings of up to 70%.
3. Once the strike happens continue to use your alternate supplier until operations resume at normal pace. This may take a few weeks for Canada Post to get up and running after the strike and work through the backlog of shipments / letters.

If you are a ecommerce merchant using Canada’s largest ecommerce platform Shopify, netParcel offers you the ability to select the cheapest carrier for each route, import orders for easy processing, and publish real time rates at checkout.  netParcel is the top rated Canadian Centric application in the shopify shipping category and is the only provider of accounts from UPS, Purolator, FedEx, and Loomis Express who all offer domestic shipping options during the Canada Post Strike.

Take the time now to prepare yourself and your ecommerce store for the upcoming Canada Post Stoppage.  Find the right partner and switch your volume today.