Shipster Wins Small Business of the Year at Manchester Evening News Awards

Manchester-based shipping software company, Shipster (part of Oddsphere Ltd), has won ‘Small Business of the Year’ at the MEN Business Awards. This is yet another accomplishment for the tech company to add to their collection, after a stream of award wins since 2021.

Held at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel last Thursday and presented by Olympic sprinter, Iwan Thomas MBE, the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Awards celebrated some of the brightest brands and businesses in the local area. After 31 years of celebration, this year was no different in recognising companies across the Greater Manchester region, from huge, high-street names to smaller, more niche companies. 

Launched in 2016 by founder and MD, Tony Cheetham, the shipping software platform has grown exponentially through word of mouth and is now used by over 100 online retailers, who all have access to the platform’s customisable shipping rules and documents, enabling them to be compliant, efficient, and effective. It comes as no surprise that at least three of Shipster’s eCommerce clients are on The Times’ Fastest Growing Businesses list. 

Aside from the tremendous work and client base the company has developed over the past seven years, its team has always been the focus. Investing in employee benefits, support (including mental health resources, eye tests, and flexi bank holidays), and generous holiday allowance, Shipster has managed to retain a talented and dedicated team, which currently stands at 14 strong. 

After doubling in size over the last few years, the company has expertly dealt with the growth, maintaining its small business ethos, but offering the skill and quality of a larger, more established organisation. After earning investment from Fearless Adventures in 2022, this only fuelled that growth further. 

Tony Cheetham, Director at Shipster, said: “We are really happy to have won! It’s really a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team.

“We can’t wait to continue growing as a business and investing in our people - and seeing what’s next for Shipster.” 

​​Shipster Director, Hayley Cowburn, added: “It was a fantastic evening and we’re over the moon to have had the team’s hard work recognised in such a brilliant way. We couldn’t be prouder of ourselves as a Manchester business.” 

Fuelled by strong partnerships, consistency in developing new products and services, and making a real difference to their customer base, it’s clear why the software company were shortlisted for (and ultimately won) “Small Business of the Year”.

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Shipster

Shipster is a custom shipping integration platform developed by Oddsphere Ltd, now connecting over 100 eCommerce warehouses with over 40 leading couriers.

Shipster is best known for its unmatched level of customisation per client warehouse, unique software integrations and shipping rules for weight, destination, parcel type, parcel splitting vs bundling, temperature, dangerous goods and many more. The software also utilises a unique plugin system that allows its developers to “inject” updates, new shipping rules or couriers to a client’s current setup without disrupting their working installation.

The team recently doubled in size over the pandemic, won the Digital City Integrators Award (2021), took Silver for best eCommerce Software at the UK eCommerce Awards (2021), earned investment from Fearless Adventures and moved into a large office off Albert Square, Manchester city centre.