Shyp

Shyp was an American technology-enabled packaging and shipping company founded in San Francisco in 2013 by Kevin Gibbon, Joshua Scott, and Jack Smith. Its service was designed to remove much of the work involved in sending physical items: customers initiated a shipment through a mobile application, Shyp arranged collection, supplied or selected suitable packaging, prepared the parcel, and tendered it to USPS or another major carrier. The model positioned Shyp as a convenient intermediary between consumers or small businesses and the established parcel-delivery network rather than as a carrier operating its own nationwide transportation system. The company initially developed its service around an on-demand, app-based experience and expanded its geographic footprint to several major American cities. Before its retrenchment, Shyp operated in San Francisco, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The service was notable within the on-demand economy because Shyp used employees for its courier operations rather than relying entirely on independent contractors. In 2015, it changed its courier workforce from an independent-contractor model to employment, a decision that distinguished it from many app-based delivery businesses of the period. Shyp expanded its digital offering in 2015 by releasing an Android application to complement its existing iOS application. It also introduced Shyp Returns, a returns functionality intended to help shoppers send back items bought online from selected merchants. The feature was associated with retailers including Amazon, Target, and Nordstrom, and extended the company's proposition beyond one-way outbound shipping. The business raised venture-capital funding, including a Series B round led by Kleiner Perkins. The Wikipedia account of the company reports total venture financing of $62.1 million. Despite this funding and its multi-city presence, Shyp struggled to reach profitability. In 2017, it undertook a major contraction, laying off most of its staff and ending operations in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The resulting business was substantially smaller and focused on a reduced operating footprint. In 2018, chief executive Kevin Gibbon announced that Shyp would close and lay off its remaining employees. The shutdown ended the company's attempt to make packaging and carrier selection a managed, on-demand service for consumers and small businesses. Shyp therefore belongs to the first generation of digitally mediated logistics startups that sought to combine mobile ordering, local pickup, fulfillment labor, and established parcel carriers in a single customer experience. Its history illustrates both the appeal of simplifying shipping and the operational difficulty of making labor-intensive, city-by-city logistics profitable.

Shyp was established in San Francisco in 2013 by Kevin Gibbon, Joshua Scott, and Jack Smith. The company entered the market with an on-demand concept: a customer could request shipment through an application, after which Shyp would collect the item, package it, and send it through USPS or another major carrier. This approach sought to make shipping more accessible by transferring decisions about packaging and carrier handling from the customer to a managed service. The company expanded beyond its original San Francisco base and operated in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia before its 2017 retrenchment. Its model combined software with local operational labor, including couriers and packaging work. Unlike many on-demand businesses that depended primarily on independent contractors, Shyp converted its couriers into full-fledged employees in 2015. That employment structure was a significant part of the company's operating model, although it also increased the importance of labor and local fulfillment costs in the path to profitability. In 2015, Shyp broadened its digital and service offering. It released an Android application alongside its iOS application, making the service available to users on both major mobile platforms. It also introduced Shyp Returns, a feature intended to assist shoppers with returning products purchased online from selected merchants. The listed participating merchants included Amazon, Target, and Nordstrom. Returns gave Shyp a second use case beyond sending new parcels and connected the company to the growing volume of e-commerce transactions. Shyp raised venture capital during its operating period. Its Series B financing was led by Kleiner Perkins, and the company's total venture funding was reported as $62.1 million. The investment supported the company's expansion and the development of its technology and city operations, but the business remained dependent on labor-intensive collection and packaging activities. By 2017, Shyp was seeking a more viable path to profitability. It responded by laying off most of its employees and withdrawing from New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The contraction reduced the company's geographic reach and marked a reversal of its earlier multi-city expansion. In 2018, chief executive Kevin Gibbon announced that Shyp would close. The announcement included the layoff of all remaining employees, bringing the company's operations to an end. Shyp's history is consequently defined by a rapid sequence of launch, geographic expansion, product extension, operational differentiation, retrenchment, and closure. The company remains an example of a logistics startup that attempted to make packaging and shipping a simple mobile transaction while depending on established postal and carrier networks for final delivery.

• 2018

  Company shuts down

  [1]Shypen.wikipedia.org

  CEO Kevin Gibbon announced Shyp's closure and the layoff of all remaining employees.

• 2017

  Major retrenchment

  [1]Shypen.wikipedia.org

  The company laid off most of its staff and ceased operating in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago while attempting to become profitable.

• 2015

  Android app and Shyp Returns launch

  [1]Shypen.wikipedia.org

  Shyp released an Android application and added a returns function for purchases from selected online retailers.

• 2015

  Courier workforce becomes employee-based

  [1]Shypen.wikipedia.org

  Shyp converted its couriers from independent contractors to full-fledged employees.

• 2013

  Shyp is founded in San Francisco

  [1]Shypen.wikipedia.org

  Kevin Gibbon, Joshua Scott, and Jack Smith founded Shyp as an on-demand packaging and shipping company.

Shyp was positioned as a managed, on-demand shipping platform that simplified parcel preparation for consumers and small businesses by combining mobile ordering, local pickup, packaging, and access to established carriers.

• On-demand shipping service · 2013

  Shyp

  Shyp's core service allowed customers to request shipping through a mobile application. The company arranged pickup, handled packaging, and shipped the item through USPS or another major carrier. Its value proposition was convenience: customers did not need to source packaging, prepare the parcel themselves, or separately arrange carrier drop-off.

• E-commerce returns service · 2015

  Shyp Returns

  Shyp Returns extended the company's managed-shipping model to online purchases that customers wanted to send back. The feature was available through Shyp's applications and supported returns involving selected merchants, including Amazon, Target, and Nordstrom, according to the company's historical description.

• 2018

  Decision to close the companyOther

  Background

  After its earlier contraction, Shyp was unable to continue operating as a going concern.

  Action taken

  CEO Kevin Gibbon announced that Shyp would shut down and lay off all remaining employees.

  Aftermath

  Shyp ceased operations in 2018.

  Source

• 2017

  Retrenchment for profitabilityStrategy

  Background

  Shyp was seeking to become profitable after operating across several large American cities.

  Action taken

  The company laid off the majority of its staff and stopped operating in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

  Aftermath

  Shyp's operating footprint and workforce were substantially reduced.

  Source

• 2015

  Convert couriers to employeesStrategy

  Background

  Shyp operated in the on-demand economy but used a workforce model that had initially included independent contractors.

  Action taken

  The company converted its couriers into full-fledged employees.

  Aftermath

  The move made Shyp one of the relatively few on-demand companies of its period whose operations were entirely employee-based.

  Source

• 2015

  Launch Android app and Shyp ReturnsProduct launch

  Background

  Shyp sought to broaden access to its mobile shipping service and increase its relevance to e-commerce customers.

  Action taken

  It released an Android application and introduced Shyp Returns for selected online merchants.

  Aftermath

  The service expanded from outbound shipping to include a managed online-purchase return use case.

  Source

1. 1Shypen.wikipedia.org