Shipping in Japan 101: How to ship with Yamato Transport
Shipping service in Japan comes with a high standard in sending parcels with several supports provided for online sellers. Yet, it's often hard to know where to start. The details are almost always available only in Japanese.
And that's why we come up with this Shipping in Japan 101 series ! All essential information to get your eCommerce shipping in Japan off the ground. We'll cover all you need to know to ship with Yamato Transport, Sagawa Express and Japan Post.
Don't forget to check out the previous episode about Sagawa Express and Japan Post (Yu-pack & Yu-packet) !
In today's post, we introduce you a shipping basic for Yamato Transport. Plus, how to get a business contract with Yamato Transport in Japan and the breakdown of Yamato Transport shipping documents. Let's dive in.
Introduction to Yamato Transport
Yamato Transport, known as Kuroneko Yamato (Black cat) in Japanese, leading delivery service company with the highest market share for domestic shipping in Japan.
Yamato Transport offer a wide range of services in domestic shipping. Each services differs based on shipping costs, the package weight & size, and delivery period.
Here are the shipping services offered by Yamato Transport, usually used by eCommerce sellers in Japan.
1. TA-Q-BIN (宅急便)
TA-Q-BIN (宅急便) is a service to send packages from Size 60 to Size 200 (linear dimension of up to 200cm and maximum weight of 30kg). Each parcel is insured up to 300,000 JPY (tax included).
- TA-Q-BIN Delivery Prepaid (宅急便 発払い) - Deliver package on the next day. Shipping fee is paid in advance.
- TA-Q-BIN Time Service (宅急便タイムサービス) - Deliver package by 10:00 am on the next morning. The deadline for accepting parcels will vary depending on the area.
- TA-Q-BIN Payment on delivery (宅急便 着払い) - Deliver package on the next day. Shipping fee is paid by recipient.
- TA-Q-BIN Cash on Delivery (宅急便コレクト) - Deliver package on the next day. The recipient (customer) is responsible for paying product fee + shipping fee + Cash on Delivery (COD) fee.
There are Cool TA-Q-BIN (クール宅急便) services available for the above services upon request. Shipper can select between Chilled type (a temperature range of 0°C to 10℃) or Frozen type (a temperatures of -15℃ or less). Moreover, shipper can specify the delivery date and time.
2. TA-Q-BIN Compact (宅急便コンパクト)
TA-Q-BIN Compact (宅急便コンパクト) is a service to send packages smaller than Size 60. Each parcel is insured up to 30,000 JPY (tax included).
- TA-Q-BIN Compact (宅急便コンパクト) - Deliver package on the next day. Shipping fee is paid in advance.
- TA-Q-BIN Compact Cash on Delivery (宅急便コンパクトコレクト) - Deliver package on the next day. The recipient (customer) is responsible for paying product fee + shipping fee + Cash on Delivery (COD) fee.
Similar to regular TA-Q-BIN, TA-Q-BIN Compact could be featured with Cool TA-Q-BIN service to deliver perishable foods in chilled or frozen condition and delivery date & time selection.
3. NEKOPOS (クロネコ)
NEKOPOS (クロネコ) is a service to send small packages provides next-day delivery. Package will be placed in/delivered to mailboxes so there is a rule in acceptable package sizes;
- Maximum size - Square A4 size at Length:31.2cm and Width:22.8cm
- Minimum size - Length:23cm and Width:11.5cm
- Thickness - Within 2.5 cm
- Weight - Up to 1kg
Delivery period is the same as TA-Q-BIN which is next-day delivery throughout Japan. However, the delivery date and time cannot be specified.
4. Kuroneko DM-Bin (クロネコDM便)
Kuroneko DM-Bin (クロネコDM便) is a service to send a catalogs, pamphlets, and other promotional material to mailboxes throughout Japan without a seal of receipt. Package will be delivered to mailboxes so there is a rule in acceptable package sizes;
- Linear dimensions - Up to 60cm.
- Longest side - Up to 34cm
- Thickness - Within 2 cm
- Weight - Up to 1kg
Shipping with Yamato Transport
While preparing waybills or shipping documents for TA-Q-BIN, shipper could fill out the documents by hand and ship without business contract. However, it's mandatory to make a contract with Yamato in order to ship parcels using NEKOPOS and Kuroneko DM-Bin services.
Apart from that, making a business contract will bring you several benefits including online pick-up request, recurring pickup request, online label creation, etc.
Waybill Issuing System B2 Cloud (送り状発行システムB2クラウド)
For business clients, Yamato Transport provide a system call "Waybill Issuing System B2 Cloud" (送り状発行システムB2クラウド), supported in Japanese. If you are considering to apply for this B2 Cloud service of Yamato and don't know how to start, let us summarize steps to register here:
- Register a business contract (掛売り契約) with Yamato using this link.
*The corporate or small business (sole proprietor) customers with this contract pay monthly based on the number of parcels that have been shipped. - Use client number (お客様コード) and a temporary password (仮パスワード) received from Yamato commercial contract to apply for Yamato Business Members.
- After getting the Yamato Business Members account, select "Waybill Issuing System B2 Cloud" (送り状発行システムB2クラウド) from the service list (サービス一覧) and click 'Use this service (このサービスを利用する)' in order to start create a shipment.
By following above steps, you can ship your parcels for your business, using Yamato Transport.
How to Send a Parcel with Yamato Transport?
Next, we will give you the rundown on how to ship a parcel using Yamato Transport.
Step 1: Check if parcel can be sent
There is a rule for each service maximum and minimum weight and size. Also, some items considered dangerous and prohibited may not be accepted depending on the service.
Step 2: Check services and rates
Rates and delivery time vary based on type of services used. You can easily check rates from here.
Step 3: Pack parcels
Ship using your own packing materials or convenient packing materials provided by Yamato Transport; Kuroneko Box, TA-Q-BIN Compact Box, etc.
Step 4: Create a waybill (shipping labels)
Prepare waybills by hand-writing or creating it using shipping management platform.
Step 5: Send a parcel by drop-off or pick-up
Visit Yamato Transport Sales Offices or request a pickup from here.
How to create shipping labels for Yamato Transport?
Now, you should be ready to ship with Yamato Transport business contract. If you are managing eCommerce shop, using "Waybill Issuing System B2 Cloud", which is available only in Japanese, could be one option to think of, but is it the only option?
Quick answer: No !
Let us give you simpler way to create Yamato shipping label here: Ship&co !
With Ship&co, you will have a full access to Yamato Transport shipping power to generate shipping labels, in the same way as when using Yamato's Waybill Issuing System B2 Cloud. The system is available in English, French, Korean, Chinese (Traditional, Simplified), Japanese.
Besides that, Ship&co helps online sellers reduce the manual task like copy&paste when creating shipping labels for your online orders. No matter where you are selling - Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, Magento, BASE, ColorMe, eBay, Yahoo! Shopping, or even your own eCommerce websites/platform.
Here are some of features you can enjoy:
- Auto-sync feature: Sync orders from online shops so that you no longer have to use CSV file or manual input to the system.
- Multi-carrier shipping feature: Access to shipping power, not only Yamato but also other domestic carriers in Japan such as Sagawa Express, Japan Post, Seino Transport, and international carriers such as FedEx, DHL, UPS.
- Automatically fulfill & track feature: Update order status as fulfilled/shipped, plus send the tracking number to your online shop instantly.
- Up-to-date tracking: Track statuses of your parcels shipped by Yamato Transport right from a single dashboard, Shipment page of Ship&co.
Need to ship Yamato parcel? See this video for how to ship online Shopify orders with Yamato Transports and automatically fulfill orders with in a single click !
Easily connect your eCommerce shop with Ship&co to scale up your shipping power
We hope Ship&co will help you get instant access to Yamato Transport shipping power and manage any online shops you have from all-in-one interface. Shipping parcels with Yamato Transport is as easy as it should be !
Ship&co offers a 14-day free trial (without a credit card) so give it a try !
About Ship&co
Ship&co is a global shipping platform designed by and for e-commerce sellers. Created by the team behind Bento&co, who have been selling on Shopify since 2008, Ship&co provides a simple and easy-to-use web dashboard and shipping API. Ship&co helps online sellers ship packages faster by automatically syncing orders and creating shipping labels and invoices in minutes. With Ship&co, you can create shipping labels for FedEx, UPS, DHL, NinjaVan, Yamato, Sagawa, and more, with just two clicks to complete the process and mark your orders as shipped. For more information on Ship&co, visit shipandco.com or reach out to us via hello@shipandco.com !