Shipping for Indian Shopify stores: how shipping partners work

Once orders start coming in, every one of them has to reach a customer somewhere in India. Most small and growing Shopify stores don’t sign contracts with each courier company. They use a shipping partner, also called a shipping aggregator, such as Shiprocket, NimbusPost, Fship or Velocity.

This guide explains how that works, the terms you’ll hear, and what to compare.

What a shipping partner does

A shipping partner gives you one account that works with many courier companies. You get their rates in one place, pick a courier for each parcel, print the shipping label and book a pickup from your address.

Connected to Shopify, it pulls in your orders automatically. Depending on the partner, the tracking number goes back to Shopify and customers receive tracking updates without you sending them by hand.

Terms you’ll hear

• AWB. The tracking number for a parcel (short for “air waybill”).
• Volumetric weight. Couriers charge on the actual weight or a weight based on the box size, whichever is higher. A light product in a big box can cost more than you expect.
• NDR. A non-delivery report: the courier tried to deliver and couldn’t. Acting on it quickly, by calling the customer or asking for another attempt, saves many parcels from coming back.
• RTO. Return to origin: the parcel comes back to you, usually with shipping charged both ways. This is most common with cash-on-delivery orders.
• COD remittance. Passing on the cash collected on COD orders to you, on the partner’s schedule.

What to compare

• Where they deliver. Check the PIN codes you sell to most, including smaller towns if that’s where your customers are.
• Rates by weight and zone. Ask for rates on your typical parcel size, not just the lowest advertised price.
• COD charges and remittance cycle. What they charge per COD order and how many days until the money reaches you.
• RTO charges and NDR handling. What a returned parcel costs, and what tools they give you to prevent one.
• Pickup in your area. Reliable daily pickups matter more than a slightly lower rate.
• Weight disputes. How they handle disagreements about a parcel’s weight. Photos of the packed, weighed parcel help.
• Support. Who you talk to when a parcel is stuck.

What stays with you

A shipping partner moves the parcel. Packing orders well, weighing them accurately, handing them over on time and answering customers’ delivery questions stays with you. So does deciding what customers pay for shipping: free above a certain order value, a flat rate, or an extra charge for COD.

How we help

We connect the shipping partner you choose to your store and check that orders and tracking come through before launch. Each partner sets its own rates and terms, and your account is with them directly.

What to take from it

• A shipping partner gives you many couriers through one account and one dashboard.
• Learn the terms AWB, NDR, RTO and volumetric weight: they show up on every bill.
• Compare delivery coverage, COD remittance and returns, not just the rate.
• Packing, weighing and customer questions stay with you.

Read our cash on delivery guide for more on reducing returned COD parcels, or ask us about connecting shipping.