ShipStation Sets Sights on Global E-Commerce Growth

E-commerce facilitator ShipStation eyes major global expansion

ShipStation is planning to expand its international presence through acquisitions, partnerships and additional freight capabilities, as the company works to become a broader logistics platform for online retailers and other shippers.

CEO Tom Madine outlined the strategy during an interview with FreightWaves Today at ShipStation’s headquarters in Austin, Texas. He said the company sees an opportunity to build a global shipping software provider, particularly for small and midsize businesses that often lack the resources to negotiate carrier rates or manage complex transportation networks on their own.

“Our grand plan is to build out those geographies,” Madine said, describing international markets as a key growth opportunity. “There’s really not a global player for shipping software. ShipStation has the opportunity to be that.”

ShipStation currently operates in Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Australia. Its European customer base includes large enterprises as well as microbusinesses that use the platform to compare carriers and organize parcel shipments. The company also owns London-based Metapack, which provides delivery management technology for online retailers and other businesses.

Madine said ShipStation is particularly interested in expanding in Europe and other major e-commerce markets. The company estimates it manages more than 400 software connections to parcel carriers around the world, a network it considers important because shipping requirements, carrier options and supply chain practices vary from country to country.

Rather than relying only on organic growth, ShipStation may use acquisitions and partnerships to expand. The company already works with carriers through arrangements that include pre-negotiated rates and connections to carrier booking systems. Similar relationships could help ShipStation enter new markets more quickly while giving merchants access to local transportation providers.

The company’s expansion is also broadening beyond parcel delivery. ShipStation recently began facilitating less-than-truckload freight within the same workflow used for parcel shipping and other logistics operations. The LTL capability became possible after private equity owner Thoma Bravo acquired Worldwide Express Group and its freight brokerage portfolio.

Thoma Bravo subsequently combined ShipStation with sister companies Stamps.com, Metapack and Packlink, along with WWEX Group. The combined holding company was renamed ShipStation Global in June 2026.

Madine said the company is working toward adding truckload freight and final-mile delivery to its platform. Those services could extend ShipStation’s reach beyond online retailers to industrial and medical manufacturers and other businesses that need to coordinate multiple transportation modes.

For professional drivers and carriers, the changes point to a continued effort to connect digital order-management systems with transportation providers. ShipStation’s core platform imports orders from multiple e-commerce channels into one system. It can then help determine how orders should be processed, fulfilled and shipped, while comparing carrier options based on factors such as price and delivery time.

The platform connects with e-commerce systems including Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce and OpenCart. It also supports functions such as rate comparison, label generation, tracking, order synchronization and shipment management. The company says its API supports more than 200 carriers.

That model is designed to simplify shipping for merchants that do not have the volume or expertise to build direct integrations with numerous carriers. Instead of visiting separate carrier websites to schedule shipments, generate labels and check tracking information, users can manage those tasks through one system.

“ShipStation has allowed us a one stop shop platform so that we don’t have to spend hours every day” managing parcel shipments, said Ned Woodward, director of logistics and fulfillment at Spiceology. He said the company’s enterprise resource planning system is integrated with ShipStation, allowing shipping labels to be produced within the same workflow.

ShipStation has continued adding automation and decision-support tools. In 2026, it launched ShipStation Intelligence and added mobile picking and barcode-scanning capabilities. The company also promotes tools for international shipments, including customs forms and prepaid duties and taxes, as well as automated rate comparisons based on shipment weight, dimensions and destination.

Those features reflect the operational problems ShipStation is trying to address: fragmented carrier networks, rising fulfillment complexity and the need to make transportation decisions quickly as order volumes change. For merchants, the goal is to reduce manual work and improve visibility. For carriers and freight providers, the platform could become another channel through which shippers select services and tender freight.

The company’s next challenge will be coordinating parcel, LTL, truckload and final-mile options across different countries and transportation markets. ShipStation’s leadership has identified the top 15 to 20 e-commerce markets as a significant opportunity, but the company’s expansion plans will depend on building the local carrier relationships and software connections needed to serve each market effectively.