Shipping label

A shipping label is a label or a piece of paper that is placed on the package and provides the carrier with information about the package, sender, and recipient. Get all the details here!

What is a shipping label?

A shipping label, also known as a freight label, is placed on the exterior of a shipment to provide the delivery person with the necessary information about the package, the recipient, and the sender.

The typical information listed for the recipient includes their full name, address, postal code, and city. The shipping label also contains details about the sender, as well as a barcode and a package number.

This number can be used for ongoing tracking, allowing the receiver to see when the package is expected to arrive.

At PostNord, for example, they use a barcode when they need to scan the package, whereas GLS uses a QR code instead. This can, however, vary from carrier to carrier.

As a general rule, you can’t create your shipping labels by yourself.

All carriers have a set of requirements and regulations that must be followed, including margins, the distance between elements, and barcodes.

These requirements are in place so that packages can be scanned in the carriers’ sorting facilities.

When you book a shipping label, it happens through the exchange of data, also known as EDI data, which is an electronic exchange of documents and data between partners.

In addition, there are also some practical considerations to keep in mind regarding the placement of shipping labels on your packages.

If a shipping label is placed incorrectly, you may risk incurring additional charges from your carrier.

The guide is for reference, and we always recommend checking with the respective carrier for precise instructions on the correct placement of the shipping label on the package as well as any other package requirements.

How do I purchase and book a shipping label?

There are increasingly many ways to purchase a shipping label. For instance, you can buy your shipping labels directly from the carrier.

At Shipmondo, we assist you with your freight solutions and the purchase of shipping labels.

With us, you can manually buy a shipping label whenever the need arises, or you can automate the entire process and create your labels in bulk.

You can import your orders through your accounting software, webshop, or a CSV or Excel file and, from there, book and print shipping labels for all your recipients with accurate information with just a few clicks.

As a business, you can create a free account with Shipmondo and get immediate access to buy freight at attractive rates from leading carriers such as GLS, PostNord, UPS, Bring, and DHL.

Read much more about your options for booking freight.

Print your shipping labels easily and efficiently

A shipping label can be attached to the shipment in several ways.

It can be manually printed on a piece of paper and placed in a packing slip pocket or taped onto the package.

For businesses, investing in a label printer can be advantageous. Here, labels are printed in the correct sizes and can quickly be adhered directly onto the package.

On your Shipmondo account, you can configure your printer settings so that your shipping labels are automatically printed after ordering.

You simply need to have added a printer to your Shipmondo account.

If you have set up multiple printers, you can select which printer your labels should be printed on from the drop-down menu.

Shipmondo also offers a label format called compact label. This is the smallest available format, depending on the carrier and the product. In some cases, this may still be 10×19 cm. This format is used at your own risk, and you need to know the exact dimensions of the labels generated by the carrier you are using, so you can set the correct paper size on the printer.

Labelless: Send return packages without a label

Labelless is an alternative solution that allows one to send return packages without attaching a traditional shipping label.

Instead of printing and sticking a physical label onto the package, you use a unique labelless code or a QR code, which you write directly on the package.

When you choose to send labelless, you eliminate the need to print and handle physical labels, which can be convenient and time-saving, especially if you have many packages that need to be sent.