Dropshipping¶

Dropshipping is an order fulfillment strategy that allows sellers to have items shipped directly from suppliers to customers. Normally, a seller purchases a product from a supplier, stores it in their inventory, and ships it to the end customer once an order is placed. With dropshipping, the supplier is responsible for storing and shipping the item. This benefits the seller by reducing inventory costs, including the price of operating warehouses.

Configure products to be dropshipped¶

To use dropshipping as a fulfillment strategy, navigate to the Purchase app and select Configuration ‣ Settings. Under the Logistics heading, click the Dropshipping checkbox, and Save to finish.

Next, go to the Sales app, click Products ‣ Products and choose an existing product or select Create to configure a new one. On the Product page, make sure that the Can be Sold and Can be Purchased checkboxes are enabled.

screenshot: daily-operations-dropshipping-sold-purchased-checkboxes

menu: Inventory ‣ Products ‣ Products
shows: A product form with the "Can be Sold" and "Can be Purchased" checkboxes both ticked.
highlight: Both checkboxes (red frame).
module: stock
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

Click on the Purchase tab and specify a vendor and the price that they sell the product for. Multiple vendors can be added, but the vendor at the top of the list will be the one automatically selected for purchase orders.

screenshot: daily-operations-dropshipping-product-vendor-config

menu: Inventory ‣ Products ‣ Products
shows: The Purchase tab of a product form with a vendor and a purchase price added to the vendor pricelist.
highlight: The vendor line (red frame).
module: stock
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

Finally, select the Inventory tab and enable the Dropship checkbox in the Routes section.

screenshot: daily-operations-dropshipping-enable-dropship-route

menu: Inventory ‣ Products ‣ Products
shows: The Inventory tab of a product form with the "Dropship" route ticked in the Operations section.
highlight: The "Dropship" checkbox (red frame).
module: stock
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

Note

While it is not necessary to enable the Buy route in addition to the Dropship route, enabling both provides the option of dropshipping the product or purchasing it directly.

Fulfill orders using dropshipping¶

When a sales order is created for a dropshipped product, an associated request for quotation (RfQ) is automatically generated to purchase the product from the vendor. Sales orders can be viewed in the Sales app by selecting Orders ‣ Orders. Click the Purchase smart button at the top right of a sales order to view the associated RFQ.

screenshot: daily-operations-dropshipping-dropship-sales-order

menu: Sales ‣ Orders ‣ Orders
shows: A confirmed sales order for a dropshipped product, with the Purchase smart button in the top-right corner.
highlight: The Purchase smart button (red frame).
module: stock
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

Once the RFQ is confirmed, it becomes a purchase order, and a dropship receipt is created and linked to it. The receipt can be viewed by clicking the Dropship smart button in the top-right corner of the purchase order form.

screenshot: daily-operations-dropshipping-dropship-purchase-order

menu: Purchase ‣ Orders ‣ Purchase Orders
shows: The dropship purchase order created from the sales order, with the Receipt smart button in the top-right corner.
highlight: The Receipt smart button (red frame).
module: stock
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

The dropship receipt displays Partners/Vendors in the Source Location field, and Partners/Customers in the Destination Location field. Upon delivery of the product to the customer, click on the Validate button at the top-left of the dropship receipt to confirm the delivered quantity.

screenshot: daily-operations-dropshipping-validate-dropship-receipt

menu: Inventory ‣ Operations ‣ Transfers
shows: The dropship transfer, moving goods from the vendor location straight to the customer location, with the Validate button visible.
highlight: The Validate button (red frame).
module: stock
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

To view all dropship orders, simply navigate to the Inventory Overview dashboard and click the teal # TO PROCESS button on the Dropship card.

screenshot: daily-operations-dropshipping-view-all-dropship-orders

menu: Inventory
shows: The Inventory overview with the "Dropship" operation-type card and its count of orders to process.
highlight: The "Dropship" card (red frame).
module: stock
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.