What is Drop Shipping?
Drop shipping is a fulfilment model in which an eCommerce retailer does not keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a retailer receives an order from a customer, they simply purchase the product from a third-party supplier or manufacturer who then ships it directly to the customer. This means the retailer does not have to handle the inventory or the shipping logistics. Drop shipping offers several benefits, including lower upfront costs, a more comprehensive range of products, and the ability to focus on marketing and customer service.
Why Drop Ship?
There are a few reasons to use drop shipping in your eCommerce business model:
1) Low start-up costs: Drop shipping eliminates the need for businesses to invest in inventory upfront. They can start selling products online without the expenses associated with stocking and storing inventory.
2) Wide product selection: With drop shipping, businesses can access various products from various suppliers. They can offer adverse catalogue without the need to manage physical inventory.
3) Reduced risk: Since businesses don't purchase inventory upfront, they don't carry the risk of unsold products or inventory obsolescence. They only purchase products after receiving orders from customers, reducing financial risk.
4) Time and cost efficiency: Drop shipping simplifies the fulfilment process. Businesses don't have to handle packaging, shipping, or inventory management, allowing them to focus on marketing, customer service, and growing their business.
5) Scalability: Drop shipping enables businesses to scale their operations quickly. As the fulfilment and shipping responsibilities are outsourced to suppliers, businesses can handle more orders without significant operational constraints.
Drop shipping offers flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and the opportunity to focus on core business aspects, making it an attractive option for many eCommerce businesses.
How Does StoreFeeder Handle Drop Shipping?
With StoreFeeder, you can create drop shipments with your suppliers for orders placed on your sales channels. This can either be done for individual orders or in bulk, creating shipments with suppliers for multiple orders in a single action.
The order details will then be emailed to your suppliers as either a CSV file for them to process or as a PDF file of your invoice, allowing for paperwork sent with your order to contain your company branding. Once the supplier has shipped the order, any tracking information can be added to the drop shipment in StoreFeeder and sent to the sales channel along with a shipping notification to inform the customer that the order is on the way.
Drop shipping is a great option for businesses, and StoreFeeder has many features in our drop shipping model, you can see them on the feature page and find out how they could help your business.
If you are drop shipping, StoreFeeder can process your orders. Our other features, including warehouse management and shipping management are there for you as your model changes and your business grows.
