Have you decided to join the e-commerce revolution with your brand-new online store? The first questions you need to consider are all related to your product, including what you will sell, where customers will buy it, and how the clients will get attracted to your offerings. However, even the best marketing and customer service are insufficient without effective and suitable sourcing, inventory management, order fulfilment, and shipping methods. 

Thus, many people start in business, e-commerce, and entrepreneurship via drop shipping, where businesses are not required to personally oversee the fulfilment procedure or spend money leasing a warehouse or stocking inventory.

Before drop shipping was introduced, there were traditionally two methods to sell your goods to the audience. 

1. Create a unique item from scratch: Are cashmere sweaters your favourite thing to knit? Great! You will be able to introduce a wholly original product to the market that people might adore. However, the question persisted, can you grow your business and generate demand?
2. Make big inventory purchases: You would not need to create a brand-new product, but you risk being left with a garage full of unnecessary products. If your business does take off, you would have to handle order fulfilment and shipping on your own.

Drop shipping, on the other hand, eliminated all these risks. It makes you exclusively in charge of promoting and selling the products. Another party in the supply chain is concerned about the goods, the stock, the transportation, and the packaging. However, to compete with the big box stores and other eCommerce stores, you must adopt smart marketing tactics in your dropshipping business rather than seeking systemic efficiencies.

 

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is an e-commerce business strategy that enables business owners to launch an online venture and sell goods to customers without ever having to store the products themselves. A dropshipping store buys the product from a third party and ships it directly to the buyer when it sells a product.

What's intriguing about this is that dropshipping vendors can operate their businesses without having to keep physical inventory on their hands.

 

Your solution to make your product sensational online

Dropshipping offers independent businesses a lower risk of testing new product ideas and lines without having to buy and pay for the item upfront. It's a business strategy that broadens the options for those who wish to pursue entrepreneurship but lacks the necessary start-up funds.

These expenses can feel constrictive as business owners must invest a sizeable sum of their money in inventory before they can begin selling. Dropshipping is a knight in shining armour for budding entrepreneurs as it is an accessible option for resourceful founders to link customers with products on demand. 

Your trump card for a scalable business

Finding business partners for wholesale purchasers is primarily based on how quickly and easily they can order and distribute goods to their clients. Here, dropshipping is crucial as it gives you a competitive advantage over your competitors on the online platform. 

• No start-up funding is required

Dropshipping enables you to launch without making a significant financial commitment if you're just getting started. Traditional shopkeepers are required to buy and store goods before offering them to clients. However, hiring a drop shipper allows you to offer a large selection of products with minimum overhead.

• Less hassle

You don't have to deal with merchandise that is already on hand. Drop shipping eliminates the worry about packing and shipping and enables you to concentrate your time and efforts on promoting and expanding your brand.

• It's simple to diversify your offerings

Dropshipping is a terrific way to test new products with your audience if you want to diversify your products. You can determine whether your products are a good fit for the market.

• Scalability

A dropshipping store can rapidly grow since order fulfilment is not reliant on the size of a physical location or the number of employees required to ship an order. Thus, it can be advantageous for shops that face erratic sales due to seasonal variables.

• Increased clientele

Customers who buy bulk from you can put your products on display in their brick-and-mortar or online stores and market to their clientele there. Since you have collaborated with wholesale purchasers online, you will be able to indirectly increase your market and attract additional clients as online business owners.

 

Pick the right dropshipping vendors

Establishing a dropshipping business is not a cakewalk, just like starting any other entrepreneurial endeavour. You partner with a service provider whenever you include dropshipping into your sales plan. You must therefore select them very carefully. In addition to checking that the products are what they claim to be, you should also evaluate if their shipment matches your standards. 

 

Hard truths about dropshipping

• Profit margins are low

The overhead is low because you don't have to manage or store your inventory, but so are the returns.

You put in less money, but you receive less. That means you need to carry out a lot of transactions just to stay afloat, let alone make a profit, especially since the supplier gets the majority of the money.

• Extremely competitive

It will always be over-optimistic business owners who focus solely on the "low overhead" part of the equation and ignore the clear evidence presented above.

Because starting a dropshipping business requires very little capital, the low entry barrier implies fierce competition, with the most popular markets suffering more than others.

• There is no control over the supply chain

Dropshipping puts store owners at the mercy of the supplier, but you must still communicate with your customers directly.

 

Dropshippers are effectively trapped, doing little more than hoping the supplier addresses the issues while assuring the customer about something beyond their control.

Here is a quick-reference list of inquiries to do before agreeing to conduct business with anyone:

1. How do they manage product returns or damage?
2. How long do they complete an order, from sale to delivery?
3. How is the company's customer service?
4. Do they protect from fraud?
5. Can you find internet testimonials or references?

 

Your key to quality drop shipping business plan

The selection of the appropriate platform is crucial for a successful website launch. Even if you don't stock the products yourself, Opmiz's wide range of services, like inventory management tools, powerful dashboards, order management, and promotions, make it simple to handle your product inventories. 

Additionally, retailers can track orders and keep profits at any scale thanks to analytics and reporting options at Opmiz. We assist companies with effective drop shipping strategies to have a lean workforce while generating significant sales volumes. Planning to launch a drop shipping business? Start designing your dream store today with us!