Case Study

Canadian Gardening Shipping Optimization: 15% Cost Reduction & Streamlined Operations

INDUSTRY

Gardening & Landscaping Supplies (Wholesale)

Location

Greater Calgary, Alberta

Platform Before

e-Shipper and Netparcel (multiple platforms)

Platform After

ShipStation

Carriers Before

GLS and ICS

Carriers After

Canpar and FedEx

Total Savings

15%

Implementation Time

4 Days

Why Gardening Businesses Struggle with Shipping Costs

Canadian gardening businesses face mounting shipping pressures that directly impact their ability to grow and serve customers nationwide. Small e-commerce businesses typically spend about 10% of their revenue on shipping and fulfillment¹, while larger companies manage closer to 8%². For gardening retailers, this percentage often runs higher due to the unique challenges of shipping bulky, heavy products across Canada’s vast geography.

The financial pressure has intensified dramatically in recent years. Local delivery service rates jumped 10.3% year-over-year in April 2022, followed by another 4.6% increase in April 2023, and 3.6% in April 2024³. These compounding increases, combined with carriers’ use of dimensional weight pricing, have created a perfect storm for gardening businesses shipping everything from lightweight seed packets to heavy bags of soil.

"We went from juggling two different platforms to having everything in one place. The time savings alone made this worthwhile."

Specific Gardening Industry Challenges

Gardening businesses face unique obstacles that compound typical e-commerce shipping difficulties:

Dimensional weight pricing impact: Carriers now charge based on package volume as well as weight, heavily affecting bulky gardening products like planters and soil bags. UPS introduced a rule in 2024 assigning a minimum billable weight of 40 lbs for packages requiring special handling⁴
High remote shipping costs: Shipping to rural areas can cost 10 to 20 times more than urban centers⁵, problematic when serving Canada’s dispersed gardening community
Seasonal volume peaks: May alone accounts for about 10.1% of the entire year’s e-commerce revenue in the garden category, compared to just 6.0% in January⁶, creating capacity and cost management challenges

Customer expectations vs. reality: 64% of Canadian online shoppers won’t pay extra for 2-day shipping⁷, yet heavy gardening products are expensive to ship quickly

The Challenge: Calgary Gardening Wholesaler

The gardening company had built a successful wholesale gardening supply business serving customers across Western Canada with both lightweight and heavy packages. However, their shipping operations were creating operational inefficiencies that hindered their growth plans, particularly their focus on expanding into the US market.

Core problems:

Multiple platform management: Running operations across both e-Shipper and Netparcel created redundant workflows and constant platform switching
Carrier limitations: GLS and ICS weren’t providing the coverage and reliability needed for wholesale operations
Time drain: Managing multiple systems consumed valuable hours that could be invested in business growth
US expansion barriers: Current setup wasn’t optimized for cross-border shipping growth
Operational complexity: Staff needed to master multiple interfaces and processes for basic shipping tasks

Like many Canadian gardening businesses, they were spending significant time on shipping-related tasks. Studies indicate that fulfilling orders in-house inefficiently can consume 15-20 hours per week for a typical small business owner⁸, time that could be better spent on core business activities like product sourcing, customer relationships, and market expansion.

"The savings were there, but the time savings were even more valuable. We can actually focus on growing our business instead of managing shipping platforms."

The Solution: Platform Consolidation with Enhanced Carrier Mix

We identified that the gardening company’s core issue wasn’t just about rates. It was about operational efficiency. Through Part n Parcel’s network of 240+ Canadian businesses, we implemented a streamlined approach that consolidated their shipping operations while providing access to better carrier options for their wholesale model.

What Changed

Single platform migration: Consolidated all shipping operations onto ShipStation, eliminating the need to manage multiple platforms
Strategic carrier upgrade: Replaced GLS and ICS with Canpar and FedEx, providing better coverage for wholesale operations and US expansion
Automated workflows: Configured ShipStation with custom rules for both lightweight and heavy package shipping
Cross-border optimization: Leveraged FedEx’s international capabilities to support US market growth

Enterprise support access: Provided direct access to carrier support typically reserved for high-volume shippers

Measurable Results

Financial Impact

Operational

Eliminated dual-platform management reducing daily operational complexity
Streamlined staff training with single platform expertise required
Enhanced automation reducing manual processing time for wholesale orders
Improved order tracking with unified visibility across all shipments

Customer Experience

US expansion support through optimized FedEx international services
Time recovery allowing focus on core business growth activities
Scalable operations positioned to handle increased volume efficiently
Enhanced customer service with reliable tracking and delivery updates

Gardening Industry Context

Market Trends

Canada’s gardening e-commerce market is expected to reach approximately CAD $1.4 billion in 2025, growing at a projected 6.4% compound annual growth rate through 2029⁹. This growth reflects increasing consumer interest in home gardening, accelerated by pandemic-driven lifestyle changes and the rise of remote work.

The Canadian online garden market experienced explosive growth, nearly doubling with 97% growth in 2020, and again seeing 97% growth in 2022¹⁰. While growth has stabilized, the overall trajectory remains strong, meaning more Canadian gardening businesses are shipping more packages than ever before.

Cost Reality for Gardening SMBs

The data reveals why shipping optimization matters critically for Canadian gardening companies:

Volume disadvantage: Enterprise shipping rates typically require spending about $1 million annually with carriers¹¹, far beyond most independent garden centers
Dimensional weight penalties: Carriers’ use of dimensional weight pricing has heavily impacted gardening products, which are often lightweight but bulky
Geographic challenges: Canada’s vast distances mean higher costs, with remote area surcharges adding significant expense to rural deliveries

Small businesses leveraging professional shipping optimization services have reduced logistics costs by approximately 28% on average¹², largely by eliminating operational waste and accessing better rates.

Who This Approach Works For

Ideal gardening businesses:

Ship $10,000+ annually (approximately 1,000 shipments or more)
Currently manage multiple shipping platforms or carriers
Handle both lightweight and heavy packages in wholesale or retail operations
Want to expand into new markets (like US cross-border shipping)
Spend significant time on shipping operations that could be redirected to business growth

Results depend on current setup:

Companies using multiple platforms see highest operational efficiency gains
Businesses with wholesale operations benefit from enterprise-level carrier relationships
Those planning geographic expansion gain from optimized international capabilities
Gardening retailers with seasonal volume spikes benefit from scalable platform automation

Why the 4-Day Implementation Worked

The rapid transformation was possible because we focused on simplification rather than complication:

Platform consolidation strategy: Moving from multiple platforms to ShipStation eliminated complexity rather than adding it
Established carrier relationships: Part n Parcel’s commercial agreements with Canpar and FedEx enabled immediate account activation
Proven automation templates: Best practices from 240+ member companies applied instantly through ShipStation configuration
Minimal workflow disruption: Staff could focus on learning one optimized system instead of managing multiple platforms
Direct support during transition: Enterprise-level assistance ensured smooth migration without operational hiccups

References

¹ ² https://www.spicetg.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/The-Impact-Of-Logistics-Services-On-E-Commerce-In-Canada.pdf

³ https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/6497-more-canadians-delivering-packages-costs-slowing

⁴ [PART n PARCEL ARTICLE ON DIMENSIONAL WEIGHT]

⁵ https://interfulfillment.com/blog/ecommerce-d2c-shipping-tips-canada/

⁶ https://ecommercedb.com/markets/ca/garden

⁷ https://dmn.ca/the-last-mile-challenge-in-canada/

⁸ https://www.sendfromchina.com/NewsCenter/small-business-fulfillment-center.html

⁹ ¹⁰ https://ecommercedb.com/markets/ca/garden

¹¹ https://dmn.ca/the-last-mile-challenge-in-canada/

¹² https://www.sendfromchina.com/NewsCenter/small-business-fulfillment-center.html

Getting Started with Gardening Shipping Optimization

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