When you hear the term Drop Ship , it refers to movement of goods from the manufacturer directly to the retailer or end user without going through the usual distribution channels.
it is a fulfillment method where a store doesn’t keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product, it purchases the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. As a result, the merchant never sees or handles the product.
The biggest difference between dropshipping and the standard retail model is that the selling merchant doesn’t stock or own inventory. Instead, the merchant purchases inventory as needed from a third party – usually a wholesaler or manufacturer – to fulfill orders.
Pros and cons of using drop ship for order fulfillment
Pros
Good earning potential.
Location independent . For small, one-person businesses, most of the time you just need a laptop and an internet connection.
Less capital needed for the initial investment. With drop shipping, you don’t manufacture anything yourself, so you don’t need to invest in inventory, materials, tools, or anything else related to getting a product created.
It’s easier to scale your business. Quite simply, as a drop shipping business, ramping up your sales volume is not that much connected to higher product/operating expenses.
Less overhead.
- no storage needed, as you don’t keep any products with you,
- no need to pack anything yourself,
- no need to track your inventory,
- no need to hire more staff to deal with more products or sales coming in.
Cons
Someone else builds and sends the product. This is just a huge part of the overall customer experience. If anything goes bad with your supplier, the customer will still blame only you. In general, you lose quality control since you can’t see or use the product before it goes to the customer.
It’s more probable to come across copycats – people attempting to do exactly what you are doing.
Returns can be tough. Based on the agreement you have with your suppliers, customers might be required to return the products to you, and then you have to take care of the return/complaint process yourself. During that time, keeping the client happy can be difficult.
International 3PL works with you to make sure that your product reaches the end user quickly and efficiently.
Our facilities are equipped to handle all your needs form small to large projects. We are one of the favorite drop shippers for National stores.