DHL Easylog discontinued: the best alternatives

Easylog users, take note: DHL has discontinued the Easylog shipping software and switched off key functions. In this guide we explain what the shutdown of DHL Easylog means for users, why you should look for alternatives, and which suitable alternatives to consider.

What was Easylog?

Easylog was DHL's official shipping software until 2014. After that, new customers could no longer use it, and it remained available only to existing customers. With Easylog, online retailers could conveniently manage larger order volumes, and DHL recommended it for customers shipping at least 20,000 shipments a year. Easylog was a desktop software solution that supported automated processing of DHL shipments, installed locally by DHL's technical support after paying a license fee.

Why switch to an alternative?

DHL announced some time ago that Easylog would no longer be updated and would ultimately be discontinued, because DHL wanted to focus on modern cloud-computing solutions and move away from outdated local software. A key encryption protocol responsible for transmitting digital shipment data was switched off, so anyone who wanted to keep shipping with DHL had to move to a suitable alternative. On top of that, new customs-form and digital-shipment-data requirements for non-EU shipping are no longer supported by Easylog, and it isn't compatible with current Windows or Mac operating systems, so error-free operation and support are no longer guaranteed.

The key disadvantages of DHL Easylog:

• No longer usable after the encryption protocol was switched off

• No support for the latest customs documents

• Not compatible with macOS

• Not compatible with current Windows versions

• Requires local installation by DHL technical support

• Only usable from a volume of 20,000 parcels a year

• Support discontinued

What are the alternatives to Easylog?

Don't worry, there are good options. Alongside DHL's newer shipping solutions, it's worth looking at platforms like Sendcloud, especially if you also want to ship with carriers other than DHL.

The DHL business portal

Anyone wanting to use DHL's shipping solutions after 2014 was directed to the DHL business portal. Its biggest advantage is that it's an online portal, so there's no local installation requiring a visit from DHL technical support. The portal can be used by retailers from a minimum shipping volume, and registered customers can also access Warenpost. You can process shipping online, capture shipments manually or import data, handle returns, and pass tracking links to your customers. Every shipment through the portal is automatically insured up to €500.

Sendcloud

The DHL business portal is already a clear improvement over Easylog and probably the most obvious alternative. But one problem remains: as the name suggests, it only handles DHL shipments. Customers today expect to choose flexibly between carriers and delivery methods, and choosing from several carriers also means you can switch easily if one has an outage. Do you really want a separate shipping tool for every carrier? Probably not.

That's where sendcloud.proes in: you can flexibly process your orders through the most popular carriers such as DPD, DHL, UPS, GLS, and Deutsche Post, as well as express services like DHL Express. Use pre-negotiated shipping rates or connect your own DHL contract in a few clicks. There's no minimum shipping volume, so online retailers of every size are welcome, whether you ship 100, 1,000, or 10,000 shipments a year. As a cloud-based SaaS solution, Sendcloud needs no local installation and runs in any browser on Windows or Mac.

More Sendcloud features

Sendcloud consolidates all incoming orders in one panel, so tedious CSV address imports become unnecessary, with handy integrations for the most popular shop systems and marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. You can send appealing tracking emails with your store branding, offer a branded returns portal, and use the analytics dashboard to reduce your return rate. Parcels are insured by default, depending on the carrier, between €500 (DHL) and €750 (GLS), and you can add extra shipping insurance up to €5,000 through Sendcloud.

Easylog, the DHL business portal, and sendcloud.propared

Don't wait any longer

If you're still using DHL Easylog, prepare your move now. Rather than switching to DHL's own solution alone, consider a shipping platform like Sendcloud, where you can handle your entire shipping process across the most popular carriers. Want to find out more about how Sendcloud works with DHL, or start shipping with DHL? Visit our DHL carrier page.