At Tusk, we're on a mission to make life easier for professional shippers, and we know that a big part of accomplishing that lies in ensuring that you get up and running on the Tusk platform quickly and easily. That's why we've put a lot of thought into onboarding new shippers onto Tusk.

This page provides an overview of our onboarding process to ensure you get set up correctly and can get the most out of Tusk. By following the steps below, you'll be able to transition to our platform and start reaping key benefits—including reliable service, predictable pricing, proactive support, and lower costs—right away.

Let's get started.

Phase 1: Getting to know your carrier spend

To kick things off on the right foot, we'll start the Tusk journey by analyzing your shipping costs. We'll conduct an Impact Analysis to determine how much you spend with your existing carriers. From there, we calculate your potential savings by shipping with Tusk.

This will help us quantify the impact Tusk Logistics will have on your operations.

Phase 1 involves the following:

• You'll provide your shipping data. This may include (but aren't limited to) things like:

• Number of orders
• Warehouse locations
• Parcel weights and dimensions
• Amount spent
• Destination zip codes
• Package destinations

• The Tusk team will perform an Impact Analysis using your provided information. This typically comes in the form of a spreadsheet that contains:

• A summary of the average shipping prices you pay  
• A summary of the average weight of parcels you've shipped
• Percentage of savings you'll get when you use Tusk
• Total available savings (dollar amounts) you'll see when you switch to Tusk
• Percentage of markets serviceable by Tusk
• Average label cost and transit time per parcel when you switch to Tusk

Phase 2: Getting your shipments into carrier networks

To maximize the value you get out of Tusk Logistics, we need to get your shipments into our carrier networks. So before we get you up and running on our platform, we spend time analyzing how your shipments get from point A to point B. Then, we devise ways to get your shipments into the right carrier networks.

Phase 2 involves the following:

• Tusk assesses which carrier networks are best suited for your shipments.

• Here's an actual example from one of Tusk's customers. The shipper has a warehouse in Torrance, CA, and has a significant number of shipments going out to the West Coast, with an average weight of 3 lbs.
• After conducting the Impact Analysis, we've determined that Tusk can handle shipments coming from Torrance with a destination within the West Coast. This particular client used to pay $18.29 to ship these products, and Tusk was able to get the price down to $6.62 (63.8% savings).

• The Tusk team proactively finds ways to serve clients, even when they're shipping products from outside of our serviceable areas. In these instances, we set up carrier pickups or line halls to get shipments into the right networks.

Phase 3: Getting to know your tech stack

Tusk works best when it's integrated into your shipping software. The good news is Tusk can connect seamlessly with leading shipping platforms like ShipStation, Deposco, ShipEngine, Aftership, and Wonderment. Shippers that use other platforms are also welcome to develop custom integrations to link their systems with Tusk's software.

Phase 3 involves the following:

• We have a collaborative discussion about your tech stack. We then determine the best integration path.
• If you're using a system that Tusk already integrates with, we can set everything up quickly. For best results, consider granting us access to your shipping software account. Doing so helps streamline onboarding and ongoing management. By giving us access to your shipping platform:

• We can set up your account quicker and make changes when needed.
• We can assist with filing claims. Tusk's team can determine the item value amount to file a claim with the carrier.
• We can analyze your data to ensure you're not missing out on any shipments that could go to Tusk.
• We can compare your data to conclude what savings (per parcel and overall) Tusk is driving for your business.

• In the event that you need to develop a custom integration, the Tusk team will provide what we can to ensure you're able to get up and running efficiently.

Phase 4: Implementation and optimization

Once the above steps are completed and you sign up with Tusk, we'll set you up in our system and assist with any admin and technical steps required. We'll work closely with you and your team to ensure that we can serve your shipping needs in the best way possible.

Phase 4 involves the following:

• We'll get to know your operations in order to align and tailor our processes based on how you work. We'll ask you about the following:

• Days of operations/holidays
• Preferred communication channels (e.g., Slack, email, phone, etc.)
• Introduction to your customer support team
• Your procedures around filing claims. (We can do that for you; we just need a contact to ask or a place to get item value information.)

• We also provide regular updates on your shipping performance with Tusk through a monthly recap report containing the following:

• Number of parcels you shipped Tusk in a given month
• Average Tusk label cost
• Average cost with other carriers
• Estimated savings per parcel
• Estimated total label savings in a given month

Bringing it all together

Onboarding is a critical part of your journey with Tusk Logistics. It helps kick things off on the right foot and ensures you get the most value from our platform. We hope this overview gives you a clear idea of what to expect when you work with us.

It's worth noting that each shipper is different, so your experience may not look exactly like this. Then again, that's the beauty of working with Tusk—we put shippers and always work with your best interests in mind. As such, we can tailor our processes based on your requirement so you can keep your shopping ops running as smoothly as possible.

‍

Fill out the form below to get in touch.